Savannah Cat Chat - THE Place for Savannah Cat Talk
Welcome to the Savannah Cat Chat Forum! Our forum has been in existence since 2012 and is the only one of its kind. We were here, serving the savannah cat community before Facebook and Instagram! Register for a free account today to become a member! Please use an email program other than Hotmail, since Hotmail accounts are blacklisted by many servers and ISP's. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site in some of the forums by adding your own topics and posts. But in order to take advantage of the full features, such as a private inbox as well as connect with other members ad access some of the larger topics, a donation of $2.99/mo or $25/yr is requested. This will allow us to continue running this forum!
Heartbroken after my experience with the local SPCA shelter
- Thread starter Frauleinash
- Start date
Frauleinash
Savannah Teenager
Doh! *hangs head in shame*
My bad, I wasn't sure exactly what she would be called. It's good to know that. 
Maybe they aren't uncommon to people who have been in the savanna community for some time, but for a beginner (like me) I'm having a harder time with my search. It will likely be easier to search knowing the proper terms.
I can't accept your congratulations until I bring her home tomorrow. And I know that today will be the longest day of my entire life! Wish me luck, I'm so nervous that she will be gone that I could explode!
Good luck!
In terms of why she wasn't returned to her breeder, the three most likely answers are:
(1) many pet buyers throw away the contract and have no idea that they are required to contact the breeder if rehoming their cat.
(2)They find it more shameful to contact that breeder and tell them than dropping off at a shelter
(3) Their contract doesn't even mention this, as not all breeders are responsible.
There's other bizarre possibilities like the spouse dumping the cat behind the other person's back, or taking the cat in a breakup for spite and then dumping it. We see a lot of bizarre stories in Rescue work...
In terms of why she wasn't returned to her breeder, the three most likely answers are:
(1) many pet buyers throw away the contract and have no idea that they are required to contact the breeder if rehoming their cat.
(2)They find it more shameful to contact that breeder and tell them than dropping off at a shelter
(3) Their contract doesn't even mention this, as not all breeders are responsible.
There's other bizarre possibilities like the spouse dumping the cat behind the other person's back, or taking the cat in a breakup for spite and then dumping it. We see a lot of bizarre stories in Rescue work...
Frauleinash
Savannah Teenager
Well, since I'm not updating with photos of Porsche in my home, you know that this didn't play out well for me.
I swear this incident took place in the twilight zone.
When we arrived at the shelter, there were a lot of people there and it was very busy. The manager guy from before was there (ugh) and we told him we were here to adopt Porsche. He apologized for not replying to my emails and phone calls and said he wasnt ignoring me, he was just busy (strange that he couldnt find time to get back to me over a period of 5 days when prior to coming in he replied to all my emails within 2 hours). After some small chit chat, he informed us that the price was not 500 as previously stated but instead was raised AGAIN to $600 once we agreed to the $500. At this point, I'm just SOOO over this malarkey... I actually called this! I said to my husband, "watch them raise the price again once we come in with the 500" and voila! I asked him why the price keeps going up, and he said "it hasn't been increased, I just made a mistake when I told you that. I am human, just like you, and I'm entitled to make mistakes!" (Word for word )
There were some pretty rude statements made by this guy that totally rubbed me the wrong way. Actually, just the tone of his voice rubs me wrong. At one point, he even said, "it's not my JOB to make people happy, I'm just here to find homes for animals". He said this after I suggested listing the price jump on purebred animals on their website so that ppl didn't make a long, unnecessary trip out there, only to be disappointed by the huge price gap. I replied, "well it may not be your job to make ppl happy, but it's definitely in the animals best interest to keep adopters happy so that they are more likely to return for future adoptions, no?" Ugh!! Me and my mouth. It was very clear to me that this guy simply did not like me. Why? I'm not entirely sure, but I think he didn't appreciate me correcting him about Porsche not being an f1 savanna. That being said, I overheard a conversation between him and another potential adopter, and he DID tell her that she was an f6 A savanna (so he obviously figured out that I was at least accurate in that regard and changed his tune).
