I wish people would look passed the tip of their nose................

[mtdoramike]

when looking for a family member or when they get their income tax refund. A local breeder that I know told me that he does his best business of the year during the first 3 months of the year due to tax refunds. Then 6 to 8 months later some contact him back and ask if he would be interested in taking back the bird that he sold them because they needed the money or they didn't realize the commitment owning a bird required.

There are so many animals especially birds on Craigslist that were knee jerk impulse buys and when the people realized the commitment that a bird requires, they want to abandon the bird. Rather than honoring the commitment that they made to the bird. Pets can be and are expensive to care for just like a child.

Birds or pets should only be considered if you have disposable income, not if a person is living from pay check to pay check. It never fails, life will throw financial curve balls that a person can't forsee which will quickly depleat an already strained budget.

I think the most used excuse for rehoming a bird is "We are moving and can't take him with us". But yet most have dogs or cats that they are taking. I also LOVE the phrase "We just don't have the time that he needs or requires so it's best that we find him a forever home". I guess this eases their concience by making it appear that they are only thinking of the birds best interest and yet they want a premium price for him.

I guess it's what ever helps them sleep at night.

 

[roxynoodle]

I hear you. I constantly see both those phrases as well. I just can't read CL ads anymore! I may not be thrilled when I have a bunch of big medical expenses for my animals, but I pay it and move on. When I brought them home I made that commitment to them. I also get more joy from my animals than I do with having things like video games or expensive clothes.

 

[mtdoramike]

They are a lot more entertaining aren't they.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, they are!

 

[mnkeastman]

I agree that pets of any kind should not be impulse buys nor should they be given as surprise gifts in my opinion.

 

[luvmytooo]

Some people just dont understand that their impulse buy has a heartbeat and its their responsibility to take the utmost care of it.
They make these purchases not at all realizing that the amount of money ,time and work that goes into caring for the animal and once reality sets in , they come running back to the store for a refund.
I too have seen it many times before. But I am glad they bring the animal back instead of trying to sell it to someone who means well but has no idea about caring for it. Then these are the people who come into the vets office with it saying that their animal hasnt eaten in ten days and was fine just last night , meanwhile its taking it's last breathe. Self control is so underrated sometimes.
I got one of my dogs thi way. A man came into the office waving a small puppy inhis hands saying that he was going to dump it in the park or have it put to sleep because it has soiled his carpets and it should know better by now !! The poor thing was just 9 weeks old !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I took the puppy from him and asked politely if he had any other pets at home , he said no . I showed him the door , to say the least.
I have this dog now and she is the best dog I ever had

 

[mtdoramike]

Some people just dont understand that their impulse buy has a heartbeat and its their responsibility to take the utmost care of it.
They make these purchases not at all realizing that the amount of money ,time and work that goes into caring for the animal and once reality sets in , they come running back to the store for a refund.
I too have seen it many times before. But I am glad they bring the animal back instead of trying to sell it to someone who means well but has no idea about caring for it. Then these are the people who come into the vets office with it saying that their animal hasnt eaten in ten days and was fine just last night , meanwhile its taking it's last breathe. Self control is so underrated sometimes.
I got one of my dogs thi way. A man came into the office waving a small puppy inhis hands saying that he was going to dump it in the park or have it put to sleep because it has soiled his carpets and it should know better by now !! The poor thing was just 9 weeks old !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I took the puppy from him and asked politely if he had any other pets at home , he said no . I showed him the door , to say the least.
I have this dog now and she is the best dog I ever had

WOW, thank you for helping that poor dog. It's people like that who should never be allowed to own a pet.

 

[IcyWolf]

AMEN! Couldn't agree with you more! I started working for a vendor at the hamburg reptile show, I won't mention any names but he was a broker, a middle man, he bought reptiles for cheap off of wholesalers and private breeders and drove them up and down the east coast for days or weeks(often without any source of food and little water) until he could sell them off to local pet stores and at reptile shows. Every time I would get into his van full of animals I could just smell the death from the many that didn't make it He was so callous about it all, it was like he didn't even see them as living creatures, it was all just money and his goal was to keep them alive just long enough to sell them and move on. He would tell people whatever they wanted to hear if it meant he could make a sale, because after they walked out of that show, it wasn't his problem. His method was, if they have cash in hand, give them the animal. In one weekend, we sold over 250 baby american alligators for $40 a piece, most of them to inner city teenagers that didn't have parents present. I asked a few of them, what are you going to do when it gets bigger, this is an alligator, it has the potential to get up to 15 feet long, requires a lot of expensive food, lighting, heating, etc. And almost every answer I heard was, oh I'll just give it away, like there are so many people jumping at the opportunity to take in large gators when their stupid owners don't want them anymore because they no longer fit in a 20 gallon tank. There was one occasion I can never forget, he had a 10 gallon tank with probably 50 green and brown anoles(little lizards) that he had sat on the cold concrete floor at 6am in the middle of winter. As soon as I saw them, I told him that they were going to die(many of them were already dead) and his response, was, I know, it doesn't matter anyways, they're $2 lizards I don't want them taking up my table space! I said, "Well maybe I want them then, and I don't want them all dead by the time we leave." :54: Ugh, it's just amazing how callous some people can be. And they are always the ones that are sooo good with the customers, they shmooze them like they actually care about the animals and make it seem like they are treated so great, then you go and work behind the scenes and it makes you want to vomit. I worked for him probably 3 or 4 times and then stopped answering his calls, I just couldn't stand being any part of that and I haven't even been up to the show since just because I don't want to talk to him or see those poor animals again, and I am sure he is not the only one that is like this.

