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Chapter 47. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Cyber (Outer?) Space
When NYCA volunteer, Ann Kolquist introduced me to the fascinating world of computers and helped me get online in 1997, it opened up an entirely new world for animal adoptions.
Ann designed a web page for New Yorkers for Companion Animals (www.NYCAnet) and also connected us to other animal adoption websites such as www.Petfinder.com. The Internet attracted quality adopters from all over the Tri-State area. This was especially helpful for placement of dogs, though in the early days of the late 1990's, we were not able to rescue high numbers of dogs due to the difficulty of finding foster homes or reasonable and convenient boarding.
During the 90's computers were expensive to buy and maintain. Those who had them tended to be accomplished, smart, serious and somewhat settled. Pet Adoption sites were new and not yet fully utilized by either shelters and rescue groups or people seeking to acquire an animal. For NYCA, the Internet represented a kind of bonanza of quality adopters and little competition. All that has changed over the past few years, for both better and worse.
The proliferation and popularity of laptops, as opposed to desktops has attracted a new type of user. People on the go, the young, the busy, the curious and the uncommitted. The drop in prices has signified that anyone can afford a computer or laptop these days, from terrorists, to perverts, to the lazy and unemployed to those living in a perpetual fantasy world. And while shelters and rescue groups have been able to gain greater visibility and more adoptions through the Internet, so too, have unscrupulous backyard breeders and puppy mills proliferated, some of them masquerading and passing themselves off as "rescue."
By far, the most successful businesses on the Internet these days are porn sites and to lesser degree, Internet dating or matchmaking. Even sex and love have become like "fast food" fodder for the terminally unsatisfied and fantasy-chasing.
As of 2005, NYCA still gets most of its adoptions through Internet advertising, such as Petfinder, 1-800-Save-A-Pet and our own web site. But, unlike the early days, many, if not most Internet contacts have become a frustrating exercise in broken promises, cancellations, "changes of mind" and non-commitment. Moreover, most of the people who call us now are seeking, not simply a sweet, companion cat or dog, but rather, the exotic, the fanciful or the unattainable "perfect" kitten or puppy. Many of the callers don't bother to even get our name right.
"Is this New Yorkers for Companions?" I am frequently asked. "New Yorkers for Companion Animals" I have to correct. I sometimes wonder if some people confuse us with an escort service? What kind of companion are you looking for? Blonde, Brunette or Redhead? I'll send one over right away. Of course I don't say those things. Most of the time they are seeking a 5 lb Yorkie puppy or perfect Maine Coon kitten.
We don't have those either.
Other people call sometimes and they seem unable to communicate normally or remember anything: "Hm, ahh.....ehh, you got any Rock-Wilder puppies?" "You mean Rottweilers? No, we don't." Even if we did have Rottweiler puppies, I would have difficulty adopting one out to someone who can't pronounce the name correctly. I have to wonder how much they know about the breed, if they don't even know the name?
Worse though are the convoluted stories we sometimes get when asking callers about their past animals. "Yea, I had a dog." "Can you tell me about your dog? What kind of dog? How long did you have your dog? What happened to him or her?" To these questions we will get all kinds of answers from, "I don't remember," to "It got run over, but it really wasn't my dog, it was someone else's."
Sometimes I think half the people who call are on some kind of mind-numbing or memory destroying medication. Its like pulling teeth to get them to complete a sentence or remember an animal they had two years ago.
Conversely, other people will happily tell you their life stories and about every animal they ever had. These are the people who are open, very experienced, intelligent, warm, and usually the most promising in terms of a possible adoption.
They are also the ones most likely to cancel an adoption appointment at the last possible minute.
As they were "open" with me, so too are they with ten other adoption agencies. They suddenly can't make it to ten adoption appointments or change their mind at the last minute about adopting at all. These are the people who seemingly use animal adoption sites as some kind of lonely hearts "therapy" or flight of fancy.
And perhaps it is just that, which is the real problem with Cyberspace. At best, a connection to the rest of the world and a beacon of opportunity. At worse, a place for flights of fancy, irresponsibility, and non-commitment, never to connect to the real world at all.
The Internet is, in truth, the best and worst of all worlds. Or, like real life, it is sometimes wonderful and at other times, really ugly and frustrating.
Ultimately, there are no easy answers or shortcuts to the challenges and hard roads that life itself presents, whether in relationships with people or the animals who share our lives and planet. The Internet has served to add another dimension -- that seemingly of outer "space" to an already complex and expanding world.