[Dailydrool] I am going to lose my mind: advice please!!!

[SUSAN INTESSIMONE]

Back in July 2009 I got a panicky call from a supposedly elderly woman 3 hours from me who said her son--a traveling salesman--had left his basset puppy with her and she couldn't care for her and needed to find her a place to go NOW, TODAY, BY TWO O'CLOCK (it was 11:30 AM when she called.)  So, I got on the phone, located a vet clinic/boarding facility [since there was no proof of shots on this puppy], paid the bill in advance on my own credit card (since the rescue doesn't have one) and called the woman to let her know where to take Bella.  I then located--through other rescue people--a temp foster home and, as luck would have it, a friend here was traveling through the city a few days later and offered to pick up the puppy and bring her to me.  In other words, I jumped through hoops--all while trying to shop for school [we start school the first week of August]--to get this dog into rescue.  The owner didn't seem overly concerned about the puppy,
 but she did want to know that she was going to a good place.  I assured her Bella was.  While the first adoption (local to me) didn't work out [child in the home was terrified of her], we DID successfully place her with a family an hour away that has three kids under age 5 and a disabled husband.  Bella lives surrounded by family as siblings and parents of the couple all live in the same huge piece of rural property.  She is so loved and well cared for.

Well, three times now I have been contacted by the former owner wanting an update on Bella.  I assured her Bella was in good hands but her emails are getting increasing hostile.  She doesn't know why I don't have regular updates on the puppy by the adopters, why I haven't put updates on the website, etc...  I have tried to explain that MOST of our adopters NEVER update us on their dogs, and those that do usually just send us a picture or whatever at Christmas or one other time.  It requires me to build a separate webpage for each update if I were to put them on the website and I just don't have time. (Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever sent an update to the rescue we adopted Murphy from, but given that I am in the rescue community, I'm sure they know he's in good hands...)

After her October email asking for yet another update, the previous owner again sent one in December and again yesterday.  I am at a loss to explain to her AGAIN what I stated above without sounding like a complete witch (with a capital B) as it sounds like she's the kind who would badmouth our rescue if she could.  I did get an update from the owners in November that I passed on, where it said they had had to rush Bella to the vet after she got a rash around her neck--turns out she was allergic to the collar.  THAT sent the original owner into a tizzy, saying she couldn't update her son about that as he would be so upset to know that (um...why??)  It was as if she thought the adopters had purposely thrown out the collar the original owner bought for her---this is a puppy!  She outgrew THAT collar a long time ago!!!

What, if anything, can I tell this woman to get her off my back??

Susan and the Hoptown Bassets + 1
Murphy, Jeremiah and Sweenie + Grandma
www.bluegrassbassetrescue.org
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