Anyone work at a shelter, something that really irks me about BPs in shelters

Why the heck can't breeders adopt from shelters!!! It's so frustrating! I just emailed yet another shelter about a BP, sometimes I just offer my advice-don't advertise the BP as a het pied if you don't want someone to adopt it for breeding or resale. Anyhow, I emailed about a BP that has been in the shelter for months, I'm thinking it was at least 6 months ago that I first I saw it on there. In the email I stated that I was a breeder, used my website email, etc, and asked why I wouldn't be a candidate when I was clearly capable of caring for the animal. Although opinionated, I stated that I was way more experienced than any first time owner and the BP would be given an optimal living environment from day one, not a month or two later when the snake still hasn't ate, has bad sheds, is dehydrated, or the new owner gets tired of having it and all the problems and puts it up on craigslist.

It's almost like shelters have a copy paste for this question. Reasons we don't adopt to breeders:
1) You keep them in tiny tubs and they never get to be social or happy
2) The babies will just end up back here / you're just adding to the problem
3) You will resell the snake to make money off it.

*sigh*

I would like to hear from someone who volunteers/works at a shelter about their opinion. It just seems like a breeder would be the ideal home, but maybe I'm crazy!

They never get to be social or happy? When was the last time they interviewed a BP owned by a breeder? I mean really, I think a healthy, fed, well-kept snake is probably a pretty happy snake. I'm just now learning more about them in the hopes of having some in the future, and even I have figured that much out.

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Originally Posted by ShortStack

They never get to be social or happy? When was the last time they interviewed a BP owned by a breeder? I mean really, I think a healthy, fed, well-kept snake is probably a pretty happy snake. I'm just now learning more about them in the hopes of having some in the future, and even I have figured that much out.

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Trust me, I've heard some pretty ridiculous things from the shelters in my area. One told me that BPs will become depressed and stop eating if they are kept in 'tiny' enclosures and never socialized. I understand that people think it's cruel to keep BPs in tubs, I get that, but to say that they become depressed.....It took everything I could to simply correct them by saying that's entirely untrue and leave it at that. I was talking to them in person and I just about died laughing!

I would not even mention being a breeder.I would have a freind go and adopt it for you :gj:.

It just seems logical that a breeder makes a good owner. Obviously if you're breeding, you're able to keep them alive. Therefore, you probably have a pretty good idea of what you're doing, or else you wouldn't be able to keep breeding. You wouldn't be adding to the problem, but helping to reverse it.

I agree with you. I used to work and volunteer at the Humane Society. They were really funny about who got to adopt what. In the same sentence 8 to 10 dogs were put down because the place was over run. It was even worse for the cats. Me as employ couldn't take one single animal home with me because I already had three. I did sneak and get a kitty that I fell in love with my mom adopted it for me dropped it off at my house lol.

I think they just have it in there head that breeders just add to the population of unwanted pets. The irresponsible pet owers ruin things for the people that really truly care about animals no matter what they are.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

I would not even mention being a breeder.I would have a freind go and adopt it for you :gj:.

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If I ever see one that I have to have, I'm doing that for sure! If they want to be jerks they can have that BP sit in there office till they find a "good owner".

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Originally Posted by ShortStack

It just seems logical that a breeder makes a good owner. Obviously if you're breeding, you're able to keep them alive. Therefore, you probably have a pretty good idea of what you're doing, or else you wouldn't be able to keep breeding. You wouldn't be adding to the problem, but helping to reverse it.

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Yeah! That's what I thought! I *used* to think that they would prefer adopting to a breeder, but apparently not. In my area at least, there are very few BP that end up in shelters, they are even somewhat rare to find on craigslist. This month was crazy, there was three on there! :rolleye2:

It's sort of like the argument that people need to stop breeding rats because there are so many rats in shelters/rescue. I can think of a real good way to find them "homes".... Unless they were clearly pets, no, but if they are crazy wack jobs, like most shelter/rescue rats, supper time!

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Originally Posted by DellaF

I agree with you. I used to work and volunteer at the Humane Society. They were really funny about who got to adopt what. In the same sentence 8 to 10 dogs were put down because the place was over run. It was even worse for the cats. Me as employ couldn't take one single animal home with me because I already had three. I did sneak and get a kitty that I fell in love with my mom adopted it for me dropped it off at my house lol.

