"Luvskats00" wrote in message
...
3 1/2 weeks ago, I contacted a rescue group about adopting a cat (listed
on a
Petfinders site). The founder of the group is well known, locally. She was
profiled in the major newspaper here. Two of the people assisting her,
however, were incompetent idiots. I had dealt with them, first, before
discovering their limitations and inability to do anything related to the
rescue at hand.

Unfortunately, this happens a lot in rescues and shelters. There is high
turnover, and sometimes the "volunteers" are only there because they have to
be, sometimes they are teenagers who are immature, etc.

The story on the website stated that the current owners were going to
throw
this (declawed) cat into the street or dump her at a kill shelter. I
wanted
her. I made a couple of calls to Representative #1 who never called me
back,
despite promising to do so. I called her each time. She finally said she
had
personal problems and handed me off to Rep. #2. The story about the cat's
situation changed 4 times. The listing on the site stated that the cat all
meds
were up to date. Since Rep #2 changed the story 4 times, I wanted the vet
(who
treated the cat) to verify her medical history. I even spoke to the
husband
(of the wife) who owned the cat. The ownership story changed a couple of
times,
too. I was told this 4-year-old cat (was she 4 or not?) had some
extractions.
This was a bit unusual, too. Despite my (9) nine requests to get the
vet's
verification, I was ignored. I eventually was told that the rescue group
couldn't verify the meds. Question #1 - If they didn't know if the meds
were
current, then why did they post that they were? Anyone (owner) could say
anything..without regard for truth, right? The rescue group has the burden
to
confirm the info before adopting the rescue animal out.

If you saw a generic "this pet is up to date on shots" on PetFinder, that is
a checkbox that is checked when entering the animal into the system.
Sometimes the person entering assumes that all of their animals are UTD,
when maybe they aren't. I assume that a lot when I'm entering, because I
enter based on our group's main website. We do not let an animal out (to be
adopted) until it has had all of its shots (or current shots if a puppy) and
it must be spayed/neutered (age appropriate, so far we don't do early s/n).

In all, I placed over 15 calls...the last call was to the founder of the
group.
She confirmed the incompetence of the assistants, but put me off by
telling me
to call her back tomorrow. She said she couldn't call me back..she had no
time...Good grief, they were the rescue group..I was the one who would
adopt
the cat. They made it almost impossible for me.

Usually the "head" of a rescue is very busy, overwhelmed, and it can be hard
for them to speak with everyone. However, if she is that busy she should be
the one to call you back, because she may be "busy" when you call again. If
she said it nicely, I wouldn't take it personally, but I would question the
stability of the rescue organization.

Eight days ago, I also sent a full-page email documenting each phone call
I
made, the promises the rescue reps made that were broken, the stories and
subsequent changes in those stories (by the group AND the owner's rep),
the
requests I made about medical health which the rescue group ignored,
etc.).
That email was ignored. I am sadly letting go of this possible adoption.
I
really wanted to help this girl, but can't overcome the barriers. Question
#2.
Should I report this situation to any monitoring organization so this
doesn't
happen to someone else? Question #3. Is there such an organization?
Thanks.

There probably are no monitoring organizations, although, depending on the
state you live in, sometimes the state department of Agriculture is the
controlling body for shelters and rescues (like in Georgia). I doubt they
could do anything about not getting a response from the group, but if the
care of the cat is in question, they may be able to do something. Also,
PetFinder seems to take complaints very seriously. If the cat was stated on
the site to be UTD and the story keeps changing, complain to them. I do
PetFinder for our group, and the PetFinder staff is great. They are
typically quick to respond when I have a problem with the site, and they
like to make sure that groups are truthful and that they keep their pet list
up to date and active. I wouldn't completely give up on this cat. It still
needs a home. Believe it or not, we have a hard time placing declawed cats,
because they usually have been dumped because of behavior problems (biting,
not using the litter box, etc) which can be corrected with the right home.
They also can't be let outside and a lot of people want a cat that they
don't have to worry if the cat were to slip out, or if they want a cat that
can go in and out. Good Luck!

--
~ Lori
and Jack, Sasha, Rufus, Joey, and Bug
{Clean the doghouse to reply}
~ http://www.smithandwest.net/
~ PETS, Inc - http://www.petsinc.org/
~ http://petsinc.petfinder.org/