Why you never want to post FREE to a good home on Craigslist or any other swap site (terrier, aggressive)

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Jumpindogs

I suppose because it makes sense to be prepared.
Generally accepted financial advice...
So being financially prepared to be able to...

Is the willingness to pay the issue? I hadn't really put it into such obnoxious terms before but this
sort of ugly elitism has definitely been a part of the undertone when dealing with the rescuers.

Maybe you ought to do a credit check as part of the rescue process too then?
If the willingness to commit to some unstated future potential need is the standard... you can keep your dogs.

For the owner of a purebreed with papers who has paid big money ... maybe so.
Protect your investment and maybe even get a Canine HI policy.

But for a rescue mutt? Nope. Not even one that looks close to a breed standard.
It's the same principle why a comprehensive policy isn't warranted for a beater car.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Is the willingness to pay the issue? I hadn't really put it into such obnoxious terms before but this
sort of ugly elitism has definitely been a part of the undertone when dealing with the rescuers.

Maybe you ought to do a credit check as part of the rescue process too then?
If the willingness to commit to some unstated future potential need is the standard... you can keep your dogs.

For the owner of a purebreed with papers who has paid big money ... maybe so.
Protect your investment and maybe even get a Canine HI policy.

But for a rescue mutt? Nope. Not even one that looks close to a breed standard.
It's the same principle why a comprehensive policy isn't warranted for a beater car.

If you worked in rescue and heard the crap they hear for why people give up their dogs..."I can't afford to take my dog to the vet so I am gonna take him to the shelter if you don't take him" is a common one...you'd prolly ask some questions about a potential adopter's financial ability to properly care for the dog too.

You are confusing me with some mythical poster who insists that people who adopt from rescues be willing and able to pay for out-of-the-ordinary vet expenses. I never wrote that and have only responded to your questions on the subject with some plausible answers. Actually, the poster who addressed this aspect of the "free to good home" issue didn't write that either. Oldhag1 wrote "Let's be real here, while it is sickening when it happens, it is also probably rare. The more realistic concern is that the person won't either be able or willing to pay for out-of-the-ordinary vet care."

You have obviously had some bad experiences with organized rescue groups. That's unfortunate. Mine have all been stellar. I suspect that most fall somewhere in-between.

Your tendency to consider an expensive purebred with papers to be more worthy of your financial obligation to their healthcare than a "rescue mutt" feels very wrong. Both dogs deserve the same degree of value as a companion. On that count alone and if I were in a position to do so, I would prolly not adopt out a rescue to you nor sell you a puppy.

[mooksmom]

Originally Posted by Tomorrow-by-the-sea

Yes, whenever I see 'free animal to good home,' I feel sorry for what might happen to it. If someone doesn't want a pet enough to pay for it, then how much care do you think they're going to give the animal? Food, vet bills, etc cost money.

That just doesn't hold water for me. I am not rich, and I can afford the 'rehome' fee, but why would I pay one if there are dogs on CL for free every day? I can use that $$$ to get the new pet caught up on its shots and make sure it is spayed (which most of them are not) by MY DVM, or buying them new toys and food that I choose. I try and bargain everything I buy on CL...it's part of the 'rush'.
There are as many 'stolen' dogs being sold via CL as there are ones being given FREE who end up as 'bait' for pitbull fighting. My neighbor came to tell me this week that "people are putting 'plastic bags in the trees' to mark what houses have dogs in the yards, unwatched, so they can come back later and get them to sell." I doubt it but it could be true. I told him to go check those facts on Snopes and come back to talk to me....he never returned.
I had to rehome a 18 month old dog and did so via CL but not for free. She was too 'wild and crazy' (a Boxer...I grew up owning them) and finally knocked me down in the street on a walk and broke my pelvis and one finger in two places. Her new family has 2 young girls and a Turbo ChiWeenie dog (here in my city) and also another family (steps) in a neighboring state with 3 more kids! She goes back and forth with the Dad to both homes and can run that excess energy off with the kids and the ChiWeenie. She also gets to lay on the sofa and beds at those homes, which she did not get to do at my home. The family has made me part of their 'extended family' so now I have new friends out of the CL deal, too. So CL has good and bad, just like everything else in life. You have to check people out and do your homework and not be lazy in rehoming.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

But the heading of this thread, "Why you never want to post FREE to a good home on Craigslist or any other swap site" implies what I stated.

