Apathy.
This weekend has been a mix of awesome and awful.
The awesome part involves good times with good friends. The awful part involves the Wichita Animal Shelter.
The sad little boy pug that I posted a picture of earlier this week is still at the shelter, and not for lack of trying on my part.
There was some complication on Friday when I arrived at the shelter after work. Apparently the shelter worker I’d spoken with thought I was with a different pug rescue group in Kansas (one that we work closely with). They had never worked with our group and needed to go through a review process. I understand this and respect it - it’s the shelter’s job to make sure our group is who we say we are and to ensure we are fit to care for the animals we take.
That said, the shelter manager was impossible.
Me: Can I get [other rescue group] on the phone to vouch for us?
Him: (long pause) Well… it’s going to take some time for me to do research.
Me: Well, we have an hour ‘til you close. Why don’t I get them on the phone and we’ll get that part taken care of?
Him: (another long pause) I need to review the website and, you know, it’s kind of an extensive process.
Me: Why don’t I pull up the website on my BlackBerry? You can check it out now and we’ll speed the process up?
Him: (yet to make eye contact with me) Well, it’s going to take awhile…
I think, at this point, I was dangerously close to jumping across the counter and knocking some sense into him. I couldn’t figure out why he was so… apathetic about helping this sweet little pug find a new home. I should also mention that I am not very good at taking no for an answer.
Instead of causing him bodily harm, I tried a different approach.
Me: Can I adopt him? I’ll give you $100 right now. I’ll fill out the application.
Him: Well, you already mentioned that you have two dogs. You’ll need to get a permit from the city in order to have three.
This is roughly the time when I started to cry. I don’t know if this helped or hurt my cause.
It was clear, after thirty minutes of various attempts, that he was not going to budge.
I left in tears. As soon as I got in my car, my phone rang - it was one of the women from the rescue. She suggested that I call Rick, a guy we work with who works for the other rescue organization as well. He has a good relationship with the shelter and it made sense to ask for his help.
Several phone calls later, Rick and I had a plan. He had called the shelter manager and, luckily, got his cooperation. He was going to allow Rick to pick up the pug the following day. I would meet Rick at the shelter and he would hand off the pug to me.
Fast forward to Saturday afternoon. I met Rick at the shelter, only to find out the shelter manager had failed to update the pug’s paperwork after talking to Rick the night before and it was his day off. The shelter workers could not release the pug to us and even tried calling the manager, but he didn’t return their calls.
I was heartbroken. I went to visit the pug and he was, quite simply, pitiful. He was so thin and scared. He shook the whole time I petted him, but licked my nose and wagged his little curly tail. He was filthy. All I could think about was taking him home and giving him a bath and a good meal.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
I am hoping we will be able to get him tomorrow. The shelter manager should be working and will release the pug to Rick’s care. Rick will hand him off to me and I’ll do everything I can for the little guy.
He needs to be neutered (eek!), shots, and a thorough check-up. He needs a soft bed and a lot of love.
I will post pictures as soon as I have him and do everything in my power to find him a good home.
Stay tuned…
