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I just wanted to say that i loved your review. It is people like you that i consider true heroes for our animal friends. I wouldn't buy from a breeder because i know what the animals are put thru unless you know the breeder personally and know how they really treat their animals and they only breed like once in awhile. But its kind of a catch 22 because the dogs from the breeders need homes, too. But i am guilty of buying a cocker spaniel from a pet shop but once and only once before i knew the full truth when i was still in high school. Now i tell people in pet shops to visit the local shelter before they buy a dog. And finally one of our local pet shops closed and only does grooming now. Anyway, i agree that it is not right to say that one shelters pets are better than another's. They are all here to serve the same purpose, i thought. To save lives, to save animals and make a difference so stop the bickering! I have adopted 3 animals over the last 2 years from a shelter. The vet that i go to used to have 2 vets in the office because i guess one was practicing to be on his own. When i brought my "old" cocker spaniel dog (the shelter guessed he was about 14) that i adopted in for his 10 day checkup, one vet asked me why i had adopted a dog that was so old. I told him that "Archie" deserved to have a home, too to finish living out his days where he would be happy. He actually told me that by my adopting Archie that i had caused a puppy to be put down. Thru my shock at his words, i told him that we had adopted a puppy also (we had). His only reaction was "Oh." I was glad when this vet left for his own practice because in my opinion, he wasn't a very compassionate person. We didn't have Archie long because he had many medical problems and i wish i had listened to my heart more but i know he brought joy to our lives while he was here and i hope we made him happy, too. Thanks for what you do!

i completley understand - its very stressful when you feel like on zootoo news you can't say anything because someone is going to yell at you!

Dear Mary Lu,
I read your entry and all of the comments that were written before mine. The competition has gotten extremely frustrating. I too lost 8,000 points in one day. In my opinion I hadn't done anything wrong, but my fatal crime was writing comments about other shelters, being supportive of their efforts, even kill shelters, because I know how difficult it is to work in that environment day after day, having no choice but to put down unwanted animals. They were good supportive comments, intended to compliment and encourage the volunteers, but because Zootoo was having that glitch where reviews were being marked with a one instead of a five, people were getting upset and complaining. Zootoo also arbitrarily removed reviews for services such as vets that I have used because they were also incorrectly marked with a one. I was outraged by this and reentered those reviews, but of course, the helpful points were lost.

I also don't feel that it's right for Zootoo to remove non commercial products that are helpful to animals. If someone wants to write to say that a certain food or vitamin has been helpful in treating their pet's medical condition, I want to know about it. I don't care if it's something I have in my kitchen cabinet for myself. If it is going to help my pet, I want to know.

I agree with everyone that one word comments such as "wow," "cool," and "sad," are nonsense discussions, intended only to earn points and ideally, to be fair to everyone else who took the time to read an article and make a thoughtful comment, they should be removed by Zootoo.

It's just so tiring.

Good luck to everyone.

Susan

Your kids sound fantastic! I too love all animals no matter where they come from! I agree about the sniping! I have flagged comments. But these comments were totally inappropriate! It had nothing to do with the points. It has to do with keeping this site clean enough that my 9 year old can be here with me. If a comment is unjust or unfair it should be flagged. I could care less about the points. But the level some are stooping just to get points or take points is SILLY!! I am on this site because I love my kids and your kids and the guy down the streets' kids oh and the kids for sale at the local pet shop! I love them all! I will continue to use this site because of all the GOOD info that is here. I have had pets my whole life and been training dogs for more than 20 years. Yet on this site I still learn somthing new everyday! I personally appreciate all the things you have done for the site. I am thrilled to know there are other loving owners out there that just want what is best for the animal kingdom and are not tied up in the politics. Thank you for your journal entry! I hope ALOT of people are reading it!!

I just found out yesterday what's been going on. I am shocked that the shelters are resorting to these tactics to win. Don't they know that the #1 shelter will not necissarily win this contest? All top 20 will be reviewed and zootoo will pick the winner. I think that you would be hurting your shelters chances if these people continue flagging comments out of spite.
This contest is for the animals who all of these people supposedly care about. It is a shame that it has come to this. I have never flagged another shelter just to keep them from winning. The winners will be the animals of the winning shelter...no matter which on it is.

I am an avid lover of all animals. I have 15 cats and have adopted 6 of them from WAHS...6 from a friend who has a local cat rescue in my town...one I had trapped myself...and 2 strays that showed up around my home...and one I had gotten from a friend 15 years ago (she's the oldest). I also rescued the famous Babygirl, the five legged cat and her half brother, Pedro. Both of them I have taken to WAHS because I knew they could help them both. I could not financially keep Babygirl because of the cost of her surgery. Pedro was ferel and would not have worked out for me in my home. I just don't have the time to spend on a ferel. But, I am happy to report that Babygirl and Pedro have both been adopted by their foster parents who love them both dearly and they are both thriving in their new home...TOGETHER! This is what all shelters are all about.

This nit picking must stop. I agree that members shouldn't be able to flag comments if this is why they are doing it. I have never seen a bad comment that needed flagged, and I won't do it because I want to take away points from another shelter. This contest should be fair.

One of our top reviewers has dropped out because of all of this bickering. She had legitimate points taken away from her because someone kept flagging her. I refuse to quit because of someone elses cruelty. I will fight to the end to help our shelter win...fair and square...as all members of this contest should do. I wish good luck, and always have, to all the needy shelters in this contest. Hopefully zootoo will notice this activity after this contest is over and take this all into consideration. The shelter that is doing these activities should not, in my opinion, win this makeover.

LORI

I totally agree. This contest started out on an even keel. Now everyone has a problem. I stopped commenting and reviewing except for an occasional statement. Everytime I turn around, someone has been flagging my reviews. I've lost thousands of points. I wish that the zootoo people had left the flagging to themselves so people couldn't turn on one another. Geez........this is a real mess. All of us have been trying really hard all of these months as it's a crying shame that it's come down to this. AND I don't care where anyone adopts, just LOVE and RESPECT your "babies". AMEN.............

Before I started breeding Pomeranians, my son and I rescued and took in stray and unwanted cats and kittens. Over 6 years we rescued 40+ and kept six of them. Three of them were so sick they died within 24 hours of finding them. All the others we found homes for. My vet was nice enough to give me a discount on any strays that I brought in. The last of that group of rescues is 19 years old and loves my Poms. I have taken in two other cats that came to me over the last 4 years, and I have found and/or helped to rehome 15+ dogs of all sizes over the last 8 years. I always wish to do more.
When you get down to it, a lot of us work hard to make it better for our animal friends.
Keep up the good work!

I couldn't agree with you more. I hope it stops soon and everyone uses this site for it's intended purpose

Hopefully the 'vocal minority' that does the sniping can be outweighed by the wonderful people like yourself who do it all for the love of the pets and can do so without the internet bickering. Don't let them get you down! :)

Thanks, Mary Lu. I agree that at times it seems there is a mini-war going on between shelters. Yet, I know that we are all in this for the animals and shouldn't waste our time saying who is better than whom. I hope some people are reading journal entries and seeing this!