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and gisela, im sure i can safely assume your one of those anti breeder heretics who belive all breeders are evil and need to be stopped in order to eliminate the animals in shelters...and in turn eliminate all pure breed dogs...
all shelters are run by gods whos entire purpose in life is to help the poor defenselss crestures...
and despite what anyone says all breeders are scum...
well just ignore the fact that responsible breeders are not responsible for the animals in the shelters...
its puppymills, petstores and backyard breeders, in it for money that is the problem.
i also wanted to state that i WORKED at this shelter for 2 years...
but good to know because your local humane society does it that way ALL shelters around the country are doing the EXaCT same thing...
yes they do, its a 3 stage process, their volunteer comes out and takes pictures, then if the shelter decided form the pictures your homes possibly ok they send out a second volunteer to do a full in detail home tour...they take more pictures...
if you pass that stage the shelters adoption manager comes out and does a throguh home and garden inspection, she wants to knwo and see where your dog will sleep at night, where his food bowl is, what water your using (your supposed to use bottled or filtered...), they will even inspect any toys you already have for the dog...the garden inspection involves a measuring tape on the fence and even a shovel to make sure it wont be easy for the dog to dig out...
but the dogs not supposed ot be out unsupervised anyway....
oh and their contract states you agree to spot checks when the shelter deems nessicary, shelter staff can also come onto your property if your not home to do inspections (of course they cant enter your home, but they, according to the contract, are allowed to enter fenced/gated areas and look through any windows.
oh and if for whatever reason it doesnt work out youve got a 7 day trial period where the dog must be returned to the shelter for no fee...
if however you go longer than 7 days, theres a $200 restocking fee...yup they charge you $200 to give them the dog back...
Unbelievable! Do you mind sharing what city or state do you live in? Poor dogs/cats from that shelter... who'd agree with their policy?
this is a shelter in connecticut they are "private owned" and do not use petfinder.
there has been legal instances in the past with them taking legal action towards those sharing the information of thier adoption processes (though im not sure of the legality of it) and i dont personaly have the means to be dealing with laywers. (especially being an ex employee and they do have "none disclosure articles for employees...)
this is NOT a humane society, pound or state run facility...they do however have charitable status.
i just wanted to add that to be very clear that im not saying that all shelters are the same way, i know our local pound has a $25 flat adoption fee, and the locan humane society of ct has very reaosnable fees (though i cant claim to have any clue what their adoption process or requirments are as ive never worked directly with them but am told they are wonderfull people)
this was simply an example of some of the crazy policies and rules of SOME shelters/rescues...
while many have good intentions...there are others that see the rehoming of abandoned and surrendered pets as a buissness, plain and simple.
for those in it truly for the good of the animals, they are amazing places and people which i wish we didnt need...
but theres limits between rules to HELP the animals, and rules that prevent many wonderfull homes form adopting a homeless pet.
more so im appaoled that in the origional post the woman told the poster to go to a petstore because shed never adopt to them...how is that helping the cause?
i apologize to everyone else for lowering to the name calling!
This year both of our elderly cats passed, leaving this big void in my life that only a cat can fill. My husband and I discussed getting an older cat but since I am working from home we decided that we'd rather have a kitten to train to our liking and that this time we were only having one. It was also really special to us when we lost our old cats that we could remember them as kittens and knew that they had lived their entire lives safe and loved with us.
So I started looking at kittens on Petfinder and there was one kitten in particular that I was really interested in. She was being offered by a local rescue that has a good reputation in Tampa. I went to the rescue's website and read through their extensive application process. I had the same reaction as a previous poster - I want to adopt a cat, not a child! There were lots of cats listed as "adoption pending" when I was looking, and about half of them are STILL listed as pending more than a month later!
Well it turns out that the ones that were housed at Petsmart were released with much less fuss than the ones that were in foster care - I came, paid my $60, signed a form that promised to take her to the vet immediately, never declaw her, and keep her indoors exclusively - all things I was going to do without having to sign anything. I also presented a letter from my leasing office confirming that I am allowed to have pets and have paid my fees. And that was it. I could have brought her home at our first meeting but I didn't have my carrier with me since I didn't expect them to allow same day adoptions, so I came back the next day. So it all worked out great and I'm really glad that I didn't have to jump through hoops to get her - although frankly she is so awesome that I probably would have if I had to.
but good to know because your local humane society does it that way ALL shelters around the country are doing the EXaCT same thing...
I'm not sure what these means
Maybe you can name the shelter you volunteered at?
Googling humane society...'free cats' 'lower price for cats'
brought up tons of news articles from around the country about free cat adoption days or weekends or months.
Sampling humane society websites around the country I saw a variety of cat adoption fees, most under a 100, cheaper for older cats (10.00)
Omaha had a "name your price" cat adoption month
well im not in omaha, its not a humane society, and theres no ct shelters humane societies ect that offer free adoption that i perosnally know of...
again just because the shelters in other areas are giving away their cats, it doesnt mean all are, no matter how much you google, shelters in ct are simply NOT doing free cat weekends ect, at least in my area...
i will not name the rescue i worked for...i cannot afford the risk of legal action for breaking a confidentiality contract.
however ive also voluntered with the connecticut humane society in norwalk, danbury animal welfare in danbury, with crest care, a breed specific rescue. ive also fostered for many different welfare societies...ive been involved with animal rescue since i was 15.
right now however i focus on wildlife rehabilitation as a vector species rehabber on a very small scale due to space limitations.
Regular prices, not free but dang cheap considering they spay/neuter, shots etc. 10.00-80 bucks.
Adoption requirements;
Adult cats that are over one year old who have been looking for their purr-fect home for more than 30 days will be available at a $50 dollar discount off the minimum adoption donation. Just look for the special "Project Purr-fect" badges on their cages.
Felines:
Kittens up to 12 mos: $120
Cats 1-7 years old: $80 (Project Purr-fect cats - $30)
Cats over 8 years old: $60 (Project Purr-fect cats - $10)
Adoption Requirements:
1. Valid driver's license or photo ID with your current address.
2. Adopters must be 18 years of age or older.
3. If you rent, please provide your landlord's name, phone number and a copy of your lease agreement to our adoption staff.
4. If you own your home, please provide proof of homeownership to our adoption staff.
5. In order to help you select a pet that will be the best possible match for your lifestyle, we may ask you to assist us with one or more of the following details as they may apply to your situation: a. Child/pet interaction if the children living in your home are under 18 years old. b. Meet/greet with any other family members living in your home. c. Dog/new pet interaction if you already have a canine companion in your home.
8. Complete an adoption application and participate in an interview with an adoption counselor.
and your point...
not ALL shelters, rescue centers and humane societies have the same rules...
ct humane society is a completly different entity from daws, or from the local pound, they dont all follow the same rules...
and i NEVER said all shelters in ct were like the one i was talking about...
i was simply giving an example of ONE of the many facilities in my state rules of adoption and how specifically that centers rules were ridiculous...
so im not quite sure how the rules of other centers, in the same state or not make the rules of the rescue i posted about any less true...or any less insane...
its like comparing apples to oranges...
sure their both fruit...but there not the same...
comparing ct humane to the center i worked at is the same...they are both shelters...they dont have the same rules.
claiming i must be lying simply because other shelters have different rules is both childish and completly unbased in reality...
I'm pointing out that that place you are citing as an example of the ridiculousness of shelter policies (implied as in many of them) seems to be an exception nationwide and somewhat unusual.
but thats the problem, if you read everyone elses posts on this thread, other people have had issues with ridiculous adoption policies too!
i agree, not as ridiculous as those i cited...that place realy should get an award...
but there are some pretty ridiculous rules out there all across this great nation...
and while MOST of those rules were origionally established to protect the animals that have already had a bad start to life...somewhere along the way some of these places lost it and whent way overboard...
like the op said, this woman actually told her she better go buy a kitten form a petstore because shed never adopt to them simply based on the fact they have a cat who adopted them...
so my point is...
while the place i worked is ridiculous...there are many out there, not just this one...that needs a serious overhaul to their rules....
many are simply being blided by the rules and not truly taking into account what would be best...
many shelters would rather see a dog put to sleep than to adopt to a wonderfull loving perfectly good home who perhaps failed one part of the adoption process...
for goodness sake...
lets say a shelter has a rule where you can only adopt an animal if your youngest child is 13 or older...
you go anyway to take alook, fall inlove with a dog who you find out has been there for years and is on death row...after much talking playing ect your inlove with this dog your home is the perfect fit, he loves your kids but your child is 6 months away from turning 13...
what then...
now in my mind a SANE adoptions manager would look at the overall situation, ok family is perfect except for this little snag...but the dog doesnt have 6 months has been here for years with no interest...why not do a home inspection and do a trial period...
however in Many situations this wouldnt happen...
that otherwise perfect family would be turned away, told to come back in 6 months when the kid reaches the right age and in the meantime that dog...who could of had the perfect family gets sent off to the kill...
i think THAT is more what this thread is about...
when do those "rules" to protect the animals welfare become detrimental to the animals welfare...
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leaving this big void in my life that only a cat can fill. My husband and I discussed getting an older cat but since I am working from home we decided that we'd rather have a kitten to train to our liking and that this time we were only having one. It was also really special to us when we lost our old cats that we could remember them as kittens and knew that they had lived their entire lives safe and loved with us. 
