Battery9 wrote:Hi
I'm upset. I have six dogs already and still my friends keep on posting dogs on my Facebook. I can't stand the whole 'I just found this sick dog, or , I just found this little puppy, can you take him? mentality. And people get a little upset when I ask them to try and rehome him themselves instead of using Sean or AnimalsTaiwan or SPCA. It's not like any of those people get salaries or doesn't have other jobs and responsibilities.
YES. This! Texts that I get "Hey NTLT, there's a little puppy on the side of the road, you should get him, he looks really sick, he's at death's door, come get him!"
I get what they're thinking---I'm kind of known as the girl who takes dogs in, so why not ask me?
Well, think of how much trouble it would be for you to take the dog yourself. Now times that by four. Then times it by 10 because you actually have no idea. That's what I'm dealing with. And then they get to walk away thinking 'I did a good deed today! I saved that dog' while I'm wrestling with house training, vet bills, food disputes, etc etc etc.
I'll add to your list of "No, I can't go out of town for CNY, I can't go camping, I can't sleep over." How about "I can't return your dinner invite because my house smells of dog." "Sorry boyfriend, I can't stay at your place without feeling guilty that my pups are at home refraining from drinking until I get back because they don't want to pee on the floor, and sorry that when you come to my place your nose itches." and "I know I look like a slob cause my place is a bit of a mess but actually I probably spend far more time cleaning than you because I'm constantly dealing with vomit, hair, etc."
And I suspect it might look hypocritical that I'm even responding to this because Sean just recently helped a dog for me. Generally I know the orgs are overworked so I try to just do what I can by myself.
But I have laid down the law. ONE rescue at a time. I need to have a healthy, balanced life. I've already got three animals of my own. I'll always have one spot open for one rescue. And I'm looking at moving into an apartment that's more accommodating to animals, so housetraining doesn't mean I have to go home every couple of hours.
I think it's all about knowing your limits.
Thinking of doing more to promote fostering as an option. If more people were willing to do it, it would ease the burden on known fosterers.
This rant probably did little to promote fostering
One sentence can't undo several paragraphs of my frustration, but I will say this- it's still one of the most rewarding things I've ever done...
EDIT: And one more thing, EVEN WORSE, are the people who DROP DOGS near the house of the known rescuer. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!?! Don't they think that perhaps, because the rescuer is already a kind-hearted person, they probably have more dogs than they can handle? And here, they don't even give the rescuer a choice, they just drop the dog knowing that the rescuer won't be able to resist! My friend has had at least 7 injured/sick/sad dogs that I can think of dropped off right by her property
argh
