On July 29, a local TV news report indicated Bridgeport AC in CT was threatening to kill cats due to being over capacity. A rescue group offered to pay the adoption fees for the cats in an effort to encourage people to adopt. The next day, the same TV station reported that people waited in line for a chance to adopt the free cats:
Yesterday, the shelter had about 75 cats.
The shelter says all but one of the cats have now been adopted, but they get new cats in all the time.
Thank you to the so-called irresponsible public, yet again – both the rescue group that paid the fees and the adopters who opened up their hearts and homes.
I hope next time Bridgeport AC needs help from compassionate people, it won’t resort to threats of violence against the pets in its care. The public wants to save pets and will respond to pleas for assistance but any shelter wanting to build a lasting relationship with supporters needs to do its job and avoid threats to hurt animals.
(Thanks Arlene for the link.)
I have to admit I feel bad for that one little cat that was left. I hope she gets a home soon.
I checked their Petfinder listings this morning and there are 9 cats listed so she has some company.
Wow! Bridgeport Conn is known as a wealthy area. Not like here in the rural areas of the south.
When I lived in WA, I worked for a woman from Bridgeport. She always described it as the “armpit of CT” which stuck in my mind. Wikipedia describes Bridgeport at CT’s most populous city and says “About 16.2% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the poverty line” as of the 2010 census.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeport,_Connecticut
Ann, are you maybe thinking of Westport?
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog.
We have offered to sponsor cats for adoption here in NC and nothing! Nadda, nobody gives a $(*T Looking for cat rescues!
Were you able to get some media coverage, Lita (sorry if that’s not how you spell your name!)?
Do you mean there were no adopters interested? Or the shelter was not interested in working with you? We’ve offered to do specials here in Carroll Co., MD, and the director was not interested. Now we do them on our own. We advertise them on fliers throughout the community, on FB, & CL. Adopters have to pay the full fee, and send us a copy of their paperwork, and we send them a check to reimburse. We’ve gotten some adopted. It’s less than ideal, but it’s all we can do as far as specials go. It doesn’t help that the shelter is mostly only open when people are at work. 15 well paid employees, but they can’t adopt a pet out past 3:30 on weekdays, and 11:30 on Saturdays. The place is a sad, sorry waste of tax dollars, IMO.
Sometimes I wonder if they think it’s necessary to make those threats in order to get people to come out and adopt. But people love animals and people love free stuff, so IMO saying “we’re over capacity, please help by adopting an animal, fees waived” without the “Or we’ll have to kill them” part would work just as well.