After sitting there with my grouchy/bored toddler for 2.5 hours waiting for him to make the necessary calls, I could see that he was dragging his behind for seemingly no reason. I asked what the holdup was, and he said he needed to call my references and talk to my old vet. I said I haven't had a cat in YEARS, and that my vet discards files older than 3 years, so they won't have any information for him. He then said that that was impossible, because even the vets that discard files keep them in an archive. I am from Chicago, and I don't know about ALL vets, but my old vet does NOT keep an archive, Chicago is way too big of a city to keep every single file for every case that walks in the door. It was as if he didn't believe me or thought I was being shady. This is extremely frustrating to me, seeing as I have always taken *exceptional* care of my animals, yet I was treated as if I was only there to adopt an animal to make my weekly sacrifice to the devil.
I couldn't wait any longer, with my toddler getting antsy, and we left off with him saying that he "would call us to let us know what his final determination was". I don't really need to call him to know that I am denied, because every person that came in to inquire about her was treated as if she was still available. .. there was absolutely NO mention of anyone being already in the process of adopting her... which tells me pretty much all I need to know.
I am just sick over this. All of this. The way I was tricked, the way I was treated/spoken to, and most of all... the fact that I am still without a cat. And I am so crushed over this that I don't expect to be ready to try again for quite some time.
Thank you to all who have helped me through this. I'm going to go cry into a pillow some more.
I swear this incident took place in the twilight zone.
When we arrived at the shelter, there were a lot of people there and it was very busy. The manager guy from before was there (ugh) and we told him we were here to adopt Porsche. He apologized for not replying to my emails and phone calls and said he wasnt ignoring me, he was just busy (strange that he couldnt find time to get back to me over a period of 5 days when prior to coming in he replied to all my emails within 2 hours). After some small chit chat, he informed us that the price was not 500 as previously stated but instead was raised AGAIN to $600 once we agreed to the $500. At this point, I'm just SOOO over this malarkey... I actually called this! I said to my husband, "watch them raise the price again once we come in with the 500" and voila! I asked him why the price keeps going up, and he said "it hasn't been increased, I just made a mistake when I told you that. I am human, just like you, and I'm entitled to make mistakes!" (Word for word )
There were some pretty rude statements made by this guy that totally rubbed me the wrong way. Actually, just the tone of his voice rubs me wrong. At one point, he even said, "it's not my JOB to make people happy, I'm just here to find homes for animals". He said this after I suggested listing the price jump on purebred animals on their website so that ppl didn't make a long, unnecessary trip out there, only to be disappointed by the huge price gap. I replied, "well it may not be your job to make ppl happy, but it's definitely in the animals best interest to keep adopters happy so that they are more likely to return for future adoptions, no?" Ugh!! Me and my mouth. It was very clear to me that this guy simply did not like me. Why? I'm not entirely sure, but I think he didn't appreciate me correcting him about Porsche not being an f1 savanna. That being said, I overheard a conversation between him and another potential adopter, and he DID tell her that she was an f6 A savanna (so he obviously figured out that I was at least accurate in that regard and changed his tune).
After sitting there with my grouchy/bored toddler for 2.5 hours waiting for him to make the necessary calls, I could see that he was dragging his behind for seemingly no reason. I asked what the holdup was, and he said he needed to call my references and talk to my old vet. I said I haven't had a cat in YEARS, and that my vet discards files older than 3 years, so they won't have any information for him. He then said that that was impossible, because even the vets that discard files keep them in an archive. I am from Chicago, and I don't know about ALL vets, but my old vet does NOT keep an archive, Chicago is way too big of a city to keep every single file for every case that walks in the door. It was as if he didn't believe me or thought I was being shady. This is extremely frustrating to me, seeing as I have always taken *exceptional* care of my animals, yet I was treated as if I was only there to adopt an animal to make my weekly sacrifice to the devil.
I couldn't wait any longer, with my toddler getting antsy, and we left off with him saying that he "would call us to let us know what his final determination was". I don't really need to call him to know that I am denied, because every person that came in to inquire about her was treated as if she was still available. .. there was absolutely NO mention of anyone being already in the process of adopting her... which tells me pretty much all I need to know.
I am just sick over this. All of this. The way I was tricked, the way I was treated/spoken to, and most of all... the fact that I am still without a cat. And I am so crushed over this that I don't expect to be ready to try again for quite some time.
Thank you to all who have helped me through this. I'm going to go cry into a pillow some more.
I'm so very sorry, Frauleinash :-(
Hopefully when you are ready to consider another cat, the right one will be available and from an ethical source.
