Found a vft

[Nickz123]

I was working in the pottery studio at University of Florida late last night and went across the studio to throw some trash away and saw a vft sitting on one of the tables. It made me double look, it was a Dente from Lowe's sitting without the top on. The LFS topdressing was completely dried out so I took it out to my car and watered it with some distilled water that I had in there from a trip home a couple weeks ago. I called my girlfriend to see if I should return it to its spot on the table or bring it home to my terrarium. Anyway, I ended up bringing it home. It was on its way out and I had to take it. Whoever bought it was going to kill it in time so it is kind of the same, except I have it to take care of it. I hate everyone in that class anyway.
Nick Z.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Nick, That doesn't make taking the plant right. Find out who it belongs to and return it if they want it back. Then give them some tips on growing it if they need them. Might make a new friend. Much better than adding another enemy.

 

[blak519]

I agree with BigCarnivourKid, they probably left the VFT on the table so it could get sunlight, I do that with my VFT's all the time and if I came to check on them and found one missing I would be very angry!

 

[Nickz123]

Um, it was 3 in the morning and it was bone dry. I would rather have an enemy than watch the plant die. Plus if that person cared about it they wouldn't have brought it to a public place and left it. It's not about me haveing more plants, it's about saving the plant.
Nick Z.

 

[vft guy in SJ]

Quote[/b] (Nickz123 @ Nov. 23 2004,12:49)]Um, it was 3 in the morning and it was bone dry.  I would rather have an enemy than watch the plant die.  Plus if that person cared about it they wouldn't have brought it to a public place and left it.  It's not about me haveing more plants, it's about saving the plant.
                                    Nick Z.
                                       

Its not about saving a plant or adding friends/enemies...  Its about right and wrong. Taking a plant that does not belong to you without permission, regardless of your intentions, is stealing and its wrong. Put the plant back where you found it, Maybe add a printup of the VFT care sheet from the forum and apologise for stealing someones plant. The plant may live or it may die, but at least you wont be a thief.

Steve

 

[scottychaos]

Nick,
I for one agree with you!
if it was dry, it needed to be saved!
its obvious whoever left it there wasnt taking proper care of it..
saving the plant's life outweighs the "crime" IMO..
Scot

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Saving the plant is one thing keeping it makes it theft. Thats no better than collecting a plant from the wild. If nothing else put the plant back with a small tray of water and growing instructions.

 

[Amateur_Expert]

You guys can argue for days (has been done before) but ultimately its up to you. You can either keep the plant or return it and talk to the person about how to take care of the plant. I would keep the plant too... doesn't seem like they cared about it.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Quote[/b] (Amateur_Expert @ Nov. 23 2004,10:23)]doesn't seem like they cared about it.

But you won't know that untill you have talked to them.

 

[Kirkscoastalcarnivores]

i agree that taking it was the right thing, at the moment, but i like the idea of putting it back, and printing a VFT care sheet with it

 

[peter]

I think you should deffinitly put it back. I would not even touch it in the first place... if you didn't buy it then it is deffinitly considered stealing like Bigcarnivorkid said. The most I would do is water it a little and leave it alone.

 

[acflyer123]

I agree with them all.
Stealing is wrong. You should return it to its orignal spot.

 

[Copper]

What is wrong with people these days?  Wrong is wrong! It is theft.  BCK is right.  Educating them is best.  Return the plant.  I am so tired of hearing that doing a wrong is alright.  I hear "Hey, someone else would have done it to me", "they weren't taking care of it anyway" (this was to a theft of a dog that had got out. He said the owner could not have cared because the dog was out.  The owner was crazed enough to call out the police to find his dog (but that was the unknown side, right)) "If they don't know it doesn't hurt them", "I had my stuff stolen before, so it's right that I get this".  Nothing makes it right.  Return the plant.  Offer them a little money for it.  How would you feel if someone took something of yours?  If it has happened, how did you feel?  This may be a little wrong, but a wrong is a wrong.  You can try to convince yourself otherwise, but I believe that you know it.  That is all I have to say and probably more than I should have, but I am so tired of people rationalizing the wrongs that they do.

And, yes, we all do wrongs (including me), but we should try not to.

 

[Nickz123]

If you abuse your dog the aspca will come and take it away to give it a good home. That is what happened here. The plants not going back and nothing will be said about its disappearance. I do not feel it was theft, the plant would have been dead in morning if left there. End of thread...

