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Good thing guide dog schools think blind people can care for dogs, otherwise blind folks would not have access to alternatives for mobility.
I work with so many people who have disabilities and also have pets...or service animals. One guy is quadriplegic, he has a service dog, and without that dog he would not be able to be independent.
I could go on and on...
As for what happens to pets when folks go to nursing homes? Having seen this many times, often family steps in, we took care of my Grandmother's dog when she went to long term care, and took him to visit her all the time. Sam became a "therapy dog" for many folks in that place.
I work all day, had small kids, never allowed a home inspection...have had pets my whole life, never lost a pet, never gave one up. Beau, our last cat, lived in four States.
Just one last comment...I do know a man on dialysis, lower limb amputee, he cannot find adaptive housing that will allow him to keep his cat, so he lives in a place with stairs, and has to crawl up three stairs every day, to get in and out of his apartment, just because he won't give up his cat. He is amazing. Few people would understand that...and....he is on SSI, recently spent $120 for a "well cat" check up for his cat.
Think about people like him, before you dismiss folks with a disability.
I agree with the consensus of this thread. Most rescues are simply impossible to deal with. However there are a minority that aren't. I'm a 28 year poodle owner. I decided two years ago My poodle Sari needed a friend because she absolutely loves other dogs. I went through the crap with rescue groups denying me and my mother, stop responding to our calls/emails etc, driving the vet crazy with all the reference calls, intrusive applications etc.
We are ideal candidates. We have a long history with poodles, great references, nice house with fenced yard, my mother is at home all day with them.
I finally found two rescues I could work with. One put us in touch with a foster and we decided it wasn't a good match. Sari was to outgoing, energetic, and overbearing and the rescue was too shy and timid. The Great Lakes Poodle Club put us in touch with a family giving up a poodle and Barkley has turned out to be a darling addition to the family.
I think what you have to do is contact several rescues and find one that aren't run by socially/cerebrally challenged lunatics.
I also think there should be review sites for bad rescue groups so people can know ahead of time to not deal with them and even better don't give money to them and let them fade away and get replaced by better groups.
There's a beautiful long-haired tortoiseshell cat that's been languishing at the local pet rescue shelter (located in PetSmart) for several months now because the information the shelter requires from potential adopters is so personal and unnecessary that most people either do not fill in the info or use false information.
For instance, they request to know how much money you make and how much you pay in rent/mortgage, and to list three references, not including your vet info. Two of these references must be neighbors of yours. So what do you do if you work all the time and don't know your neighbors very well?
This particular cat is very popular and highly adoptable, she gets more attention than any other cat there and dozens of people have put in their names to adopt her. But 3 months later, she's still there, unadopted. Maybe the shelter feels they can afford to be picky but it's a real shame they couldn't find one family or couple who they felt was a good match with the cat. She should have been adopted out a long time ago.
sometimes rescuers wanna save the world and get all gung ho and do the opposite of helping pets. I see it at the shelter I work at; people are denied pets all the time. And for whatever reason..Some cop got a cat... I wouldn't have given a dead flea to him, his story kept changing. He left the first time because I wouldn't give him a cat and he returned with his uniform on and got the cat he wanted from my boss....sad...because he might pass the animal on or put it out in the street if it doesn't work out with his wife's allergies...In some cases shelters get too bonded with an animal and won't give it to anyone. It can be very unfair, everytime there's people involved.
I agree with the consensus of this thread. Most rescues are simply impossible to deal with. However there are a minority that aren't. I'm a 28 year poodle owner. I decided two years ago My poodle Sari needed a friend because she absolutely loves other dogs. I went through the crap with rescue groups denying me and my mother, stop responding to our calls/emails etc, driving the vet crazy with all the reference calls, intrusive applications etc.
We are ideal candidates. We have a long history with poodles, great references, nice house with fenced yard, my mother is at home all day with them.
I finally found two rescues I could work with. One put us in touch with a foster and we decided it wasn't a good match. Sari was to outgoing, energetic, and overbearing and the rescue was too shy and timid. The Great Lakes Poodle Club put us in touch with a family giving up a poodle and Barkley has turned out to be a darling addition to the family.
I think what you have to do is contact several rescues and find one that aren't run by socially/cerebrally challenged lunatics.
I also think there should be review sites for bad rescue groups so people can know ahead of time to not deal with them and even better don't give money to them and let them fade away and get replaced by better groups.
You are complaining because the rescues called the vet for references and you had to fill out detailed applications? Oh, poor you! Your attitude is that of an entitled person whom everyone should know, of course, how wonderful you are as a pet parent! I am not a rescue. I have adopted 4 dogs from various shelters and sanctuaries and gladly had them not only contact my vet, require more than one interview, require a complete application AND visit my home. The sanctuary who saved our last, now deceased, dog, in addition, made us fill out a 2 or 3 page legal contract that had been drawn up for all adopters by their attorney. I was so glad that they were that careful.
Your attitudes stinks and so does that of the many complainers like you who don't want to allow a rescue to thoroughly check out a potential adopter.
