Update on Sunny Meadows

I received an email back from the lady that called my mother. I take it back that she is a pretentious snob. I do believe that she cares about animals, and probably IS doing a great service with Memphis animals, and lets just say dogs for now. And yes, a home even a foster home is better than death. However, you ask any child, a foster home is not a "home". The point is to provide shelter until they are given the opportunity for a real home. You can't keep them in foster care without a loss. So I think she believes she is doing good for dogs in her care, however, the criteria she has mentally for potential adoptive parents is greatly misconstrued.

She still wants to point out the fact that my Mom's rat terrier (who is a huge 35 lb version, not the real ideal size for a true rat terrier) is "outside". I don't think she gets the fact that it still is irrelevant to the adoption of a rescue dog that has never known a home. You need to evaluate the actual living conditions. "Outside dog" conjures up images of a dog chained to a dog house in the farthest reaches of the yard. While my dogs personally live indoors with me, I do know that you can set living conditions outdoors that are perfectly fine. It's the quality of time you spend with the dog that matters. I've seen indoor dogs neglected just as much as potentionally an outside dog.

Anyway, I think she has good intentions, but then I don't know her either. I still think that many shelters operate with a profit, and there are not always "volunteers" but paid employees, it's just a dog business for many.

The bottom line is, while she works with these dogs and saves them from death, by being so unreasonably moralistic, she is denying these dogs the opportunity of their "forever home" they keep preaching about. I'm beginning to think there are fewer dog adoptions at all except by the foster parents that take them in with many others. Again, better a foster home than no home at all, or a cruel one.

A Haunting in Connecticut

I watched this movie last night, and it was pretty good. It was suspenseful, and had some good moments. I love ghost stories and haunted houses. Since it purports to be "Based on a true story", I had to look it up. Check out DreadCentral's site about it. I tend to believe it is like the Lutz house in Amityville. A hoax thought up to sell a book. Hey, we all love horror stories. But no one likes to be duped. Read about those Warrens, the ghost hunters. LOL! What a couple of nuts. They even claim their customers are all crazy. So really, they are just vultures. I'm sure many people do have a haunting of some kind, and it's too bad there are nuts like the Warrens that build it up as exorcism material.

Here's a copy of the Youtube video from "A Current Affair".

Animal Rescue Shelters - Memphis in particular

First, I do think these shelters do a valuable service in saving dogs from kill shelters, and finding homes from puppy mills that are shut down. I probably give more credit to those individuals that are foster parents to these dogs more.

Shelters are given a good deal of their equipment and food from donations. Donations from companies and individuals. Even many vets donate their services. When my elderly cat passed away, I gave back to the vet her food and meds to be used for a shelter animal.

So why the $200 cost of adopting one of their animals? I know they need to charge something to help ensure a person's intent of taking care of the animal. But why the high cost? Where does this money actually go? It doesn't cost that much to get an animal from the Memphis Animal Shelter, and they are spayed/neutered before being released.

And why do shelters make it so difficult to adopt the animal? They act as if they don't really want to let the animal go. Do they need so many in their headcount to get aid from food companies? Makes you wonder.

The city shelters are probably the better ones to go to rather than these little "shelters" which are really just a network of people fostering dogs/cats.

Don't bother with Sunny Meadows

Tennessee Safe Haven for Pets

Yeah right. They call my mother after receiving her inquiry on a rescue dog to adopt. Probably too early in the morning, but at least they called back which is better than most Memphis shelters. Then she is interrogated about proof of heartworm protection on her dogs (valid question), and why does she have an outside dog. And why will the indoor dog be sleeping in the Florida room at night. All of this was done in a pretentious, condenscending tone that made my mother feel like a horrible dog owner that wasn't good enough to have fish, much less a dog from them.

First, I help my mom purchase heartworm protection. So she did not have immediate proof of purchase available, because I bought the last ones. This nut job that called my mom said that it didn't sound like she could afford a dog. For christs sake! Tell me what is the harm in a daughter helping out with purchasing the heartguard meds??? You can't get the stuff without a vet's approval anyway. All I did was pay for it.

Second, my mom's outside dog is a rat terrier. He is a hyperactive rat terrier. My mom has a place in the garage for him where he sleeps, and he has the backyard to run around in. He has heat in the winter, and a fan in the summer, and comes into the house for hours every day. He just prefers to live outside. He stays inside when the temps hit freezing, and it gets too hot. He is NOT a tiny little lapdog that wants to lounge on the couch all day. After a few hours, he's good to go. My mom and dad play "throw the ball" to him, and he gets long walks daily. His life is pretty damn good. Not all dogs are indoor dogs.

Third, this horrible excuse for a shelter volunteer, who never even visited the house or met my mother, presumed to make wild accusations about how my parents treated their dogs. The woman wanted to know why the new dog was going to sleep in the Florida room at night?? My parents house can't be 1,000 sq feet. Setting up a bed for the dog in a closed room of the house for their nightly rest is perfectly acceptable and RECOMMENDED by dog trainers. I guess if my mom wasn't going to let the dog sleep in the bed with her, she was a bad dog owner. The "Florida" room is heated and cooled and actually the best room in the house. It has a tiled floor, where the dog will be using its paper/puppy pads and is also the largest room. It was a stupid thing to say by this idiot, and greatly hurt my mom's feeling.

My advice is, don't adopt from Sunny Meadows - Tennessee Safe Haven for Pets. They obvious don't want to place their dogs, and will make you jump through hoops in order to give a dog a loving home. This shelter apparently is run by house-wife/volunteers who are pretentious snobs with a control problem. They don't think anyone who doesn't live in Germantown/Cordova/Collierville are worthy of adopting their dogs. Go somewhere else. You'll find a wonderful baby where you don't end up feeling guilty for not living up to these unreasonable requests and demands from people who don't even bother to meet you in person.