I think they just have it in there head that breeders just add to the population of unwanted pets. The irresponsible pet owers ruin things for the people that really truly care about animals no matter what they are.

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I knew there had to be someone on here! It does seem like they have odd rules about who can and can't adopt. Whenever I go look at cats I say that I have way too many as it is and when they ask how many I have (four) they say, oh you have plenty of room for a few more!

I suppose I understand why they assume that all breeders, no matter the species, are bad people and just adding to the problem. And good point, irresponsible people to cause a lot of problems.

You should ask them when the last time was they saw a "socialized" BP on a leash at the park.

Ask them if they've ever seen your snakes or been in your home? How do they know what your snakes live in ?

If you are only adding to the problem, they should recommend and pay for having the snakes "fixed" to prevent more unwanted pythons.

If they think you are just going to re-sell it, why don't you ask them how long that snake has been waiting for someone to adopt it, and why if there are soooo many people out there waiting to "buy" this snake from you one of them hasn't adopted it before now.

I hate narrow minded people.:mad:

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

You should ask them when the last time was they saw a "socialized" BP on a leash at the park.

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lol, I'm imagining an off-leash Snake Park right now... So many social and happy snakes.

But really... I have owned and had the opportunity to work with animals for my entire life (farms / animal hosptials) and not once has an 'unwanted' animal been refused to a good home. I myself am a firm believer in adoption and have enough barn cats to prove this. The politics behind the operation of many shelters is ridiculous and leads to the destruction of so many good and loving animals.

Its a shame that a small group of individuals who have abused the system have ruined it for the rest of us.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

You should ask them when the last time was they saw a "socialized" BP on a leash at the park.

Ask them if they've ever seen your snakes or been in your home? How do they know what your snakes live in ?

If you are only adding to the problem, they should recommend and pay for having the snakes "fixed" to prevent more unwanted pythons.

If they think you are just going to re-sell it, why don't you ask them how long that snake has been waiting for someone to adopt it, and why if there are soooo many people out there waiting to "buy" this snake from you one of them hasn't adopted it before now.

I hate narrow minded people.:mad:

Gale

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:8: That about killed me! :rofl:

They are really narrow minded. I'll have to bring those points up next time I go to the shelter or send an email! All great points :gj:

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Originally Posted by el8ch

lol, I'm imagining an off-leash Snake Park right now... So many social and happy snakes.

But really... I have owned and had the opportunity to work with animals for my entire life (farms / animal hosptials) and not once has an 'unwanted' animal been refused to a good home. I myself am a firm believer in adoption and have enough barn cats to prove this. The politics behind the operation of many shelters is ridiculous and leads to the destruction of so many good and loving animals.

Its a shame that a small group of individuals who have abused the system have ruined it for the rest of us.

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:rofl: No kidding. Gosh, now I feel like a terrible owner, I should be talking my snakes in public terrifying people so my snakes don't get depressed in their tiny plastic tubs. I wouldn't want my snakes to become food aggressive, snake aggressive, or bite someone because they were never socialized! :rolleyes:

simple solution: dont tell them you are a breeder, problem solved, and you have a nice new snake that will be happier for it

There is a shelter near me that charges $100 for a kitten and $75 for an adult cat. Then they wonder why no one adopts them and why they are always full so that people can't leave their unwanted pets there. They do have a great low cost neuter/spay program though that I have used a few times. About 10 years ago I wanted to adopt a kitten, this was before I found out about the huge "adoption" fee. They refused to let me adopt a kitten because they worried my 3 year old son would hurt it. He just sat on the floor and held it. He didn't do anything to it. So I got mad, left, and went to the pound where they wanted me to take anything and everything I wanted to get it out of there.

They say they want to help these animals, but don't go about helping them find homes. They want some kind of perfect home with no kids, lots of money, no other pets, etc so they end up having to put them to sleep instead of letting a not so perfect home have the animal. We can all hop on craigslist right now and grab 2 dozen free kittens right now. I don't understand what some of these shelters are thinking. I realize that they need a fee to operate and care for other animals and they should have a basic idea that the person is at least not a horder and is able to afford cat food. But geeezzz. Aggervates me.

