some people should keep their nose out

[jazzywoo]

today i took taylor into the school for a couple of hours before school ended to see the children i do this with our rabbits and snake as the children love it and its educational
well while waiting outside for the kids to come out of class i had one of the other parents come over haveing a right go
she looked at my travel box and said that is not suitable houseing for a tortoise i did point out it is a travel box she then said what she kept in i said a tortoise table why she did answer that but then said i shouldnt have her out side in the travel box and she needs to be in the house as tortoises can not go out side ever as they need temps of 28 c 24 hours a day i did point out if its a nice day and yes tortoises can live out side and go out side she said they cant as they will die and i would kill taylor if she goes out at all
i did say the tortoise trust said when i asked that taylor could go out on warm days she said they are wrong
i said she is fine shes only going to be out for 20 mins and it wouldnt harm her she has towels for warmth
she then said well that is a baby and wont survive i pointed out taylor is 18 mths which i was then told that was wrong as her 1yr old is a lot smaller
i just walked away at this point god all i did was take her to school to see the kids which does have heating wasnt like id taken her out in the snow, rain it wasnt even cold out
she left me feeling like i had done something wrong and that we shouldnt own a torsoise
ann x

 

[reptylefreek]

RE: some peopleshould keep their nose out

do not let her get to you. people just have to put their two cents in. she is probably just mad she didn't think of bringing her tortoise to school too. you have done nothing wrong. if you kept a tort at the same temps all the time, where is the regulation in that? sounds like she needs a new lesson in tort care. kinda makes me feel bad for hers.

 

[jazzywoo]

RE: some peopleshould keep their nose out

do not let her get to you. people just have to put their two cents in. she is probably just mad she didn't think of bringing her tortoise to school too. you have done nothing wrong. if you kept a tort at the same temps all the time, where is the regulation in that? sounds like she needs a new lesson in tort care. kinda makes me feel bad for hers.

lol she maybe doesnt like it that all the kids love me
i go into school 4 times a year with the rabbits and stay there all day the kids love it ive been doing that for 5 years now i have taken the snake and now the tortoise i even donated 2 chickens for the school nursary that school really like my visits

 

[reptylefreek]

see she is just bitter

 

[Redfoot NERD]

With the exception of maybe an Indian star or Egyptian(sp?).. [ which I doubt she had ].. anything smaller kept at that temp was stunted and cooked!!!

You did well to walk away.. but no reason to let her bother you. What's the 'one-liner'?

I've never seen a statue erected to a critic.. but to those criticized; many have been erected! You get the idea...

Terry K

 

[jazzywoo]

With the exception of maybe an Indian star or Egyptian(sp?).. [ which I doubt she had ].. anything smaller kept at that temp was stunted and cooked!!!

You did well to walk away.. but no reason to let her bother you. What's the 'one-liner'?

I've never seen a statue erected to a critic.. but to those criticized; many have been erected! You get the idea...

Terry K

thanks terry i was so angry but i didnt let her know that lol

 

[Kristina]

I would have asked for her zoological or veterinary credentials. She really should have some if she is going to say that the Tortoise Trust is flat out dead wrong on their care, or make statements like "If a tortoise goes outside ever it will die." I guess all of my tortoises are dead. Oh, wait, no, that's right, they are just fine.

I don't like to call names, but that woman is an idiot. Don't let it get to you, just let it roll off.

Kristina

 

[jazzywoo]

I would have asked for her zoological or veterinary credentials. She really should have some if she is going to say that the Tortoise Trust is flat out dead wrong on their care, or make statements like "If a tortoise goes outside ever it will die." I guess all of my tortoises are dead. Oh, wait, no, that's right, they are just fine.

I don't like to call names, but that woman is an idiot. Don't let it get to you, just let it roll off.

Kristina

well i did tell her if she thought i was wrong she better take it up with the tortoise trust she shut up after that and i walked off

 

[biglove4bigtorts]

I have a fairly unsavory attitude to a large segment of the human population. I often explain people's ignorance within my own haed in ways that bring me a smile and allow me to feel pity of the oerson, rather than get angry.

