Messages on a Rescue's Answering Machine

tes218

New Member
First time I saw this I believe it said these were all based on actual questions, comments and reasons they have received:

A RESCUERS ANSWERING MACHINE~~~~~(PLEASE READ)

"Hello, You have reached 123-4567, Tender Hearts Rescue. Due to the
high volume of calls we have been receiving, please listen closely to
the
following options and choose the one that best describes you or your
situation:

Press 1 if you think we are veterinarians and want free medical advice.

Press 2 if you know we are a rescue organization but want to save money
and have us give you free, untrained medical advice anyway.

Press 3 if you make $200,000 a year but still want us to pay to spay
the
"stray" in your yard (house).

Press 4 if you have a 10-year-old dog and your 15-year-old son has
suddenly become allergic and you need to find the dog a new home right
away.

Press 5 if you have three dogs, had a baby and want to get rid of your
dogs because you are the only person in the world to have a baby and
dogs at the same time.

Press 6 if your dog is sick and needs a vet but you need the money for
your vacation.

Press 7 if you just got a brand new puppy and your old dog is having
problems adjusting so you want to get rid of the old one right away.

Press 8 if your little puppy has grown up and is no longer small and
cute and you want to trade it in for a new model.

Press 9 if you are elderly and want to adopt a cute puppy who is not
active and is going to outlive you.

Press 10 if your relative has died and you don't want to care for their
elderly dog because it doesn't fit your lifestyle.

Press 11 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your 150
pound, 8-year-old, unneutured, aggressive dog.

Press 12 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home today and
pick up the dog you no longer want.

Press 13 if you have been feeding and caring for a "stray" for the last
three years, are moving and suddenly determine it's not your dog.

Press 14 if you are calling at 6 a.m. to make sure you wake me up
before
I have to go to work so you can drop a dog off on your way to work.

Press 15 to leave us an anonymous garbled message, letting us know you
have left a dog in our yard in the middle of January, which is in fact,
better than just leaving the dog with no message.

Press 16 if you are going to get angry because we are not going to take
your dog that you have had for fifteen years, because it is not our
responsibility.

Press 17 if you are going to threaten to take your ten year old dog to
be euthanized because we can't get to your house in the next hour.

Press 18 if you're going to get angry because the volunteers had the
audacity to go on vacation and leave the dogs in care of a trusted
volunteer who is not authorized to take your personal pet.

Press 19 if you want one of our perfectly trained, housebroken, kid and
cat friendly purebred tiny dogs that we have an abundance of.

Press 20 if you want us to take your dog that has a slight aggression
towards cats.

Press 21 if you have already called once and been told we don't take
personal surrenders but thought you would get a different person this
time with a different answer.

Press 22 if you want us to use space that would go to a stray to board
your personal dog while you are on vacation, free of charge, of course.

Press 23 if it is Christmas Eve or Easter morning and you want me to
deliver an eight week old puppy to your house by 6:30 am before your
kids wake up.

Press 24 if you have bought your children a duckling, chick or baby
bunny for Easter and it is now Christmas and no longer cute.

Press 25 if you want us to take your female dog who has already had ten
litters, but we can't spay her because she is pregnant again and it is
against your religion.

Press 26 if you're lying to make one of our younger volunteers feel bad
and take your personal pet off your hands.

Press 27 if your cat is biting and not using the litter box because it
is declawed, but are not willing to accept the responsibility that the
cat's behavior is altered because of your nice furniture.

Press 28 if your two year old male dog is marking all over your house
but you just haven't gotten around to having him neutered.

Press 29 if you previously had an outdoor only dog and are calling
because she is suddenly pregnant.

Press 30 if you have done "everything" to housebreak your dog and have
had no success but you don't want to crate the dog because it is cruel.

Press 31 if you didn't listen to the message asking for an evening
phone
number and you left your work number when all volunteers are also
working and you are angry because no one called you back.

Press 32 if you need a puppy immediately and cannot wait because today
is your daughter's birthday and you forgot when she was born.

Press 33 if your dog's coat doesn't match your new furniture and you
need a different color or breed.

Press 34 if your new love doesn't like your dog and you are too stupid
to get rid of the new friend (who will dump you in the next month
anyway)
instead of the dog.

Press 35 if you went through all these 'presses' and didn't hear
enough.