Yeah and I wouldn't tell anyone I was a breeder either unless I am talking to another breeder.

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Originally Posted by lusciousdragon

There is a shelter near me that charges $100 for a kitten and $75 for an adult cat. Then they wonder why no one adopts them and why they are always full so that people can't leave their unwanted pets there. They do have a great low cost neuter/spay program though that I have used a few times. About 10 years ago I wanted to adopt a kitten, this was before I found out about the huge "adoption" fee. They refused to let me adopt a kitten because they worried my 3 year old son would hurt it. He just sat on the floor and held it. He didn't do anything to it. So I got mad, left, and went to the pound where they wanted me to take anything and everything I wanted to get it out of there.

They say they want to help these animals, but don't go about helping them find homes. They want some kind of perfect home with no kids, lots of money, no other pets, etc so they end up having to put them to sleep instead of letting a not so perfect home have the animal. We can all hop on craigslist right now and grab 2 dozen free kittens right now. I don't understand what some of these shelters are thinking. I realize that they need a fee to operate and care for other animals and they should have a basic idea that the person is at least not a horder and is able to afford cat food. But geeezzz. Aggervates me.

Yeah and I wouldn't tell anyone I was a breeder either unless I am talking to another breeder.

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Ah, i agree 100%

I don't get all the people/shelters/rescues that want people to adopt dogs tell them that they NEED a fenced in back yard. No, you don't need a fenced in yard to own a dog.

If they spent more time talking to the people they adopted to, and less time thinking of ways to make animals lives perfect, they'd have more adopters. I would love to get a third cat, but a lot of the shelters refuse to let anyone have animals who rent their housing. My landlord loves my cats and I have a clause on my lease about owning animals (and how I'm aloud to do it), then they want a home visit. :/ Also, the adoption fees here are outrageous, 135 minimum for a kitten. Usually around 100 for an adult cat. The dog fees are CRAZY.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

Ah, i agree 100%

I don't get all the people/shelters/rescues that want people to adopt dogs tell them that they NEED a fenced in back yard. No, you don't need a fenced in yard to own a dog.

If they spent more time talking to the people they adopted to, and less time thinking of ways to make animals lives perfect, they'd have more adopters. I would love to get a third cat, but a lot of the shelters refuse to let anyone have animals who rent their housing. My landlord loves my cats and I have a clause on my lease about owning animals (and how I'm aloud to do it), then they want a home visit. :/ Also, the adoption fees here are outrageous, 135 minimum for a kitten. Usually around 100 for an adult cat. The dog fees are CRAZY.

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I don't have a fenced in yard and my dog stays in my yard because I showed him the borders of the yard and told him not to go over them.
If you want another cat I'd just get on Craigslist or the newspaper and get one there. $135 is really high, I thought the $100 here for a kitten was high. I think they also ask such a high price to make the owner feels more of a commitment towards the animal since you had to pay so much for it. We do know that people are like that and take better care of things they had to pay for. I have an alley cat kitten I found outside. He is treasured and I've had him for over a year now. I think the homes depend on the people and not their financial situation. We have all seen the nice big houses with a really nice expensive looking dog cage clear at the furthest corner of the yard with a dog in it that barks day and night because he is so lonely out there. I am sure they looked like the perfect family on paper.

Ha ha! A socialized, happy snake huh? I am cracking up here about the snake park! It's obvious that someone that is uneducated about snakes is deciding what's "best" for the snake. That's ridiculous! I would have someone else go adopt the snake (where are ya, I'll do it!) and then maybe send a letter to the board of directors at the shelter and/or a care sheet on reptiles so they can get their stuff straight and actually know what's best for a snake. LOL Snake Park! ha ha

just borrow a kid who knows nothing about snakes and tell them to go in there and ask for a snake. 10 bucks says the kid walks out with the snake. stupid people, i hate them all.

it saddens me that so many shelter/pound animals get put to sleep due to the pathetically strict regulations of those places. i do however see the reason they say "breeders contribute to the problem" because there are so many "bad breeders" who ARE in fact in it for the money and they see that as how ALL breeders are, which is wrong.
i've over heard, in a shelter, in person, a shelter employee tell a black family they could not adopt a pit bull mix there due to the dog fighting/aggression issues associated with them. i got so pissed at hearing that that i snapped at the employee telling them they had no right to make that kind of judgement based on the family's skin color. the family tried to calm me down saying they understood the reason but i was like
"oh hell no, it is NOT ok! that is just racist & wrong on so many levels! ANY breed of dog can be aggressive especially if they're not raised properly."
people can be really stupid...
ok that rant is done...
i hate stupid people.

