Why we do not work with Tiny Tales and Scales...
Munchie's Place for Homeless Pets writes:
To our supporters and community, we'd like to make an announcement. For those who understand what rescuing means, it means saving those in need by providing the care they need. Food, water, shelter and to eventually find them loving homes. As a rescue it's your responsibility to safely care for them and to not to take on more than you can handle. Due to a recent post made by Tiny Tails and Scales Rescue about feeder mice on CL, we are no longer supporting this rescue as we have in the past. We've worked with Tiny Tails before and while we appreciate the support and partnership we had for helping animals this year, we are now parting ways from working with them due to this move to re-home pet mice as feeders due to lack of space.
In the rescue field it's not uncommon for shelters and rescues to transfer pets from one place to another to make room for more. It's not uncommon for that type of partnership where there is a mutual understanding and communication before taking on more animals to guarantee their safety. Unfortunately we were not contacted at all for help with these mice even though there was many resources available for them to ask for help. We felt it was poor judgement to list pets as feeders under an unlisted ad while the pets were also being listed on their rescue page which is why they were discovered by one of our other partners. Once this ad was discovered and brought to Tiny Tails attention with how we felt about this decision, their response to it was disheartening and made us uncomfortable to want to work with them after finding nothing wrong with rehoming mice as feeders no matter where they came from.
It's your responsibility as a rescue or individual inviting an animal into your home to take proper care of it. The amount of times we hear animals being rehomed because they didn't understand the responsibility is usually due to impulsively taking on a commitment they couldn't see through till the end. Listing pet mice as feeders as a rescue on an unlisted ad is absolutely wrong if you do not have the room to take on the responsibility and we cannot stand by this decision by the owner at Tiny Tails. We've sent people over to this rescue before in the past and now we are sorry we had not known their code of ethics like we do now. We thought we could trust them and sadly we cannot. This is why we are making this a public post as we felt obligated to speak out. We wish all the animals in their care the best of luck at finding homes and hope the owner will change their ways to guarantee their rescue will succeed with the interest of the animals they swear to look after.
- The Munckin Crew (Munchie's Place for Homeless Pets)
To our supporters and community, we'd like to make an announcement. For those who understand what rescuing means, it means saving those in need by providing the care they need. Food, water, shelter and to eventually find them loving homes. As a rescue it's your responsibility to safely care for them and to not to take on more than you can handle. Due to a recent post made by Tiny Tails and Scales Rescue about feeder mice on CL, we are no longer supporting this rescue as we have in the past. We've worked with Tiny Tails before and while we appreciate the support and partnership we had for helping animals this year, we are now parting ways from working with them due to this move to re-home pet mice as feeders due to lack of space.
In the rescue field it's not uncommon for shelters and rescues to transfer pets from one place to another to make room for more. It's not uncommon for that type of partnership where there is a mutual understanding and communication before taking on more animals to guarantee their safety. Unfortunately we were not contacted at all for help with these mice even though there was many resources available for them to ask for help. We felt it was poor judgement to list pets as feeders under an unlisted ad while the pets were also being listed on their rescue page which is why they were discovered by one of our other partners. Once this ad was discovered and brought to Tiny Tails attention with how we felt about this decision, their response to it was disheartening and made us uncomfortable to want to work with them after finding nothing wrong with rehoming mice as feeders no matter where they came from.
It's your responsibility as a rescue or individual inviting an animal into your home to take proper care of it. The amount of times we hear animals being rehomed because they didn't understand the responsibility is usually due to impulsively taking on a commitment they couldn't see through till the end. Listing pet mice as feeders as a rescue on an unlisted ad is absolutely wrong if you do not have the room to take on the responsibility and we cannot stand by this decision by the owner at Tiny Tails. We've sent people over to this rescue before in the past and now we are sorry we had not known their code of ethics like we do now. We thought we could trust them and sadly we cannot. This is why we are making this a public post as we felt obligated to speak out. We wish all the animals in their care the best of luck at finding homes and hope the owner will change their ways to guarantee their rescue will succeed with the interest of the animals they swear to look after.
- The Munckin Crew (Munchie's Place for Homeless Pets)
Must first log into FB to see original post: https://www.facebook.com/MunchiesPlaceForHomelessPets/posts/761434250949670
While this is something that occurred prior to Lala's Rescue being founded, this is a rescue we had looked up to when we were looking into starting our own rescue. But there are some key things that we do not support.
- No matter where the animal came from, as a rescue it is your responsibility to not only provide proper care to the animal but to give them the opportunity at a better life than the one they came from. Buying feeder rats and then adopting them out as feeder rats is not giving them any other opportunity to live. If that was to be their life, then why buy them in the first place?
- We 100% understand that animals eat animals. We understand there is a need for "feeder animals" and it is not our place to "save them all" and prevent other animals from eating. But it is also not safe to feed animals live. For example: putting a live rat into a tank with a snake not only can cause fighting between the two but could result in death for the snake. It is more humane to feed rats and other small feeder animals frozen/thawed.
- Know your limits and be able to work within them. At times, we get overwhelmed and we may take in more animals than we know we should. But that doesn't mean we neglect the animals or disregard our mission just because we exceeded our limit. Before taking in any animal, you have to be committed to their care for the entire time they are in your care. That means making adjustments where you need to, making sure you have the space and resources ready if something comes up or you have to separate animals or whatever.
- Rescuing is a network. Without having partnerships and transparent communication with your community, you will not be able to do the work on your own. Rescues are nonprofits that rely and depend on the support of others in order to function. And if the resources are not there then unfortunately, you have to take a step back and ensure you are capable of providing proper care to the animals you already have before even considering taking in any more. The hard reality is that we cannot save them all.