And here I sit in a hotel in Sparks NV, probably picking up a 2 year old that is listed as free to a good family. And the person is checking people out; not just letting the dog go for free. And it was posted as free to a good home. It took her over a month to make a decision; since arriving we are walking the dogs together, we are taking them to dog parks, we are driving around with them in the backseat or my PU truck to see how they react with each other. We are walking them tonight on a double leash connection in a very busy park to see how they walk and not only react to each other, but react as other dogs are passing by.

We are both making sure the dogs are good together and that I am the right person for the new dog.

Therefore, as there are unscrupulous people who pick up free dogs for nefarious acts, there are others who are not, and plan on spoiling this new dog, just like his current dog.

Sounds like a great arrangement.

I see your point about never.

But so many people don't put that much effort into screening the potential new owner and thus it is very easy for someone looking for bait dogs to pass as a caring owner. I am guessing the OP considers the advice akin to that for any act that carries a risk...for most folks it's much safer to simply the avoid the risk by not engaging in the risky behavior.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

How often does this happen. Are people saying that ANY listing on Craig's list for free pups is going to mean the pups will end up as fodder for fighting dogs? NO!

Certainly the closer one lives to a community in which dog fighting occurs the greater the chance.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by Oldhag1

My local shelter told me dog fighters prefer docile pit/pit mixes as their bait dogs as it gets them over their natural healthy respect for what is physically their peer.

This comment got my interest so I did some careful Googling. In one area of Florida a man who was involved in prosecuting animal abuse cases wrote that that dog fighters in his area used bait dogs of the same size, teeth filed down or muzzles duct taped, to teach their dogs that they can fight their peers without being hurt in return. And they used the smaller dogs and cats for building prey drive by hanging them from from trees to be shredded by the fighting dogs.

Unbelievably gruesome.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Jumpindogs

If you worked in rescue and heard the crap they hear for why people give up their dogs...
"I can't afford to take my dog to the vet so I am gonna take him to the shelter if you don't
take him" is a common one...you'd prolly ask some questions about a potential adopter's
financial ability to properly care for the dog too.

You keep trying to shift the discussion. Stop it.

The question isn't about 'properly care for'.
The quote in question was about out-of the ordinary vet care.
And expecting THAT to be the standard.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/39265656-post17.html

Stay on point.
Common vet care is not "out of the ordinary"

Your (example of) an expensive purebred with papers to be more (financially justifiable for
that owners) financial obligation to their healthcare than a "rescue mutt" feels very wrong.

I suggest tha you do some deep reflection on what you think and why.

Perhaps in addition to the financial report that you add to the rescue application
you should also prepare a specific list of just how deep into the abilities of modern
veterinary care that you will expect anyone worthy of acceptance to volunteer to pay for.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by MrRational

It's great to do and I applaud those who will.
I have done some too with family pets.

But again... why should that standard of care be the **expectation**??
(as it was described in the previous post) w/r/t adopted rescues which
in too many cases turn out to come with those issues?

And on that point I won't shy from the truth:
whether I get a pup from an oops litter at some farm or take in a mutt rescue....
that dog has a ways to go before he'll be the sort of family member that
can expect to get "out of the ordinary" vet care.

You sound like a person who should not have a pet.

What if your pup gets hit by a car before "he's that sort of family member?" Would you let him die on the street? Shoot him in the head to "put him out of his misery?"

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

What if your pup gets hit by a car before "he's that sort of family member?"

Since you asked so politely and at least offer a specific example: Yes.
I don't consider a broken leg or such to be an "out of the ordinary" responsibility.
And don't think anyone else with a pet would either.

Maybe it's just the semantics... but the phrasing used earlier, implying care of an entirely
different nature, really does warrant being described/listed specifically.

Because the field of veterinary medicine has evolved to the point that there are now
successful but costly treatments for diseases/issues that historically signaled continued
discomfort or the demise of the dog.

[Driller1]

Not just dog fighters.

Some guys that hunt with dogs love to get free cats..........for the dogs to kill.