BG Animal Lovers: Humane Society can't treat cat, can afford publicist

[Yuri-G]

http://news.yahoo.com/rescue-group-c...194826690.html

PHOENIX (AP) — Animal lovers threatened to pull donations to an animal rescue group and the public flooded the agency with scathing comments and calls after a man's cat was euthanized when he couldn't afford its medical care, prompting the Arizona Humane Society to go into damage-control mode Wednesday.

The group has hired a publicist, removed dozens of comments on its Facebook page and directed a team of five volunteers to respond to the overwhelming calls and emails it has received since The Arizona Republic published a weekend story about Daniel Dockery and his 9-month-old cat, Scruffy.

Dockery, a 49-year-old recovering heroin addict, told the Phoenix newspaper that he took Scruffy to a Humane Society center on Dec. 8 because she had a cut from a barbed-wire fence, an injury that he described as non-life-threatening. The agency said it would cost $400 to treat Scruffy, money he didn't have.

The Humane Society cited policy when it declined to accept a credit card over the phone from Dockery's mother in Michigan or to wait for her to wire the money. The staff said if he signed papers surrendering the cat, Scruffy would be treated and put in foster care, he said.

Instead, Scruffy was euthanized several hours later.

Dockery told the Republic that he was devastated.

"Now I've got to think about how I failed that beautiful animal," Dockery said. "I failed her. ... That's so wrong. There was no reason for her not to be treated."

He described the cat as helping him stay off drugs for more than a year, the longest he had ever been clean. He hand-fed the feline before she opened her eyes at 4 days old, giving her fresh tuna and letting her sleep on his pillow.

Stacy Pearson, who was hired by the agency specifically to deal with media questions about the cat, said Dockery's case has led to two changes. The Arizona Humane Society has set up an account, funded through donations, that would cover the costs of emergency treatment of animals whose owners need a day or two to come up with money for payments. And the group is now accepting credit card payments by phone, Pearson said.

Dozens of scathing comments have since inundated the group's Facebook page, with animal lovers demanding to know why the cat was put down. Pearson said angry comments were removed because of their content: One called for the staff to be euthanized, while another said what happened to Scruffy was murder.

Pearson said Scruffy was put down over a number of reasons, including Dockery's lack of immediate funds, a lack of veterinarians to treat her and what Pearson described as a very serious cut on Scruffy from her abdomen to her knee that went to the muscle.

She said the Arizona Humane Society at the time didn't accept credit card payments over the phone because of possible fraud and can't treat pets with only a promise from owners that they can pay the next day. She said staff had every intention of getting Scruffy the help she needed but the number of animals requiring help at the group's second-chance clinic was too much for the resources available.

If Dockery had been able to pay, Scruffy would have been treated at the facility where he brought her, Pearson said.

"There was no malicious intent to take Scruffy away from her father," Pearson said. "Pulling funding is only going to make a problem like this worse."

On Facebook, where only the agency's executive director is allowed to post comments now, Guy Collison wrote that "Scruffy's story is heartbreaking, and underscores the worst-case-scenario of need eclipsing resources available." He said that his agency has always done what's best for animals.

In less than an hour after his statement was posted, more than 100 people responded, with most slamming the agency and some defending it as doing the best it can with available resources.

Pearson said the group told Dockery on Tuesday that when he's ready for another pet, he could come in and pick one out, but he declined, telling them: "No thanks."


thoughts:
- very first thing that popped to mind: you can't afford to treat a cat or hold it for 24 hours, but you can afford to hire a publicist to deal specifically with the fallout?
- I guess it's ok because clearly you hired this bitch on the cheap. "it couldn't be helped" and "don't pull your money or it'll get worse," really? a five-year-old could have done better.
- the mom offered to wire the money. I don't know how long the wait was going to be but wires are immediately available upon initiation, so it stands to reason that at most they would have had to wait 24 hours, probably less.
- is there really a serious problem with credit card fraud being used to treat sick animals?
- and the kitten was keeping him clean from heroin. come on!
- I think of this and I can only picture

Spoiler: show

http://slurmed.com/fanart/sean/036_scruffy.jpg

would you euthanize this adorable creature? WOULD YOU?!
- in all seriousness, glad to see some positive changes to their organization coming from this. but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. poor kitten

[pohibaba]

This reminds me of the 90% kill rate that PETA has.

[Pyro]

They said the number of animals requiring help at the clinic was too much to handle with the resources available. So instead of euthanizing an animal that had been there for weeks without being adopted, they euthanize one that has been there less than 24 hours. Although, the way they are describing the injury sounds really bad.

[archibaldcrane]

it's just a cat

don't have pets if you both can't afford them AND are going to cry a river if they get put down because you can't afford them

[Ddz]

If it was a human, no fucks would be given that day.