You are complaining because the rescues called the vet for references and you had to fill out detailed applications? Oh, poor you! Your attitude is that of an entitled person whom everyone should know, of course, how wonderful you are as a pet parent! I am not a rescue. I have adopted 4 dogs from various shelters and sanctuaries and gladly had them not only contact my vet, require more than one interview, require a complete application AND visit my home. The sanctuary who saved our last, now deceased, dog, in addition, made us fill out a 2 or 3 page legal contract that had been drawn up for all adopters by their attorney. I was so glad that they were that careful.
Your attitudes stinks and so does that of the many complainers like you who don't want to allow a rescue to thoroughly check out a potential adopter.
And people with attitudes such as the one you demonstrate in your post will chase people away from rescues, and on to purchasing their pets from pet shops, or "sign on the telephone pole" sellers.
Our two are rescues, but they were found in a welding shop by someone we knew. We took them, covered in ringworm and nearly starved at 4-5 weeks old, and brought them back to health. Good thing we didn't have to go through the equivalent of a home mortgage application, a job application, and a criminal background check to get our babies!
Just one last comment...I do know a man on dialysis, lower limb amputee, he cannot find adaptive housing that will allow him to keep his cat, so he lives in a place with stairs, and has to crawl up three stairs every day, to get in and out of his apartment, just because he won't give up his cat. He is amazing. Few people would understand that...and....he is on SSI, recently spent $120 for a "well cat" check up for his cat.
Think about people like him, before you dismiss folks with a disability.
I would most likely adopt to your friend. When I evaluate an adopter I'm looking for a particular type of person, a particular mentality, not perfect people with a perfect home. Actually I care little about their home as long as they aren't living in filth. What I'm looking for is people who are committed to their pets and would make necessary sacrifices to keep their pets, like someone who would rather crawl up the stairs than give up his cat. I know that those kinds of people will give the cat what it needs and not dump them when they decide to move to a no-pet apartment.
A good rescue, imo, will take each adopter on a case by case basis. Disabled people can of course make great pet owners. I hope people understand that although most people would make good pet owners there are people who are total idiots and shouldn't own a goldfish and the only way we rescues can identify these people is by asking questions so please don't be offended because you have to fill out a long application.
To verify that you're not a complete liar who actually have 30 neglected cats at home we have to do a home visit. Please understand that. I once did a home visit with a family who looked just fine on paper but when I came to their place I saw that they had a filthy litter box and their dog had big mats on his back. Clearly they do not take care of their pets and I do not want one of my cats to go to people that can't bother to scoop a litter box or brush a dog. How would they handle something more serious? Had I not visited them I wouldn't have known that. So please don't think we're being over zealous because we want to visit you.
Vet references are to make sure that you take care of current pets and also to find out if you may have had other pets you haven't mentioned, etc. I once found out from calling a vet that an adopter had had a puppy and a cat that they had gotten rid of in the past two years which they had failed to tell me about.
Some people aren't honest and have bad things to hide so please don't be upset that we have to check.
So many pets are mistreated and we have to make sure that our cats don't end up with someone who will neglect or abuse them. Isn't it understandable that we want to check to protect the pets?
So many pets are mistreated and we have to make sure that our cats don't end up with someone who will neglect or abuse them. Isn't it understandable that we want to check to protect the pets?
I believe when people don't want a home-check or a call to their vet that they are hiding something.
I would not mind telling a rescue any piece of info they wanted, including income level and amount I pay for housing. When it came to me adopting my cat, I had tenatively chosen a vet based on word of mouth, proximity to my house, and internet reviews...but we hadn't yet met because I didn't have any other pets. But I did have 2 backup vets in mind in case it wasn't a good fit. I don't imagine the rescue called my vet that I listed, because at that point we were not yet clients...that changed 2 days after I got Nimbus, when he had his 1st appt.
The lady at the rescue didn't ask to do a home visit or express any interest in doing so. But I would have definitely been OK with it if she had.
Honestly I don't know how to feel about that rescue. One significant criticism I do have is that they only allow potential adopters to visit one day a week during a 2 hour window. Despite this fact (you'd think they'd clean up for company) the place was smelly and dirty and there were a lot of cats running around underfoot...at least half of them visibly showing symptoms of illness. She had a couple of teenage volunteers there helping to clean litter boxes and stuff.
None of the kitties looked malnourished, and there were signs that the sick ones were getting some treatment and care, but she didn't have the space to isolate them all, so they were mingling in the colony. There were a very few cages and one isolation room. Nimbus was in one of the cages.
I think that the woman who runs this rescue...she seemed like a good-hearted cat lover who walks a very fine line from being completely overwhelmed with what she's trying to do...
And people with attitudes such as the one you demonstrate in your post will chase people away from rescues, and on to purchasing their pets from pet shops, or "sign on the telephone pole" sellers.
Our two are rescues, but they were found in a welding shop by someone we knew. We took them, covered in ringworm and nearly starved at 4-5 weeks old, and brought them back to health. Good thing we didn't have to go through the equivalent of a home mortgage application, a job application, and a criminal background check to get our babies!
I did go through all you complain about, gladly, being so thankful that the shelter and sanctuary (and once, a rescue) were so careful about screening. I disagree with your attitude.
To put the blame on the rescues is wrong.
Yes, people will purchase pets from shops, but that is because of THEM. It is so wrong to ascribe blame to the shelters.
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