[Schmoo]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Another thing I don't get is why most of them expect you to have a fence. I don't have a fence (we rent) but I don't believe in leaving a dog to sit in a yard anyhow. I plan on walking our dog to the park to play (on a long leash). Otherwise the dog will be in the apartment (or on the leash w/one of us). I also plan on doing obedience training (even if it is from a book).

Your plans to walk and train the dog should be applauded. Unfortunately, 90% of the potential adopters I see come into the shelter I volunteer at have no plans to walk nor train the dog. They plan to open the back door, let Fido out unsupervised, and hope that Fido comes back in and not wander into the road.

It's a sad state of affairs, but working there has taught me never to underestimate the stupidity of humans. I would love for shelters to be able to relax their policies, and I agree that some are too over zealous (likely soured by their heartbreaking experiences as a rescuer). The only solution is to drastically reduce the number of unwanted animals, and that means spay/neutering, and adopting only - no more buying dogs from breeders or pet shops.

[Sam I Am]

Schmoo -

THANK YOU! I wanted to rep you but apparently I've done that recently - I completely agree with every word you've said. I don't think adoption should be an elitist exercise, nor do I think a pet should go to everyone who wants one...just because you've got the money, honey, does not mean you've got the time to devote to a living, breathing creature.....and your last sentence - pure poetry!

[deegers]

Just coming out of Las Vegas First Annual Super Adoption Event sponsored through Petsmart and Best Friends ANimal Sanctuary, I agree with Schmoo and Sam I Am. Adoptions are great and need to go through a process. Best Friends is fairly strict, but thorough which has saved many animals from bad owners. Other smaller rescue organizations went too far and didn't allow people to adopt same day for some odd reason. Then, there's some shelters that aren't thorough or don't do home checks which I think is a big concern too.

We adopted 331 (dogs and cats) out of ~450 or so. It was a great example of what adoptable exposure gives people the opportunity to find their forever buddy!

More adoptions and less puppy shops!! I hate puppy shops! So many people STILL don't realize those places are heartless.

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

$300 for a rescue dog (whatever they have you have no choice or you can 'wait forever').

So you either pay a high fee to save a life (great if you can afford it) or buy a puppy from 'someone' who might be a great breeder or a scumbag making profit off animals.

Well, for every dog that goes into rescue without health or behavioral issues, there are probably 3 (at least) who have to be spayed/neutered, given their shots, many times treated for health issues (purebreds in particular who tend to have problems from being overbred through the puppy mills), and who do take up a lot of time thru the rescuers. I know that rescues and vets usually work out a different set of pay scales, but it's still expensive.

We paid more than asked to the two rescues from which our dogs came, and waived the coupon one rescue offered to get a discount spay, telling them we'd pay for it ourselves. We know the fees the rescues collect for each dog go not only for reimbursement of expenses for that particular dog, but also to cover expenses for other animals coming into rescue whose needs might call for a greater amount of money spent than they will get back thru its rescue fee.

I have no quibble at all with the fees required, also noting that rescuers make great sacrifices of their own personal lives to devote themselves to this cause. Just getting away for a 4 day vacation, boarding our pets cost $300. I can see that the rescuers probably get little time away from their responsibilities unless someone volunteers to take over for them. That's another reason we are generous in our financial support. But I still stand by my remarks that the adoption process is sometimes made onerous, driving some potential pet parents away. I sometimes wonder if the suffering the rescuers see so corrodes their intentions that they want to make it hard for anyone to have an animal, assuming the worst is going to happen rather than anything positive.

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by silverwing

I have no quibble at all with the fees required, also noting that rescuers make great sacrifices of their own personal lives to devote themselves to this cause. Just getting away for a 4 day vacation, boarding our pets cost $300. I can see that the rescuers probably get little time away from their responsibilities unless someone volunteers to take over for them. That's another reason we are generous in our financial support. But I still stand by my remarks that the adoption process is made onerous, driving some potential pet parents away. I sometimes wonder if the suffering the rescuers see so corrodes their intentions that they want to make it hard for anyone to have an animal, assuming the worst is going to happen rather than anything positive.

Silverwing, I thinkyou made some excellent points - and by the way, thank you for supporting rescue! Many folks don't exactly understand the fostering process...frequently we get these dogs at their worst physical condition or they have issues, or both...most of us are multi dog homes and we have to work on integration and socialization issues as well as get their health back. Although the rescue may pay for vet visits and medication (and I accept very, very little personally), we still have to cut time from our work schedule and home life for vet trips, pay for food, heartworm and flea medications, shampoo, treats, toys, etc. We are the ones with 4 extra large crates at $200 apiece in our garages, lol! And then you work and work - you update their Petfinder or rescue site information, answer inquiries, work with an adoptions coordinator until a home that matches can be found, take the dog to adoption days or educational events, possibly drive in a couple of transports to get the dog to your home and then to it's forever home - and poof, just like that, this dog that has been another member of your family is gone and there's another one waiting in the wings to take it's place. If anything - anything - goes wrong with the adoption, a rescue is generally bound to receive the dog back. There aren't enough foster homes and suddenly you're scrambling for where to put the dog. Optimally it will go back to the former foster, but by that time there's probably a new dog there. It's a constant backlog, and during this entire time you've received literally hundreds of requests from people or shelters who need to surrender their dog or find a place in rescue for whatever reason.

Everyone, don't get too down on rescues until you've walked the proverbial mile...and just because one rescue refuses you doesn't mean another will. Most groups have the same basic requirements but please remember...dogs are surrendered to rescue or to shelters for the most ridiculous reasons, and sometimes the most tragic....and we've pretty much seen or heard it all. Our goal is to place a dog in the home it will be in for the rest of it's life, a place that "fits" for the adopter and a dog - not just to slam dunk a dog into a home and move on to the next. Many shelters do not have the opportunity to check references or even inquire into lifestyle - too many animals, too little time. They do the best they can under incredible time and budget restraints and I admire the work they do very much. It must be terribly difficult. But after several months of having a foster rescue in my home, I want to KNOW that dog is going to the best home possible. My heart is invested by then, and when that dog leaves it will take a piece of my heart with it. Because I'm breed specific, I not only want to pick the cream of the crop in the way of dogs, but also in the way of people. Although rescue dogs can't be used for breeding, I still want a gentle giant that will show the world what a magnificent breed the Rottie is - and I want an adopter that is willing to work toward that end. If a rescue adopts out 75 dogs a year and half of them bounce back because a thorough effort wasn't made to put the dogs into the homes that matched their temperament....well, you can see that this would cause an incredible backlash. I belonged to a rescue that had over 400 members, and we probably didn't have a dozen true foster homes in the bunch. People try, but it's hard on your emotions and the attrition rate is very high. My hat is off to those who continue to see multiple fosters move through their homes and are able to let go and know they've done a good thing....I hit burnout stage pretty quickly....so for those of you who find this to be your life's calling - all I can say is God bless you.

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

Silverwing, I thinkyou made some excellent points - and by the way, thank you for supporting rescue! Many folks don't exactly understand the fostering process....

I re-read my post and went back to edit it with an emphatic "sometimes" to my opinion of some rescues. I think some of us have also had our feelings corroded by the opening negotiations to adopt, started with hope and good intentions, only to be met by an initial brusqueness and refusal. I know that many, many rescues aren't like that

And the hard work -- oy, I've seen that. A couple of weeks back we were at Petsmart, waiting to pay up our shopping list which, I swear, is as diverse as people food ( "..let's see, the Chins eat this food, our Sheltie will only eat this kind, and don't forget the cats! thank goodness cat food is on sale this week!") and watched as a local rescue began to tote in their equipment, only to be met by the manager who sussed them to the back of the store. It seems the last time they set up an adoption area, at the front of the store, customers complained because they had to make their way around and were discommoded by a few steps. "What?"" I squawked, "so PET people had to walk a few steps out of their way to buy PET food for their PETS, and complained about it? Why are they PET people in the first place if they're so damned spoiled they can't make way for a PET RESCUE?" Spouse shepherded me out before I embarrassed him with the conniption I was working myself up to

And then, years back, when we adopted our pound puppy, Annie, we were directed to the local humane society to pick her up. The area rescue raised enough funds to "rent out" one side of the local kill shelter. So when you walked in, along one wall were cages where the rescue was able to raise money to keep animals in a no-kill status, providing them with health care and grooming to make them more attractive to adoption. Along the other wall were the dogs on death row. They were provided with food and clean cages, not much else. On both sides were wagging tales, bright eyes and an appeal for a new home, but only one side had an assurance that they'd stay alive, no matter how long it took to find new homes. It was hard to look at the Death Row side, knowing that most of those dogs had but a few days to live. Certainly, it must have been much, much harder for the rescuers to come in each day, cleaning cages and tending to their charges, only to watch as cages on the other side were opened and the dogs lead away to be killed.

I walked out, clutching Annie and bawling my eyes out for those poor dogs on the Death Row side. Viewing that scenario, we gave over and above the rescue fee, knowing that our taking Annie gave a dog on Death Row an opportunity to move over to "the other side", and the extra money would help the rescue gather funds to build their own, larger, no-kill shelter. It was also our inspiration to continue the practice with a later rescue and to, generally, make as large a contribution as possible to other societies. The rescuer we worked with also told us that they sometimes took a few of the dogs, whose number was up, home with them as fosters in a last ditch effort to keep them alive. The fostering came out of their own pockets, not rescue funds. All you folks deserve medals for those efforts

[gardener34]

Actually I have found that the people that take the trouble to bother to find the breed specific rescue sites and local organizations are usually straight up and have already done their homework about the breed, thus the reason they seek out the specific breed. Which is why it is aggravating to be put throught the wringer from some of these orgs.

I personally know a family that was turned down from adopting any boxer from the local boxer rescue, since they had kids under 10. Even though both husband and wife had grown up with the breed and had significant experience with it and knew what they were getting into. Turned out well, these people went to the other local shelter. And there happened to be an all white boxer in there, ready for adoption, and they got her! A fairytale ending... they love that doggie!

The people that just want a dog - they're going to go to the mall. Even finding a breed rescue is way too much work for them. And guess where their dogs end up... breed specific rescues!

[deegers]

I noticed someone spoke about paying $300 for a rescue pet and comparing it to the puppy shop. I don't recall seeing anyone address this, and I'm too lazy to go back so I'll go ahead and state something. So, sorry if I repeat or get sidetracked...

Remember, all payment towards a rescue dog goes to the vaccinations, spay/neuter, resources to the rescue. You pay a store, it's profit for them not benefiting any animal.

[casey]

I foster dogs for a rescue group. Their policy is to let the potential adoptee fill an application out right online. They review it, call me, I'll talk to the people. Sometimes you find out they have lied about different things. Sick cat hasn't gone the vet for 2 weeks and still hasn't. Animals are way overdue for shots. Rabies shots never given to cats. Some dogs aren't a good match. I had a puppy who was very toy dominant who found a very laid back golden as her match. She would have gotten hurt if placed with another toy aggressive dog.
I like to take the dog to the adoptee. The dog gets to meet other pets and the adoptee in a relaxed setting. I get to see how they react when the puppy pees on the floor, chases the cat, steals the toy from the other dog, etc. I look for potential hazards, especially when it's a first time pet owner such as cords hanging, storm doors that don't shut tight, small toys on the floor the dog could choke on. I really don't care if the house is clean or not, God knows I have fur balls on my floor and furniture.

Some shelter and rescues definitely do go overboard, people who work full time turned down instantly, no fence = no dog. I do think if you have a large dog or multiple dogs, you should have a fence, but you shouldn't be turned down instantly. I just had a couple adopt a puppy and put in a fence because she was so active, walks and playtime weren't enough. I have found people will work with you if you direct them in the right way. Of course there are always the people you wouldn't even adopt a stuffed dog too. Thank God, they are the few.

[gardener34]

Yeah - the "no fence" thing irks me. Just because some owners use the fenced in area as a "babysitter"... and the dog just barks out there all day long cause the owners are not forced to walk ... thus interact with their pet. Annoying the entire neighborhood with the dog barking cause they can't be bothered with their dog.