EntropicByDesign
It's all so very confusing.
(not The Flash.)
Sigh.
Flash was a medium sized dog of unknown age and breeds. Estimated to be around 3-4yrs old, solid black (a very beautiful deep black) and most closely resembling a Border Collie in general shape.
Flash died today.
He was rescued in early October, apparently from a neglectful owner who kept him on a chain, attached to a porch, in all weather. He had grown from a puppy to an adult with the same collar around his neck and the same chain around that. His world was measured in feet. Not even square feet, there was far too little of it to measure in square feet. He was never trained, or taught or played with. He went his own kind of stir crazy.
Then he was rescued. The right people found out about him and the neighbors provided the evidence needed for neglect charges and the man gave him up to avoid prosecution.
Flashe's life had begun. Except it really hadn't.
Flash came to use at the resort about a day after being rescued, because the Foster family originally lined up couldn't keep him any more. After a day. He bit. More than once. They had a small child. We were contacted and took him.
We often work with local rescues. We are a business first and foremost, but we are all - owners aside - animal lovers and we all volunteer time, donate money and do some small things to help out rescue organizations. This usually takes the form of free boarding, or heavily discounted boarding, free food and toys, time spend with the animal to help acclimate them to people and such, and other odds and ends. We are however, first and foremost a for-profit business and we have to balance that against anything we do. The owners have been very clear when it comes to us helping out, we are free to do ANYTHING we want, so long as it doesn't cost them money.
So, Flash came to us, to move in to a regular room, while the rescue organization tried to find him a home, be it Foster or permanent. He was put into a room that wasn't much different in size to his chain. It was indoor though, warm and dry. He was fed regularly, was taken out every day for walks and play times and we made a couple attempts at group play, but he was aggressive towards other dogs and we couldn't keep that up. All in all though, his daily life was spent in his room.
Then another Foster family came along and Flash left.
Then Flash came back a couple days later. He had bitten the woman and her husband.
Towards the beginning of this month, we had a large project at work and had to clear a wing out, moving all the dogs to the other side of the facility. Flash got riled up while I was moving him and he bit me four times on my arm and twice on the back of my thigh and calf. None of these were bad, or damaging, and they really didn't even hurt much except the thigh one and that's only because he got skin and pinched it. I said nothing official about the bites. Flash had the odds stacked up against him already and was labeled as possibly aggressive. He was already down as being unadoptable by a family with small children, so my reporting the bites was pointless. None of them were in anger, they were all fear based and none were meant to hurt me - he couldn't help himself because of the commotion and such and he acted out. He wasn't a big dog, but he had long, sharp teeth and if he meant me hard me would have done me harm. I told other employees because they have to know that sort of thing.
The holidays came. We were 100% booked through the holidays, and Flash couldn't stay.. but he had no where to go. No one at the rescue could take him, even for a couple days until a room opened up and we couldn't turn away paying customers who had scheduled with his weeks in advance. So we took up a collection and just booked his room, paying for it ourselves, through the holidays. We had to wait for a cancellation, but we always have one or two. The rescue has been paying for his boarding, but at a heavily discounted rate with free food and extra play times and such all donated by us and others.
Flash spent his last Thanksgiving in his little room. We made a Thanksgiving dinner for the entire facility - even dogs with allergies. We had them all covered with real turkey, tons of other dog-safe treats we cooked and literally hundreds of frozen treats made from canned pumpkin and yam and other such things that dogs with allergies can eat. Ever dog there that didn't have specific injunctions against the meal, ate until they couldn't say more, and we dealt with the fallout in the form of projectile shitting, vomiting and various combinations of the two, for the next couple days.
Then yesterday Flash had TWO people.ask about adopting him. Neither had children, both were experienced dog owners. Both understood he sometimes bites.
Then today, Flash was put to sleep. He left the facility early this morning and that was the last we'll see of him. His boarding bill was 631.55, adjusted down from around 2100$.
Then the shitshow began. Two people had stepped up to take him.. but the organization that was taking care of him is a small one, they don't get donations, they just do this out of their own pocket and rely on others to be kind and helpful when they can be. Flash had cost them enormous amounts of money and was a tremendous risk of just being brought back - again. And the time and money spent on him was time and money not spent on other dogs. But the people who wanted him were right there! Why not just make a last ditch attempt? And why couldn't the boarding facility wave the fees? Why so greedy? Why can't they just wait and keep him a bit longer and see what happens?
Why did Flash die?
He died because sometimes, that's just what happens. He died because of several unfortunate things happening in several unfortunate ways and various unfortunate times.
