# A little insight



## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

Hello all. I know that I am probably one of the most hated members on this site. I have heard words like mean, hateful, spiteful, and malicious, etc. used to describe me. I can understand why some of you feel that way, but if you will give me a moment of your time I will explain why I feel that none of those labels apply.

I am a very passionate person about the things that i believe in. I am not going to change that in anyway, nor am I going to apologize for it. I will tell you however, that the health and well being of our little quilled friends is one of the things that I am really passionate about. Also, I don't mellow things out for the sake of someones feelings. Our hedgehogs are unable to speak for themselves, so it us up to us to be their voice. IF they could speak, do you think they would say "Hey, I understand that you think you know what is best by doing what you are doing but you have received advice to the contrary so please stop"? Or would they say "Hey, what the heck are you thinking? You know this is bad for me so STOP!" 

I will not "chill out", nor will I "relax" when I feel like someone is mistreating their little guy. Now, don't get me wrong, I know that their is a learning curve to all of this. I know we all have questions. But don't come on here bragging about all of the research you have done and how much you know about hedgehogs then mention doing things that are plainly stated as bad for them all over this site. That tells me either a.) you are a liar or b.) you know what is best for them, but you really don't care. That is when i get angry. If you know better, then why don't you do better. When we first got Dora we bought Brown's for her, the next day I read on here that it was bad and she got it no more. 8 dollars down the drain, but I could care less because the health and well being of our girls is important to us. We started out with a comfort wheel, and Dora still uses one due to not having the room at my gf's house to build a bigger cage. I know they are loud and noisy, but they are one of the better wheels on the market if you are a little short on space. As soon as she get more room we will be getting her a CWS just like Millies. 

In closing I want to say that I know that the ones that hate me most likely still will after this. And the ones that appreciate what I have to say still will after this. Just know that none of my actions are out of spite, malice, hatred or meanness. They come from the heart, are filled with passion and completely devoid of apologies. I know my actions may get me kicked off of the board one of these days, but at least it will be out of love and caring for these little guys.


Chad


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## Hedgiepets (Aug 21, 2008)

Chad,

We appreciate that you care a lot about the animals. We are here to help everyone. 

Would prefer to be yelled for a mistake or counseled kindly in to changing your ways? Do you want to drive people away from the group, where they get no help, or try to help them, even if they do not always take your advice? Remember, that within our community, there are people of different ages, abilities and learning styles.


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

Have you ever seen me get on to some one that was mearly asking for advice? No. It is always the know-it-alls that ask for advice then blatantly refuse to listen to it, then say things like "its no big deal" that i get on to. 

Ignorance is fine, it is simply the absence of knowledge about something. Stupidity is what i cant stand. To me that is choosing to remain ignorant. Once again, i make no apologies for my actions. But if people arent going to listen to the advice they are given then why are they even here in the first place?

In short, if they are going to hurt or kill their hogs out of stubborness i would rather not have to hear about it when they want sympathy. I grieve for each one of these little ones when they are mistreated and to give a stubborn owner sympathy and coddling just aint gonna happen here.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

(Sorry about the length >.<)

I've actually been thinking about this since the day Chad posted this. And I totally understand where he's coming from. When someone asks an opinion on a product(object or food), and the reactions all lean towards saying that the product is potentially harmful to the well being of hedgies, the response everyone would love to receive is:

"Omg! I had no idea! I'm going to take it out right away. What is a better alternative?(if none were given) Is it ok that my hedgie has been using/eating it for the past few days?" etc etc along those lines.

Rather than getting:
"lol, I'm sure my hedgie will be fine. He/She has used it so far with no problems. If something comes up, I'm sure I'll be able to fix it. haha, he/she looks so cute when they're using/eating it" etc etc along those lines. And then later return with "omg  [this, or this, or that] happened to my hedgie! What should I do?" followed by "Well....I have time next week for a vet appointment, I'm sure they'll be fine for a few days".

Yes, I know I'm just dragging out the worst XD But you get the basic idea.

I know that there are things we must "look the other way" about. But when does it end? A long time ago, a youth came on here wanting to breed their hedgie because they had access to a male. A lot of board members were completely against it and spoke their mind. Later, another youth came on asking about breeding questions, and ignored the ones asked of them, about whether this is an intentional breeding, or did they aquire a pregnant hedgie. Not much else was posted after some of their questions were answered. (note: I only use "youth" because they are under 18). [Yes, I actually went through every thread before I got my hedgie XD]

I know that after it's all happened, you move past it and help them the best you can, but what about trying to talk sense into them before something happens? I also understand that "sugar works better than vinegar" but what do you do when a whole bunch of sugar has been dumped onto them with little to no effect? Dub it a hopeless cause and move on? It's just so hard to sometimes, and you end up thinking about the animal after you pull yourself away from the computer.

Right now, I just try my best and use my bf for venting :lol: while I try to be helpful and find useful links. But it does get hard sometimes, and that's usually when I just don't post.

As some of you know, I'm more "horse based". I absolutely refuse to sign up and post in any horse forums because of stuff like this. I'll read, but I refuse to post. And it gets bad in the horse world(backyard breeders with "magikal" horses who sell at auctions at meat price, lack of proper equipment around horses. Just recently, a child was kicked when she wandered 20ft away from her parents to hug the horsie....parents are trying to sue the owners, etc etc). They "think" that what they're doing is right. All of their animals are "happy". Frustrated people go and write their own blogs about it :lol:

Now, I love having communities where everyone helps each other out. I'm still new to hedgies and I love how much I have learned here. But sometimes, people in general makes me want to hide away with all my animals and never come out :lol:

I hope that one day animals will only be sold through breeders who has forms for every potential owner to fill out and show that they have basic knowledge, and can learn. (Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?)

I will leave you with an OT comment in an OT blog that made me giggle.

"When we had a litter of Jack Russells, a guy and his wife came over to check out the pups. They wanted a female and stated they would probably end up breeding her. Then they asked how old the pup had to be to breed. Then the husband said it'd be good for the kids.
I said "What would be good for the kids."
The husband said "To watch her give birth."
I said "Sure, I guess. Have you got a stud in mind?"
He said "We'll probably breed her to our Chihuahua. It doesn't matter, really, it's all about the miracle of birth." 
I said, "Get your kids a video from the library."
I stood up and walked them to the door. The husband asked "When will she be ready to go?" 
I said, "I'm not selling one of my puppies to you."
He was surprised and said "What? Why not?"
I said, "Because I'm a puppy nazi and I have the right to tell you "NO"."
He was persistent, wanting to know why. 
I said "Anyone stupid enough to breed one of my purebred, registerable puppies outside of her breed isn't going to buy the puppy from me. There are lots of breeder who don't care. I do. Go somewhere else."
And he got all mad..."
~Karen V


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