Yoga Flow
Google
I am enormously disappointed in CT DEEP. Last night we received a call to go out and check on a baby swan that appeared to be in distress.
Upon arrival, we quickly noticed that there was water dripping from his nose and beak and he was weak and lethargic. He was nearly a mile from his pond on a busy industrial road and his parents were no where in sight.
Prior to my arrival, another friend in rescue had put in a call to your emergency dispatch center and was told to "go on our website and call the numbers until you get someone" ON A SATURDAY NIGHT... AT 7PM!
Well, as you can imagine, that wasn't working for us. So, at this point, I decided to call myself. The woman who answered the phone was QUICK to interrupt before I could even finish explaining the concerns. She interrupted to lecture me on not touching the swan, letting us know that parents were taking care of it, if it gets hit by a car oh well, and let me know there is nothing wrong with the swan. I had to cut her off with obvious frustration in my voice and point out the fact that she didn't even let me finish before interrupting and that I'm calling her for help and she's not helping, she then put me on a brief hold and came back with 2 phone numbers. I called them both, left messages and ended up having to figure it all out on my own.
What this woman didn't know is that she was speaking to former VP and current member of a promonant rescue organization here in CT. Rescue is what we do, wildlife, however, is NOT our specialty. BUT that wasn't going to stop me from doing everything in my power to save this baby. So I reached out and got a hold of several vets ALL of which agreed this swan was in distress and needed immediate medical attention. Quite the opposite of what the woman who answered the phone had to say... she couldn't be bothered to help or apparently even care!
I scooped up the swan, put him in the back of my car and drove him 30 minutes to a vet that would help... a vet I had to spend 2 hours trying to find and once he is stable we will release him back to his pond.
Why have an emergency line if the people answering are clearly annoyed when their attempts to shoo you off the phone, FAIL? I am appalled! I am outraged! And I am disgusted! Shame on you DEEP. That woman is what represents you... and my tax dollars go to fund you... I expect the people answering your phones to understand that they work for the people of this state and treat them all with the respect they deserve! Please use some of my tax dollars to retrain your staff.