Enter the term "how has Facebook changed animal rescue" into Google and you will find over 13,000,000 responses... It is apparent that most animal rescues have found that they can reach out to the general public with their Facebook page, and get more animals adopted!
And in a country that kills over 8,000,000 animals in our shelter system, what a GREAT use and medium, huh?
That is the positive side of Facebook... A medium that is but 11 years old, it has as many members as the Catholic Church (scary thought, huh? when the Catholic Church is a little over 2,014 years old)... And spawned the term "social media" that became a household term even the young children have heard bandied about, watched their parents glued to their cell phones and dogs get walked - one hand on the leash, one hand rapidly checking a cell phone.
Good?... Well, maybe NOT so good...
And then you have the downside of social media...
Kids that were playground bullies grew up and found the Internet to be a whole new playground to play on in cyberspace... They don't have to worry about being physically punched if someone stands up to them - they just create another online persona and continue on...
It does not take a lot of courage to sit behind a computer and vent, bully and/or slander - especially if you can do it and the person or organization you are venting about cannot read it... And we all know that EVERYTHING on the Internet is deeply researched and truthful, right?
Last August, I started my 34th year in animal rescue... I've seen small dogs returned months after being adopted because the owner changed the carpet and the new carpet does not match the dog, so the dog was surrendered back to us...
We've had a dog returned to us because the pooch liked to sleep in bed with its owners... And because the owners also sleep with their Cockatoo, they were worried... Why anyone would sleep with a Cockatoo is beyond me, but we took the pooch back at the rescue...
And I would have to take off my shoes and use my toes also to count the number of times one of the volunteers have placed a dog or puppy, gone over and over the basic items...
"This puppy has just been spayed and cannot get a bath for 10 days until the incision site has healed", "We know this dog was potty trained at the foster's home, but we suggest you don't let this dog run free in your home until they know the rules, where to go and adapt to your schedule.", etc.... to later learn they took the puppy home, gave it a bath the next day and now the incision is infected.... or they gave the dog free roam rights and it urinated on their carpet! Then a complaint is posted somewhere on the Internet with only their side of the situation explained... And of course, if it is on the Internet, it must be true, huh?
To me, it is a morally corrupt individual that hides behind a computer screen to trash a nonprofit dog rescue like this...
And all of TLC volunteers have all been given a 'No Bash/No Trash' directive in regards to ever discussing another rescue in public - it is quite clear how I feel about this to every TLC volunteer... Rescues should be backing each other up to save more animal lives - not the other way around... Especially because all rescues are painted with a broad brush in the general public's perception...
There is always two sides to every situation (sometimes there is three even), and for the majority of complaints regarding TLC I have investigated, the vast majority of them are posted on the Internet because we turned them down on an adoption, it was not a good fit for the puppy or dog, etc.
I can't also tell you the number of times adults with or without their children have come into the rescue shop and were verbally abusive to the TLC volunteers... We have had children climbing into kennels as we've asked the parents to not allow their children to do this, for not only our dogs' safety but for the children's safety as well... And then to see a terrible post on the Internet later about our organization...
There was someone who came into the rescue shop and when asked to leave, turned around and threw a red colored smoothie drink at the volunteer and all over our meet & greet area... We've had parents come in with children and M&Ms, leaving them behind like bunny buds as our dogs scrambled to eat them (and many got sick with explosive diarrhea in the next hours for the very few our volunteers could not grab before eaten)...
We once had a mom whose child have projectile vomiting over half the rescue shop (that had just been cleaned and mopped)... The mom stood there, comforting her child, who continued on with the projectile vomiting of their dinner (salad and other assorted items from Soup Plantation next door)... No attempt was made by the parent to even help clean up, nor leave with the child as I am running around behind them with towels, trying to limit the amount of vomit we all had to clean up off of floors, cabinets and walls ...
These things DON'T make the Internet... No one posts in a private Facebook forum - "I just went into the rescue shop and was rude, verbally abusive and called the volunteers some very offensive and vulgar names"... or... "My child left half a bag of M&Ms scattered all over the floor at the rescue shop as those dogs tried to eat them, and I know chocolate is deadly to dogs, but I just wanted my child to see the puppies! So it is OK! They are just dogs and volunteers, ya know?"
In over 5 years and with over 2,000 adoptions, TLC has had but one complaint to the Better Business Bureau... From a woman who put a deposit down on a teeny tiny Chihuahua puppy... California law prohibits rescues from adopting any animal over 8 weeks still intact... And the spay clinic does not spay or neuter puppies until they are at least 2 pounds or more... When her chosen puppy was still too underweight to be fixed, we refunded her deposit as we did not have the exact date the puppy would reach 2 pounds and then could be spayed... Mother Nature we do not have control over... Even so, she filed a complaint with the BBB.... Five years, over 2,000 adoptions - and even though this is not a legitimate complaint, it is the one and only...
We consistently have inspections from the county, the city, code enforcement, the humane officers... And in three years we have never even been cited or had a warning even... In a time when other rescues and pet shops have been shut down by these same organizations!
So for every bad thing you read, please remember that there is two sides to every story... And you have probably only heard one... So as you read, ask yourself, "What is the motive behind that complaint? Did the person actually discuss the issue with the owner or just resort to posting :poop: on the Internet because they could --- and the real truth could not be published along side of it?"... Is it from someone who was told 'No' on a puppy or dog they wanted... Or a disgruntled ex-volunteer?... One should ask before immediately believing the worst, ya know? And silence is viewed as support by others...
Linda
Director, TLC
P.S. I purposefully left up a 'War & Peace' diatribe on Yelp after the adopter did a foster-to-adopt on a puppy and then refused to either surrender or adopt the puppy, stealing the adoption donation. I did this just to allow folks to see what REALLY goes on... if you can steal from an organization that is saving dogs' lives, that's pretty darn low... or sit by and watch an organization's great works get dragged through the mud with false slander and/or comments --- that is morally corrupt in my book.
