To Adopt or not to adopt? That is the Question.
Here’s my story about adopting a kitten.
One day our family was at our veterinarian when we heard a sad cry. Now keep in mind that they have cats/kittens for adoption on a regular basis, but none of the cats/kittens have ever made me fall in love like this little creature. We followed the sound until we came upon a cage with a beautiful gray and white kitten inside. My husband made the mistake of opening the cage and letting each of us hold it. Now we ALL knew we wanted him for sure.
We spoke to our veterinarian and they made a call to the Pet Rescue for us. A few days later we received a call letting us know how to go about adopting a pet. I thought sure, we can do this. The following are the steps we need to take to adopt.
1st Fill out application and send it in.
2nd Wait for a return call to let us know if we have been approved.
Simple; right? WRONGE They failed to mention just how thorough they are.
The application was 3 pages long. So near the end I began getting creative in my answers. For example one of the questions asked “Do you understand why your pet has been spayed or neutered? If yes, why?” Well, I answered yes so now I must answer why? There is only one response I could think of and here it is “To spay is to excise / remove the ovaries of a female animal. Neuter means Lacking sex glands or organs. (How did I do?)
The application continued with questions such as: What will you do if your cat scratches furniture or shows other destructive behavior? And what will you do if your cat does not use the litter box? As you can probably imagine I was beginning to get a bit annoyed. I mean did they really want me to adopt or not. Let’s not forget that we still have to pay. So here is my answer to both questions: “He will be given proper scratching toys and placed there each time to help curb this type of behavior. We will work with our kitten patiently no matter the problem. Maybe even seek professional help if need be.
Are you familiar with heartworm disease? Yes, I responded. (What happened I can’t believe they didn’t ask “if yes, describe”.) So any hoooo I emailed the application and waited for the call.
When I got the phone call the lady on the other end of the line said Hi, I am ____________, your pet counselor. My what? I didn’t know there was such a thing, but o.k. I asked well are we approved? I can’t say at this time. I need to speak to you first, she said. She began to ask questions about my answers on the application. I made the mistake of putting in the application that yes, I would allow the cat to go outside as weather permitted, but mostly the cat would stay inside. I thought this was a responsible answer, but apparently I was wrong. She gave me a 20 minute spill on why cats should not be allowed outside. Oh! Did you know that a cat climbs trees? Did you know that cats sometimes chase and even kill birds? What if the cat falls out of said tree? Blah, blah, blah. Now, did you know I might just choke myself if I have to listen to one more “Did you know or What if scenario?
After the long and dragged out talk which included her story of her own cat’s unfortunate accident and untimely death, the conversation was over. However the adoption ordeal wasn’t. She then informed me that we must come in to finalize paperwork and speak to the pet counselor. I said what time is good for you. She said I won’t be in tomorrow, but I’ll inform the other counselor.
Well darn, you mean to tell me I have to do this all over again? (Of course I didn’t say this, but I was thinking it very strongly) My husband decided that since he was working nearby that he would go. How long could it take anyway? The application is filled out and I have already spoken to a pet counselor. He went over after lunch with my son and employee. It took 3 more hours. During this time my son and our employee walked the dogs as volunteers. Might as well do something productive. They weren’t getting in work done and apparently they weren’t going home anytime soon. Finally he was done and was cleared to take home the kitten. He paid the fee and of course gave a donation. After all this time they should have paid us. Don’t you think? My husband drove across town to our vet. where the kitten was, picked him up and finally brought him home. His name is Merve.
At least there is a happy ending. Merve adjusted quickly and is doing great. He gets along with our other 2 dogs and has become a part of our family.
But seriously do the Pet Adoption Agencies really have to be so serious. I know they want to choose a good home and make sure the adopters know what their getting into, but the may also be causing people to choose not to adopt for all the above reasons. It's too time consuming, then you pay, they hit you up for donations, not to mention the 3 page application that you may get questioned over. I felt like I was being interrogated. I just wanted to adopt a kitten not a child. I didn’t do this much work when my husband and I started our own business. Give me a break! I’m tired just thinking of it all, I’ll rest now.
After everything that has happened I would have to go with ADOPT. We love our new family member.
What do you think?
