I understand why there are so many animal adoption rules...

[Dznypal]

last year fom my b-day DH got me a kitten from the humane society (shes beautiful pure white with gold eyes )

anyways he had to sign a bunch of papers and they wanted to know how long she was going to be left alone every day and where she was going to stay when shes alone!! it was funny cause he told the girl she was going to have her own room since both our kids moved out we had one room that was totally empty so we put a pan and food and water and thats were she stayed while we were gone. the lady didnt know what to say when DH said shed have her own room!!

but then they also said that if for any reason we didnt want her anymore we had to give her back to them (Humane Society)

not that theres a chance wed get rid of her but 2 days after we got her she came down with a repitory infection they gave us a sick kitten and we're supposed to give her back to them!!!

I think we had more paper work then my sister when she adopted her kids!!!!!

just kiddding but it sure seemed that way

 

[KristaTX]

Wow. I understand some of the rules, but I never knew it was so much work or so expensive to adopt animals. I'm glad we adopted Bert and Ernie from under a friend's air conditioner ! We took them to the vet the very next day to be checked out, begin shots, etc., and they've now been our babies for 4 1/2 years .

 

[kayeandjim00]

We adopted three animals from our local Humane Society last year. (2 cats and a dog) I didn't find the process at all intrusive or out of line. They do check if you live in an apartment to find out the rules for pets but that's a two fold thing - one the pet could end up back there if you are "caught" and secondly they really don't want you to get kicked out of your apartment. They asked us only things like if we planned to keep them inside or out, had animals, had kids, etc. I know if you are adopting a dog they require the other dog to have a "meeting" first there to be sure everyone gets along ok and the entire family has to be present. I think that's a good idea - it keeps people from suprising family with a pet which is never a good idea. I know some of the rescue organizations are over zealous but there usually is a reason behind it. For every stipulation there is probably a person who adopted that made it necessary. We would not be considered a good candidate because we don't have a fenced yard and work full time (DH comes home at lunch for the dog) but these guys are completely spoiled and from the looks of it very happy. Check out your local humane society they really get in all sorts of pure bred dogs if you are looking for a specific dog and even those "designer dogs" everyone wants these days.

 

[Snow_White]

Just go to your local Humane Society!!!!!!! They often (and unfortunately) ask very few questions...they are often over-crowded and desparate to adopt out their animals. I only wish I could adopt even more of their doggies

 

[Marseeya]

Just go to your local Humane Society!!!!!!! They often (and unfortunately) ask very few questions...they are often over-crowded and desparate to adopt out their animals. I only wish I could adopt even more of their doggies

It depends on the Humane Society. Ours is really bad around here. They do a pretty extensive check, and even want to know your finances and credit situation.

I can understand to a certain extent the need for caution and background checks, but sometimes I think they'd rather euthanize the animals than adopt them out. (I'm not the only one where I live who feels that way about this particular agency.)

 

[Snow_White]

I can understand to a certain extent, but sometimes I think they'd rather euthanize the animals than adopt them out. (I'm not the only one where I live who feels that way.)

Wow, what a sad statement

 

[Marseeya]

Wow, what a sad statement

Holy cow, I didn't mean it the way it came out! I'm going to edit it and fix it to what I meant.

Sorry!

 

[pearlieq]

It can be rough, but I'm willing to give the shelters the benefit of the doubt. I work for our local no-kill shelter and I made the rookie mistake last weekend of showing dogs to a family with 2 toddlers and an infant, before I knew they weren't allowed to adopt. The family was VERY ticked when they found out and I felt awful.

There are 2 things I wanted to put out there:

1.) So far my experience with working at a shelter is that for some of these people, it seems obvious why they work there. They seem to get on better with animals than humans and some (not all, of course) have some difficulty with social skills. One of our adoptions counselors is a nightmare. She's brusque and doesn't seem to think about the impact of what she's saying. I don't know what to do with her, but I do know under all of her horrible social skills there is someone who cares so deeply about these animals she devotes every Saturday to them.

2.) After spending some time at the shelter, you can easily find yourself becoming pretty disgusted at and mistrustful of people. When you see these animals come in who were just left in apartments when the owners moved, dumped on the sides of roads, or given up just because the owner didn't feel like dealing with them anymore, you can get kind of bitter. I wonder sometimes if the people who work there day in and day out don't inadvertantly take it out on everyone. It's hard to think about people in the same way after you see how awfully they can treat these animals.

