Editor, Before I discovered the paper had been receiving other comments about Animal Control, it was my intent to write you concerning a very unfortunate incident I had with Animal Control. I had been saving for months on my teacher’s disability for a visit from my granddaughter, whom I had not seen in three years, and my daughter and other granddaughter. We had seen on Craigs List the pleas by Animal Control for help adopting animals a few weeks back.
Technically, this is done through an affiliated rescue, but AC manages the adoptions. At any rate, my daughter and I decided to help out by adopting four kittens (one for each of them from Nana). And in our effort to do the right thing and “help” I went to AC and got the kittens from their “well-cat cage.”
Although AC tells you that the animals have not been vet checked (shame on the vets in this area — a couple of volunteer hours a week would go far) and they cannot be returned, there is a certain expectation that the animals offered for adoption are stable and/or viable if they are being offered for adoption. I expected to do well baby checks with worming and parvo/feline leukemia checks, etc.
What I did not expect was for one of the kittens to start dying on me within hours of bringing it home. While I had been at AC, I had shared with them my excitement about my upcoming visit and expressed concerns about not having to spend extra money on a sick animal. I was reassured that, although they had not been vet checked, the experienced technicians had screened for wellness.
By the time I got the little kitty to Wolfe Animal Hospital the next morning, it was near death, even though I had been up with it all night, fighting for its life as it was fighting and crying to live. It turned out the kitten was under three weeks old and had an infectious illness (coxcitia?). I had to treat and worm the remaining three kittens. I went by AC after leaving the vet to let them know to save the other kittens and express my displeasure. A few days later and close to $300 in the hole, Dr. Hall recommended putting the kitten down. It was simply to young to fight the infection.
Consequently, as this was taking place during my family’s visit and costing all my saved money and the baby died, I went again to AC to express my displeasure. They simply kept saying the same thing over and over again. If you take the animal, it is your responsibility. Still, I discovered they do not have even a 24 hour quarantine area (actually it would be better at three days), and the kitten that died had just been received and placed in the well cat cage the morning I got him. While I was there, my daughter, a surgical vet tech, discovered a kitten in the well cat cage laying there dying with no one on site to ease its suffering and at least six others that you could visually see that they were not healthy and needed help cleaning up to become healthy. I understand these people want to find homes for these poor animals. However, it is unfair to take advantage of kind hearts and place dying animals with an unsuspecting public.
The fact that they have no guidelines or practices in place for quarantine or health screening is a disgrace. Their constant whining of “no vet” is no excuse. They have taken on this responsibility and are relying on their experience to make judgment calls. At the present time, I believe absolutely no judgment is being used. If an animal is sick or too young, don’t make it lay in a cage suffering, hoping for an unsuspecting adopter to come along. Send it on to a better place and end its pain.
I am a dedicated animal lover. I will use everything I have at my disposal toward ending this atrocious, inhumane situation and the practice of holding sick or injured animals. It is truly sickening and heartbreaking. Someone has to be in charge, make decisions, and not make the animals pay for their ineptness.
Our taxpayer dollars are funding this situation, so it is ultimately our responsibility
Technically, this is done through an affiliated rescue, but AC manages the adoptions. At any rate, my daughter and I decided to help out by adopting four kittens (one for each of them from Nana). And in our effort to do the right thing and “help” I went to AC and got the kittens from their “well-cat cage.”
Although AC tells you that the animals have not been vet checked (shame on the vets in this area — a couple of volunteer hours a week would go far) and they cannot be returned, there is a certain expectation that the animals offered for adoption are stable and/or viable if they are being offered for adoption. I expected to do well baby checks with worming and parvo/feline leukemia checks, etc.
What I did not expect was for one of the kittens to start dying on me within hours of bringing it home. While I had been at AC, I had shared with them my excitement about my upcoming visit and expressed concerns about not having to spend extra money on a sick animal. I was reassured that, although they had not been vet checked, the experienced technicians had screened for wellness.
By the time I got the little kitty to Wolfe Animal Hospital the next morning, it was near death, even though I had been up with it all night, fighting for its life as it was fighting and crying to live. It turned out the kitten was under three weeks old and had an infectious illness (coxcitia?). I had to treat and worm the remaining three kittens. I went by AC after leaving the vet to let them know to save the other kittens and express my displeasure. A few days later and close to $300 in the hole, Dr. Hall recommended putting the kitten down. It was simply to young to fight the infection.
Consequently, as this was taking place during my family’s visit and costing all my saved money and the baby died, I went again to AC to express my displeasure. They simply kept saying the same thing over and over again. If you take the animal, it is your responsibility. Still, I discovered they do not have even a 24 hour quarantine area (actually it would be better at three days), and the kitten that died had just been received and placed in the well cat cage the morning I got him. While I was there, my daughter, a surgical vet tech, discovered a kitten in the well cat cage laying there dying with no one on site to ease its suffering and at least six others that you could visually see that they were not healthy and needed help cleaning up to become healthy. I understand these people want to find homes for these poor animals. However, it is unfair to take advantage of kind hearts and place dying animals with an unsuspecting public.
The fact that they have no guidelines or practices in place for quarantine or health screening is a disgrace. Their constant whining of “no vet” is no excuse. They have taken on this responsibility and are relying on their experience to make judgment calls. At the present time, I believe absolutely no judgment is being used. If an animal is sick or too young, don’t make it lay in a cage suffering, hoping for an unsuspecting adopter to come along. Send it on to a better place and end its pain.
I am a dedicated animal lover. I will use everything I have at my disposal toward ending this atrocious, inhumane situation and the practice of holding sick or injured animals. It is truly sickening and heartbreaking. Someone has to be in charge, make decisions, and not make the animals pay for their ineptness.
Our taxpayer dollars are funding this situation, so it is ultimately our responsibility
Julee M. Christian
Hinesville
Hinesville