For those of you that work at shelters, how long after the holidays

>>2286699
We are closed Christmas and still have people trying to surrender their dogs Christmas day. We just hide and turn off the lights because the boss will deduct holiday pay for whoever takes the animal in. Sometimes it's unwanted dogs (rarely cats on Christmas day, assuming it's because unwanted cats are easier to deal with until the next day). We actually get quite a few people who surrender their pets for the holidays Because they are having people over and the dog would just be too much work, but that isn't just Christmas it's Thanksgiving, New years, etc. We also get people surrendering other pets before Christmas to make room for a new pet they are getting for Christmas.

A lot of the Christmas animals you see today won't actually make it to the shelter until they reach maturity at around 6-8 or so months. This lands right around late spring to summer. That is also the busiest time for animal shelters too, which means a much higher chance of euthanasia (especially since they aren't puppies anymore) than any other time of the year.

That being said, animals as gifts can be done right. It just usually isn't

>>2286734
I'm really sad now :(

I have a few Christmas shelter stories if anyone wants to feel like shit

>Come to work first thing Christmas eve morning
>There's a box by the door
>Take it in assuming it's Christmas donations
>Open it up
>It's a litter of frozen dead kittens

This is from the first Christmas eve that the shelter was opened to public ever (the shelter had been around for close to 100 years)
>Christmas eve at work
>Man comes in with an incredibly aggressive Cane Corso
>I'm talking we can't get near the window Because the dog will try to climb up
>It's growling, snarling, snapping, but fine with the man
>Man claims it's his dog but he can no longer care for it
>Explain we can't take in aggressive dogs that are owner surrender
>He pulls out a knife and threatens the desk girls
>We close the window and call the cops
>Meanwhile the guy is trying to harass and scare customers and volunteers by bringing his dog dangerously close to others
>Cops come 5 hours later, long after we were supposed to close
>The man now tells the cops it's not his dog, it was a stray
>It took 3 men to pole the dog into a kennel
>5 days later the man comes back to claim the dog as his

Same day as above
>Part of some school trip, kids come to donate things and then look at the animals
>There's a bunch of middle aged soccer moms
>They feel so bad for the cats that they want to foster
>But they only want to foster for Christmas day and bring them back
>Try to explain how this isn't helpful and is actually doing more harm than good
>"But they should all have a temporary home for Christmas!"
>Try to reason that cats don't understand the concept of Christmas
>Get called a heartless monster

>>2286786
>But they only want to foster for Christmas day and bring them back

Ugh. Animal shelters are not rental agencies ffs.

>>2286786
>>5 days later the man comes back to claim the dog as his
Should've put it down and done a bit on the local news for damage control.

>>2286786
>Christmas day at work
>See someone outside lingering by the doors
>try to hide
>Hear them knock and ask if anyone is there
>Break down and open the door
>They had some donations, a quarter bag of cheap cat food and used towels
>They say how awesome and nice the shelter staff is
>Cool
>Thank them and start to head inside
>They catch me before I do
>"also we have this dog to give you"
>Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck
>It's some nippy, high strung JRT
>Tfw I got bait n switched
>Tfw I forfeited my holiday pay for two middle aged bitches and a yappy dog

>>2286786
How can you stand this?

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>get to shelter this afternoon
>new dog (pic related) is there
>normally we get email updates about dogs in-house but didn't for this guy
>ask supervisor what the deal is
>find out someone was trying to give him away on Kijiji since Dec 23rd because they didn't want him over the holidays
>someone from the adoption team picked him up and kept him over Christmas until the morning of Dec 26

He's such a great dog. Very smart and cuddly but his entire back area, from shoulders to tip of his tail is nearly bald. We're not sure if he was shaved but we know he has allergies so maybe it fell out from scratching/biting.

>>2287513

This is a majestic creature. I hope someone takes him quickly.

>>2287532
I'm sure he'll get adopted quickly. He's only 7 months old, and we have a really high turnover rate anyway.

He's a chow/heeler so I expect he'll be kind of a jerk when he grows up though

>>2286786
Do you have cameras? Is it normal for shelters to have cameras?
I would assume so and if not you should.

>>2286734
I've always wanted to work at a shelter but now that I know this I'm not so sure. I'd probably get pissed and yell at people.

>>2287573
We have some, but no audio. To save money only one in the lobby is left on. It's only ever used to spy on employees.

>>2287575
For the most part it's a shit job for shit pay. There are other rescues and no kills that are probably much stricter an won't tolerate as much bullshit, but if you're going to a city shelter or pound, you need a lot of patience

so whats the deal with them docking holiday pay if you let an animal in on christmas? I dont understand.