Hissy Fit
Iâd taken a leave from the cat shelter I volunteer with. Part of the reason was the heavy immunosuppressants Iâm on, and part of the reason was the amount of time Iâm losing each week to the PUVA treatments. A vet tech from a local pharmaceutical who has been volunteering for the past half year took over the vet check responsibilities for a while, but sheâs now pregnant. Mid-April she finished her volunteering with the shelter to complete the rest of her gestation. I began doing vet checks again, but only once a week rather than the twice a week checks I had been doing. Thursday nights are my best night for this, and tonight will be my fourth week back.
I got a mailing this morning from a member of the shelterâs board saying we had a new volunteer to help with vet checks who could only do weekly checks on Thursday afternoon. That means that I will no longer be needed. This same email put a request in for volunteers to perform a treatment on an animal that I had left very specific instructions not to treat (sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease, and this animal was in perfect health; any action would have been for purely aesthetic reasons and could potentially jeopardize the perfect health part of the equation). And I realized Iâd had enough.
Nobody reads what I write. Nobody follows instructions. Everybody is a freaking expert on cat health. They donât need me. They already know it all. Iâm in the process of tendering my resignation to the board. I have one more obligation to follow through on this weekend and then Iâm pulling way back, if not out entirely. Thereâs enough stress in my life without this.
That sounds exactly the right decision. How very frustrating.
Seriously. You put up with that kind of cr*p M-F during the day, as it is. Why put up with more of it for no pay?
I guess you’ll miss the kitties, though. Still, it means less temptation to bring home YET ANOTHER! ;o)
Horse people are that way too…everyone is an expert. I bet there is another organization that could use your expertise.
When you resign, I’d consider mentioning the animal and treatment as well. I agree with you, some people know everything while others know nothing in the grand scheme of things. There is probably another place that would appreciate someone of your caliber and dedication.
Have a pleasant weekend.