I have people who will argue til the cows come home, about things they know nothing about, but the passion in ignorance can be amazing. All you can do is better yourself by bowing out grasefully, when you don't know or someone has made a valid argument that challenges your opinion. I am never to proud to walk away and not argue, when I don't have all of the facts and to state that I need more information, rather than trying to prove the other person ''wrong''. In your case, walking away was the best you could do...reasoning wouldn't work, you knew you were right, and this person will live in ignorance, until her own narrow mind allows her to recieve new and updated information. Sometimes people aren't ''bad'', they just have a block to hearing new things and learning.....this is the cause for most of todays problems on a global/social scale. These people are unfortunaltey the majority in some areas and it is always best to save your breath, lest you be just as foolish in wasteing your time.

I do try to point misinformed people to the right information, like you did by mentioning the tortoise trust, but you can lead a horse to water and all that......

 

[terryo]

I can relate to what you're saying. I was involved in a simian rescue program and there was a breeding house raided near where I live. I was fostering a three month old Squirrel monkey, and was asked by a local school if I would bring her in and talk to the class about these primates. Most parents were OK with this but I did get a lot of slack from some people, telling me about the cruelty of owning a monkey that should be in the wild. I tried to explain to her that I was AGAINST the breeding and selling of these primate's and that is why I was involved with this, and I had a licence to foster. Some were telling me about how to care for her while I had her.....you should do this, and you should do that...... I think that people just have to talk and have something to say so they can get attention. You can see her sitting on my shoulder in my picture.

 

[chadk]

Reminds of all those folks who try to give me parenting advice. LOL. Just smile and nod.

 

[Tom]

Ahh yes. Welcome to my world! I have all manner of animals out in public almost everyday. I've got an elephant, camel, horse job coming up. You ought to hear the nice comments we get about the elephants. These elephants are EXTREMELY well cared for. THeir owner sets the standard for everyone else to aspire to.

The world is full of ignorance and people willing to share it. You just have to develop a thick skin. In my business, we learn over time how to talk to these kind of people. Because we are confronted with it daily we learn what to say and how to shut them down. Unfortunately, we must be very careful and tactful, because we are operating in a professional capacity. When I'm out on my own, I tend to unload on these people, set them straight and make them want to leave the next guy alone.

I had an argument once with a lady at my wife's horse barn. I was raising two little rhesus macaques(monkeys) and I decided to bring them to the barn with us for some play and socialization. They were each on a 15' leash with a waist collar and having a great time jumping, climbing, playing and interacting with all the people. Everyone at the barn loved it, except for one woman who had a very distraught look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she proceeded to ream me about what a sad life those poor little monkeys had living in a cage. I said, "they aren't in a cage, they are out playing". She said, "Well, they will be when you get home". I told her that their enclosure was 20x12x8' and filled with climbing logs, tire swings and all sorts of behavioral enrichment, AND they spent most of their days running around with me, seeing and experiencing the world outside of a cage. I also explained how captive life is much nicer than life in the wild for them. In the wild they have to dodge a myriad of predators and parasites while desperately trying to find enough food to survive. They tear each other up and local people kill them, as they are considered vermin. In captivity they have no parasites, internal or external, they get free balanced meals all day long, no predators, no violent confrontations within the troop and they live twice as long. My argument fell on deaf ears and she couldn't be placated in the least. I ended by telling her, "sorry we don't agree, but these little monkeys have a great life and I sleep with a clear conscience every night".

The kicker here is that we were having this argument in front of her 1200 pound horses' 12x12' stall. Her horse spends about 23 hours and 45 minutes in that stall every day. Talk about a sad life.

The moral is that a lot of these people mean well, but they are ignorant. Others have an agenda (animal rightists), and still others do it out of a sense of guilt, because they've done something wrong to an animal in the past. Your lady sounds like the latter to me.

Keep your chin up. I've read your posts and you seem like a good person who does the right thing. Just participating on this forum shows me that you care very deeply about providing an optimal life for your tortoise. The good guys can't let the bad guys or idiots of the world get to them. Please keep taking those animals to those children and giving them the opportunity to learn. You are doing a good deed and it would be a shame to let some dum-dum stand in your way.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Yes. It really is better to kill them with kindness. Be interested and openminded, then when they start to veer off the reality trail, you can flatter them and be very non-committal in your response: "Really? I wonder who's running the Tortoise Trust to have made such a mistake! I'll have to go look that up again to make sure I'm keeping my tortoise safe. How many tortoises do you have? How wonderful! What are their names? Do your kids take care of them or do you?" and once you have focused all the attention on them they will be well-pleased to continue to talk about themselves for as long as you have time.

You did the right thing for Taylor and the right thing for Jazzy. I'll bet this woman's kids are just as self-focused as she is.