Have you ever watched a movie in which a person in their dress military uniform comes into the room with a chest full of decorations? Your first reaction is that the person has witnessed a lot of action in the military. That may or may not be the case. The first ribbon you get in the military is the one that shows you survived boot camp. It’s probably the only ribbon that you feel that you have earned. My second ribbon was the Marksman Ribbon. The idea is to hit your LARGE target 90 times using 90 bullets. My target had 104 holes, so I earned the Marksman Ribbon. I later discovered that the shooter next to me was shooting into my target. Shooting at the wrong target doesn’t count towards your own Marksman Ribbon. It is nearly impossible to not pick up an Outstanding Unit Citation Ribbon. They are handed out like candy and I can no longer remember how I earned mine. Granted, I was only in the military for four years, but the most prodigious ribbon was the Philippines Presidential Ribbon. I know, you probably think that I saved the President’s life, but I am not sure that I did. While serving in the Philippines, I donated blood to the Red Cross and earned that ribbon. My father should have been the one to receive that ribbon because he took all of his kids down to donate blood on a regular basis. Donating in the Philippines just seemed like the natural thing to do. I probably earned other ribbons, but I didn’t keep track, I don’t think the military did either. You could just go down to the BX and buy whatever ribbons suited you.
This thought path that has taken me, and now you, reminded me of a guy that I went to college with. He got a job as a part-time law enforcement officer in a small town near the college. The town was nothing more than a speed trap along the highway. The guy’s boss went on vacation and for a short time, he became the Chief of Police. When I saw this guy wearing his uniform, I started laughing. I know, you should respect law enforcement authority but this guy was dressed exactly as a Latin American dictator: five stars, ceremonial ropes hanging from his shoulders, and, of course, dark sunglasses. He was proof positive that the uniform doesn’t make the man.
So, at this point, I try to turn this story into something that represents a message for animal welfare workers. The descriptions that we give the public are often undeserved depictions of the animals in our care. Many animal rescue groups lie about the animals, so that they can get them adopted. The pressure of becoming no-kill has caused many organizations to lose their integrity. It became so bad in Virginia that laws had to be created to make it illegal to provide a false narrative about an animal for adoption.
Many communities have pet lemon laws that make it imperative that we be honest when dealing with prospective pet owners. There is nothing better than a Letter to the Editor in your local newspaper to put you in your place.
We have become a nation of false narratives and many animal shelters have jumped into lying as a matter of daily operations. It has become so ingrained in our society that we can no longer encourage people to adopt our animals because we have gained so much mistrust in the communities that we serve. No-kill is a good thing, but not at the loss of your organization’s integrity. The real harm comes when our staff so freely gives out false claims that they can no longer identify truth from fiction. Organizational leaders need to listen to what their staff and volunteers are telling people and take action when they are not being honest.