[Ksandra]

it's just a cat

don't have pets if you both can't afford them AND are going to cry a river if they get put down because you can't afford them

while I agree with you, what makes me upset with the situation is this:

The staff said if he signed papers surrendering the cat, Scruffy would be treated and put in foster care, he said.

Instead, Scruffy was euthanized several hours later.

The humane society cannot require you to sign a release form. He could have gone home and waited for his mom to wire the money then bring the cat back. The fact they said (if we're to believe the article that is) the cat would be treated and put into foster care was a huge lie is something to get pretty pissed about.

I haven't ever had a cat treated at a humane society (I get my pets from there, but got to normal vets for care). I obviously haven't been to a lot of different vets, but from the few I've had anytime there is a major operation you have to sign a release that says something along the lines of "if in an emergency if we are unable to contact you are we allowed to euthanize your pet if necessary". You can opt out of this. All vets will do their best to get your permission first when they feel they have to, if say the operation is failing, and if you sign it's ok they'll only do it as a last resort.

It seems weird they wouldn't notify him prior to doing it.

[Surealistic]

it's just a cat

don't have pets if you both can't afford them AND are going to cry a river if they get put down because you can't afford them

first off, and i do realize this means that i have already lost this argument, but fuck you, sometimes people are down on their luck, shit happens, and while he did not have the cash on him, he was able to get it, so by proxy he COULD afford the cat

and im going to go out on a limb here and say it will be days if not hours before he is back on heroin, i get what he is going through, my cat is my world right now, if anything happened to him, i cant say what i would do

[Ashmada]

While it's a shame the cat was killed, that's pretty damn horrible priorities. When you're struggling financially, you don't spend 400$ to treat a pet, should be common sense.

[archibaldcrane]

i get what he is going through, my cat is my world right now, if anything happened to him, i cant say what i would do

your cat is going to die, start preparing early

[Yuri-G]

it's just a cat

and you've lost me already

also, what ksandra said

If it was a human, no fucks would be given that day.

do you seriously believe this? because I don't. people caring about animals does not equate to people not caring about other people and there's no reason it should.

[Yuri-G]

While it's a shame the cat was killed, that's pretty damn horrible priorities. When you're struggling financially, you don't spend 400$ to treat a pet, should be common sense.

his mom was gonna pay for it and we don't know what her financial situation was. and before you say "why didn't she pay to help her struggling son out," he was a heroin addict. she had probably pumped plenty of money into him already.

[Ksandra]

If it was a human, no fucks would be given that day.

If someone was on life support, and the hospital said they'd be taken care of, yet pulled the plug several hours later you think it wouldn't make the news?

[archibaldcrane]

do you seriously believe this? because I don't. people caring about animals does not equate to people not caring about other people and there's no reason it should.

there wouldn't be a thread about it

[miokomioko]

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/20...77-d32kpwf.jpg

RIP

[thetruepandagod]

I liked the part where the 9 month old cat helped him stay clean for more than a year. It's like people don't realize how many pets are actually killed each day, the only thing i find wrong with this whole situation is that they didn't tell him prior to putting it down which is very odd.

[Yuri-G]

there are threads about people getting killed all the time. kuya is constantly posting threads about atrocities in the middle east. that's a terrible argument, it's untrue, and it misses the point.

[Yuri-G]

I liked the part where the 9 month old cat helped him stay clean for more than a year. It's like people don't realize how many pets are actually killed each day, the only thing i find wrong with this whole situation is that they didn't tell him prior to putting it down which is very odd.

they said it helped him stay clean, not that it was the only element in his sobriety. and pets have been proven to have an enormous effect on the human psyche - cat owners actually live longer on average due to lowered levels of stress - so it's not entirely out of reason to believe that the cat contributed in some manner to his sobriety.

[thetruepandagod]

Just nitpicking for my own amusement and i don't disagree with you, although i think dogs are a healthier companions for humans than cats.

[Ksandra]

I liked the part where the 9 month old cat helped him stay clean for more than a year. It's like people don't realize how many pets are actually killed each day, the only thing i find wrong with this whole situation is that they didn't tell him prior to putting it down which is very odd.

tbh I think that's what most people are finding wrong with the situation. As I said, any vet will have you sign a release to answer whether you are ok with them having to do it without permission and they usually only will do that under extreme circumstances. So to me it's pretty fucked up they did it without telling him.

I think people are aware a lot of animals have to be put down for various reasons everyday.

[thetruepandagod]

If i worked at a humane society and a guy that looked like an addict with no money brought me in a cat with a cut down to the muscle, i might put it down without consulting him as i see no future for this cat with the owner, as it would be costly and illegal for me to fix it up and adopt it to a better family. That's really the only train of thought i can find for them doing what they did.