Which is usually brought on by getting caught in the middle of people’s inability or unwillingness to share the details I need to make an informed decision.
If the puppy was old enough for her rabies shot the day we adopted her, why not ask me to make the appointment for her shot the very next Wednesday while I’m standing in the shelter? Why let me think she wouldn’t be old enough for 30 days and the day before I’m bringing her in for the shot 30 days later, call me with a veiled threat about my not being in compliance with the signed adoption contract?
So I decided I wasn’t going to take the dog back to the shelter for the shot because we just got rid of that month-long kennel cough. I took her to the very nice and very clean Clear Springs Animal Hospital up the street where she got all kinds of vaccinations, including the rabies shot. Yep, animal control called asking why she missed her appointment, and I told the officer I’d taken care of it. That’s when she tells me the dog had been also scheduled to be spayed, and did I take care of that at the vet or what?
Goddammit! When did that come up in any conversation either at the shelter or when she called about the rabies shot? I agreed to take her next Wednesday at 7 in the freaking morning, and as we hung up, for whatever reason, the officer decided to tell me: and let’s try to remember to show up this time.
What? What did we miss? Our day spa treatment? You’re hauling 30 dogs to a metal shed where some guy is poking and snipping along an assembly line. Like you missed my one puppy who would have had an immediate heart attack once you loaded her onto the truck with those other dogs anyway.
I sat and thought and sat and thought and tried not to overreact. I hate people like that, I really do. Let me be clear: I don’t hate it when people talk to me like that. I truly hate the kind of people who do shit like that.
I called back and told her to cancel our room at the day spa; I’d get her spayed myself and fax her the rabies certificate for her records. Another threat: you were supposed to have her fixed back in—give me the fucking fax number. Please. I did say please.
Yeah, as usual, my pissed-off-ity is costing me money unnecessarily. If Q were here, he’d dropkick that dog through the goalposts of life before the shelter even opened next Wednesday morning. I’m not even sure what made me so mad. If time runs out on me, I guess you’ll see me on Animal Cops Houston standing before the judge promising to get the dog spayed within 30 days or else.
On an unrelated note: I hyperlinked to enough blogs yesterday that it felt like fringe Friday fellowship, so I’m gonna pretend it was fringe Friday fellowship. Wordle Weekend coming, I’m sure, with a great big ol’ FUCK right down the middle of the box.
I’ll join the fuck party!
Fucking fuckity FUCKERS! Who do they think they are? Fuck ‘em!
@Voix, this is gonna be some Wordle!
As someone who does a lot of animal-related volunteer work, I’ve seen quite a few of people in the industry lose the ability to distinguish between responsible pet owners and the yahoos of the world. It also doesn’t help that many of them have an easier time relating to animals than to people.
I think your impulse to just handle everything at your vet of choice will save you a lot of annoyance in the long and short run.
@Average Jane, I think my anger comes from the monitoring of my life that seems to come with adoption and child emergency room visits. Everybody is seen as a criminal and no one will remember to vaccinate the dog or hide the household poison from the babies. You’re right: it’s a skewed view of the world. One I wish they would take the time to reconsider. Thanks for the reminder.