The Dregs

(Picture Left: "Bujoe" -- On today's Euth list.
To call or not to call -- that is the question....)


Low and behold! Yesterday, we had a cat adoption inquiry!

But, the caller demanded that the cat be a "Purebred Maine Coon, under two years of age and declawed."

Ah yes. We have so many cats who match that criteria!

I did not bother to call the woman back.

It is that time of year of course.

The time when most people are caught up in holiday shopping or travel plans.

Serious adoption inquiries rapidly dwindle except for those people seeking "toy dogs," "kittens" or "purebred, declawed cats."

I call them the adoption dregs.

We actually do have one "toy dog" right now. A ten pound Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix whom a potential adopter turned down the other day for being "too big."

I generally don't like to rescue small dogs for exactly this reason: I can't stand most of the people who want them.

And so the problem is probably me.

I have been in rescue too long.

I am cynical, burned out, pessimistic and, oh spare that awful of awful words, "negative!"

Yep. All of that is true.

There is a dog on today's shelter death list that I would normally pull.

"Bujoe" is an 9-year-old, Retriever/Husky mix who was dumped by a family who claims "allergies." (Allergies do seem to be mostly caused by upcoming holidays. I wonder why that is?) Former owners stated that Bujoe "deserves a loving home." "He is a very loving and affectionate dog. Loves men, women, children, other dogs and CATS!"

Despite the excellent owner profile, Bujoe nevertheless failed the SAFER, so-called "Behavior" test. (Wow, what else is new?) And now he is on the kill list.

Many things are preventing me from picking up the phone to pull this dog:

We have too many dogs in boarding already. We are getting mostly "dreg" (i.e. seeking Christmas present) calls now. And a lousy behavioral "evaluation" hurts the dog's chances for adoption. People actually do take this crap seriously -- more so than the actual owner profiles -- although it is the owner profiles that denote what a dog is like in an actual HOME..

So yes, I am in quandary right now.

I don't believe the SAFER test. I believe the owner profile. One look at Bojoe's face tells me to believe that -- that along with years of experience with both, dogs and the SAFER test. More often than not, the tests are wrong. But, I have never known an owner profile to be wrong.

I've got an hour to make up my mind whether to call on this dog or let him go.

I don't enjoy this kind of stress.

So often these days, I find myself wanting to finally get out of animal rescue.

Then, again.......... -- PCA

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