“Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see the possibilities — always see them, for they're always there.” ~ Norman Vincent Peele
When I went to bed last night I lay there and tried to recap my day. I spent hours arguing a point I felt passionate about, and wondered if all the arguing had indeed made any difference. As we delved deeper and deeper into discussions about pet care, about the fairness of contracts and their effectiveness when applied to specific situations, and about who was right and wrong, one of the comments caught my eye. The essence of this comment was that a wrong thing could be turned into something good if we just turned the energy around.
I’m sure it was obvious even to the people who didn’t agree with the posts that all the fuss was originated by a common ground we all shared – our love for animals. Looking back at the situation itself, who was wrong? Was it the shelter for adhering to their policies? Was it the family for admitting to a mistake yet loving the pet as a part of the family? In reality no one was truly wrong and everyone was to some extent - we all chose to look at things from our point of perspective and defended our views on the subject.
I agree with the poster who talked about turning a negative into a positive. In the heat of the discussion, we all forgot about the wonderful service rescue centers like Cat Angels provide for our animal friends. I, for one, am very grateful centers like that exist. That said, I think shelters have set rules that are too strict for people to comply with, and I am hoping that if we raise awareness to this fact, more animals will indeed be adopted and will enjoy happy lives in their new homes. As I had stated to someone on the board, why would anyone go through all the screenings, pay a fee and live under the threat of having their pet removed over a technicality, when they can just as easily adopt an animal they find advertised on Craigslist or on the newspaper, for free and with no strings attached? Unfortunately, this kind of sentiment leads to animal not finding homes, and from what I heard yesterday, it is quite widespread.
What if we can use the power of the internet to promote adoption, rather than discourage it? This wonderful virtual world is at our fingertips to help us promote awareness and educate people on the benefits of adopting animals, rather than buying one from a breeder. I apologize if I allowed my personal emotions to get in the way of my rational thinking, and I would like for everyone to see that if we invest the same passion into reaching a common goal, everyone is better off because of it.
I would like to ask Cat Angels to be willing to revisit their decision in the case of this particular cat, and to see that each case should be assessed individually. This family never meant the cat any harm, and they love him dearly. Please give them a chance. As for myself, I can pledge that if this situation is turned around, I will gladly use the power of words to help with future adoption efforts. We might not be able to change the whole world, but we can certainly try to improve it the best way we can by focusing on our common goals.
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