WTF????
So the past several weeks have been CRAZY. Work, as always, is completely running me ragged. Thank God I'm off this weekend and can enjoy the nicer weather. But I'm not going to rant about work today, I have another entree on my rant plate today.....
At the end of January, after thinking about it for awhile and looking at sites on the Internet, I decided to adopt a dog. I wanted a large, short-haired dog that would be a lot of fun to have around. So I decided on a Great Dane. Hey, when you're as tall as I am, they don't really seem that big. I contacted a rescue organization that I found on the web and began the process. It started off with a "phone interview." After that, the person I spoke to e-mailed me a 4-page application, which I promptly filled out and mailed in at the beginning of February. After that, I was supposed to be scheduled for a home visit. But when the whole month of February came and went and I hadn't heard a word from anyone, I sent an e-mail asking what my application status was. That same day I was contacted about my home visit and someone came by three days later. The woman who came to the house was nice enough and she brought one of her own Great Danes so I could see what it was like to have a large dog in the house. All well and good. Her dog was cool, very friendly, and HUGE! 170 lbs.! That's what I'm talkin' about! I was sold. Now, I really wanted one. So Cindy, the woman who came to my house, indicated that everything looked good and that I should get a letter approving me by the end of the week. Two and a half weeks went by and, again, I heard nothing from them. So I e-mailed Cindy asking what was going on. Cindy got back to me that same night and said that I should have heard something and she'd be in touch with Debby (the state coordinator) that night to see what was happening. Cindy even thanked me for following up with her and said that she wanted to get me approved ASAP. So I'm thinking "That's cool, I should hear from them any day now." Another week goes by.....nothing. So I sent an e-mail directly to Debby asking about my status. (It's been a month and a half now). I sent that e-mail to her this past Monday. She replied to me this morning. It was a very brief message in which she gave me a short apology for the delay, and the she indicated that she was having an issue contacting a vet reference. At this point, I'm a little irritated. When I sent in my application (45 days ago!) I provided a copy of my girlfriend's dogs' vaccination records, as well as the name, address and phone # of the vet the dogs go to. I guess she lost those pages. So I e-mailed her the information (again) this morning.
This is strictly my opinion here, but I'm a responsible adult, I'm a police officer, and I have a house and a large, fenced-in yard. I provided the references they've asked for (oh, they haven't contacted my "personal reference" yet, either), and they've inspected my home. Should it really take anyone this long to determine if I'm worthy enough to adopt a dog? And even once I find out that I'm approved, there is still the matter of actually going to see the dog I want at his foster home in Virginia. If, by then, someone else has adopted the dog that I want, I have to look at which other dogs might be available and go see them. So I'm still at least a couple more weeks away from even seeing a dog, much less bringing one home.
Angelina and Brad can adopt a Vietnamese kid faster than I can adopt a dog from these people. It's getting beyond ridiculous and as much as I want to send her an e-mail chastising her for taking entirely too long to get this wrapped up, I can't. I still have to be nice to her because I really want this dog. But my patience has worn thin and I'm giving her until April 2nd, which is officially over 2 months since I started this process, to approve my application. If I haven't gotten an approval by then, I'm sending one last e-mail withdrawing my application and letting them know, in no uncertain terms, that their process is incredibly flawed and difficult, and that as much as I would've loved to adopt one of their dogs, it shouldn't take nearly this long to do it.
I didn't expect to get one of their dogs overnight. I'm realistic. But this is just crazy. And I could appreciate if they were busy, backed up on applications, whatever. But all they would have to do is tell me and I'm cool with that. I don't like going weeks without a word from anyone. I gave them personal information and allowed them to come into my home. I think that being kept updated is only a small courtesy to expect from them in return.
I'll keep everyone posted on the next chapter in this silly little saga.
Any thoughts?
At the end of January, after thinking about it for awhile and looking at sites on the Internet, I decided to adopt a dog. I wanted a large, short-haired dog that would be a lot of fun to have around. So I decided on a Great Dane. Hey, when you're as tall as I am, they don't really seem that big. I contacted a rescue organization that I found on the web and began the process. It started off with a "phone interview." After that, the person I spoke to e-mailed me a 4-page application, which I promptly filled out and mailed in at the beginning of February. After that, I was supposed to be scheduled for a home visit. But when the whole month of February came and went and I hadn't heard a word from anyone, I sent an e-mail asking what my application status was. That same day I was contacted about my home visit and someone came by three days later. The woman who came to the house was nice enough and she brought one of her own Great Danes so I could see what it was like to have a large dog in the house. All well and good. Her dog was cool, very friendly, and HUGE! 170 lbs.! That's what I'm talkin' about! I was sold. Now, I really wanted one. So Cindy, the woman who came to my house, indicated that everything looked good and that I should get a letter approving me by the end of the week. Two and a half weeks went by and, again, I heard nothing from them. So I e-mailed Cindy asking what was going on. Cindy got back to me that same night and said that I should have heard something and she'd be in touch with Debby (the state coordinator) that night to see what was happening. Cindy even thanked me for following up with her and said that she wanted to get me approved ASAP. So I'm thinking "That's cool, I should hear from them any day now." Another week goes by.....nothing. So I sent an e-mail directly to Debby asking about my status. (It's been a month and a half now). I sent that e-mail to her this past Monday. She replied to me this morning. It was a very brief message in which she gave me a short apology for the delay, and the she indicated that she was having an issue contacting a vet reference. At this point, I'm a little irritated. When I sent in my application (45 days ago!) I provided a copy of my girlfriend's dogs' vaccination records, as well as the name, address and phone # of the vet the dogs go to. I guess she lost those pages. So I e-mailed her the information (again) this morning.
This is strictly my opinion here, but I'm a responsible adult, I'm a police officer, and I have a house and a large, fenced-in yard. I provided the references they've asked for (oh, they haven't contacted my "personal reference" yet, either), and they've inspected my home. Should it really take anyone this long to determine if I'm worthy enough to adopt a dog? And even once I find out that I'm approved, there is still the matter of actually going to see the dog I want at his foster home in Virginia. If, by then, someone else has adopted the dog that I want, I have to look at which other dogs might be available and go see them. So I'm still at least a couple more weeks away from even seeing a dog, much less bringing one home.
Angelina and Brad can adopt a Vietnamese kid faster than I can adopt a dog from these people. It's getting beyond ridiculous and as much as I want to send her an e-mail chastising her for taking entirely too long to get this wrapped up, I can't. I still have to be nice to her because I really want this dog. But my patience has worn thin and I'm giving her until April 2nd, which is officially over 2 months since I started this process, to approve my application. If I haven't gotten an approval by then, I'm sending one last e-mail withdrawing my application and letting them know, in no uncertain terms, that their process is incredibly flawed and difficult, and that as much as I would've loved to adopt one of their dogs, it shouldn't take nearly this long to do it.
I didn't expect to get one of their dogs overnight. I'm realistic. But this is just crazy. And I could appreciate if they were busy, backed up on applications, whatever. But all they would have to do is tell me and I'm cool with that. I don't like going weeks without a word from anyone. I gave them personal information and allowed them to come into my home. I think that being kept updated is only a small courtesy to expect from them in return.
I'll keep everyone posted on the next chapter in this silly little saga.
Any thoughts?
posted by P. at 6:02 PM
2 comments
