Too many dog rescue organizations have too many selective criteria and too many rules to be effective animal adoption organizations.
The demand for domestic dogs continues to grow.
Even in the light of the recession and “slow recovery,” more people want dogs than ever before.
And because more people really want dogs, the people who are offering them can afford to be more selective.
Now, it’s well-known that it can be difficult to get a high quality dog off a breeder. Breeders want to have some control over their lines, and they also do care about the long-term welfare of their puppies.
But really, I don’t know of any breeder of any kind of purebred dog who is quite like the dog foster and rescue crowd.
One can throw fits about how breeders demand that all puppies they sell be spayed or neutered, but breeders, although they probably won’t admit it, understand that they have to market their puppies in some way. That’s really what dog shows and trials and tests are about. They do show the dog meets some objective standard– even if we can quibble about the standard. But it’s still a very good marketing tool.
Many dog rescue people have never heard of that word marketing in relation to domestic dogs, and if you suggest it, get ready to have your head bitten off.
That’s because dog rescuers are rescuers. And that in itself is an entirely different mentality.
Now, not all dog rescuers are like this, and if you aren’t like this, I’m not writing about you.
But some dog rescuers are just nutty about the requirements they have for potential adopters.
Emily Yoffe of Slate Magazine writes about these bizarre criteria that rescuers set up in an article called “No Pet for You.”
In the article, Joffe describes her attempt to get a second rescue dog, but these attempts were only thwarted by the absolute nuttiness of the criteria that various rescue organizations create to keep “wrong people” from getting their animals:
When my family decided to get a second rescue dog, I felt it was my job to prove to the groups we contacted that I wasn’t a vivisectionist. Fed up, we decided to buy a puppy and found a lovely breeder, and our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Lily, has made us all ecstatic.
After I wrote this, I expected to be skinned alive by animal lovers. Instead, dozens of people posted comments about their own humiliation and rejection at the hands of these gatekeepers.
And gatekeepers they are.
Because here is a sampling of the responses Yoffe received on her initial piece:
Katie wrote that she wanted to adopt a retired racing greyhound but was told she was not eligible unless she already had an adopted greyhound. Julie got a no from a cat rescue because she was over 60 years old, even though her daughter promised to take in the cat if something happened to Julie. Jen Doe said her boyfriend’s family lives on fenced farm property with sheep, but they weren’t allowed to adopt a border collie—whose raison d’être is herding sheep—because the group insisted it never be allowed off-leash. [A border collie that is never allowed off-leash is going to be a barmy thing that no one could possibly want!] Philip was rejected because he said he allowed the dog he had to sleep wherever it liked; the right answer was to have a designated sleeping area. Molly, who has rescued Great Danes for more than 30 years, was refused by a Great Dane group because of “concern about my kitchen floor.”
Yoffe then describes the story of how a friend of hers was forced to go to Bernese mountain dog breeder after a bad experience with a rescue organization:
My friend M., who looked into getting a family dog when her children were 6 and 9, had a similarly vexing experience. After she and her husband decided rescue was the right thing to do, they looked online and found a mutt named Rusty. Rusty’s rescue group was having an adoption day and the family made the long drive to see him. Adopters were told not to mingle with the animals, but that specific dogs would be brought to them. While Rusty was otherwise engaged, M. asked if they could look at some of the other dogs but almost all were declared not suitable for children. As the family waited, the children sat on the ground and started writing in the dirt with sticks. A volunteer came over, alarmed. He reprimanded them, saying that if a dog sees a stick in a person’s hand it will expect that stick to be thrown, and it’s not fair to frustrate a dog.
Eventually, Rusty was brought over. He was a little hyper but everyone agreed he was fine. M. told the rescue group they wanted him, and when the family returned home they started buying dog supplies. But a call from the group aborted their plans. “We had a report about inappropriate behavior by your children,” M. was told, which meant they would not be allowed to adopt. M. and her husband were astounded and the children were crushed. “We still really wanted a dog, so we did the wrong thing and went to a breeder,” M. says. They bought a Bernese Mountain Dog who basks in constant attention from M. and her husband, who both work at home. “He loves his life,” she says. “Too bad for Rusty.”
Yoffe thinks that a lot of this control-freakishness over adopters of rescued dogs comes from a general aversion to human and what humans tend to do to animals.
Let’s posit that many people who are drawn to humane work don’t have a particularly positive view of humanity. This natural aversion is exacerbated by years of helping abandoned, abused, and neglected animals, which means seeing the worst people do to innocent creatures. Unfortunately, a subset of these people who dislike people have become like admissions officers at selective colleges, rejecting applicants who don’t fit an ideal template.
Of course, that’s certainly the case.