This press will connect you to the sounds of tears being shed by one of
our volunteers who is holding a discarded old dog while the vet
mercifully frees him from of the grief of missing his family."
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
If rescues neither want to take in unwanted animals, nor do they want to rehome them, what is their purpose? :confused:
 

tommyjones

New Member
If rescues neither want to take in unwanted animals, nor do they want to rehome them, what is their purpose? :confused:

:yeahthat:


and where was the option for paying an exhorbanant price for some mutt because some bittie has kept it for a year as a pet and now wants to get all her money back(vetting, food, etc) with a profit?
 

tes218

New Member
If rescues neither want to take in unwanted animals, nor do they want to rehome them, what is their purpose? :confused:

We take them because people don't want to be responsible but there is only so much we can do. If the only ones needing to be rescued were truly because of situations beyond the owner's control there would be a lot less needing to be rehomed. I think the list of reasons and excuses given in this were not based on that. I think every rescue would celebrate being put out of business because the service was no longer needed.
 

krazd_kat

Help "Invisible Dogs"
We take them because people don't want to be responsible but there is only so much we can do. If the only ones needing to be rescued were truly because of situations beyond the owner's control there would be a lot less needing to be rehomed. I think the list of reasons and excuses given in this were not based on that. I think every rescue would celebrate being put out of business because the service was no longer needed.

I would love to see that day.....

I still remember the guy w/the pit that called and wanted me to take it....

Why do you need to rehome it? I'm moving and we won't have as big of a yard and he will be able to see cars and people and it will make him crazy... Okay... tell me about this dog...

1) He doesn't like strangers....
2) He doesn't like other dogs....

Umm... wait a minute, what do you think I will be to this dog??? A STRANGER that is actually now trying to make it get over issues...

Not good with other dogs.... oh, well, I have anywhere from 15-20 dogs at different times at my home...... some of these are already not good with other dogs, but that was an unknown at the time....

So... my advice to him... IF you honestly are not willing to take this dog and work with it, then I suggest YOU take this dog to your vet and have him humanely euthanized, in YOUR LOVING ARMS (in my opinion, that's the LEAST a human can do for their companion, they OWE it to the animal...) - DO NOT take him to the shelter as he will be euthanized there... but before that happens he will be going through plenty of stress due to the smells, the strangers, and the other dogs....

My group has taken many owner surrenders (for plenty of stupid reasons as well as some good ones) and it always breaks my heart to see how nervous they are at my place, I can't imagine what they would have gone through a the shelter.... It always does my heart good though when these same "throw away" dogs find their new, BETTER homes though... like the 8 yr old lab mix that was just adopted and both the owner and the dog are in heaven... The 3 legged dog, that the owner said was "crazy", "acted like a stray", he was stuck living on a chain before we got him, his new owner takes this dog EVERYWHERE and everyone that has met him thinks he is an AWESOME dog, well behaved, you name it....

Owner surrenders.... when it's a legitimate reason (like the rottie mix I currently have), they break my heart and I cry just as much as the owner when I drive off with their dog.... The "other" owner surrenders.... the one's w/a million excuses but it all boils down to they just don't want the dog... they PISS me off and my sympathy for them is gone as soon as I leave their driveway....
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
IF you honestly are not willing to take this dog and work with it, then I suggest YOU take this dog to your vet and have him humanely euthanized

This I agree wholeheartedly with. If THEY had to deal with their unwanted dog, it might teach them to make better decisions in the future. I know it did me. :frown:

You and Tes explained that nicely, and I understand now. :yay:
 

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
:yeahthat:


and where was the option for paying an exhorbanant price for some mutt because some bittie has kept it for a year as a pet and now wants to get all her money back(vetting, food, etc) with a profit?

Dear MPD:

The word is "biddy."

ALL the rescue/volunteer work I do is on MY dime and I don't ask for anything in return.

You are showing your ignorance if you think rescues make a profit.
 

krazd_kat

Help "Invisible Dogs"
This I agree wholeheartedly with. If THEY had to deal with their unwanted dog, it might teach them to make better decisions in the future. I know it did me. :frown:

That's why a number of rescue groups I know won't take owner surrenders (even though they may go straight to the shelter and pull that same dog), they want the owner to have to make that (hopefully) gut wrenching decision and then walk away (again hopefully having learned something). (I'm sorry you had to learn that way...)

You and Tes explained that nicely, and I understand now. :yay:

Glad we could help!
 
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