An action item for one kitty, one family; I'm keeping Atreyu .....

[OneGrassRoot]

and all of our beloved friends -- domesticated and living in the wild -- in mind as I take on this cause today.

May all find loving homes...or find their way BACK home, in any dimension. :)


You can read a blog post about it here. It's a local issue, so I'm compelled to follow through.

I understand there are policies, but the ultimate best interest of the cat should be what prevails, IMHO. This is when one must go through the heart and, regardless of policy, use both common sense and compassion. That is part of this New Way that is the theme here this morning. :)

If you're so led, you can read about Shalimar's "repossession" here:

http://www.sandracarringtonsmith.com


The shelter's email is:

[e-mail]

[FirstLight]

1. I think sometimes people need to chill about the "rules"

and consider the reality of a situation.

I am sending an email, and holding this poor family and imprisoned kitty in love & light...please let us know how it turns out.!
~~~~~~~~~
EMAIL: Regarding the cat you 'reposessed'

I read this story about a family whom you recently took a cat away from because of your percieved 'rulebreaking' on their part.
I understand that you create these rules to ensure that the cats you place for adoption are not left to fend for themselves or end up back in your shelter. But there is a time & place to be rational.
You have torn apart a family, caused a young child extreme distress...not to mention the sadness and confusion the cat must feel at being caged after being in a loving home. Where is the compassion in your actions? If your shelter is truly a compassionate organization, then why would you take this case to the extreme and cause so much heartbreak ...?
I will be following this story from CA, and hope to see SOMEONE in your organization 'do the right thing' and return this cat back to his family.

Sometimes rules ARE just guidelines, and it is the humane thing to know the difference.

(edit to add email)

[FirstLight]

2. They PROMPTLY replied:

Full ViewShalimar
From: Cat Angels <[e-mail]> Add to Contacts
To:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your email responding to golo, craigslist, etc posts about Shalimar, the cat that was returned to us because the adopters breached their contract by letting her outside.

First of all, you can rest assured that we did not demand the return of Shalimar because she slipped outside just once or twice, or only hangs out on a covered porch, or various other claims we have seen made. We would never do that. If an adoptive family contacted us and told us they were having trouble keeping the cat indoors, we would work with them to resolve it. We have done this successfully for other adopters that asked us for this help.

The story you are being told has been carefully constructed and is significantly different from what the adoptive family told us before they realized we were serious about their committment to the cat's safety. Once we told them that the indoor/outdoor lifestyle they had subjected the cat to, in violation of their signed contract, was unacceptable, they changed their story a few days later to what you are being told now. Even now, even in the GOLO blog posting meant to support them, information given contradicts what they told us when they were arguing with us over the return.

It is true that we require indoor only homes for the cats we adopt out, and every adopter, including this family, agrees to that condition many times -- on our adoption aplication form, verbally emphasized throughout the adoption process, and on the signed adoption contract. There is no possibility of a good faith misunderstanding, because this is so important to us. If someone cannot abide by that, we agree with those who say they should not adopt from us. We only want adopters who will keep the commitments they make in the adoption contract.

If someone cannot abide by our policies and contracts, we cheerfully direct them to the county animal shelter, where there are many fewer rules and the cats are on death row, and we are grateful when they save a cat elsewhere.

Our adoption contract also specifies return of the cat to us as our remedy when it is violated, as it was in this case. We are a no-kill shelter, we keep all cats until we find them the right home, even if that takes years. Our adoptable cats also do not live in cages, but in open landscape cat rooms with toys, cat furniture, and companionship.

Regarding Shalimar's health and the adopter's expenses, Shalimar had surgery for her major health problem nearly 2 years after the adoption. The cat was healthy when she left our custody, and had several routine exams by our shelter veterinarian during that time. We do recognize that a cat can have an undiagnosed condition when it leaves our custody, and our contract allows for return and refund if that happens and the adopter so chooses. This adopter never contacted us during the whole health problem.

