A RESCUERS ANSWERING MACHINE:
Hello: You have reached ___-____, 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 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 2 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your 150 pound, 8-year-old dog.
Press 3 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 4 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 5 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 6 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home TODAY and pick up the dog you no longer want.
Press 7 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 8 if your dog is sick and needs a vet but you need the money for your vacation.
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 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 I won't take it.
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 dogs that we have an abundance of.
Press 20 if you want us to take your dog that has a slight aggression problem, i.e. has only bitten a few people and killed your neighbor's 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 you 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 'options' 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 the grief of missing his family.
Author Unknown, but much appreciated
This is stuff I get to hear everyday when people want to give up the animal they should have made sure they took care of properly for the life of the pet. Getting a pet is a serious commitment and I personally think it is too easy to get a pet and throw it away. Not enough people place enough of a value on the pet they "wanted" and change their mind all too fast. It is hard to trust anyone anymore since animals I have either helped place or placed myself have come back due to owners not realizing what they are in for.
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO. YOU ARE DEDICATING YOURSELF TO THE LIFE OF THE PET. FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE, IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH.
Whether that is 3 years for your childs hamster, or for 30 years for the snake your teenager wants...and when the novelty has worn off, are you willing to care for it? Or the dog that needs a multitude of care, not including the TIME it takes to keep them happy. That puppy is only that cute for a matter of months...will you still find that dog cute? Same goes for that kitten...are you going to think it's cute when it decides that your new furniture is great for keeping the claws sharp? Are you going to declaw and physicially maim your cat dooming it to other behavoral problems? Is that guinea pig all of a sudden going to get "Too expensive" to feed, and dropped off at the nearest pet store?
THINK...
That pet cannot pick the life it gets and we owe it to them to make sure they get the BEST care.
ADOPT...
whenever possible. Someone elses castoff may be your new friend for life.
SAVE A PET...
I'm told that those who do animal rescue, especially the bad cases, will have their own special place in heaven.
It's a hard thing to do, but I wouldn't do anything else.