Stealing

This won't be a long post.  I'm too angry to write much.  

Since when is it OK to rip off a charity?  I've heard of people stealing donations boxes from various retail establishments, or stealing  from the cash box.   But I think it's worse when one of their own volunteers tries to take a cat and not pay the adoption fee.

Seriously, I could almost handle the volunteer not paying an adoption fee.  But to make me feel like a scumbag because I've been POLITELY asking for money for 2 months on a cat her family wanted to keep is horrible.  

The excuses started coming in almost immediately.  What people don't realize is that I  used to own a collection agency many years ago.  Hell, I worked my way through University repossessing cars!  Believe me, I've heard every excuse for not paying known to mankind!    Her excuses were on the usual bill collector's  list:  

1.  My paycheck hasn't come in.

2.  A week later:  My employer lost my  paycheck

3.  2 weeks later:  I still don't have my paycheck and they're trying to figure out why.

4.  3 weeks later:  I'm sick.

4.  4 weeks later:  My kids  are sick

5.  My Grandfather died.

6.  I have lots of stuff going on.  EXCUSE ME for being too busy.

7.  I'll bring the adoption money into the vet clinic tomorrow morning.

8.  EXCUSE ME, but I had to work.

9.  I'll send the money tomorrow.  

Now it's  two months later and I'm starting to worry about our cat.  It occurred to me that our cat might not be OK, or that he's not in the house.  It's hard to pay for something you no longer have.  

To help her save face, I even offered to allow her to make payments - something.

Why didn't I just go to her house?  I guess I was trying to be polite.  With every excuse, I would text "OK, I understand."  or "I'm so sorry to hear that!"  Showing up at a VOLUNTEER'S house to "repossess" a cat just wasn't something I was prepared to do.  

So I finally asked her in a text message: "I'm worried about our cat.  Do I need to come over and make sure he's ok?"  Her mother dropped off $100.00 at one of our vet clinics (our adoption fee  is $175.00) and she text'd me this message:

"My Mom is dropping it off in cash in the morning as I have been very sick.  I hope to never speak again.....you look  and seem like  a nice person on the outside, but you are a horrible person with no care for anybody but yourself..."

Really?  I'm a horrible person for asking about our cat and trying to finalize an adoption?  I hate airing out dirty laundry like this, but I'm hoping somebody else can learn from my mistake...IF I made a mistake.  I'm sure there are a million other ways to have handled it, but it wasn't fair for the volunteers who DO lovingly scrape together adoption fee money to adopt their beloved cat.  

 

The Phone Call

It was surreal to authorize the euthanasia of a darling kitten at the same moment I'm at Petsmart and working with two adopters.  I sat in the adoption centre and wanted to cry.  The excitement emanating from the loving new "parents" with their kittens kept me momentarily in "Yay-you're-adopting-the-cutest-kitten!" mode.

I excused myself from the adopters to speak with the exasperated veterinarian.  She had taken the sick kitten home with her the night before....just to hold her and watch her.  How often does that happen?  Not very.  I was grateful that the kitten was held and loved instead of left in the vet's cage.  The poor wee baby failed so quickly.

Then comes the call that I always dread...the foster parent.  This foster parent has been through this shit before.  She's been fostering for years and sadly isn't a stranger to sick kittens that die.  I was hoping that her voicemail would pick up, but I know better.  This foster parent would be on pins and needles until she heard about her kitten and the phone was answered on the first ring.  It doesn't make it any easier anyway - believe me.  I always say the same useless things.  Blah, I'm so sorry, Blah, At least we tried, Blah...

 I hate that call.  Calling a foster parent at work.  "I'm sorry, but she didn't make it."

But in this case there was yet ANOTHER call that had to be made with regard to this kitten:  She had an adopter waiting to meet her.  A young woman who fell in love with a kitten's picture.  I had to tell her that her beloved kitten - that she hadn't met yet - was now gone.

To make matters worse, I've played phone tag for 24 hours with the adopter.  Each missed message she sounds more and more excited about meeting her new BFF.

UGH.

It must be kitten season, because my heart is either broken or soaring high above the clouds.  There doesn't seem to be any middle ground during kitten season.  I'm not alone.  There are a bunch of us out there struggling with "The Rescue Emotional Rollercoaster".  Sometimes I think I'm the first in line and keep going on the damn thing even though I'm throwing up.