But another part of it is the puffed up ego. There is a certain mentality that many rescuers have– it’s the messiah complex. I’m saving this dog from a terrible situation, and only someone who has exactly my values can have it.
It’s exactly the same mentality one see on those shows about animal hoarders. How many of those people firmly believe that only they can provide the animals with the homes they need?
It’s really the same mentality– just a softer version of it.
And sometimes not so soft. Yoffe writes about a woman who rescues parrots and other caged birds, who has dozens of birds in her home that she has rescued. She refuses to adopt any out, even though she’s a member of a rescue organization.
The whole process is driving more and more people to go to breeders.
Anyone who gets to this question on one group’s application—“Do you plan to tie or chain the dog out at anytime?”—should know the answer is “never.” (I agree that dogs shouldn’t be chained outside). And you should know that the answer to this inquiry—“Have you ever had a cat declawed? Will you be declawing your new cat?”—is, “I would rip out my own fingernails with a pliers before declawing a cat.”
But other questions are conundrums. If you think having a dog would be great for your kids, or that your personal reproductive plans are not the business of strangers, then consider how to answer this question from a Labrador rescue group: “Are you considering having children within 10 years?” And who knows what number is disqualifying when answering this one: “How many steps are there to reach your front door?”
Ari Schwartz, a business development manager from Tarrytown, N.Y., and his wife, Lisa, a medical student, ran up against these Jeopardy-like quizzes when they went looking for a shelter dog. After filling out a multi-page online application from a local group, they got a follow-up phone call from a representative who noted they hadn’t given the name of their veterinarian. That was because the couple didn’t have a dog, Lisa replied. In Joseph Heller-esque fashion, the rep said that in order to adopt, a referral from a veterinarian was necessary. The representative went on to note the group preferred that one owner be home full-time. They also didn’t like to give dogs to people who lived in apartments, like the Schwartzes. The couple was told to get a cat. “My wife is deadly allergic to cats,” Ari notes. So—surprise!—they decided to go to a breeder. They now have a Shiba Inu named Tofu. “We absolutely love him,” Ari says.
If an applicant manages to get approved, the adoption papers should be read carefully before signing. It turns out the contract often specifies the adopter is not the actual owner of the animal. Sure you’re responsible for the pet’s food, shelter, training, and veterinary care, but the organization might retain “superior title in said animal.” This means the group can drop in unannounced at any time for the rest of your pet’s life and seize Fluffy if it doesn’t like what it sees.
Many adoption agreements also have a provision mandating that if things don’t work out with the pet, you must return it to the group rather than find it another home. Let’s call this the Ellen DeGeneres clause. The comedian adopted a Brussels Griffon named Iggy that just couldn’t get along with her cats. DeGeneres gave it to her hairdresser, who has two daughters, then aged 11 and 12, and Iggy basked in the love fest. Then someone from the group called to check in with DeGeneres on how Iggy was doing. She told them about the new arrangement. Not only was DeGeneres in breach of contract, the group didn’t want Iggy living with any children under age 14. They confiscated the dog.
So dog rescue has become crazy land.
There are several people in the rescue community who think things have gotten totally out of hand:
There are people in the rescue community who are aware that zealotry is damaging their cause. (The ASPCA sided with DeGeneres in her dispute). After all, since fewer than 20 percent of new pets come from rescue groups, driving down that proportion is self-defeating. Jane Hoffman is the president of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, the organization that transports potential pets from animal control to private groups and provides training and other services. “You have two ends of the spectrum,” she says. “Pet stores will sell to anyone with the money. And then there are rescue group who won’t adopt to anyone. We need a happy medium.”
Hoffman, whose organization works to smooth out the adoption process, acknowledges that the attitude of a lot of rescue groups is to “try to screen out people.” She understands the psychology of these wary rescuers. These are people, she points out, who save animals from dreadful situations: wandering lost on the street, facing euthanasia in a kill shelter, being removed from a “skank” owner. “They put in a lot of time and effort and love this dog or cat back to health,” she says. “Some get a little overcautious and are so afraid to make the wrong choice. So they err on the side of rejecting what would be a perfectly good home.”
Even guinea pig rescue has some nuttiness:
My former Slate colleague Jack Shafer, now a Reuters columnist, is allergic to cats and dogs. But he and his wife, Nicole Arthur, have two young animal-loving daughters, so they settled on rodents. Nicole didn’t want to support the guinea pig breeding industry, so she applied to a guinea pig rescue. The girls spent hours looking at the group’s website and their 8-year-old fell in love with a guinea pig that was supposed to be at an adoption event. But when the family got there the guinea pig in question was absent because of illness. The girl wept, but her parents consoled her and said there were many wonderful guinea pigs that needed homes. After the event the family awaited word on when to get their pets. But the word that came was that the family was unfit, because it was clear to the rescuers that the pets were for the girls, and the group didn’t adopt animals for the sake of children. Shafer says, “My question is, what adult wants a guinea pig? Of course they’re for the children!”