Rescue organizations have hoops to jump through to retain their tax status which is enormously important. The potential adoptive parents have hoops to jump through the ensure a good.home for the dog. The boarding facility has hoops to jump through to help, but remain a viable business and not have half the employees fired (seriously if the owners knew how much we really put in to this kind of thing, they'd fire 6-7 of us).. no one here is to blame because everyone here is to blame.
I can point my finger at the mirror, but just as easily at the rescue org or at the people offering to try to adopt him even. Both knew he was walking a razors edge, and both waited until zero hour to step up. And they can all point at me , or each other, or whatever. And in all that blaming and finger pointing we lose sight of the fact that a small dog, who could and should have had a better life, and better people in that life, was put to sleep today because a bunch of humans who controlled his Fate just couldn't get on the same page at the same time, and because of just bad, shitty luck.
Now the fight has started and the local news is involved. An organization that does good is having to defend itself, my work is being drug through the mud for not helping in the right way and for an employee apparently telling someone Flash would be put down if he didn't find a home and a whole sled full of finger pointing accusations.
The adopters didn't step up because they hadn't reached the decision to yet. We didn't make the bill free with unlimited free boarding into the future because we can't - we are a business and there's a limit to how much we can bullshit the owners and the rescue organization didn't accept the last ditch adoption attempts because they are a small self-funded group that had spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars and huge amounts of time and called in numerous favors, all things in very short supply, on a dog who would, most likely, bite his next owner and either be rolled back onto the system, or put down immediately. They made the call that they had done what they could. Background checks are expensive, it takes time, and that all takes money and they just couldn't do it anymore, other dogs who had a better chance were being neglected because they didn't have the resources to do more.
And in the end, Flash died today and no one will remember him or what any of this is about. They'll just yell his name as they point fingers and scream at each other in an attempt to offset the blame from themselves, because if the blame goes then so does the guilt.
But I accept my guilt and what I did to hasten and ensure his death. I had to mention his bites to other employees and that worked it's way around to the rescue org, though I have never made a comment to then personally. I didn't offer to pay his tab. Or adopt him myself. Sure I have reasons for all that.. no money, 12 cats and I live in an apartment how could I? Blah blah. Because at the end of the day it doesn't matter.
Flash died and that sucks. We're all of us guilty.
Sigh.
Flash was a medium sized dog of unknown age and breeds. Estimated to be around 3-4yrs old, solid black (a very beautiful deep black) and most closely resembling a Border Collie in general shape.
Flash died today.
He was rescued in early October, apparently from a neglectful owner who kept him on a chain, attached to a porch, in all weather. He had grown from a puppy to an adult with the same collar around his neck and the same chain around that. His world was measured in feet. Not even square feet, there was far too little of it to measure in square feet. He was never trained, or taught or played with. He went his own kind of stir crazy.
Then he was rescued. The right people found out about him and the neighbors provided the evidence needed for neglect charges and the man gave him up to avoid prosecution.
Flashe's life had begun. Except it really hadn't.
Flash came to use at the resort about a day after being rescued, because the Foster family originally lined up couldn't keep him any more. After a day. He bit. More than once. They had a small child. We were contacted and took him.
We often work with local rescues. We are a business first and foremost, but we are all - owners aside - animal lovers and we all volunteer time, donate money and do some small things to help out rescue organizations. This usually takes the form of free boarding, or heavily discounted boarding, free food and toys, time spend with the animal to help acclimate them to people and such, and other odds and ends. We are however, first and foremost a for-profit business and we have to balance that against anything we do. The owners have been very clear when it comes to us helping out, we are free to do ANYTHING we want, so long as it doesn't cost them money.
So, Flash came to us, to move in to a regular room, while the rescue organization tried to find him a home, be it Foster or permanent. He was put into a room that wasn't much different in size to his chain. It was indoor though, warm and dry. He was fed regularly, was taken out every day for walks and play times and we made a couple attempts at group play, but he was aggressive towards other dogs and we couldn't keep that up. All in all though, his daily life was spent in his room.
Then another Foster family came along and Flash left.
Then Flash came back a couple days later. He had bitten the woman and her husband.
Towards the beginning of this month, we had a large project at work and had to clear a wing out, moving all the dogs to the other side of the facility. Flash got riled up while I was moving him and he bit me four times on my arm and twice on the back of my thigh and calf. None of these were bad, or damaging, and they really didn't even hurt much except the thigh one and that's only because he got skin and pinched it. I said nothing official about the bites. Flash had the odds stacked up against him already and was labeled as possibly aggressive. He was already down as being unadoptable by a family with small children, so my reporting the bites was pointless. None of them were in anger, they were all fear based and none were meant to hurt me - he couldn't help himself because of the commotion and such and he acted out. He wasn't a big dog, but he had long, sharp teeth and if he meant me hard me would have done me harm. I told other employees because they have to know that sort of thing.