Until we and our vet examine Shalimar's veterinary records in detail for the 2 years she was with the family, we can't really say any more about it because we want to make sure what we say is backed by the facts. However we are confident that she was healthy when she left us, and we also know that being outdoors exposes cats to many more pathogens and other health risks than an indoor only lifestyle.

We will not provide further details that would only serve to embarrass the adoptive family to strangers over the internet. Before this campaign broke out, we were contemplating condidtions under which we might return Shalimar to them. Public attacks tend to make one want to dig heels in deeper, but we will rise above that and continue to consider it, if this family will work with us on resolving our concerns openly and truthfully, and in good faith.

Sincerely,
--
Mike Fox
Vice President
Cat Angels Pet Adoptions Inc
http://www.catangelsnc.org

=^..^=

"Saving one animal doesn't change the world - but it changes the world for that one animal."

[OneGrassRoot]

3. Interesting -- I wonder why no one local has received a reply!

A dear friend of mine knows this family well, and is how I discovered the story.

Thanks for sharing!

Time to let the locals know. ;)

[Callie McAllie]

6. You know the family? Is the shelter's reply email right?

Maybe they didn't live up to their contract and let the cat spend more time outdoors? Or is the shelter just saying that to justify their action?

[OneGrassRoot]

8. I don't know them myself personally, but a dear friend of mine....

is very close to them. I can't believe she'd spread the word if she didn't know the truth of the matter, every step of the way.

As I said down thread, this should be interesting....

:)

[OneGrassRoot]

4. btw, thank you for contacting them. :) I just forwarded the reply....

you received to those spearheading this "Free Shalimar" campaign. :)

:hug:

[Callie McAllie]

5. I emailed the shelter and got the same reply

So it's a canned message, being sent to everyone who emails them on this topic.

I have to confess I was not as diplomatic in my email as you were. I loved that line about it being humane to know when the bend the rules.

Stories like this one make me think of that little boy after Katrina who was not allowed to take his dog, "Snowball," with him. I thankfully did not see the actual footage of this, but the boy was so upset, crying and begging, that he threw up, I'm told. Still the soldier/rescuer would not let him bring Snowball on board.

Just hearing about that broke my heart. Talk about adding abuse to trauma.

[OneGrassRoot]

7. Thanks, Callie....

I still haven't received a reply from them -- I feel neglected!!! And I was diplomatic about it!

Maybe they're sending out the ones most recently received first, and they're getting to the ones awaiting them this morning last. ;)

I didn't care for his tone when he wrote, "Before this campaign broke out, we were contemplating conditions under which we might return Shalimar to them. Public attacks tend to make one want to dig heels in deeper, but..."

There is a mob here in this area ready to go get Shalimar...lol. The family has a lot of people on their side -- people who know them personally -- so this should be interesting. I have a feeling Shalimar will be returned. What a trauma for the little girl, though! Not to mention Shalimar. :(

(I'm looking forward to posting in your "envisioning" thread later, when I can focus and breathe! :) )

:hug:

[northernlights]

9. I just sent an email

I was not diplomatic either, Callie. I wasn't concerned that Shalimar was healthy when she left the shelter. In fact,it bothers me even more to read that she was with her adopters for 2+ years before the shelter demanded her back.

I'm tired of "rescue" organizations acting like nazis. I don't care that the adopters broke rules. I understand checking people out to ensure they're providing decent homes, requiring neutering of kittens and puppies, and good vet maintenance. But there's a point where they go overboard, and this strikes me as an obvious one. I don't care even if they let her be an "indoor/outdoor" cat. If the cat was happy and thriving -- that's really all that mattered.

And I did see the video of Snowball. It ripped my heart out. Who knows what became of that poor little dog. His little person was horribly traumitized. It was sickening, unecessarily cruel to the doggie. Hopefully someone was able to rescue him. :cry::cry::cry: