Some Austin volunteer dog-walkers quit over background checks
AUSTIN ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ Some volunteer dog-walkers have quit their service at the city’s animal shelter because of a new requirement that they turn over their Social Security numbers for criminal background checks. Under the new rules, each volunteer must give his or her legal name, date of birth and Social Security number for an annual background check. Fingerprinting is required if the volunteer has lived outside Texas in the past 10 years. The rules went too far for some volunteers, who said they don’t trust the city to protect their information. Some said the requirement is overkill considering they’re volunteering to work with cats and dogs.
How (&^%$#@ stupid is this? You decide that you want to give something back to your community, so you think that you’d enjoy being a volunteer dog walker at the local animal shelter. No big deal, right? You get to do something you enjoy and something that benefits the community. Everybody wins…right? Well, not so fast there, kimosabe. Before you can volunteer, we have to verify that you’re GOOD enough to walk dogs. Yessirree…because how do we know that you haven’t been convicted or accused of some heinous perversion that might bring into question your ability to walk dogs without committing some sort of sick, demeaning act of self-gratification upon them…or the children who want them? Hey, it’s ALL about the children, no?
Yeah, sure, I realize that it’s all about protecting children from predators. This would make sense if the dog-walkers were paid city employees- but they’re not.These are people who simply wish to volunteer their time. In return, they’ve being treated like potential criminals- PROVE to us that you’re not some sort of sick, demented, child-(&^%$#@ pervert, and then we’ll let you walk our dogs.
Who in their right mind would bother? My response would be to tell whatever brainiac came up with this ridiculous policy to piss off. If you’re going to treat someone like a potential criminal, you can’t claim to be surprised when a potential volunteer tells you to kiss their ass. These are people who want to donate their time to assist in a cause they care about. In return, they’re rewarded by being presumed guilty until they prove themselves innocent. To prove one’s innocence requires turning over personal information that has offended current and potential volunteers, causing many to quit. Who can blame them?
But, hey…it’s all about the children, eh? What a load of crap….
