Why are some people so stubborn?

[WillParkinson]

The board for the Humane Society in Iron River is having a monthly meeting tonight. They fully expect the president of the board is going to resign. The reason for it is based solely on being stubborn, in my opinion.

They had a bout with FIP (a feline disease) and were told by 3 different vets that cats in the shelter should not be allowed contact with other cats because FIP is a fatal disease. They want to allow the cats to run around in a special room (which they want to have built) that will be easy to disinfect.

This woman thinks it's just wrong. She thinks it's bad for the cats mental health not to be allowed to run around the shelter. And for this reason they expect that she's going to resign.

I talked with two board members today and they asked my opinion. I told them that it's in the best interest of the cats if they follow the advice of the vets. Not only is it safer that way but if they did as this woman wants they run the risk of an epidemic in the shelter plus any cat that gets adopted out might pass it on to other cats in the household which could be fatal to all of them which, in turn, could be cause for them to be sued and risk their reputations.

This woman just does NOT understand it or agree with it.

[WillParkinson]

1. Wow...

Bottom of page 2 in less than an hour.

[Bunny]

2. Is it just stubborn, or maybe a little more than that?

No offense intended to the lady in question, but this seems like a bit of a mental problem to me. I mean, doctors (vets) aren't ALWAYS right, but she'd risk not only these cats but countless others living in prospective adoptive homes, just so these infected ones won't have to be confined to their own special room? Sounds kinda weird to me, and maybe it's good that she resigns.

[SheilaT]

3. And what if she doesn't resign?

What then? The kitties all get to run around and infect each other? How can someone who knows as little as she apparently does about cats ever get on the board?

[WillParkinson]

4. She thinks it's cruel to keep them separated...

I don't understand her thinking. I would rather they play with a person in a different room that can be disinfected after they are done than allow the risk of all of them being infected.

[SheilaT]

5. Sounds like she's not completely

on board with the germ theory of disease.

So, did she resign? If not, has she been persuaded that the health of the cats, and the long-term survival of the shelter may be in danger?

Several years back an animal shelter in my area went through a very difficult time. It was in an old facility, was underfunded, understaffed, with insufficient vet care. At one point, some disease swept through the cat population and they all needed to be destroyed.

Fortunately, there was a change of the board, additional funding was found, a new building was constructed, and it's about as good as an animal shelter can be, given that they are always underfunded and there are always more animals in need than can possibly be taken care of.

[WillParkinson]

6. I don't know....

The meeting was tonight and I'll have to wait until later today (Tuesday) to find out what happened.

Paul and I were offered spots on the board and were told that we could 'tele-commute'. I'm sure they were kidding but we declined anyway.

[Don_G]

7. Depends On The Situation...

And on "Depends" I suppose.

Tracking the stock market, some people can't admit that they've made a mistake and trade ten-to-a hundred million on an "attitude" which proclaims to the world they're more of an ass than an "asshole."

If Wall Street can do it, then your "Shelter Manager" is in the same boat and have similar obstacles to face in the near-term.

It sucks and a lot of innocent lives are going to get lost in the meantime.

[bloodyjack]

8. the operative word here is "pride"

it's not a bad thing in itself, though as demonstrated in this instance, it can render one unreasonable and lead one to make some unreasonable decisions