AAARRRGGGHHHH pet "rescue" vent

[minimule]

I guess I don't understand the theory or reasoning behind pet "adoption" sites. We lost our JRT to cancer in Dec. We've been trying to find a "rescue" dog to help fill the void rahter than buying a puppy and encouraging more "unwanted" litters. We thought it would be nice to try to give a "homeless" dog a good home. That ain't gonna happen! We found a gorgeous little girl in TX. She's exactly what we've been looking for. We are all ready set up to contain a JRT, know all about their energy and attitude without having a problem with it. I called the lady to find out more info about the dog. I told her that we were interested in this particular dog and were all ready set up for a JRT. She asked where we were located. I told her NM and she said "I won't ship". No biggie, we'll come get her. Nope! She can't let her go to NM. HUH??!!?? What's wrong with her going to NM? "I can't do a home visit".........so she is going to pass on one of the best homes this dog could ask for because she can't see my house. This is the 2nd "foster" to turn us down because of how THEY feel about the dog.

This is SOOOO stupid. It's harder to give a homeless dog a good home than it is to adopt or even have a child. I thought the purpose was to find these poor dogs homes. Seems most of the "fosters" I've talked to thrive on the hardships of having all these homeless dogs.

 

[afoulk]

I too have tried to adopt from a rescue and have found they are very hard to deal with. I know they need to have some strict rules to protect the dogs but some are just stupid. Many have lost a good home and I have had to go someone else to get a puppy. Sorry you are having this trouble.

Arlene

 

[h2t99]

We also have tried to adopt before and were turned down on a cattle dog that was already trained! We live on a farm but because we did not have a fenced in yard we were turned down!! Some of the rescues are clueless on the breed they are suppose to be rescuing!!

We ended up finding one at a flea market(6 yrs ago) and he is our best dog!! We have never needed a fenced in yard with this breed!! We have three now!

 

[Mona]

Yep, add me to the list too! I think rescues are wonderful and I know they screen homes to ensure the animal won;t end up in Rescue (or worse) again, but it does turn people (myself included) away to go and buy a puppy elsewhere.

 

[Reble]

Boy do I have a story to tell you. Hope I type the story correctly.

My friend who went and got a dog from the Toronto Humane Society, took it home and found the dog did not get along with her husband, so thought she would keep it for awhile and see if he would settle in.

He was fine with her but needed to be socialized more with her husband, as she was hoping.

Well in the mean time she had asked them to let her know when a certain type bird came in, she would be interested in giving it a good home also.

While long story short they called to tell her a bird had come in and would she like to come look at it, well, she told the lady over the phone about the dog they got, he had bite her husband twice, but was hoping it was still going to work, she would keep him for awhile longer being they where going to try one more thing for a week or so.

She was attached to him, but not her husband. They where going to try to have her husband, be the sole feeder. Hoping his attitude would change towards him.

While the lady insisted she bring him back.

She arrived with dog and she asked to see the bird, the lady told her, lets first do the paper work on bringing the dog back. So they did and she explained the dog was scared of men, and does bite, and no one knew this before?

So they took the dog from her and she asked again can I see the bird, the lady replied I am sorry but we have a return policy, there is a waiting period.

She asked about the bird being held for her and the girl said sorry cannot do that.

her point but did not get anywhere, rules are rules she kept saying...

She could have waited, got the bird than returned the dog.... just not right...

She will never get anything from them again, it just hurt so much, how she was treated.

 

[Keri]

Us too. We were looking for another chihuahua to be a companion to our other chihuahua. Found an adorable one in a shelter in Colorado. We are in Utah and we were actually taking a road trip to Missouri to see my hubby's grandparents. So we could pick the dog up and also see if it got along with our other dog also (she was coming along on the road trip). The told us no becuase they couldn't do house inspections. For heaven's sake! They wouldn't even take references. I think they end up euthanizing more dogs than they need to becuase of these policies.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I can understand your frustration, for sure. There are some rescues out there I wouldn't want to deal with, either. But I also have to say, before you judge, do this "work" for awhile. It may open your eyes to why things are the way they are.

I spend countless hours a week volunteering for rescue in 1 way or another, on top of working a full time job and a couple of part-time ones. I do it because often times, no one else will. I do it because in our community, dogs had 3 days at the pound before they were euthanized. I don't do it for any monetary reward, praise, etc. It's hard work. We often get nasty e-mails/comments from people who think we are wrong for spaying/neutering, or feeling a certain animal is not a good fit for a certain home.

I do want to say, before anyone lights into me, that WE do do out of state adoptions if the adopting family is just right. If we feel a home visit is necessary, there are usually other groups in that area we can network with to have one of them do the home visit for us. There may be reasons the groups you've dealt with are enforcing the policies they are. When an adoption goes bad, it's the animal that suffers. And sometimes everything can look/sound great and you find out later things were NOT what they seemed.

 

[Lilac Lane Farm]

Add me to that list also! I have rescued dogs for 20 plus years and have taken in all breeds. But most of you know me, the Pit Bull is the best dog for us. Well our Pit of 12 years passed away due to cancer many years ago and we called the shelters looking for a Pit Bull and they all thought we were CRAZY. They did not want to let us have a dog because they were worried what we were going to do with it (fight them).

