Animal shelters in C.O. (Portland, Bend: house, pitbull, floors)

[Coniferian]

A few weeks after we moved to Redmond in October, our elderly Border Collie passed away. We now felt we were ready for a new dog and contacted Brightside Animal Center about a Border Collie mix they had just listed. As it was Sunday, they said to fill out an application and bring it in when they opened on Tuesday, but they would not make a decision that day. We arrived when the shelter opened and were told that the dog had already been adopted. We asked to visit with another dog we thought might be a good match and they brought him out. We said we would take him, but were told we had to come back and talk to another woman in half an hour, which we did. She said she would have to talk to someone else. Then we had to fill out another application (their online one was outdated). We did that and were told we would have to come back and talk to a fourth woman. Several hours later we received a call and were told that the dog was "on hold" to someone from Portland and no longer available.

Yesterday we went to the Three Rivers shelter in Madras and came home with a wonderful dog. The staff was friendly and very helpful.

The dog we tried to adopt is still listed on Brightside's website, so perhaps we were deemed "unsuitable", although we were interviewed by everyone except the guy mopping floors. I gather that our experience with Brightside is not unusual, and if you want to adopt a dog, would recommend making the drive to Three Rivers.

[PNW-type-gal]

We adopted our younger dog from the main shelter in Bend ( Adopt a Loving Animal Today! | Humane Society of Central Oregon ) and it was a nice facility with nice people and a good mix of dogs, although most of the dogs were on the larger side.

[whirnot]

It's because you came from CO and they assume your house is full of Marijuana! Rocky Mountain High!

[oregonwoodsmoke]

The shelter in Prineville could use some help, if any of you are looking for a place to donate. I don't know how stringent they are about adoptions, but they are always full of stock dogs and stock dog crosses.

I'm not going to give any criticism to shelters for being tough with their screening. The recidivism rate amongst the inmates is daunting. Shelter dogs didn't get there by being perfectly trained dogs with exemplary manners, so there is sometimes some baggage to be worked through and the shelter does not want the dog to bounce back into jail for minor infractions. They want to screen hard enough to get the dogs into homes that are committed to making it work.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

The recidivism rate amongst the inmates is daunting.

How bad is it?

[Coniferian]

If someone had said to us "Our first concern is the animal's welfare, and we don't think you'd be a good fit" I would have been fine with that. Instead we just got the run-around for half the day. And they certainly didn't follow their own policies as stated on their website. We later confirmed this with an ex-employee.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

The shelter in Prineville could use some help, if any of you are looking for a place to donate. I don't know how stringent they are about adoptions, but they are always full of stock dogs and stock dog crosses.

I'm not going to give any criticism to shelters for being tough with their screening. The recidivism rate amongst the inmates is daunting. Shelter dogs didn't get there by being perfectly trained dogs with exemplary manners, so there is sometimes some baggage to be worked through and the shelter does not want the dog to bounce back into jail for minor infractions. They want to screen hard enough to get the dogs into homes that are committed to making it work.

That's what I noticed about the Klamath Falls shelter when I went in to look for a dog (about 7 years ago) - a lot of stock dogs, not just in type but in training, who were not at all suitable as just a companion dog. I also think a lot of Border Collies and similar working dogs get returned to the shelter because the person adopting the dog wants a nice quiet lap dog and instead gets a high-energy semi-rough working dog who tends to try to herd the kids and nip at heels because it needs something to DO.

Although the new Klamath facility is very nice and when I was there last year to pay the license fees, I noticed a lot more "city" dogs.

[Coniferian]

We had a high-energy working dog for nearly 15 years and knew what to expect. A large percentage of the dogs - at least in this area - seem to be pitbull or chihuahua mixes. We are now fostering an older blue heeler/australian shepherd that we will adopt after he gets "clipped and chipped" on Monday.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Coniferian

We had a high-energy working dog for nearly 15 years and knew what to expect.

That is, of course, the trick. My neighbors got a cute Blue Heeler puppy without knowing a thing about them and wanted to know how to "calm the dog down" and stop her nipping at heels and herding. The answer "you don't because you can't" was not what they wanted to hear.

[Coniferian]

Our dog Duncan used to get frustrated because he couldn't herd the elk that would come on our property - they would just ignore him. He did chase a bear off and got in a fight with a fox on a couple occasions. He was smart but also foolhardy.