So off the family went to the pet store and home they came with Nibbles and Snowflake. They eat lovingly chopped produce and contentedly sit on the girls’ laps. Shafer’s analysis of the guinea pig saviors is unfortunately true of many animal rescuers. “They are trying to do something good,” he says, “and they end up doing something bad.”
Now, that’s pretty bad.
I think virtually all rescuers are into rescue for the right reasons, but unfortunately, too many of them can’t leave their egos at the door.
The point of rescue organization is to find homes for animals.
It’s not to judge other people. It’s not self-aggrandizement.
It’s to find a place for dogs that people might want.
And to do that, we have to accept that different people have different lifestyles.
Some people live way out in the sticks and don’t have to worry about leash laws. Indeed, I think it almost borders on cruelty for anyone to keep a dog either confined to a yard or on a leash for its entire life– especially if it is from a large, active breed.
Now, I might quibble a bit with Yoffe’s desire to let her cats outside.
That’s not because of cat welfare, though. It’s because cats destroy native wildlife when they are let outside unsupervised.
Yoffe has raised an important issue– one that must be addressed if dog rescue is ever going to last.
If the dog rescuers won’t let people have access to their rescued animals, then they will go to breeders.
The demand is that high.
So if they actually want people to adopt animals, they need to find ways to make the process easier and far less selective.
Otherwise, you’re just spinning your wheels with the people with the soft hoarder mentality.
And what is wrong with getting a dog from the right sort of breeder? (One who provides accurate information, and stands behind the dogs they sell) If you were buying a car, would you go to a reputable brand-name auto dealer, or to Cheap Louie’s Used Car Lot?
A lot of these people have a kind of fundamentalism about dog breeders.
It’s really kind of sick and twisted how they think.
I really pity them.
One of the reasons I chose the dog rescue to work with that I did was that they aren’t anti-breeding; they actually have a breeder that also volunteers for them.
Very insulting experience from a rescue group after the dog pee’d all over the house and terrified our cat, we were told that “no animal is fit to come into your house, because it was not a “positive situation”. The dog was perfect – we were the problem. Even after doing everything they suggested, they said that we did not do what they suggested, otherwise, the dog would have worked out. I received two incredibly meanspirited emails from the head of the rescue group, as if we had knew nothing of animals and did not treat ours well at all. Very hurt, and will never use a rescue group again. From now on, we will go to breeders for a puppy.
I used to be incredibly active in a dog rescue – I was a member of the executive, acting adoption coordinator, and foster home.
It was an incredibly exhausting, frustrating, and soul sucking time in my life. The director ruled with an iron fist, and her ideals were often irrational and unattainable.
I miss fostering – I miss the dogs and I miss the learning. But I DO NOT miss only adopting out a dozen dogs a year, even though we received 100′s of applications. I DO NOT miss arguing with a bull headed woman who I suspect was actually mentally ill.
I’m going to post this anonymously, “just in case”, as I’ve seen her angry, ha.
I agree with pretty much everything written here.
I am happy you are mentioning this control-freak attitude of so many people involved in animal rescue. They are insane. My adult daughter- who lives with us- wants to adopt a rescue and one of the questions on the application was, if there were any unfixed animals in the house. That Q was a killer. What does it matter, if the rescue is fixed? The applications ask a lot of questions that are none of their business. One application I saw was 5 typewritten pages long, but most are almost as bad..
I think some of those foster parents really do not want to let go of their charges. I watch PetFinder almost weekly and see the same dogs are still up many months later.
That’s why I like other alternatives like Pima County Animal Control. Just go, pick out your dog and pay for it. They often have specials. The animals are the ones left after the rescue groups cherry pick, though.
The local ad newspapers are the best source for backyard breeders, some of which are AKC eligible, if you are into that kind of thing- which I am not.
Yoffe’s article is certainly unfair in some ways – she fails to point out that all rescues have different policies and procedures, and she fails to draw a distinction between rescues vs. city/county run animal shelters/animal control.
I volunteer with an animal rescue, and the rescues in my area aren’t like this at all. In fact, the rescue I volunteer with has no set guidelines – each adoption is handled on a case-by-case basis, and we rarely turn someone down.
I certainly understand that there are some rescues that have crazy guidelines, but the assumption that someone was “forced” to go to a breeder is ridiculous, IMO. If you truly want to rescue a dog, you can rescue a dog. Either find a rescue group that has more reasonable guidelines, or go to a city or county run shelter that asks no questions at all. There is nothing wrong with going to a decent breeder for a pet if that is what you want to do, but don’t use one overzealous rescue group to justify your decision.
“If you truly want to rescue a dog, you can rescue a dog”
I understand this attitude, I honestly feel it myself a lot (I’m part of a dog rescue group, and I run my own cat rescue). I’m glad that the rescues in your area are easy to adopt from, but many are not. I think you’re doing what a lot of rescuers do and putting the blame on the pet-seeking public again. It’s the wrong way to look at this. Rescuers really do need to learn how to market and make easily available their ‘product’ if they want to sell it. Yes, it sucks and sometimes feels ‘wrong’ that it has to be that way, but really, if we want to save lives (as opposed to just FEELING GOOD and helping a few animals along the way) we have to suck it up. Scotty hits the nail on the head about rescuers and ego (and I’m not immune to this myself, BTW).
“Yoffe has raised an important issue– one that must be addressed if dog rescue is ever going to last.”
I agree that it’s an important point, but I disagree that dog rescue is in any danger of falling by the wayside. The vast majority of rescues have reasonable restrictions but are not tyrants. Certainly there are plenty of folks that go way too far, but generally speaking it’s not all that difficult to find a rescue that isn’t batshit crazy.
It depends upon location, the breed, and the species.
Having “rescued” 5 St. Bernards, I know whereof you speak. Our first 4 were: 1 a rescue from a bad situation in the city; 2 and 3, dogs from legitimate breeders–one was too nervous to show the other had to be neutered because of health issues; and 4–a give up at the county shelter. In all 4 cases adoption was a very straight-forward procedure.
Now we come to our current Saint, who was found wandering city streets when he was about a year old–unchipped and unneutered. He made his way to the Saint Rescue, where he lived in several foster situations before we finally met him. I won’t say the adoption process for him was onerous, but it was a lot more complicated than any we’d dealt w/ before. We got the expected home visit–which was a slam-dunk since we live on a 5 acre plot and have a 35′x70′ fenced play yard, as well as extensive experience w/ the breed. But we also got a large amount of paper work, which included such strictures as he can never be off-leash when not confined, that he actually still belongs to dog rescue and can be seized if we fail to meet our contractual obligations etc., etc., just as you’ve laid out above. We choose to obey these strictures because we love the dog and wouldn’t want to have to give him up.
We understand why these iron-clad contracts are used–the abuses we’ve seen just in relation to the one breed are too numerous and hideous to lay out here–but as with so much in today’s society, a modicum of common-sense is in order. For a large breed like a Saint Bernard, a brisk 2 or 3 mile walk and one or two vigorous play sessions a day, provides ample exercise to satisfy their needs and keeps them in good shape and vigor. But if we were rescuing Border Collie, Dalmatians, or Australian Shepherds, for instance, the leash restrictions would be a recipe for disaster. The average adopters would be returning them w/in a week!
In re restrictions about adopting for the kids–kids and dogs belong together. Its a match made in heaven–its by owning dogs that I learned empathy as a boy. Yes some individual dogs, even some breeds are not good matches for small children (and vice-versa), but to have a policy that states you can’t adopt a dog for the kids, is ludicrous. Its not fair to the kids or the dogs.
I have my doubts about contracts stating that the rescue retains a controlling interest in the dog. Contracts are supposed to protect both the buyer and the seller and that type of clause puts the buyer at a significant disadvantage.
The legality of such clauses is questionable.
You may well be right, but the legal alternative wud be litigation against an organization that cares for animals we also care about. And while said litigation is going on, dogs that cud have had a home, won’t. I think the just-between-us-adults approaches shud be exhausted before tackling the legal ramifications of these contracts. The rescue people care about the animals they rescue, they’re just a tad too OCD about.
massugu—- ABout kids…. Well, some parents should consider training their kids before ever getting a dog. Some kids come from parents with a hell of a lot more money than brains. And if these same kids …as an example…are curious enough to shove a pencil in the ear of an otherwise docile dog…. the parents might find themselves looking at a maimed disfigured child. And a Dog now having to be put down.
Kids and their curiosity require an outlet that doesn’t involve probing and poking a dog. And some of the parents we’ve interviewed need some poking and probing to find out just how they decided to have kids in the first place. So for for the sake of the dog …. knowing the family that is interested in it beyond just a phone call… is really important. If those kids are off the wall and need some supervision that the parents aren’t providing….what exactly does the dog have to look forward to?
No argument here–as a senior citizen (aka a crank) I have some very strong opinions about parenting. Thus, I support the home visit but I deplore a rescue that states categorically (as was reputedly the case w/ the guinea pigs) that their adopters can’t adopt for their kids. Again, common sense on the part of the rescue’s evaluator shud be the major tool in determination of suitability, not blind adherence to a set of rules. The rescue’s main concern shud always be what is best for the dogs, but it also needs to be aware–thru interviews/observation of the basic character, level of experience, maturity of the adopters in determining a fit.
There’s nothing bad in buying a well bred dog from a responsible breeder. Nor is there anything wrong with buying a dog from a rescue group or from Animal Control. Each has their place and it’s up to the buyer to decide what’s right for them. Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s like buying a car…lots of different brands out there and lots of different places to buy one. Find the one that fits your lifestyle.
That’s all well and good but the raison d’etre of a dog rescue shud always be matching their rescues up w/ families. Dogs kept in perpetuity by a rescue organization shud be the exception not the rule.
I can understand a contract wanting the dog back if you don’t want to keep it – that is what most reputable breeders require, so why not a rescue. Our local Bull Terrier rescue has received a few of our dogs back for various reasons and found new homes for them. As for going to a breeder for a purebred, some people want that particular breed and frequently have owned them for years. Some of the comments on Yoffe’s article were horrible about breeders and people who buy from them. I happen to be nuts about my own breed and don’t want anything else. I don’t care if it is rescued or well-bred, I want a Bull Terrier.
You misunderstand. I have a clause in my own contract that states the dog is to be returned to me if the owner cannot keep it any more. I am also willing to work with the owner to rehome the dog, or with rescue, if need be. What massugu is talking about is where the rescue retains ownership of the dog. You are in essence ‘leasing’ the dog.
I *sell* my puppies. The owner is entirely responsible for the upkeep of the dog, all the emotional and financial expenses associated with it. A contract is supposed to protect both the buyer and the seller, and regardless of the squishy language frequently used (adoption, etc.) money is changing hands, the dog is being *sold* by the rescue. How does the rescue retaining ownership of the dog protect the buyer? It doesn’t.
What is does do, is discourage the buyer from contacting the rescue if they have problems with the dog, for fear of ‘repossession.’
Amen!
If I were to attempt to adopt a dog from any rescue org. I would be refused.
1. I have two very young children.
2. I’m currently renting.
3. I have only a partially fenced in back-yard.
4. I don’t tie-out my current dog.
5. I only vaccinate my dog against rabies every 3 years.
6. I wouldn’t neuter the dog until 18 months of age at the very least.
I could probably go on, but I’ll leave it at those 6. Am I a bad candidate for a dog owner? Those in many rescues would say yes.
It’s sad… as I plan to get Kyuss a friend in the future (2 or 3 years) and I would love to go the rescue route. It’s unlikely I’d ever get approved though. =/
If it makes a difference, I can tell you nothing on your list would necessarily bar you from adopting from the dog rescue I’m with: http://mikeyschance.com
They are very thorough in their screening process (my only quibble is they sometimes take too long), but there are no hard line attitudes. If you make the case that you’re a responsible pet owner, they will adopt a dog to you.
Thats good to know there are some shelters out there that adopt to people like me!
My plan is to adopt an older “elderly” dog as I really don’t want to do the puppy stage over again, plus, they aren’t adopted as often.
I’m just waiting for the kids to get a bit bigger and for us to buy a new house! LOL
A Rescue Vs a Shelter can sometimes be very opposite ends of the spectrum. Shelters from my perspective tend to have the training failures, poor homework and impulsive mistakes. Where the Rescues have the dogs that were rescued from a tragic event, given up for adoption due to a drastic change, or the owners died, but in general the dogs are better behaved or already have been put through re-socialization to ensure the dog will fit properly into a new home.
Many dogs that are of a certain pedigree are noticed by the associated breed clubs that tend to scoop these dog up from whatever shelter or all-breed animal rehabilitation organization they may have wound up in. Then proceed to wait for inquiries from interested parties looking for that particular “Breed”, but don’t want to go through the puppy phase. It seems to me like most of these types of inquiries come from people looking for their choice of cake where they can eat it, too? They don’t necessarily know how or want to take the time to train a dog and believe getting an older one will likely solve their problem.
The Rescue route is only one of the options they exercise at the time of their search. Because the Shelters and local rescue clubs along with cold calling any breeder that piques their interest is all rolled into the search. Fo the dog that they just have to have. It was just about getting a nice dog… then they certainly can find one at a shelter. It just requires they go and visit the shelter. If you haven’t been to a shelter then I suggest you go visit one for the experience. Most have the same M.O. The dogs are all in their holding areas and you walk through and get to look at them. If you see one that catches your eye then you might have a small written slip to examine that states when the dog arrived there…. a possible reason for why its there and what the assessed temperament of that particular dog is.
For most of that… I’d say don’t believe what you read. Until you actually get to sit in a room and meet that dog, with the facility supervision, just in case everything that was on the initial assessment falls through at that moment when you actually introduce yourself and your family. If after meeting them things go well, then you make your own assessment. And see if the dog in question has any body language of their own about you.
As for the Breed Rescue clubs… and I call them clubs because they are all just as “clicky” as the dog fancy and usually more so. They are at times far more over the top than most breeders with insisting they must know so much about you before you are even in consideration for the “prize”. YES…the prize, because with such a high demand for this or that specific breed the clubs really can sit back and afford to be as critical as they want with any set of criteria they want. It’s almost like trying to adopt a human child… maybe even more difficult based on some criteria. But, I guess if you’re hell bent on getting that specific breed for next to nothing or pennies on the dollar, well what do you expect?
I like the cold callers that ask… “do you have any older dogs that you may be retiring?” … And we say we only consider rehoming our older dogs to families we already have one of our dogs with that are considering a second dog. But, it still won’t be a freebie since the dog is socialize and trained and not a curious puppy or adolescent. Mostly, our older dogs already have a wonderful retirement right here where they are already. And there are still our own requirements to be met, including an interview in person (preferably) and some background/reference checks.
I see the merit in being able to set the bar high for adopting a dog. In the end its about keeping that dog out of the system where it finds itself recycled from home to home. And since this is typically run by smaller independent groups without the human social welfare system paying workers to investigate the living situations over time or an older human child in a foster system that can actually tell a case worker how it is being treated. Well, then i can see why the rescue clubs put much more effort into making sure their adoptees actually have the best chance they can at not finding their way back into a rescue, shelter or just cast off into the streets and forgotten.
Perhaps many dog breeders can learn something from it and augment it to better serve their own dogs? Unless of course its only about the money for them. In which case that would explain why many breeders just ask for the basics about you and a check or money order. In any case, if there is anything good of raising the bar on the requisites… it forces those interested to do much more homework and be more informed about the decision they are about to make. Thus keeping the impulsive uninformed decisions directed more towards the pet stores.
Then there’s pet stores…. that’s a whole other can of worms.
Sengimage, I think you do people who get dogs from a rescue a disservice. Our family loves St. Bernards–always have, always will. But we’re not interested in breeding or showing them, & my wife and I are, frankly, too old to want to bother with puppies. As people who financially support Saint Rescue organizations, we also know that a lot of folks who get Saints elsewhere, are not really prepared for all the things that go along w/ owning a Saint–especially the size & the drool. (And every time a new Beethoven movie comes out this cycle repeats itself!) As a result, there are one heck of a lot of neglected, maltreated, underfed, rehoused, etc., etc. Saints around–older males are particularly hard to place. The rescues often save these dogs from certain death. Now, granted, only our current Saint came from a breed rescue, but by adopting him from a rescue, we got the kind of dog we truly love & are accustomed to, while providing one more unwanted dog w/ a loving home. As for the cost considerations, in addition to what we paid up front to the rescue, the donations we’ve made over the years are far greater than anything we might have had to pay a breeder. I know this last because our daughter has 2 Saints she bought from breeders (she likes the puppy stage) & I know how much she paid for them.
As for the strictures exercised by some rescues, as always, a little common sense can go a long way. For the sake of the dogs, I urge all rescue organizations to practice common sense in its dealings w/ prospective adopters.
Hey, I have no problem with the people who get their dogs from a rescue. If that’s what they want and have a need for then it’s all about the homework. Preparation is also a responsibility of the “buyer” and any shelter, rescue or breeder can’t fully prepare a dog for any specific individual without a lot of training.
That said… there are good rescue services and bad ones, just like breeders and buyers. Its all about the screening process. Which I don’t blast at entirely. I think that your point about common sense applies in all cases.
And really… if it was all about breeding and showing for us…. then we’ve really done a disservice to our dogs as well as our buyers. It’s all about finding the right situation for both ends of that equation for the long term.
Without some measurement in place as a requisite we’d see a whole lot more of our dogs in rescues and shelters. In the end if a breeder fails to place any of their pups in a good situation where the dog can thrive then they’ve failed. If the dogs winds up in a shelter without their knowledge…then as a breeder…they’ve failed. That’s my perspective at least.
But if they do go the route of rescue, then the hope is they find a good forever home in the end, and that all the mistakes prior to that were corrected.
Agreed. Unfortunately, most rescued dogs come w/ baggage of one kind of another, so the person who adopts from a rescue (or a pound) must truly be prepared to deal w/ the bad and the ugly as well as the good. On the other hand, in my experience rescued dogs seem to understand that they’ve suddenly “gone to heaven” & seem grateful for the remainders of their lives. I’m probably being too anthropomorphic in thid regard but that’s the way it appears to me.