Yeah I had a similar situation with my two cats. I went to the shelter and got a form. I had to have a vet lined up, letter from my landlord, references. I took one look at it and walked out, drove to a pet store, bought a cute kitten for 15 bucks. Went next door to the vets and signed up for an appointment.

I may not be your ideal pet owner, shelters of the world, but my care is better than being put down do to overcrowding.

The fact that shelters have any rodents waiting for adoption is ludicrous. Gas them, freeze them to kill any parasites and then sell them off to reptile owners. Your profits could be used to buy cat and dog food. Every shelter I have been to needs a great big dose of reality.

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Originally Posted by lusciousdragon

I don't have a fenced in yard and my dog stays in my yard because I showed him the borders of the yard and told him not to go over them.
If you want another cat I'd just get on Craigslist or the newspaper and get one there. $135 is really high, I thought the $100 here for a kitten was high. I think they also ask such a high price to make the owner feels more of a commitment towards the animal since you had to pay so much for it. We do know that people are like that and take better care of things they had to pay for. I have an alley cat kitten I found outside. He is treasured and I've had him for over a year now. I think the homes depend on the people and not their financial situation. We have all seen the nice big houses with a really nice expensive looking dog cage clear at the furthest corner of the yard with a dog in it that barks day and night because he is so lonely out there. I am sure they looked like the perfect family on paper.

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a rescuer with a dog who doesn't have a fence???!!! blasphemy! Haha

I got one of my cats off craigslist, the other was a rescue (his adoption fee was 75, which I find perfectly reasonable).

I do wish they would adopt animals to good homes rather than just going through a check list of yes or no's. Its people and animals, everyone has to mix. Using a standard kind of shoots everyone in the foot. :/

Do they know you by name. If not go up there and dont tell them that you are a breeder and ask if you can get him. Or have a friend do it. or maybe spread the news that he need help. something like that. I am sry that they would not let you take him. It is funny when I was looking for me a bp on CL there was none to befound. Just this past weeks there been 3 or 4 bp and redtails

I have friends who worked at shelters. I've worked at a few dog/cat exclusive places and a zoo. The zoo often had pets from drug dealer's homes that had been confiscated in raids or escaped exotic pets whose owners didn't claim them. A lot of our animals were very sweet wild animals whose owners thought they were great pets as babies but when they grew up... well XD babies often get the best of people, i guess. Seeing so many friendly and sweet animals getting dumped makes you protective of them, though too many people get crazy about it.

Our local shelters used to adopt dogs out to college age kids and now they are wary of them. Why? because ignorant college kids would come up for the school year, adopt a "fun, sweet, friendly" cat and then dump it on the streets when they went home. Or lock it in their apartment over the break and neighbors would complain...
I found my rommate's rescued desert kingsnake in our backyard. Stray, escapee and abandoned animals are everywhere here. I have not worked in any shelters in this area, but just walking around town can be depressing. Shelter people can be insane, but at least some of them start out as pretty normal folks... Having to help care for desperate animals, seeing people give up 'the perfect' dog because they are having a baby, or seeing the same pet come back over and over, OR worse, the people whose dogs or cats get loose, the owner who picks up the phone and can't be bothered to pick up their 'beloved' pet and seeing that animal get put down. It's harsh and depressing. I don't volunteer anymore for other reasons, but that was always really tough.

I'd adopt BP's to you guys though! I think "breeder" becomes synonamous (sp) with "deadbeat jerk trying to make a quick buck off an animal that they can barely afford to feed, much less breed" who dumps all their leftover offspring back into the shelter system. I say we can try to reach out and educate people not to just breed their animals JUST because they have them and shelter workers may become less nuts.... :)