Work stories

Yesterday:

Couple walks in with a wicker pot cover.

"We found these three kittens. Mama's run off and they was just born yesterday."

We explained how kittens that young without a mom are euthanized immediately because they'll starve to death. The woman says she got a bottle and milk but couldn't feed them because the bottle was too big. We suggested getting kitten bottles and trying again.

"I don't want to."

Well thank you, ma'am, I'll just take those kittens off to die. Much obliged.

Then they ask if I have something to put the kittens in. I say yes, prepare a transfer cage and place the kittens in it. As I'm walking away, they place the basket on the donation rack. Thanks for making me handle these kittens for no reason.

I left them screaming in the euthanasia room.

Today:

An old guy, maybe 70, 80, walks in and says he needs to drop off his dog. I explain the process and probable outcome and ask him to bring the dog in because it is too hot to be in a car, even with the windows rolled down.

Why are you surrendering the dog? "I have comp'ny and they don't like him, so I have to get rid of him." How long are they staying with you? "About a week." You could board him for a week. If you leave him here, he'll probably be put down. *shrug*

As I enter his information in, I notice he'd surrendered another dog about 3 weeks ago. "That was his mother." Would you like to know what happened to her? "Did y'all put her down?" Yes.

I renamed him Inigo.