Well I always took my dogs to work with me, we have also showed dogs for years, obedience and ect. Our dogs are very well socialized and loved!

And I am thinking, there are thousands of Pit Bulls in shelters and they do not want to let us adopt one????? You can pick a crappy one off the street any day of the week and they did not want to give us one so screw them. I just go and find a breeder to buy one! There are a few crazy rescue people out there and you wonder if they themselves hoard ???

Heidi

 

[minimule]

I actually know someone that claimed/s to be a rescue and they are hoarders. In all honesty, if I were an animal, I wouldn't want to be rescued by them. They always have the vet over there poking and proding even though there is nothing wrong.

This lady wouldn't even give us a chance to talk to her. She refused to even think about it. It does just drive us to buy a puppy. Glad to know it's not just ME dealing with these types.

 

[Minimor]

Our local humane society is the strictest--it seems to be rare for them to adopt out a dog because they have such strict rules--when you visit their website the same dogs are there forever. They will only adopt dogs, even the biggest of dogs, to indoor homes....and those homes must have a fenced yard. Their adoption form says they can do a home check, either prior to adoption or after, even months/years after? I don't know if they ever actually do post-adoption home checks, but their form indicates that they can.

the local rescue also specifies indoor homes, but they are lenient on fenced yards--they prefer to have dogs hand walked as opposed to having them put out & left in a little fenced yard. You must provide a vet reference, and if you don't have a vet reference then they will do a home check. Their animals are all in foster homes, they do not have a facility of their own. The problem with them is--from what I've heard and seen from people that have looked at getting dogs from them--their foster care people are often not very good at evaluating their animals. As one example, a friend of mine went to meet 2 of their rescue dogs a couple weeks ago--she wants a dog that is similar to what we expect of a dog--obedient, hangs around while her people are out in the barn/doing chores, good with cats--was assured that these pups were fine with cats, good at sticking with their people...got there to see the pups (4 mos old) and they are kept in an apartment, separated from the cats by a gate, foster mom said that she knows nothing about dogs & has never had dogs before these 2 pups so doesn't know how to train them, when questioned about cats admitted that they are rarely around cats and "usually if they jump on the cats & they cry the puppies will back off & leave them alone but this morning they just keep jumping on the cats", the pups had basically no manners whatsoever...my friend decided that she didn't want a pup that has had that sort of a start in its "training" and so didn't even request adoption papers. She wants a dog that has had better training up to this point or else she'll get a younger puppy that she can train right from the start--she was very disappointed that these two puppies were so different from how the rescue advertised them.

Used to be people could adopt dogs from our city pound. That is where I got our Lucy 2 years ago, and that's where I got my little Penny dog in 1990. I paid $20 for each of them & then had to get their rabies shot right after picking them up from the pound--and I honestly believe that a dog rescued directly from the pound is more appreciative & bonds better with its new family....now, though, the pound dogs are mostly not available for adoption because the local rescue goes and takes them before the general public can even find out that they are there & available for adoption. The pound has a website that lists available animals, but mostly only the cats get listed. The dogs just show up on the rescue site, with the write up saying "this dog came to rescue after a lengthy stay at the city pound" but if you had phoned the pound during that time they would have told you that there were no dogs available and you should phone the rescue. Mostly it is the older "senior citizen" dogs or problem dogs that get posted for the general public--our Lucy, for instance, was posted because she was very standoffish with strangers and was considered a hard-to-place dog--the rescue didn't have a place for her. Just as well we were able to take her from the pound; had the rescue taken her & tried to place her in an indoor home she would have been very unhappy. Lucy had quite obviously been a farm dog before and she would not have been happy kept in the house. We tried letting her in, and she didn't want to be in the house.

 

[user 488]

Yep, add me to the list too! I think rescues are wonderful and I know they screen homes to ensure the animal won;t end up in Rescue (or worse) again, but it does turn people (myself included) away to go and buy a puppy elsewhere.

Yep, add me to the list. I have doggie heaven here. When my dobie passed away I also thought it would be nice to adopt with so many dogs in dobie rescue here. I have had dobies for 40 years and they have all led long wonderful lives. Five, dog safe, no climb fenced acres and that went along with a recommendation letter from my vet. I could not get a call back from the Florida rescue and the same girl didn't get adopted for months. Made me sick. Oh well, went out and bought another puppy. It certainly wasn't about money. Seems like you can't do a good deed sometimes no matter how hard you try. I just don't get it.

 

[StellaLenoir]

Just curious if anyone has tried local shelters? I know where I am we are overloaded with JRT, or as they are now being called Parson Terriers?

We have pups, seniors and everything in between. Some are mixes but lots Ihave seen are pure.

Maybe it is different in New Mexico. Just a thought about the local shelters.