The holidays came. We were 100% booked through the holidays, and Flash couldn't stay.. but he had no where to go. No one at the rescue could take him, even for a couple days until a room opened up and we couldn't turn away paying customers who had scheduled with his weeks in advance. So we took up a collection and just booked his room, paying for it ourselves, through the holidays. We had to wait for a cancellation, but we always have one or two. The rescue has been paying for his boarding, but at a heavily discounted rate with free food and extra play times and such all donated by us and others.
Flash spent his last Thanksgiving in his little room. We made a Thanksgiving dinner for the entire facility - even dogs with allergies. We had them all covered with real turkey, tons of other dog-safe treats we cooked and literally hundreds of frozen treats made from canned pumpkin and yam and other such things that dogs with allergies can eat. Ever dog there that didn't have specific injunctions against the meal, ate until they couldn't say more, and we dealt with the fallout in the form of projectile shitting, vomiting and various combinations of the two, for the next couple days.
Then yesterday Flash had TWO people.ask about adopting him. Neither had children, both were experienced dog owners. Both understood he sometimes bites.
Then today, Flash was put to sleep. He left the facility early this morning and that was the last we'll see of him. His boarding bill was 631.55, adjusted down from around 2100$.
Then the shitshow began. Two people had stepped up to take him.. but the organization that was taking care of him is a small one, they don't get donations, they just do this out of their own pocket and rely on others to be kind and helpful when they can be. Flash had cost them enormous amounts of money and was a tremendous risk of just being brought back - again. And the time and money spent on him was time and money not spent on other dogs. But the people who wanted him were right there! Why not just make a last ditch attempt? And why couldn't the boarding facility wave the fees? Why so greedy? Why can't they just wait and keep him a bit longer and see what happens?
Why did Flash die?
He died because sometimes, that's just what happens. He died because of several unfortunate things happening in several unfortunate ways and various unfortunate times.
Rescue organizations have hoops to jump through to retain their tax status which is enormously important. The potential adoptive parents have hoops to jump through the ensure a good.home for the dog. The boarding facility has hoops to jump through to help, but remain a viable business and not have half the employees fired (seriously if the owners knew how much we really put in to this kind of thing, they'd fire 6-7 of us).. no one here is to blame because everyone here is to blame.
I can point my finger at the mirror, but just as easily at the rescue org or at the people offering to try to adopt him even. Both knew he was walking a razors edge, and both waited until zero hour to step up. And they can all point at me , or each other, or whatever. And in all that blaming and finger pointing we lose sight of the fact that a small dog, who could and should have had a better life, and better people in that life, was put to sleep today because a bunch of humans who controlled his Fate just couldn't get on the same page at the same time, and because of just bad, shitty luck.
Now the fight has started and the local news is involved. An organization that does good is having to defend itself, my work is being drug through the mud for not helping in the right way and for an employee apparently telling someone Flash would be put down if he didn't find a home and a whole sled full of finger pointing accusations.
The adopters didn't step up because they hadn't reached the decision to yet. We didn't make the bill free with unlimited free boarding into the future because we can't - we are a business and there's a limit to how much we can bullshit the owners and the rescue organization didn't accept the last ditch adoption attempts because they are a small self-funded group that had spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars and huge amounts of time and called in numerous favors, all things in very short supply, on a dog who would, most likely, bite his next owner and either be rolled back onto the system, or put down immediately. They made the call that they had done what they could. Background checks are expensive, it takes time, and that all takes money and they just couldn't do it anymore, other dogs who had a better chance were being neglected because they didn't have the resources to do more.
And in the end, Flash died today and no one will remember him or what any of this is about. They'll just yell his name as they point fingers and scream at each other in an attempt to offset the blame from themselves, because if the blame goes then so does the guilt.
But I accept my guilt and what I did to hasten and ensure his death. I had to mention his bites to other employees and that worked it's way around to the rescue org, though I have never made a comment to then personally. I didn't offer to pay his tab. Or adopt him myself. Sure I have reasons for all that.. no money, 12 cats and I live in an apartment how could I? Blah blah. Because at the end of the day it doesn't matter.
Flash died and that sucks. We're all of us guilty.
that's a fucking heavy story.
