My Nonprofit Reviews

Just wanted to make a comment and public service announcement:
I am a veterinarian who applied to adopt 2 cats (Oslo and the blk/wht 2 week old kitten) from Caring About The Strays. I was turned down bc I live 1.5 hrs away in CT. I called to inquire about this and asked to speak with the founder, Lynn. A volunteer returned my call and I was told I was too far away for the volunteers to deliver the cats to me. I offered to drive to them but was still told I could not adopt from them bc they require a home delivery and they will not travel to me. I asked if there were exceptions for situations such as mine as I'm a veterinarian and a very low risk adopter, as I can provide not only a loving forever home but also provide any and all medical care the cats may need. I was told that it was just their policy and that they have turned away veterinarians and vet techs in the past who lived out of their immediate area. My reply was to say that it seemed misguided to turn away qualified adopters such as veterinarians and vet techs and that it seems to be in direct conflict with the organizations mission to get these cats adopted into good forever homes which would also open up their foster homes to care for more cats. I also informed the volunteer that this policy to only adopt in their immediate area was not clearly stated on their adoption application (I used the mobile site) nor on their Facebook page and she told me she would look into it. I again asked for the founder Lynn to call me to discuss but never received a call back from her. As a qualified potential adopter this situation saddens me, but even more so, this situation saddens me as a veterinary professional. It seems that this organization has lost site of the big picture and the goals and mission they originally set forth. There are so many cats that need homes it is unfortunate that ones that could be adopted to good homes remain in foster care because of a 1.5 hour drive and/or unwillingness to waive a home visit in a situation of extreme low risk such as adoption to a veterinarian. Seems to me that the organization needs to re-evaluate its mission and policies going forward and remember why they started it in the first place.