In Florida, Orange County Animals Service (OCAS) has found cats left inside a box and abandoned at their doors three times in less than a month.
According to their Facebook post,
“It doesn’t seem to matter what we say; this continues to happen. For a third time in less than a month, our staff has found a kitten in a box, abandoned at our doors.”
Images via Facebook/Orange County Animals Service (OCAS)
This time, someone abandoned a cat they later named Conroy, tied inside a pillowcase in a box. Then, someone “unceremoniously dumped” the kitten at the door in bad weather.
“We don’t know how long he’d been there. We do know it rained most of the night. When staff finally got him out, he was understandably upset and terrified,” they state.
No Excuses for Abandoned Animals
As people continue to dump cats, the shelter tries to stop the cruelty. Too often, it seems people come up with excuses.
“We get it. Sometimes, life gets in the way. You’re tired. Late for work. Can’t wait. Desperate. You tell yourself, ‘they’ll find it in the morning. They should’ve been open 24hrs.’ But please understand, these aren’t reasons enough to do this. These are just excuses.”
Rather than abandoning animals, it just takes a minute to bring animals inside during operating hours.
“We’re not sure why people continue to do this, but we’re asking our community to stop. It takes minutes to bring an animal in. Abandoning an animal like this, especially babies, is an act of cruelty.”
Even if people are too busy, there are other easy options.
Don’t Abandon Animals – Make a Call
Then, the shelter, anticipating criticism and even blame, stated:
“Of course, people will criticize OCAS. You should have cameras. You should have kennels for overnight drop-offs.”
However, they note people can easily pick up a phone. There’s no excuse for blaming anybody except those responsible for dumping an animal, knowing it will be frightened, will suffer, and could die.
“We want to remind our community that we have officers that work on the road 24-hours a day, and with one phone call to 311, you could open up a call for service.”
Then, they outline other inhumane acts they have confronted, and it would be heartbreaking for anyone.
“Make no mistake, dumping an animal, tying one to our fences, cutting one loose in our parking lot; these are all inhumane acts.”
Although whoever did this to Conroy may think they did the kitten a favor, what they did was irresponsibly dispose of him. Some people in our throwaway society need to stop treating animals like so much garbage.
“You’re not saving a life.
You’re just throwing one away.”
Better Days for Conroy Thanks to Good People
As a result of sharing the post, the local news picked up the story, and it will help raise awareness in the community. Thanks to the shelter and donations from caring people like you, Conroy will have a chance for a happy life. For every ignorant, cruel person, many more wonderful caring folks restore our faith in humanity.
You can learn about Orange County-area pets for adoption or donate on the Orange County Animal Services website.
A recent post shows OCAS is doing a great job in finding homes for cats like Conroy.
“So many cats, so many personalities. We at OCAS are fortunate that our cats do get adopted quickly. Still, every now and then we have to remind people they are here, and they are all looking for good homes.”
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