Big dilemma regarding dog rescue experience

[Katzpur]

And the winner is...

Originally Posted by MyNameIsBellaMia

Keep this thought and let the rest go. Revenge will come back to bite you.

We had a crappy experience. I'm going to put it behind me now. I have a great little dog. I love him to pieces and he loves me back.

[Pyewackette]

Originally Posted by OHNot4Me

I will also say that if this rescue woman did one thing right, it was refusing to put that dog on an airplane. In retrospect, she probably made the decision based on cost, but it was still the right thing to do.

My ex was a commercial airline pilot, and he often said that, no matter what the airlines tell you, it is never a good idea to crate and ship a dog like cargo. A responsible breeder won't ever do it, and neither should any rescue organization. The smells and sounds alone are terrifying to a dog, and too many things can go wrong. They often do.

So glad you made that road trip to pick up your new friend!

So just how was I supposed to get my 3 stray dogs and 4 stray cats back to the mainland from Puerto Rico if not by putting them on a plane?

Maybe I should have subjected them to a long sea voyage in a cramped smelly hold and the concomitant sea-sickness instead?

Or I should have followed the advice of my Puerto Rican acquaintances, who were mind-boggled by the fact I was taking all these former strays back stateside with me, when the appropriate thing to do (in their minds) was re-abandon them and (I was told this verbatim) "get new ones when you get where you're going"?

Pretty sure that's how I ended up with so many animals to start with. People just abandoned their pets when they moved. Or got tired of them and kicked them out. Or let them get knocked up and then ditched the puppies/kittens.

I do not hesitate to put my pets on an airline. Including birds. I've never lost a one in nearly 50 years, or had anything "happen" other than a few days to adjust after arrival. Sure, something "bad" COULD happen - there was that dog that escaped at an airport not long ago and was never found again - but its not very likely.

[Pyewackette]

Originally Posted by JONOV

Eh...just in general, some of these foster groups can get obnoxious.

My brother and SIL wanted to adopt a pair of senior dogs, a Samoyed mix and a Great Pyrenese. They wouldn't adopt the dogs individually, and since they were 8 or 9 years old, they sat in a shelter for 7 months. They went to see the dogs and were told that "pending a home visit, they would be approved..." but they lived 4 hours away. My dad sat the rescue lady down and told her, "look, you have someone that wants to adopt two 7 month shelter residents, that are older dogs, big dogs, hairy dogs, and you're dragging your feet? You need to free up the space and food budget for other dogs if nothing else."

That isn't to say that there aren't some good ones out there, but too many of them are run by people with selfish motives or loonies. You know how the internet makes everyone an expert? Nowhere is that more true than with child rearing and pets.

The last time my son adopted a cat from a rescue, they insisted on a home visit, attended by TWO representatives from the shelter.

They did NOTHING the whole time they were there but make sure to impress upon us that they would not take the cat back for ANY REASON. There was no reason for them to intrude into our home at all. There was no inspecting done, no discussion of care or facilities or regular vet checkups and what that should entail. They just wanted to browbeat us about how they would never ever ever even consider taking the cat back if she didn't work out for some reason. And for what he PAID for that stray cat - he could have had a registered purebreed from any of at least a dozen different breeds for that amount. (not that I'm partial to "purebreeds" as that generally means OVERbred and lots of health problems anyway)

Thanks anyway. I'll stick to strays off the street or from the pound itself.

My brother was a "foster" for a rescue organization. He had a dozen dogs chained up around his 4 acre property. CHAINED UP. Not my idea of how to foster dogs, but the "rescue" organization seemed to have no problem with it.