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

It was taken without permision from the owner. That is theft. Rationalize all you want. You can justify it in the end. One tin soldier rides away.

 

[peter]

Nickz123- just use commone sense, give the plant back and then it would be the end of this thread.
The guy paid good money for the plant even if its only a few dollars.
If it was a dog and the owner abused it, the ASPCA would GIVE THE owner another chance if the owner is willing to. So you should do the same and talk to the person, or post a care sheet to give him another chance then you can reconsider things.
If you want another VFT so bad just go to Lowes or buy from this website. It's only a few dollars and not stealing.

 

[scottychaos]

Quote[/b] ]If it was a dog and the owner abused it, the ASPCA would GIVE THE owner another chance if the owner is willing to.

thats not true..at least not true in most cases.
My fiance and I volunteer at a local large animal shelter..we walk the dogs. so we hear about some of the big abuse cases..
a local farm found with 10 horses near starvation, some dead.
dozens of dogs and cats in the house, some dead, some so far gone they had to be euthinized..
ALL the animals were taken to this shelter and nursed back to health, and the owner does NOT get a second chance!
the owner gets a hefty fine or jail time!

yes, you can say "theft is theft" no matter what..and you can rationalize that this "VFT theft" is absolutely wrong because of the way you choose to rationalize it..
but I can also say "abuse is abuse" and the owner of the VFT, or horses, or beaten wives and children, whatever, does not DESERVE a second chance..
and I can feel perfecty fine with that decision.
If the police remove beaten children from abusive parents and put them in foster homes is that "theft" of the children from their rightfull owners??
of course not..
yes, im using an extreme analogy, but the VFT was nearly dead!
from abuse! so the analogy isnt really that far off..
so yeah, it can be rationalized both ways..

Nickz, if I were you I would just stop reading this thread.
let the "morally superior" (as they imagine themselves) go on and on all they like..
if you feel that what did was the right thing, then thats all that matters.
whoever left that plant doesent deserve a thing IMO..
the living plant is worth more than that persons feelings!
just make your stand, ignore this thread, and go enjoy you LIVING vft!
(sounds like you already did that anyway!
Scot

 

[peter]

scottychaos, I was not taking the abuse case that far, but if a person neglects or doesn't know how to take care of their dog a little and is willing to give the dog a second chance then yes the ASPCA would definnitly give the owner a second chance, the dog probably has a better chance with the willing owner then the ASPCA. I don't know if the same rules apply to your area, but ANY dog that is a mutt or alittle older has only 3 day to get adopted before being killed.  So which is better?  Letting the dog get a second chance with their owner or take chances with adoption where if no one wants it in three days the dog will be killed?  
It just comes to the amount of abuse that the person did to the animal.  I'm reffering to not taking proper care of the dog because of lack of knowledge or such.  If they hit the dog or worse, then yes I wouldn't have a problem with the police taking them away!
Scotty, it really doesn't matter if it was  a little VFT or a million dollars.  The fact is that he stole and it's not right.  How do you know the other end of the story?  Maybe the owner loved the plant but didn't know how to take care of it.  Or maybe he accidently left the plant outside and went home forgetting it over the weekend and the plant dried out.  Maybe he's looking for the plant and is going crazy trying to find it.
I've killed a few plants here and there because I forgot to water them and they looked like I neglected them.  Does that make it right for you or Nick to just come over and steal my dried out plant without knowing the whole story?  If Nick came by my house he would ASSUME that I was a newbie just like the other theft case of the VFT and steal the plant.  Maybe the plant was one of my rarer ones like my beloved Dionaea Crested trap or Long Red Finger.  Or maybe it was my Cup trap which as you all know a picky plant and goes sick without explanation, I don't think nick would be able to cure that plant even though it looks sickly and it looks like I neglected it but in truth that's not the full story.  So he would just take it home with the same attitude thinking he's saving it when I had a MUCH better chance at saving it since I've probably been growing VFT's longer then he has.
NO, its wrong and if it was me I would miss the plant greatly and be mad. I would rather find my plant dead and learn from it, then to have it stolen not knowing where it went!
Any other arguments from both of you guys?

 

[scottychaos]

Quote[/b] (peter @ Nov. 28 2004,9:21)]Any other arguments from both of you guys?

no, im done..
but thanks for asking!

Scot

 

[peter]

GOOD! I got my point through.  Now, Nick just bring the plant back, post a note saying your sorry along with a care sheet and lets call it a day.