 

[minimama]

Here's another one for you. I adopted two kittens. Brother and sister. Talked extensivly over the phone with the foster mom. She asked if I believed cats should be inside or outside. I told her I believe cats make up their own minds on that one. some cats are definitly inside cats and some are never going to be happy unless they are outside. So, anyway, talked to three different rescue people through this organization and they actully bumped three other people that were waiting for these kittens so we could have them because they felt our home was perfect. After about a year the female decided to become very destructive in the house. Peeing on everything, breakign things off of shelves, just trying to get outside. so, we decided to try her outside instead and she became our loving girl again. Just a doll, stays by the house and follows us around the barn adn pastures. Pets the horses and dogs, just a wonderful cat. So, somehow the rescue foudn out she was outside and started sending me threatening letters about taking her back. Then they offered to buy her back. Then they wanted both cats back.

All I can think is oh man, these cats have a wonderful home, vet recommended, reference letters galore, and there are thousands and thousands of cats that have no home and you have nothing better to do than harrass ME? OMG!!

i will never go through rescue again after this. My vet used to have my name posted that said if a shelter called regarding me, tell them to give her anythign she wants to adopt. Go figure!

 

[minimule]

We don't get that many JRTs here. There is one rescue and we've looked at her dogs but they just weren't compatible with us and what we want. Sweet dogs just not "it". There is one girl in the local shelter but she is deaf. We're leary of getting her with the mules. They like to sneak up on the unsuspecting victims..............not fair to the dog.

I've looked all over the country and there are several dogs out there I'd be interested in but I like to pick them up in person, not ship. Seems the most are on the East coast unfortunately.

 

[Marty]

These rescues that are turning people down good loving homes like this are screwing up the future of the animals.

I would suggest going straight to the top of each of them and speak directly to their manager or Board of Directors. Surely they are going to check references anyway so I don't understand why the problem has to be geographical. The animals are loosing fast and they need to all re-group. They can change their standards without lowering them.

 

[uwharrie]

I will preface that you are not going to like my reply.

I have done breed rescue for well over 20 yrs now ( sighthounds and Dobermans) I will adopt out of state but prefer to place dogs instate if possible. And if it is out of state you can bet the references better be perfect. The biggest reason I dont like to do long distance adoption is so I can get the dog back if anything goes wrong with the home or the adopter is no longer able to keep the dog.

Rescue is a thankless HARD job. It takes an enormous amount of time, and money and can be very emotionally draining. It is totally unfair to be critical of folks who are really trying to do their best by the dog. It is a fact of life that some rescue folks are harder to deal with and beyond picky. But they are the ones doing the work so they get to chose who too and how they adopt.

If you dont like their policies then simply adopt from somewhere else.

 

[Mona]

But they are the ones doing the work so they get to chose who too and how they adopt.
If you dont like their policies then simply adopt from somewhere else.

Yes, or BUY a pup and let that rescue dog sit there needing a new and loving home, a little (or a lot) longer.

 

[uwharrie]

Yes, or BUY a pup and let that rescue dog sit there needing a new and loving home, a little (or a lot) longer.

Just because a dog is in rescue does not mean it is not in a loving home. ALL of my rescues are treated just like my own dogs. If it takes time to find the perfect home so be it. The first concern is the dog.

 

[Sonya]

Having just went through the adoption process I can totally understand your frustrations. I did get the dog but it was a very trying process. I understand they want the best for the dog but they can be verry obnoxious and unreasonable. I filled out a 4 page application...had to give 3 references...which they did call and keep on the phone for 20+ minutes...called my vet...did a 45 min phone interview with me and an hour home inspection and strolled through my house opening closed doors and closets. I did not think I was going to be accepted because I don't have a fenced in yard...she kept bringing it up and I said....I live in the country! She made the comment that most people who live in the country do not take proper care of their dogs...I thought my husband was going to backhand her. She told me there were 3 other people wanting the same dog and I almost got fed up and said just give him to someone else. I think my adoption was even more difficult than the average because the lady coordinating the adoption was also the foster. This is also a breed specific rescue. That being said...next time I will probably just go to the pound. I do love my new dog though...he was worth the trouble!

 

[Reijel's Mom]

Add me to that list also! I have rescued dogs for 20 plus years and have taken in all breeds. But most of you know me, the Pit Bull is the best dog for us. Well our Pit of 12 years passed away due to cancer many years ago and we called the shelters looking for a Pit Bull and they all thought we were CRAZY. They did not want to let us have a dog because they were worried what we were going to do with it (fight them).

Well I always took my dogs to work with me, we have also showed dogs for years, obedience and ect. Our dogs are very well socialized and loved!

And I am thinking, there are thousands of Pit Bulls in shelters and they do not want to let us adopt one????? You can pick a crappy one off the street any day of the week and they did not want to give us one so screw them. I just go and find a breeder to buy one! There are a few crazy rescue people out there and you wonder if they themselves hoard ???

Heidi

We always have a pit or 2 around at our shelter - feel free to apply! www.wesavepets.com

Traditionally they've had a long wait before they got adopted, but the last couple we got in were adopted quickly into good homes. We've got 2 half pits now. . . we know because they came in with momma pit who got adopted quickly.