My family tends to think…all dogs appreciate a good home, a good life and a good caring family or person to bond with. But, if all they knew was a poor environment, a hard life and negligence… then for the adopter…. it’s a journey they NEED to be prepared for.
So, some requisites are just needed, but also some compassion coming from the rescue and the adopter.
If you think about it…. If more precautions and better education was provided and taken on both sides of the equation… There would be a lot less need for a rescue club or shelter. And perhaps there would be less impulsive buying done at pet stores.
I am sure I would be turned down by some/many of those rescue groups, I would not qualify. Ridiculous!
It’s absolutely rediculous the kind of hoops you must jump through to adopt a dog from rescue. It’s not worth it, IMHO. I will only buy a dog from a breeder who does not enforce spay/neuter. If that is your definition of a BYB, then you better keep researching. It is those who tell you that you must sexually mutilate your dogs that are really in it for the money.
I am in the process of adopting a new dog (we lost our beloved border collie last month) and the rescues have made it VERY difficult….for starters, they have scooped up all the nicest dogs from public shelters, meaning what is left are pit bulls, pit mixes, pit-boxer mixes and a bunch of straggly looking Chihuahuas and not much else.
10 years ago I was able to find my own dog (border collie) PLUS quite a few nice dogs, chocolate labs and golden retrievers that I saw available, etc. but today there is NOTHING like that.
Meanwhile, the BC rescues are EVERYTHING Emily Yoffe says and worse. We are nearly ideal adoptive owners — I’m a homemaker, in the house most of the day — we have a nice yard and live near a wonderful park system — we have access to a fenced area for running — we NEVER board and take our dog on vacations with us (seriously!) — we have the best references and of course, we are experienced BC owners (not just someone who saw “Babe” and thinks BCs are “cute”). You’d think they would clasp us in their arms and be all thrilled to see one of their dogs going to such a great, well-prepared home….
but NOOOO. They are all pissy because the yard is not fenced. They have subtly implied we “did something wrong since our dog died at 11 years, 8 months and BCs can live to 16″. They DEMAND we give up all attempts to locate a dog (even though the adoption application says NOTHING ABOUT THIS), give them unlimited time to process that and do a home visit and THEN think about what dog they will OFFER us….maybe no dog. Maybe it will take a “year or two”. Meantime we are forbidden even to look elsewhere (“we’d be wasting their time, and their time is GOLDEN”, exact words).
MEANTIME, on Petfinder.com they list at least 3 suitable dogs, 2 we are very interested in but they won’t let us PICK a dog, no they want to “decide which dog is best suited to us” and then after six months or a year or two years, if we don’t LIKE that dog, too bad, we can return it (no refund). I don’t even know if this is one of those places that “retains ownership” even after you adopt….
They are definitely squirrelly. But in our state, there are TWO BC rescues, and I have applied to BOTH — in the first one, the owner is sick and having surgery this week (meaning she’s out of commission for some time) and the other is the one I describe above…..JUST SO FRUSTRATING.
Petfinder should not allow them to post pictures of DOGS THEY REFUSE TO ADOPT OUT….BTW from their stories, I know they keep dogs a year or more….while people are begging to adopt them…..seriously, they are borderline animal hoarders!
I am so hurt and displeased by the way I was treated by the hard headed president of a local rescue group – she insulted, derided, sneered at us, and said untrue things – just about every way to act high handed and mean because we could not live with the dog.
And I read about the breed! She insulted us, the humans, chastising me for having any needs at all. Only the dog had needs and we were equated with people who are truly mean to dogs. Very miserable experience, and will never go through it again.
To me, there are only three hard-line requirements to be allowed to adopt a dog from me as an independent foster.
1) The dog must sleep indoors, preferably in a crate. (some dogs of course can tolerate being left loose, but it’s at their own risk)
2) The dog must NOT be staked out on a tie. This leads more quickly to barrier frustration than almost anything else.
3) The dog MUST RECEIVE BASIC TRAINING. This training is offered free. By me.
Those three requirements cut in half the number of returns and behavioral problems the dog may have. Training means that the adopter has a resource for questions, problems, and concerns past the adoption. I always encourage those who adopt from me to contact me if there are ANY hiccups or problems that crop up so that we can address them intelligently. This has happened several times and these problems have been resolved.
Other than that, if there’s no problems with the family, I don’t see what the rescue has to be concerned about.
Jessica, you are pretty much the ideal foster situation — practical, generous, best interest of the dog, sensible. I agree with all your points, though I think some dogs (especially larger ones) do fine with a regular “bed” (blankets or something) in a corner and not necessarily a crate. (None of my dogs “wandered during the night or I would have crated them.)