Hopefully when you are ready to consider another cat, the right one will be available and from an ethical source.
Frauleinash
Savannah Teenager
I was actually a tad bit nervous to return here after my post. I realized the other day the admin here run their own rescue, and I didn't want to come across the wrong way. I would like to clarify....
I *definitely* understand and appreciate what these shelter employees go through to ensure that these animals go to the VERY best of homes. These people often work for free. They invest an enormous amount of time, love, money, resources, and passion into these animals... and I can appreciate the grueling adoption screening that some of these places have because I know they want to be thorough, they want to be assured. They have every right to be selective.
But at a certain point, when a rescue or shelter severely limits the number of people who are able to adopt, they are essentially doing more harm than good for the animals they love so much... Because the people they turn down are likely to purchase an animal from a backyard breeder or pet store.
It *really* hurts to be treated so poorly when I know deep down that I am an excellent caregiver, but I have no solid "proof" of that simply because my old vet doesn't hold on to old files. I chose to be a responsible pet owner and only adopted *one* cat in my life... a cat that lived to be almost 18 years old! I have his adoption papers with his age and date on them, and a photo of my cat dated 15 years after that day (he was 2.5 years old when I adopted him). I think anyone who takes such great care of their cat that they can extend their life by 30% longer than most cats is, in my guess, probably taking darn good care of their pet. But hey, that's not real "proof". So I am being punished. What if I never owned a cat before? Surely that's not a good enough reason for denial??
I admit, I was not prepared for the Spanish inquisition that awaited me at this particular shelter. In Tampa SPCA, after I met with the cats and made my decision, they had me out the door in 20 minutes after they contacted my vet and my landlord, and possibly my place of employment. This place had a waaaay more thorough screening process that I was ill prepared for since there was no mention of any of it on their website or in their application.... for example, they wanted a tour of my home! Luckily, I was able to find a video I uploaded to my Facebook page when we moved in that showed the house, but had I known they'd want to see my place, I would have done a new video after we moved our furniture in, heheh. I also didn't expect them to contact my old vet and didn't bring that info with me. There was just no warning for any of this.
Patti... I actually DO have an email address for the president of the shelter and I intend on contacting her, but I'm not sure it'll do much good. The man REFUSED to give me her contact info, nor would he call her and let me speAK to her... he texted her and said he would wait for her to reply. I waited hours. I was totally over it, the waiting, the attitude, the insinuations of me being a bad owner because I can't "prove" otherwise, etc. I have my doubts that she will care or listen, but... while I was grieving yesterday, I searched for answers online and came across a very interesting article written by a woman who used to work at a shelter.. I recommend this article to anyone who works at a shelter, this really hit home for me. I want this woman to read it, and also ask her to show it to her staff.
https://www.thedodo.com/adoption-applications-perfect-family-1190660240.html
Thank you all for allowing me to pour my heart out to you, this has been a great outlet for my pain.
I *definitely* understand and appreciate what these shelter employees go through to ensure that these animals go to the VERY best of homes. These people often work for free. They invest an enormous amount of time, love, money, resources, and passion into these animals... and I can appreciate the grueling adoption screening that some of these places have because I know they want to be thorough, they want to be assured. They have every right to be selective.
But at a certain point, when a rescue or shelter severely limits the number of people who are able to adopt, they are essentially doing more harm than good for the animals they love so much... Because the people they turn down are likely to purchase an animal from a backyard breeder or pet store.
It *really* hurts to be treated so poorly when I know deep down that I am an excellent caregiver, but I have no solid "proof" of that simply because my old vet doesn't hold on to old files. I chose to be a responsible pet owner and only adopted *one* cat in my life... a cat that lived to be almost 18 years old! I have his adoption papers with his age and date on them, and a photo of my cat dated 15 years after that day (he was 2.5 years old when I adopted him). I think anyone who takes such great care of their cat that they can extend their life by 30% longer than most cats is, in my guess, probably taking darn good care of their pet. But hey, that's not real "proof". So I am being punished. What if I never owned a cat before? Surely that's not a good enough reason for denial??
