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I've been debating this in my head for a while and hopefully some savvy folks here can weigh in with their opinions...
I have a former co-worker/friend who is looking to adopt. A quick rundown about her:
-Needs a dog that will be <30lb and not a restricted breed as she's a renter
-two girls between 7-10 years old
-wants a puppy. This, like the first point, isn't debatable (I tried to get them to consider a young adult dog, but they're all set on a young puppy)
Her plan is to get some supplies (e.g., bowls, crate, bed, etc) and give those to the girls before Xmas, the family will be traveling for the holidays, and they'll adopt in January. She's been looking at rescues and shelters (and, unfortunately, pet stores ) and has found a rescue that she's almost sure she wants to adopt from. However, after looking up the rescue, which shall remain nameless obviously, some troubling concerns popped up and I've been trying to decide if I should dissuade her from this rescue and risk the possibility of her buying from a pet store/BYB or stay quiet. Some of my concerns:
-Of the dogs present, I'd say a good 90%-95% of them are puppies. In fact, it seems like 75% of their dogs listed online are between 4-14 weeks old (they don't release the dogs until they reach 8 weeks old obviously). Now, I guess this could be explained that this rescue pulls from rural, high kill shelters, but it's still a bit off to me, especially since I can rarely find any corresponding adult dogs who could possibly be their mother (e.g., they'll have a litter of doxie mixes for adoption but no sign of a doxie/doxie female that could be their mother). They also have a high ratio of small-medium breeds/breed mixes like beagles, dachshunds, chihuahuas, and so on, and few "typical" breeds like pit bulls/mixes, shepherd mixes.
-The adoption fee is pretty high, higher than the fee at the no-kill rescue I volunteer at. This is worrisome since I know one of the pet stores she visited have prices that aren't much higher for their so-called "hybrid breeds". On top of that, the pups aren't neutered and it's not included in the fee. Apparently they provide a discount certificate w/ the adoption but it doesn't seem like the pups are neutered prior to being adopted out. It seems like they won't neutered very small pups, which is understandable, but on the other hand, I don't know of any other rescue that does this and many seem comfortable with this practice.
-Biggest concern of all: illness. I've read reviews online where it seems like a lot of the pups adopted from there have kennel cough and issues with worms. Some people who had positive reviews brushed this off by saying that this is typical due to where the pups come from and that pet insurance is included for a limited time. Even scarier is that a bulk of reviews from several years ago all noted that their pups are gotten gravely ill or died from parvo. No recent reviews have mentioned parvo, but still, this is obviously a major concern.
During my research, I've seen nothing that suggests that this is a puppy mill disguised as a rescue. They adopt out cats through Petco/Petsmart, have been around for years, and have some strong community support (e.g., adoptable pets and events being featured on the news). I haven't found any articles or news that are particularly negative or would suggest a sham rescue. They look like they have a very nice facility. It's a dilemma. My friend has basically zeroed in on this rescue due to how many puppies they have, and, truth be told, before I started reading those negative reviews, I even debated getting a puppy there myself next year if I end up looking to adopt by then. But now I'm not so sure...
Sorry for the long post, but I'm just wondering if these are legitimate concerns or am I just being super paranoid.
I applaud you for taking a closer look at the rescue you describe as I think many of us get caught up the idea of such groups without really looking at the fact in front of us. I will try and play devil's advocate for some of your concerns, but I am not by any means defending them.
* The high number of puppies: We have in our area of few groups who actively search out puppies to rescue along with pregnant moms simply because the founding members have a lot of experience with puppies and that is the group they wish to help the most. Many rescue groups will not take young pups do to the extra care they demand along with the added concern of diseases they can succumb to before they have developed an immunity. Which brings me to...
* The number of sick dogs: The numbers may sound scarey to anyone who reads about many dogs being very ill. The sad fact is that a neglected, nutritionally impoverished mother is going to produce a litter with poor odds of survival no matter what kind of care they get after birth. You mention a number of pups who died from parvo and I can easily imagine that taking a toll on a population of pups with compromised immunity.
* The cost varies to a wide degree within rescue groups depending on their structure. I have also seen groups actually defend a higher cost by saying it helps weed out people who cannot afford a pet. They should be able to explain how they determine what they charge for a rescue pet. I know the group I adopted from was higher then others in my area which all her vaccinations she was due (I had to get her 3rd distemper combo & rabies) fecal , worming and heartworm test. It did not include neutering either but the vet I use is kind enough to offer a discount for all rescues for that surgery.
All that being said, there is no replacement for your gut feelings. If it were me, I could not sleep at night not doing some investigation of my own to ease my fears whether your friend adopts from them or not. Perhaps you could make an appointment to talk with someone at this shelter and see what kind of feeling you get from them. I would also think that if they work with PetSmart they could offer you some support if you what you find is disturbing.
I don't believe for a minute that a rescue that focuses mostly on puppies has more concern for puppies. Puppies are easy to place into homes. While some rescues might not want the additional hassles of puppies, the shelters can handle the puppies. Shelters don't kill puppies at the same rate they kill older dogs because puppies get adopted quickly. IMO, any rescue that has a lot of puppies is a profit rescue posing as a non-profit or could be a puppy farm posing as a rescue.
Is it in the Chicago area? I would ask staff members at the rescue where you volunteer. If it is a large organization, someone will surely know something about it. The large proportion of puppies and high fees does sound "off".
Hopes, I am aware of a some shelters that do put down pups as policy. I am located in Pennsylvania and many of the puppies brought up here from southern states ( Alabama and Tennessee are 2) come by way of rescue groups that routinely take them from kill shelters with hopes of finding new homes in the north.
Is it in the Chicago area? I would ask staff members at the rescue where you volunteer. If it is a large organization, someone will surely know something about it. The large proportion of puppies and high fees does sound "off".
Funny that you mention that because I was just on the site of the rescue I volunteer for and noticed something interesting. They have a list of local shelters and rescues, right down to the ones that seemingly don't operate out of a main location and only have fosters/adopt out through Petsmart. The rescue I mentioned above isn't on the list at all
May ask someone this weekend about that, but it is a bit on an ominous sign
Hopes, I am aware of a some shelters that do put down pups as policy. I am located in Pennsylvania and many of the puppies brought up here from southern states ( Alabama and Tennessee are 2) come by way of rescue groups that routinely take them from kill shelters with hopes of finding new homes in the north.
When my local southern pound has puppies owner surrendered (often without the mom) my hs puts out an urgent notice to rescues since we know that we are very likely to find a group that can take them and our own foster homes are always full. As soon as we have an adoption pending we are figuring out which dog we will next pull from the pound.
It's not so much that the pound will put down the pups since they know will will help to find other rescues to take them. Sadly they often will not take the mom if the pups are old enough to be separated from her. Owners are informed that if the pups are less than 7 weeks they must either surrender the mom too or wait until the pups are a minimum of 7 weeks.
Thanks Zugor for the information. I confess I don't remember the particulars but was made aware of the situation when I adopted my last dog. I questioned why I would choose to adopt from a distant state when there were surely dogs in my area needing homes. It wasn't an deliberate decision to search out an out of state dog...things just fell into place and we ended up with an Alabama girl. One of many puppies that made to my local area from out of state shelters.
IMO, any rescue that has a lot of puppies is a profit rescue posing as a non-profit or could be a puppy farm posing as a rescue.
I really hope this isn't the case b/c if it is, they've been pulling the wool over a lot of people's eyes. Like I said before, this isn't some rinky-dink home based rescue that's only been around for a year or so. They have a facility, volunteers, partnership w/ Petco/Petsmart, and so on. If this place turns out to be a sham, it's a crazy elaborate sham. It's disconcerting b/c I saw myself possibly getting a pup from there myself if/when I go down that route in the future b/c they do have so many adorable pups and I don't want to feel like I'm contributing to a puppy mill either directly or indirectly by recommending it. I can see and understand talloolla's point and this place could be 100% legitimate, but some things just aren't adding up...
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) and has found a rescue that she's almost sure she wants to adopt from. However, after looking up the rescue, which shall remain nameless obviously, some troubling concerns popped up and I've been trying to decide if I should dissuade her from this rescue and risk the possibility of her buying from a pet store/BYB or stay quiet. Some of my concerns:
