Dog rescue group vent! How was your experience?

[phillybeth]

Originally posted by mep319
Well I just returned from a breeders home, who is listed as the "akc" contact in my area, does rescues, puppies, show dog placements etc...she was wonderful. She spent a lot of time with me and the dogs and with me and my family decided one of her "retired" show dogs would probably be the best for us right now...they are all of 3 yrs old. She will check vet & references, do a home visit but this is after we "think" about it for a week. All appear very reasonable to me. This is how a rescue/adoption should be handled. I suddenly feel good about the situation again.

And again..issa...thank you for putting into words exactly how I feel!

YAY! Wonderful! I'm very happy for you. Which breed did you finally decide to adopt?

 

[mep319]

It is a Shiba Inu, a Japanese breed that looks very much like a fox. We would actually like to adopt 2 dogs but we will do one at a time. I wasn't necessarily set on one breed... I have been reading a lot about Shibas and found them very intriquing. They are different little dogs! I think this one just worked out first so that is the way I'm going to go...unless something comes up in the next week or so that really 'needs' a home. And we talked about that too so she knows I made other applications but I have a feeling 'Celine' as she is called will be coming home with us soon. We are going away soon...see countdown timer....so I wouldn't want a dog before that. I don't think it would be fair to bring one home and leave it so soon...of course if it was from a shelter I doubt there would be little choice but in this situation we can choose to wait. Thanks everyone for the support, the shared stories so I didn't feel like a sub par pet home! And for those of you shedding light on the other side of the story...maybe we can all learn a bit from each other and understand how we appear...to each other! Thanks again!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by issa
thats WONDERFUL mep319

I truly hope the best outcome occurs for both you and the doggies

"She spent a lot of time with me and the dogs and with me and my family decided one of her "retired" show dogs would probably be the best for us right now...they are all of 3 yrs old. She will check vet & references, do a home visit but this is after we "think" about it for a week. "

sounds great and sounds like you walked away feeling good about yourself and her....and she is following through to ensure the best car for her dogs AND giving time to ensure this is not an impulse want..but rather a well thougth out addition to a family

I just saw this thread for the first time, and what you did is exactly what my suggestion was going to be. Most breeders who show thier dogs are VERY concerned with how they place both puppies AND retired adults. We are cautious, but not fanatical. I do know that rescue groups CAN be both cautious and fanatical, but not all are. So glad you finally have found a new family companion!

 

[msteddom]

Reading some of these sad stories made me go give my puppy a hug. He was born in an American run rescue shelter in Mexico. I am so thankful that these caring people took in his mother. I hate to think what life on the streets would have done to my sweet boy, or if he would even still be alive. Thanks to those caring individuals, he is curled up at my feet napping. Not only did they probably save his life, they introduced me to the love of mine. Thank you to all of you who volenteer for rescue organizations!


Melissa

 

[Morganpics]

I went through this issue for a cat. I filled out all the application papers-4 pages-and noted all the cats and dogs we had owned. Right now we only have a horse. 3 of 8 cats we had owned over the past 30 years were killed by vehicles. We put all the information down INCLUDING we were really looking for an indoor cat that wouldn't go outside. We were turned down because we were a poor choice. Have to say I was rather surprised, especially since we specifically asked for an indoor cat.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Yes. We were denied by every rescue we asked because of our income, and that we both work. We met some nice folks at a pet supply store too who went through something similiar. They were told almost the same things we were.

We were also told no because we live in an apartment and because we are not married. What our private lives have to do with our adopting a dog is beyond me??? But the apartment thing I could understand, except they did not even ask us to describe the apartment!

We have a long (and I mean LONG ) hallway that is open and there is more than enough room for a dog to move around AND we have a huge fenced in yard.

We ended up buying a puppy from a good breeder who was okay with the apartment thing after we told her what it looked like.

On a very sad note, I know a girl whose parents tried to adopt a dog from a "kill" shelter. Because the families other, older dog was skittish around the hyper puppy, they refused them. No one else adopted the dog and the dog wound up being euthanised.


Sometimes I wonder about these groups. Not everyone fits into a mold.

 

[phillybeth]

Esmeralda I'm sorry for your experience. The group I volunteer with has adopted to people in apartments. Also to older folks, same-sex couples, people without fenced yards, people with experience, without experience, with kids, without kids. We truly try to evaluate each application on its own merits. We have no income requirement, and we only require one person be at home to adopt puppies under six months. There might be dogs in our program that need someone home full-time so you might not be approved for THAT dog; there are special-needs dogs that will require a lifetime of medical care, but all we ask is 'can you?', we don't ask 'how will you?'.