Staking a dog out on a tie is a recipe for tragedy if a larger dog gets into your yard. The police just a shot a feral pit bull in my neighborhood; imagine if he got to your dog tied out on a stake!
Your offer of basic training is wonderful. I wish more did this, but honestly, I think most fosters are just trying to save the dogs they can, and as long as they are not Cujo, that’s about all they can do. I am sure your training, and openness to help, ensures smooth and happy adoptions. Thank you for your great work!
But of course, in the world of dog adoptions, you are a rareity.
These groups (not all) are lunatics-they wouldn’t show as much concern for an ailing family member of theirs as they do for the rescue animals. My “rescue” was rescued back by these people because my dog wanted to be outside in my huge fenced backyard. They said I wasn’t letting him in enough?? They were spying on me!! Creepy!!!! I told them to take the dog and shove it. I’ll BUY ONE FROM A BREEDER. WHICH I DID.
Winston, there are many fine and decent rescue groups and shelters. But the demand for dogs (especially in the Northeast and California) has made some of them arrogant and crazy and demanding. I have even run into a few of these in Ohio! (not the majority though). When you take a dog, you think it is yours, but you MUST read the contract — some of them SPECIFY that the rescue can take back the dog at ANY TIME if they feel you are not taking care of the dog properly, and the definition of “properly” is up to them, and can be ridiculously specific and crazy. Yes, they spy on people. The Ellen Degeneres case is pretty well known. They make unannounced visits, and they expect to be able to inspect your home in a way even law enforcement would not be allowed to do! and they DO reclaim dogs, especially if they are desirable small breeds.
A breeder is fine, but if you want to save a rescue dog, every city has a pound, a public shelter and probably some normal rescue groups, who are THRILLED if a decent person will take home a dog and they will not “hound you” (pardon the pun!) afterwards — don’t have the time or money or manpower.
We have had the same problem with golden rescues. We have a male golden who is happy, sociable, loving, eternally patient and just a gem of a dog, who we got from the local pound. We wanted to find him a companion so he’d have a friend to run and play with while the kids were at school. He wasn’t being destructive or displaying any bad behaviors, he just seems kind of bored. So, we applied with 6 different rescue groups and were turned down by all of them precisely because we already had a golden. I was gobsmacked! The fact that I live in doggie heaven, an enormous fenced in yard, with lots of hills and valleys and places that our present golden loves, it was all too ‘unstructured’ for their dogs. To this day, I can’t understand how a fenced in yard, a loving family, a cozy dog bed, training and twice daily feeding is unstructur
We decided we’ll just go back to the pound with buddy in tow and find him and the kids a new friend. We just fell so in love with buddy and the genial temperament of a golden, that we thought we should stick with them after all these years. But it’s just not worth dealing with these crazy people! Besides, a lot of dogs at the pound are just happy as can be to get out of a cage and back into a family, pure breed or not.
mamchacha: that’s a new one on me, but I am not surprised — they don’t want you to have TWO goldens? That must be a variation on “this must be a one-dog household”.
Now, some dogs can’t get along with other dogs, so that could be wise in their case. But I’ve seen it applied unilaterally, as in “you just must give 100% of your attention to THIS dog and no other”.
With all the unwanted dogs in shelters, many still facing euthanasia (even though young, healthy, and tame), it is monstrous to deny them a home in this way. Dogs (unlike cats) are PACK animals — they do not normally live alone. Most dogs want doggy companions.
Funny, because virtually all cat shelters yearn to place 2 or more cats in each home. But cats are SOLITARY HUNTERS, not pack animals. It’s almost like animal rescues have gone off the rails here.
Mamachacha, your golden deserves a “buddy”. It does not have to be another golden of course — but if you WANT ONE, don’t give up because of scrazy rescues — its worth remembering here, most “rescues” in this situation are one animal nut in their own home (unlike a huge public shelter).
I’ve seen goldens in our public shelter system. All shelter dogs are not “mixed breed” — I’ve seen everything from Italian greyhounds, to bichons, to border collies and this in an inner city shelter in the Rustbelt Midwest.
Don’t give up and don’t listen to the naysayers!
Im a foster carer I believe in total honesty and always am about any of my dogs Each dog is adopted as a case by case afterall just like people dogs have different needs and personalities too .I believe the dog can sleep inside or out as long as he is safe warm dry .A dog should be a part of the family and their enviroment dogs adapt if they don”t have special medical needs etc they will love any home that loves them back too many animals miss out on a home because of someones “”God like attitude or beliefs on the perfect home for the perfect home doesn”t exist BECAUSE we all have our own opion on what we believe is the perfect home