A few evenings ago, I was leaving the hospital, where I work as a nurse, and was followed by a beautiful black lab. I had seen the dog earlier in the day wandering around the parking lot and was surprised it was still there hours later. Since it was about 20 degrees outside and the dog seemed obviously misplaced, I put the dog in my truck and drove it to the animal shelter.

I am fairly new to town and am unsure of where a lost dog should be taken, or who to call for that matter. The shelter was closed but I could see a man walking around inside who ignored my knocks and obvious gestures to get his attention. There was no number listed anywhere on the building for an after-hours contact. I called a person that I knew could get things done and that had connections with the animal shelter, and in about 20 minutes a woman showed up to take the dog in.  

For this I’m grateful and I more than once thanked her for her time. This women was very rude to me. She did not speak to me at all and ignored the fact that I thanked her more than once. She left me out in the entrance and I could here her complaining loudly while placing the dog in the kennel. A fellow employee then proceeded to leave the building, only stopping to rudely remark that I had gone about the entire process the wrong way and that I should have called the hotline. 

Again, I attempted to apologize and say that I didn’t know the process. He mumbled something under  his breath and shut the door in my face. As animal shelter employees, I would assume that they would be grateful for citizens to help endangered animals, not treat them badly and verbally abuse them.

I am very disappointed in the way this was handled and I believe I deserve an apology. I will not be visiting the shelter again, nor will I go out of my way to leave my family waiting at home for me after a 12-hour shift so that I can drive lost dogs to unappreciative individuals. 

My only hope is that this sweet dog has been claimed by its loving owners. Furthermore, the “hotline” number needs to be placed clearly outside of the building for those of  us who don’t know the area. Thank you. 

Holly Delauter