09/10/2025
Before and After
Magnificent work
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTED POST ON FACEBOOK
This cat lives in Crown Heights, by Utica and Eastern Parkway. He's been bringing a family mice/rats as presents but they want him gone. They are
not feeding him. Said he seems sad. Any rescues able to help him?
WHAT HAPPENED AND HOW THEY WERE TREATED BY VEG STAFF
Update: He was brought to VEG last night and scanned for a microchip. VEG decided to keep him because he's microchipped. They will contact ACC if the owner does not respond. Any rescues able to take him if his owners don't want him back?
As many of you remember, yesterday we went to Crown Heights and saved this precious cat from the streets. Trying to do the right thing, we brought him to VEG on Ralph ave and asked to scan for a microchip.
A person at the front desk took him in and came out without the cat. She said that because he has a chip, he has to stay till they find out if there is an owner and if they want him back.
We had to leave him, but we asked for them to let us know if the owner is not found so we could come and get him. The woman said that she will contact me as soon as they have new info and we can come get him if the owner is not found.
She told me to fill out a form so she has my info and can contact me. This afternoon I called them to find out if there are any news and they said that since we surrendered the cat, they are not allowed to give us any information.
No matter what I said (that we really only brought him to check for a chip, that we never wanted to surrender hin, that we have people that want to adopt him), they would not give us any info or let us talk to a manager.
We are devastated and heartbroken. We feel like we failed the cat and he will end up ACC even though we were willing to find him a foster or a home. Is there anything we can do? 💔💔
😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
Feel free to continue to email VEG. Although the cat was returned no apology was made and they must understand that this behavior must stop
VEG ralph ave.
email the medical director.
Dr. Jonathan Grindley. Email [email protected]
Email to VEG:
When VEG opened its doors the perception was that an effort was being made to serve not only pet owners but the Rescuers who go against obstacles and challenges to do a thankless work.
Rescuers are the biggest clients at veterinary clinics and they deserve to be treated respectfully when they go out of their comfort zone to help an animal that's left to die on the streets.
When the call for help goes out, it's not the clinic who traps the cat and puts a plan into place for medical treatment, spay/neuter, and fostering. The Rescuer, has done all of the field work. The Rescuer has trusted that the clinic will act in an equally compassionate and transparent manner. The Rescuer is not someone who should be coldly cut out and dismissed from the work they began.
Your policy of taking the cat from the rescuer was not communicated to the person who brought him in to be checked for a chip. This is a blatant example of poor judgement and poorer ethics.
Clearly, the person rescuing the cat from living on the street was being honorable about their intention: it all documented on Facebook as it unfolded. Honorable is a word I can't attach to your staff. What they did was deceptive and underhanded.
The rescuer was treated like someone with stolen merchandise.
What is the current situation with the cat?
Where is the cat?
Is someone fostering the cat?
The Rescue group had all of that in place along with vetting.
There's proof that the rescuer was truthful about how the cat came into their possession.
There's proof that the rescuer was in the act of helping this abandoned and neglected cat.
Following is the original post asking for help and the follow up after the cat was brought to your clinic to check for a chip.
What your staff did was a discouragement to Rescuers. This is the first time I've heard of such poor policy and behavior from a clinic
Are you aware that shelters have declared an inability to do intake at this time?
Why would the staff at the Ralph Avenue location actually tell them that they would return the cat if there is no owner claim?
Why would the staff get their information and mislead them into thinking that they would get the cat back?
This is a very bad image of deception, outright manipulation, and straight up lying. Once the experience is shared, anyone who is in a similar situation will have second thoughts about bringing any animal to your clinics. I wonder what judgement was in place when this policy was carried out.
While not everyone has the best intentions when they find a cat; if you can work together with the Rescuer and improve the interaction with Rescues instead of creating a sense of defeat when something like this happens, hopefully the trust issues will improve.
I’m aware that the person who did the rescue of the animal appreciates your effort and hopefully at the end this cat gets what it deserves: a better life.
Without honest information coming from your staff we'll never know how this cat fared once it was taken from the Rescuer by your staff.
The public deserves to know what to expect when they bring a rescued cat to VEG.
An apology by management would be appreciated.
