Work story

A gem from yesterday, because I am too tired to type the others. This one takes it, though.

A lady comes in with two separate cat carriers and her 10-year-old daughter. There is a kitten in each carrier. She puts a pink carrier on the counter and says, "I need to surrender this kitten." How long have you had it? "Oh, I just got it yesterday." Where?"Franklin County." Is it friendly and healthy? "Well..."

The kitten is dying. It is a 2 month old black and white kitten. Its eyes are almost completely crusted shut, its eyes are closed, it is breathing fast out of its mouth. I am absolutely shocked when she opens the carrier. That kitten is dying. "Oh, no, I just came from Banfield and they said it's fine, it just doesn't feel well." No ma'am, that kitten is dying. Someone lied to you. That's not normal. Did they give you any medicine? "No." Then you need to go back and yell at someone for not telling you your kitten is dying.

Real story, partially inferred, mostly pieced together from conversations with the doctor from Banfield and staff from Franklin County Animal Control:

Woman adopts two kittens for $25. Kitten appears to have an eye infection or cold, but woman insists that she will take kitten to vet and take care of it. Woman takes kitten to vet next day, kitten is severely congested but woman declines medicine and states she will simply surrender kitten to shelter because she cannot afford treatment. ONE HOUR LATER, kitten is presented with what appears to be moderate to serious URI (upper respiratory infection; read: cold) exacerbated by heat exhaustion. Despite claiming to have gone directly from vet to shelter, it is suspected that kitten was left in car for at least half an hour while family presumably ate lunch.

5 more minutes in the car, and that kitten would have died.

Not to mention the cat that wasn't surrendered. What the hell is going to happen to that cat?

During our conversation, I was sure that the kitten was going to die before I could even get it back to euthanasia. In fact, its head lolled back and its mouth was hanging open for most of the conversation.

Luckily, though, our 20 minute process enabled the kitten to cool down, and he even perked up when I put his carrier on the table in euthanasia. When the techs went to put him down, he was lively enough that they took him to vet treatment instead, where they got some fluids in him. He's dehydrated with moderate URI, but alive.