Letters to the Editor
-
Rescue groups and my experience
The problem with a "home visit" and "personality matching" that a lot of rescue groups recommend, is that how a dog is in foster care may not be how the dog actually is. We adopted a retired greyhound that was called "cat friendly." Now, this doesn't matter to us, as we're strictly a dog household. We were told she was "quiet and placid."
Well, maybe she was cat friendly and placid in foster care, but once she realized she was in her "forever home" that dog went ballistic. Tearing down the hallways at rapid speed, bounding onto furniture, spinning around and smacking you with her long (strong) tail, and oh yeah, taking a swipe at a neighborhood shop owner's cat that left the cat missing a chunk of fur (no harm done, thankfully, but our greyhound nabbed her so fast -- on her leash, no less -- that I had zero time to even react. Didn't even realize the cat was hidden in that shadow, in fact.).
This is okay with us, in fact, we're delighted with her personality. My point is, a lot of these rescue groups' placement issues are irrelevant. You have no idea how the dog is going to behave until he/she's actually in her new home. the point is just to find: are the adopters loving? Have experience with dogs? Willing/able to shell out for expensive vet bills should the need arise? Are they responsible, will they keep her?
I can see both sides. The contract said "if she doesn't work out, give her back." We signed a similar document. In fact, we had to actually sign a paper designating who would get "custody" should my husband and I divorce (we had a good laugh over that one, since no matter what was on paper, we would both fight tooth and nail over our dogs -- luckily it's not an issue). There is a reason for that. You don't want the dog going to just anyone. These groups work hard to find good placements and they don't want their hard work swept under the rug as the dog is passed off to just any hobo.
However, once this rescue group determined that this was a loving, responsible family, they should have left well enough alone. Missing an age requirement by a couple of years is a sorry reason for taking this dog, and their methods smack of self-righteous fanaticism.
Their rigidity leads to fewer dogs placed for adoption, and that breaks my heart.
-
Re: Re: Might They Be Right?
I was a dog lover with a job and a condo with the mortgage in my name. Plenty of signs of responsibility. None of this was good enough for them.
There is a philosophical disagreement about what kind of environment a dog needs to be happy.
This is all a grey area.
I would happen to think that such living conditions would be inappropriate. Others may not. I don't we can fault the shelters and dismiss them as "egomaniacs" just because they disgree with some pet owners on what an appropriate living condition is.
It's all very grey and open to interpretation. One can't fault the shelters for taking a side that isn't exactly black and white.
--Anonymous
This is the exact attitude for why so many dogs have to be put down. I have a fulltime job and yep, sometimes I have to work overtime. But guess what, dogs aren't kids, so if you are gone for 10 hours instead of 8 its okay because the food and water is there. The beauty of a pet is that they don't need babysitting, just love, and after the puppy stage they are quite flexible with getting out at 8pm vs 5pm.
I never talked about sticking 12 pitbulls in my condo. "Animal activists" for some reason have to pull out bizarre worst case scenarios to defend their otherwise irrational opinion. Having apartment-sized dogs in apartments is sort of normal. Hell, its not sort of normal, it is normal. In my building of 11 units I would say we have 10 dogs (lots of twosomes) Ever been to New York City? You will see a ton of people with dogs in high rise neighborhoods. I had 1000sqft condo in an nice part of downtown Denver. Just based on my zipcode it was duh-obvious I had a decent job at the very least and could afford the vet care and food. The 18 lb dog I was looking at would have done as my current 2 pooches do.....sleep in the bed with me. Get good night pets and good morning hugs. Take 3-4 walks a day for outside time.....jump in the truck with me everywhere I go. Drive my mom crazy because they are allowed to sit on the couch!
If it looks like a duck, it is probably a duck. So when you get someone who wants to adopt, say a young yuppy girl who doesn't at all fit the bill of a person who would take the dog and lock it on a farm without water or shelter, then maybe these animal advocates could just be reasonable and see the 'big picture' as the author says; that the large large majority of people have good intentions and the snobby pet-rescuers behavior leads to less and less dog adoptions and more untimely putdowns. I know I personally told a couple potential dog owners in my office about my particular ordeal and they decided to go the breeder route as well.
-
Oh, Heather
Today is the day I fell out of love with you.
I'm sure it's best for us both, really.
-
Rescue isn't the only game in town
I am the director of a very small privately-funded pet adoption group that puts country strays and neglected animals in foster homes prior to finding appropriate, loving adoptive homes.
We make our rules for adoption very clear -- regular vetting, indoor pet, sufficient exercise, appropriate containment (some dogs need fences) and that the pet will be returned to us if something goes wrong. In exchange for complying with these rules, our adopters get fully-vetted animals whose personalities,issues and habits have already been evaluated in a home environment by an experienced pet owner. If needed, we gladly provide post-adoptive counseling and training.
If you are looking for a pet and don't want to comply with those rules, don't go through a rescue. It's that simple. There are many ways to get dogs that don't involve lying to/defrauding a well-intentioned group, no matter how strict or unreasonable you think the group's requirements are.