sadness

My mother (rest her soul), who was an English teacher, among many other things, might not agree with me, but I believe that what is important is if you successfully communicated what you wanted to say, not how you spelled it or how perfect your grammar was.

jf1acai wrote: I fully understand the frustration regarding all the irresponsible people who have, or had, pets. I used to live in a rural area, and we had many pets dumped in our yard by this type of individual.

But, isn't that what IMHS was created to help solve?

I think all who have posted here are interested in arriving at a solution to the problem, not just in pointing fingers.

IMO, the only way it can be resolved is with continued open discussion, and I certainly hope that you will continue to provide your input. It is valued and necessary!

And, I forgot to mention before, Thanks for all you have done and are doing to help!! :thumbsup:

THANK YOU......communication is the ONLY thing that will help everyone thru this tragedy. I would like to give you ANOTHER perspective,
the economic downturn has created some AWFUL decisions to be made,from both pet owners and IMHS. It is a fact of life.....pets
are being relinquished on an accelerated rate because people can NO LONGER afford them (job loss). THIS shelter is incredible small
and the building is inefficient for housing animals....THAT leads to some hard decisions. Until you have actually EXPERIENCED the act
of putting down animals (multiple) I believe the harsh comments are somewhat invalid. After I retired from AT&T, my first job was
vet asst. for my vet at the time. My duties were varied and many......ONE of those job responsibilities was to schedule, process AND
assist in euthanasia of pets. That part of the job was extremely hard to do on a day to day basis. (I did so for 3 years). The LAST
straw was a woman who brought in 3 geriatric poodles who were deaf and blind and asked for them to be put down TOGETHER, We
accomplished the sad duty at the end of the day....it was difficult and gut wrenching and both my vet and I cried after the chore
was complete. Perhaps EVERYONE here should step back and reflect on just how difficult this decision was......If a compassion vet
here on the mountain was in agreement with this decision,then WHAT does that say about the situation. THESE are economic
difficult times,money is a short commodity and life is REALLY not the same as it was prior to 2007-8 when the recession/depression
hit the country. These are just some of my thoughts/reflections on a sad scenario that has affected this community and is PRESENTLY being played out all across the country......JMO

Agreed. Personally, I would not be a real estate agent right now. I've had friends who are who tell me that if they get a foreclosure, they go check the house immediately, because too many of them have found family pets still inside, sometimes still alive. Some horror stories I will not share - we all have decent imaginations.

So, it may be time for hard decisions, but people need to make the responsible ones too. Don't drop the pet off in the woods - they will not survive. Do not leave the pet inside an empty house- thay's just cruelty. Yes, shelters are full, but socialized and loving animals are always in high demand; the one you cannot care for anymore will be adopted quickly.

I am the veterinarian who was involved. I have been on the Board of Directors since 2008 and provide veterinary services for the shelter including “well checks” and vaccinations, treatment of ill animals, and occasional surgeries. I charge for supplies used at cost, but do not receive any personal financial benefit from treating the animals.

I am posting this response on both Pinecam and 285Bound.

I will try to address the common questions and themes present on both forums.

First: “Why didn’t IMHS reach out for help from the community?”

- IMHS did not solicit foster homes for the cats because ringworm is contagious to people, particularly children, and the spores shed by contaminated animals will infest a home for years.

- During the 2007 outbreak, six of the staff and volunteers developed ringworm lesions themselves. Putting twenty plus exposed or infected cats out into the community would pose a very high probability of human infection.

- We appreciate the concern and how many people in the community want to help, but enlisting private residences could very easily result in neighborhood outbreaks of ringworm.

- Treating the animals in an infested shelter with no isolation facilities would be futile as animals being treated will be re-infected from spores in the environment which is constantly receiving more spores from the infected animals. It becomes a cyclical process.

Recap: Allowing a foster home to house and treat a ringworm cat would result in the home being infested with ringworm spores. It would put human occupants and other pets at risk. It would be particularly dangerous to children in whom it can cause permanent scarring. Because spores are carried on clothes, other neighborhood animals and humans would be at risk. Any home that fostered a ringworm animal could not be considered suitable to foster additional IMHS animals in the future due to contamination.

Second: Regarding the ethics of euthanasia.

- To effectively treat current shelter animals would require closing the facility and suspending adoptions for 12 weeks. IMHS adopts out, on average, 100 to 120 animals every 12 weeks. These are animals that we received from the community as well as animals that are transferred in from larger municipal shelters in Denver that would have been euthanized for space.

- Is it ethical or moral to treat 20 cats, when doing so would result in the loss of another 100 animals that could have been adopted in those twelve weeks the shelter was shut down? This statement may sound calculating, but when faced with several emotionally difficult options, the Board must look at how can we save the most lives?

Third: Transparency and Perception

- Announcements were made on Pinecam, via email to the membership and volunteers, and press releases were submitted to the local media. Articles about the situation are in today’s Canyon Courier and the High Timber Times. IMHS now has a membership on 285Bound as well.

I will do my best given time constraints to reply to additional questions.

Thank You,
David Palmini, DVM

Well said, Dr. Palmini - and thank you for sharing it.

Thank you Dr. P.....it is IMMENSELY helpful in allowing this community to heal. I thank you for your selfless,compassionate participation
on the BOD and acting vet for IMHS...... :Kitty: :dog:

Thank you, Dr. Palmini, for the explanation. :thumbsup:

Glad to hear the explanation but I do believe some would disagree with this assessment.

Unfortunately the REALITY of this world is this.......it is a litigation happy society and if ANY thing happened (concerning this scenario)
the IMHS is LIBEL for the outcome. You must see this from a realist perspective and NOT an emotion perspective. Decisions such as
this (TOUGH ones) are made everyday thru out the day,365 days out of the year,because the legal ramifications are widespread. If
THIS decision is one you do not agree with, then go to the BOD meeting this third Thursday of this month (and EVERY MONTH) and
express your POV,get involved and act upon your convictions. IF you decide to do that, be aware that you MUST get on their
agenda for the evening and THAT takes some PRE-planning if you are going to speak in front of the Board.

I have always found Doc Palmini to be knowledgeable, thorough, compassionate and one of the best vets we've ever had for our dogs and cats. I trust his decisions and have no doubt this one was not made lightly and certainly was done with a heavy heart. Hopefully we can all move forward now with helping IMHS to recover from this.