long weekend

[rivendellrose]

Urgh. Weekend was very long.

Put up curtains and shower curtains and arranged other stuff in the house, then went out to the Seattle animal shelter, where we thought we had the perfect dog and two perfect kitties. Then the lady at the front desk was a bitch about the dog, and then a bitch about the cats as well. Is it just me, or shouldn't people at animal shelters be trying to help people take home the animals they want, within reason and their abilities and the like? I was pathetic and cried, because I'm way to emotional right now.

I'm still hacked off about the cats. I don't think I'm going to not be for a while, even though we decided today (after planning to go back and see if bitch-lady wasn't there anymore and get the cat I wanted) that he's just not a good idea. A seven year-old cat who just got fixed now might well have problems with spraying, and will have a higher likelihood of urinary tract trouble or even testicular cancer... but, god, it just breaks my heart. I got way too attached way too fast. He was so perfect, though. And if he's still there on Friday or Saturday, it's fate and I'm getting him anyway.

In other news, for local people... go to the animal shelter in Factoria, not the one in down-town Seattle. The people are nicer, the animals are kept in better conditions, and you'll generally have a much better experience. I cannot recommend them enough, especially over the Seattle one.

Good news is, we got an armchair for the front room, I got a bunch of boxes of stuff moved in, and we've now met our neighbours on both sides - the one we met this morning was a really sweet lady who works at home as an editor, and has two corgis! She's very friendly and happy to have us ("women!" she said - the last tenants must've been guys she wasn't so fond of...), and said she wanted to give us her number so we can call or come over if we ever need anything. So yay!

Comments

[nekokoban]

Meeeeeep. [hugs] Well, like you said, if he's still there next week, he IS really the cat for you, and we'll get him and even if he does get sick, he'll have a good home.

... and oh my god, our neighbors have corgis!? OH MY GOD I WANT TO MEET THEM SOON! :O :O :O /has a soft spot for corgis, yanno

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Exactly. If he's still there, I know something is up and I'm supposed to get him, no matter what.

And yes! Two cardigan corgis, and I'm sure the lady wouldn't mind us coming over to see them, she seemed really really friendly.

[zinjadu.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm with Terra on this one.

Fantastic! Gotta love having nice neighbours.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yes! *hugs* Nice neighbours are wonderful things.

[ursula]

We got our cats from MEOW (no-kill shelter, used to be on Mercer Island but has moved to Kirkland). It was an expensive proposition, but they were super-friendly and all their cats seemed happy & well-socialized.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Oooo, thanks - I may have to take a look there!

[otterknit.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't the animals being kept in better condition at the Factoria one be more of an incentive to go to the Seattle one? So you could rescue them from the bad conditions? I mean, it's government run right? So, even if people don't go there they still exist and collect stray animals. Hmm...

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

It would be, entirely. My issue is that the people there run the shelter so poorly that it makes it difficult to get an animal. I don't at all want to punish the animals there for the way the people run that place, but the situation is set up so poorly that it's hard to get anything done through them.

Our situation: My friend had been very closely investigating a rottweiler mix named Max. She'd gone over his profile, talked with volunteers on the phone, and she's very well-versed in animal care and the like in general. But when we got to the front desk to ask if we could take him out and interact with him, the woman basically did whatever she could to discourage us from taking him. Her information contradicted the profile and the volunteer's previous statements... and this is the woman in charge, mind you.

One incident, right? Okay. We'd given up on the dog, but the same friend and I had found two cats there that we were both in love with. They both were good with other cats, people, and dogs, and were friendly adults. We filled out our application and waited while we were consistently pushed aside or half-dealt with as other people came in. Then, finally, we were told that one of the cats we were looking at was only allowed to be released with another cat - his paperwork had said nothing about this, he'd been housed not even in the same room as the other cat. The only indication of their connection was the case number. Not even the volunteers knew that these two went together. And then, to add insult to injury, she completely dismissed the other cat we'd been looking at out of hand and tried to bully us into taking the two who were paired.

I have every sympathy for over-worked and under-staffed shelters. I still want the cat that I met there, and if he's still there when I'm moved into my new house, I'll go through hell and high-water to get him. I just can't stand a situation where the information isn't there for people to make important decisions, and where one woman treats people horribly for wanting to do something that, theoretically, she's supposed to be facilitating.

...and I'm sorry I'm ranting at you about this. I'm obviously still really broken up about this.

[otterknit.livejournal.com]

No, don't be. I knew I was probably in for a long answer when I asked that. And, I like listening to people rant. Part of it's the writer in me, makes the people feel more real.

But anyway, I'm really sorry you had a bad experience. The only time I went there, when I was little, I had a really bad time too. Though, a lot of that was from seeing them take a cat into the back room and I think they were putting a collar on it, but I'd heard that if the animals didn't get adopted within a few days they killed them, so what I saw was them cutting it's head off. Just as she got the collar down to the neck, the door swung shut. I always get chills just driving by there now--even though I'm sure I didn't see them about to cut his/her head off. I hope everything turns out well for you--intricate plan of destiny to make sure you end up with the perfect cat and all that.

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

In all fairness abot the Seattle shelter, the volunteers weren't bad, it was mostly just the one woman. I think the other people were just stressed out to be having to deal with her. Factoria is a totally better run facility though.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're right. It was that one woman, mostly. The other stuff was just little things like "if two cats go together, don't just assume that people will notice they have the same case number. Make it clear somehow obvious."