I admit, I was not prepared for the Spanish inquisition that awaited me at this particular shelter. In Tampa SPCA, after I met with the cats and made my decision, they had me out the door in 20 minutes after they contacted my vet and my landlord, and possibly my place of employment. This place had a waaaay more thorough screening process that I was ill prepared for since there was no mention of any of it on their website or in their application.... for example, they wanted a tour of my home! Luckily, I was able to find a video I uploaded to my Facebook page when we moved in that showed the house, but had I known they'd want to see my place, I would have done a new video after we moved our furniture in, heheh. I also didn't expect them to contact my old vet and didn't bring that info with me. There was just no warning for any of this.
Patti... I actually DO have an email address for the president of the shelter and I intend on contacting her, but I'm not sure it'll do much good. The man REFUSED to give me her contact info, nor would he call her and let me speAK to her... he texted her and said he would wait for her to reply. I waited hours. I was totally over it, the waiting, the attitude, the insinuations of me being a bad owner because I can't "prove" otherwise, etc. I have my doubts that she will care or listen, but... while I was grieving yesterday, I searched for answers online and came across a very interesting article written by a woman who used to work at a shelter.. I recommend this article to anyone who works at a shelter, this really hit home for me. I want this woman to read it, and also ask her to show it to her staff.
https://www.thedodo.com/adoption-applications-perfect-family-1190660240.html
Thank you all for allowing me to pour my heart out to you, this has been a great outlet for my pain.
Excellent article, it should be shared at all the shelters and rescues! I know how difficult it is to get an animal from a shelter, I tried several times to adopt a puppy or dog but as soon as they got even a whiff that I was a breeder, or even that I had several cats, I would never hear back from them. Thank goodness the dog breeder I finally got my pup from had no issues with me being a breeder.
Frauleinash
Savannah Teenager
When I couldn't "prove" my vet records, my husband jumped into the conversation and offered for the guy to contact his old vet so he could prove his last dog was up to date on shots. My poor hubby thought he had saved the day because he thought he "fixed" whatever this guy's problem was with me. But the manager never even attempted to call my husbands vet, or my references (we called to see if the manager even called them, they all said no one called).
So when we left the shelter, the last we heard was that the manager would call my references and then call me to let us know his determination. Not only did he not call us, but when my husband eventually called him, he said he was denying us. When my husband asked why we were being denied when everything checked out.. this guy said to my husband that "he's going to go ahead with his professional gut feeling on this". So in reality, this guy NEVER had any intention of checking my references or anything.. he turned me down because he didn't like my legitimate questions about the cat that frustrated him because he didn't know how to answer them.
I keep torturing myself wondering if I could have done anything differently here to change the outcome... I wonder if I hadn't tried to explain that she wasn't an f1, or maybe if I didn't keep asking why the adoption fees kept going up... but I don't know. I feel like it was a fair question to ask.
What's worse, is that this experience has left me so incredibly broken that I am absolutely *terrified* to try to adopt from a shelter again. I've always been a huge advocate for adoption from such places, but now it's hard to stay positive. I truly felt like I was doing the right thing by "saving" these animals, but the two experiences I've had at the 2 shelters were radically different. I never considered that someone could say "no" to a perfectly good applicant.. "just because".
I wish I didn't fall in love with Porsche so deeply. I never thought I could feel so much pain over an animal I've only spent a few hours with.
So when we left the shelter, the last we heard was that the manager would call my references and then call me to let us know his determination. Not only did he not call us, but when my husband eventually called him, he said he was denying us. When my husband asked why we were being denied when everything checked out.. this guy said to my husband that "he's going to go ahead with his professional gut feeling on this". So in reality, this guy NEVER had any intention of checking my references or anything.. he turned me down because he didn't like my legitimate questions about the cat that frustrated him because he didn't know how to answer them.
I keep torturing myself wondering if I could have done anything differently here to change the outcome... I wonder if I hadn't tried to explain that she wasn't an f1, or maybe if I didn't keep asking why the adoption fees kept going up... but I don't know. I feel like it was a fair question to ask.
What's worse, is that this experience has left me so incredibly broken that I am absolutely *terrified* to try to adopt from a shelter again. I've always been a huge advocate for adoption from such places, but now it's hard to stay positive. I truly felt like I was doing the right thing by "saving" these animals, but the two experiences I've had at the 2 shelters were radically different. I never considered that someone could say "no" to a perfectly good applicant.. "just because".
I wish I didn't fall in love with Porsche so deeply. I never thought I could feel so much pain over an animal I've only spent a few hours with.