Julie X

Review of Colorado State Park & Foothill...

So, I, Juliana, drove from Colorado Springs yester...

So, I, Juliana, drove from Colorado Springs yesterday on November 9th to run some errands in the Denver area and last on my agenda was to check a couple of long haired cats I had seen on Foothills Animal Shelter website. I was excited and eager to go into the shelter and get assistance on the cats I was interested in.

Unfortunately, my experience with the manager and staff was a "total disappointment and letdown". Well, the young guy at the counter was awesome as he was working hard being the only one at the counter handling the customers. I walked into the shelter around 2:15 p.m. and left around 3:10 p.m. I filed out the form that he had submitted to me.

All I wanted to do was do was what I had always done through the number of years in the process of adopting a cat from a shelter. I always ask that someone on staff take the cat out of its cage so I can see if it is receptive to me when I reach to gently pet it. If it is, then they let me hold the cat and set me up in the room for further interaction. This "approach" is how I have adopted "ALL" of my three cats that I have today.

The staff had me complete a form with all of my information including driver's license before any one could assist me with the cats. Once that was done, I sat there waiting almost 30 minutes with no assistance so I had to ask to see the manager as I was confident that he or she would have the understanding to assist me with my request.

The manager came out of his office and asked me if I had filled out the form. I told him I did. He also asked if I had been told the cats history. I told him no I had not. So, I followed him to the counter so he could read off the histories of the long-haired cats Titan and Gandalf. After he read the histories, he just did not seem like he really wanted to make the effort in getting the cats out of the cage one by one so I can see if I would be received by either one of them. The manager "declined" to help with my request and in getting someone on staff to assist me.

The issue is Titan had his back to the cage and every time I reached to touch him, to entice him to turn around, he would not turn around. Titan was depressed and I wanted to get him to trust me and to know that he had a potential owner that would make him happy. I told the manager that Titan would not turn around and the manager in a "matter of fact" way just said (paraphrasing) "If he will not turn around then that is that and you can get a toy to make him turn around". The manager did not offer me a cat toy. The manager just had such a "matter of fact" persona unrelenting. I was felt so "defeated and worn out" that I just said "thank you sir" and went on my own to make one more effort with "Titan" and then proceeded to Gandalf and lost hope and just went and drove home back to Colorado Springs.

So sad that the manager was just so "matter of fact" and "unrelenting" lacking any compassion/understanding for my request. Yes, both cats have "issues", but I had adopted a cat at this Shelter in late December 2017 that also had issues and because the staff at that time was willing to help and assist me, the cat (Zilly), now named Xandra is "THRIVING". The staff told me at the time that she would need a lot of patience due to her timid state and issues, but once she was taken out of the cage by the person on staff and I petted her and she received me, I reached to hold her and she "hugged me back" and I adopted her. Sure, the ladies told me the dire history of the cat (Zilly) but I have absolutely no regrets in adopting her. She is just so precious and I just love her! She is so happy here in my home with my other two cats. She is just so adorable and loving and just needed someone like me to give her a chance with loads of patience, love, compassion, and understanding.

Titan or Gandalf would probably be in my home now, if the manager had just shown understanding/compassion for my request. I once thought highly of this shelter and WILL NOT STEP ANOTHER FOOT THERE . God please bless these cats.