 

[BillsBirds]

I have spent my life cleaning up, or taking care of, peoples mistakes like that. We're passionate about birds, but, these same scenarios are played out for every pet. Imagine how many little chicks, ducklings, and bunnies become later unwanted Easter presents! It's shameful!

 

[luvmytooo]

That's how I got my bunny some upteen years ago !
Someone dumped her the weekend after Easter in the church yard that happened to be two doors away from my house.
We found her half starved , chewing on the grass like she hadnt eaten for a week. Oh , yeah , we rushed her to the hospital because the grass was treated with fertilizer ! If my Mom didnt shove bread down her throat to absorb the chemicals , she would have died in my arms. I think at some point in ones life you lose complete faith in the human race. I truly feel that the cures for everything , cancer , aids etc..is on this earth , but we humans are to stupid to see what's right in front of our faces. Instead we destroy the oceans , the rain forests , etc....But it wont be long now , we will be the death of ourselves sooner or later. Then the world can start over minus the a**** who screewed it up the first time...
Sorry , I had to get that off my chest I need sleep :52:

 

[roxynoodle]

More than half my animals have come from other people's mistakes. I can't even tell you the number of people who would run out and buy a Dalmatian every time that movie 101 Dalmatians came out, without doing any research on the breed. I felt like my vet was asking me at least once a month if I would take another. Obviously in order to care for all my animals though I could not take them all.

For nearly 2 decades I had people constantly dumping off cats here. I think over that time I probably got about 100 cats. Some I managed to rehome and some stayed here all their lives. I was starting to wonder if there was some invisible sign in my yard that said "Humane Society". But, once a few are here, they see cats and think it's ok to dump theirs, too. You know, every one with a farm loves animals and won't care if another comes. I think maybe 3 were actually spayed or neutered first. I don't want to know the amount of money I spent over the years getting them fixed, and giving them vaccinations and feeding them, etc. I also had 3 dogs dumped here and some chickens.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I blame a lot of this on breeders though. Yes it's true, the busiest time of year for an aviary is the first three months of the year during tax refund time. But, breeders still need to take the time and assess the new potential owner and their financial situation and educate them very clearly. Just because the phone keeps ringing with people wanting birds this time of year does not excuse us from our duty of making sure that the home is bird appropriate and that the bird is well matched into it's new home. Breeders need to learn that money is not the end all be all, and to use the word "NO".

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

This time of year drives me crazy, I get so many emails and phone calls sometimes I just want to crawl back into bed because I don't have the energy to sort through a new potential buyer at that time. It takes energy and patience to spend all day talking to people about birds, and their situation, etc.... (or have you guys not noticed by absense lately?)

 

[MikeyTN]

I have noticed!!!! I was just wondering where in the world did she go....no updates on the babies or anything.... :/

 

[roxynoodle]

I was hoping it didn't mean you were still sick

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Well, I'm back... sorry. Been swamped with all kinds of stuff lately. I'll post on here somewhere about all the babies here tonight. I missed you guys!

 

[luvmytooo]

My husband is a German Shepherd breeder for 30 years.
We have turned away countless people who wanted pups.
There are signs that will give you an idea how well they will take care of their dog. We will not sell a pup on the same day they come see them either. Go home and think about it first. We dont have a website either , never needed one. Pups are sold to return buyers who had a dog previously from us or just by word of mouth.
We never will advertise because we dont need to.
We stay in contact with almost all the people who buy our dogs.
If something isnt right with the pup we want it back regardless , that is in the contract . I can tell you one thing we sewe time and time again is peopl who come and see the parents and bring their kids and if they are out of control we discourage them from buying.
How can I let a pup go to a family whose kids are out of control ?
How can they handle a rambunctious puppy ? Not very well.
Seriously , if the parents come over to you to greet you and you act scared or dont reach out to pet them or even talk to them , you will not get a pup from us , bottom line. Dont come here and plan on not getting a little dirty , lolol. If you think letting the dog out in teh backyard to play is enough stimulation , you wont get a pup either.
There are many things we look for in a potential puppy buyer and if you dont meet those requirements , you guessed it , you dont get a pup. We dont do this for income , so i dont need to sell puppies to pay bills . I can wait till I get the right family for a puppy.
If you cant afford the vet bills now , do you think it will get cheaper as the dog gets older ? lolol. OMG some people should just have stuffed animals. I could go on with stories , but you get my drift :20: