Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Adopting pets become too difficult, credit check required, homeownership, sit down interviews, home visits by agency representatives, making sure dogs go to good homes, medical needs, cost of owning pet
Shelters don't want dogs/cats coming in and being adopted only to be returned. They screen people as well as they can. When you see the way these pets come in sometimes the last thing they need is another traumatic experience.
Right, it's not a perfect science. I was turned down once when I wanted to adopt a cat. The shelter did not like that I worked full-time. I only worked 5 days a week from 10am-6pm and I had a 15 minute commute to work, so I was not gone a very long time, and this was an ADULT cat....don't cats sleep most of the day anyway ?
Maybe they thought I was too young, maybe they thought I'd be unstable in my living situation (I wasn't), maybe they thought I did not have enough cat experience (true...I'd only had dogs). Whatever their reason, they saw something - right or wrong. At least they cared enough to be cautious, even if they ultimately were over-cautious.
It's never going to be perfect, there will be times when they err too much on one side or the other...they're only human.
Good discussion. I haven't read through all of the posts yet, but my 2 cents - rescues should focus somewhat more on educating inexperienced owners, rather than denying them based on inexperience. I agree that most people are well-meaning, but they may be uneducated about how to properly care for a pet. Denying adoption based on that is just silly, imho, as that is an issue that can be addressed by the rescue/shelters focusing on education.
We hear a lot about how good homes are hard to find, but what about helping 'ok' homes to become 'good' homes? Flat out denying someone (based on inexperience/lack of education) is not going to cause them to want to learn more about the issues, they will more likely get defensive and less open to learning.
Just my two cents...off to read the whole thread now
Edited to add - Of course 'how to propery care for a pet' can mean different things to different folks, which is where I think much of the disagreement comes up. A lot of rescues seem to see things very black-and-white, when life isn't always like that.
Also wanted to add, the shelter/rescue I volunteer with has a "foster-to-adopt" policy. If you want to adopt a dog, you agree to first foster it for a week. I actually think this is a good idea, as it's often hard to tell a dog's true personality when it's in a kennel situation vs. being in a home. Better to find out right away that a dog isn't a good fit, than several months down the road and it gets returned to the shelter.
They do have an application process with a home check, but actually prefer to adopt to people without yards (this is in Los Angeles where much of the population rents) for the reason someone mentioned, that they don't want the dog becoming a 'yard dog.'
I definitely agree with the suggestions to shop around, as different rescues/shelters have different policies.
Location: The Frenchie Farm, Where We Grow 'em Big!
2,080 posts, read 6,938,943 times
Reputation: 1084
Here's my two cents.....
With the world today, I don't blame them for doing extensive checks. They want reassurance that the dog/cat is being placed to a good home. Just like the adoption agencies for a child, they would have to go through an extensive background check and so forth. So I am not surprised the rescues/adoption agencies are doing this.
I give a questionnaire to my prospective owners. I meet them in a public area w/o the puppy. I ask the same questions. If I feel uneasy about the interview at the end, I thank them and go our seperate ways. It's probably not good business sense, but it's the welfare for our puppies.
When I do accept them, I ask for references. I give them magazines about our breed. And they go home with their puppy more confident. I get calls from them all the time. From what to eat, to their flatulent problem. They made the effort to go through my questionairre, I make the effort to answer theirs'.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,937,291 times
Reputation: 9885
This has been a very interesting discussion. I was going to go through a rescue, but didn't--for a coupla reasons, but the main one was that i just thought they were nuts after I read the checklist of things they'd be inspecting when they did the home visit. I had a hard time thinking about having a stranger go through my house anyway, but the checklist was just ridiculous. Too many things to list here, but I was a licensed daycare provider for years --in a state with stringent regs for daycare providers--and the rescue group was tougher than the childcare agency!
Just my 2 cents, but most of the people I know who ended up with a dog they didn't want/couldn't care for happened to have made an impulse purchase. They went to the mall, saw a cute puppy, and left with him/her. And, of course, pet stores know this.
This probably sounds simplistic, but I think you could weed out a lot of bad owners just by having people wait. I think before a pet is purchased, the future owner should have to put some type of deposit down and then have a cooling off period of a few weeks. I think the wait might elevate the animal to a future member of the family as opposed to a status symbol or accessory.
I don't know. Maybe I am too naive. There are always bad apples out there. Should everyone be treated like one? I have a GSD. She plays with all my friends' dogs. For some reason, she barked very hard at one home inspector and was deemed aggressive. I got mad at his assessment and asked him to leave immediately. I also told my friend at rescue that not to send anyone or any dog from that rescue organization again. I will go on the street and rescue a stray myself.
Bande1102, I was thinking the same thing about having a waiting period. Like buying a gun. And some agency (maybe the SPCA?) could run a background check just to weed out known animal abusers, fighters, or puppy mill-ers.
Also, if pet stores & puppy mills were at least regulated so that they could only sell spayed & neutered dogs that might help.
I don't know. Maybe I am too naive. There are always bad apples out there. Should everyone be treated like one? I have a GSD. She plays with all my friends' dogs. For some reason, she barked very hard at one home inspector and was deemed aggressive. I got mad at his assessment and asked him to leave immediately. I also told my friend at rescue that not to send anyone or any dog from that rescue organization again. I will go on the street and rescue a stray myself.
That's interesting. You'd think your vet reference (I imagine you had one) and whatever other references you submitted would help to show that this was out of character for your dog....who knows why your dog reacted that way? Maybe it was what the inspector ate for lunch that day?
I'm sorry you're coming up against some obstacles in finding a buddy for your GSD, I know you really want to find one .
That's interesting. You'd think your vet reference (I imagine you had one) and whatever other references you submitted would help to show that this was out of character for your dog....who knows why your dog reacted that way? Maybe it was what the inspector ate for lunch that day?
I'm sorry you're coming up against some obstacles in finding a buddy for your GSD, I know you really want to find one .
I have all the references. My GSD is reactive towards men. She accepts them now outside our home. Inside home, she needs to sniff them really well and then settle down. When I realized the inspector was a male, I got nervous and I think my GSD picked up and tried to do her job by protecting me. I know I shouldn't react that way. I got mad when he called my GSD aggressive. My GSD goes everywhere with me.
Well, the easiest route is to go to our local humane society. After I searched on the internet, I went there and explained that I have a female GSD and would like to have a playmate. The mutt I found on the website was introduced to me. The guy left to do something and his son (~12 yr old) walked in. So I asked his son whether this dog was dog aggressive. His son's answer was yes. he told me that the dog would bite if the other dog moves first. The guy walked back in and I told him what his son told me. He dragged his son to the side and proceeded to tell me that his son was wrong. His son screamed and said that his father wasn't telling the truth. So I left as quickly as possible.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
?
.