 

[In a hurry]

It is absolutely preposterous. There are animals being killed and abandoned every day, but they won't adopt out to people who want a pet. It is crazy. We would have happily adopted from the shelter, but they give all of the puppies to "rescue" groups. So the dogs are bonded with those people, rather than being delivered straight to the new owner. It is the one of the most ignorant situations I have ever dealt with. All because some people think they are more "enlightened" about the "appropriate" homelife of a pet.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

A couple of years ago we saw a spaniel mix on Petfinders.com. She had such a sad story - some jerk had thrown her out of a car doing 65 mph on Interstate 64 and somehow this poor dog lived through it, although with road burns and scars. An adoption agency nursed her back to health and was looking for a home for her.

DW Lauri and I wanted to give her a home after all the poor dog had been through. They said she loved other animals, all people and even loved going for rides in cars even after what that &%#@* did to her. Our dogs couldn't be pampered more. They don't want for anything and Lauri would put their needs far above her own.

We called the agency and were promptly turned down - why? Because we already had 3 dogs. They advertised how well she got along with other dogs and then turned us down BECAUSE we had other dogs? Not to mention our other dogs combined weight was 35 pounds soaking wet. You could have one Rottweiller and it would end up literally being 3 times as much dog as we had!

Back in the early 90's DW Lauri adopted a puppy from the SPCA in the city. She already had 2 poodles and a Samoyed so she wasn't looking for anything too too big, maybe around 20 pounds. She saw a cage full of brown and black pups that had a tag saying they were abandoned in a garage and that they were terrier/beagle mixes. The shelter employees told her they would be no bigger than a beagle - maybe 20 pounds. The pups even had tiny feet.

Well, apparently these pups were pretty darn young, maybe about 6 weeks old. She took her pup (she named her Murphy, which ironically was perfect as you will find out later in the story) to the vet and they said the same thing - some kind of hound, probaby beagle, 20-25 pounds.

2 weeks later the dog sprouted paws the size of hamburger buns. Then she grew... and grew... and grew. The black and brown markings faded away to a light solid fawn. Murphy was an IRISH WOLFHOUND - the worlds largest breed. She ended up being 95-110 pounds (her weight would vary during the seasons) and would stand over 6ft tall on her hind legs.

Lauri never told the vet what was going on with Murphy when she brought the other dogs in for their shots and stuff.. she wanted it to be a surprise since the vet said she would be a lap dog. Lauri said the look on her face when Murphy came in for her booster shots was priceless. The last time she had seen Murphy she was about 8 pounds at her last round of shots. By that time she was well over 80. She said she officially gave up guessing pound puppy origins after that day. She did say that unfortunately, the people at the shelters will say whatever it takes to get a dog adopted, even if it means they misrepresent the breed background. They know that a smaller dog normally gets adopted faster than a big dog and will "advertise" puppies as being smaller than they will be.

It's just a good thing that Lauri owned a house when she adopted Murphy and didn't live in an apartment.

 

[CathrynRose]

We also had to sign a paper allowing the agency to do unannounced visits at our house to see how the cat was adjusting.

Whuuuuut???

Come on now! *ridiculous*

 

[Jackie824]

Please remember all rescue groups are not the same.Ive had dogs all my life. We always have had 2 dogs. My lab passed way last April from Cancer. I still had a Golden Mix at home. Ive always loved Golden Retrievers, and "thought" I would try the golden rescue group. A little background, I do not work, I do in home petsitting in my house, where dogs come here when owners go on vacation. Ive had the same customers for over 7 yrs. My point, people trust me with their dogs. Anyways, the Golden retriever group came and did a housecheck and asked questions. 2 days later they DENIED me from adopting through them, why??? She said because I had too much going on here. I have 3 kids , one dog of my own, but other dogs coming and going.I was shocked and disappointed that they felt I would not be a good home for one of their dogs. I was really insulted. I could of gave her 20 letters of references. Anyways, I moved on to another rescue group, an all breed ones. They just gave me the run around about the dogs.
I found a 3rd one, we adopted my yellow lab through them. They were thorough(Sorry spelled that wrong)yet flexible. They did a phone interview with me, asked me questions. We did 3 meets with the dog, and then 10 days later the dog was ours.
Since then, I have volunteered with the rescue group,I do phone work for them as well as have my very first foster dog. I go to the adoption shows, and our group is not terribly strict.They do home checks, they follow up with references, they work with the family to find the right match.
So my point is not all rescue groups are the same.
What it comes down to, they put the pets needs first and formost ands a shame that they pass up alot of good homes.

 

[Blondy876]

It can be rough, but I'm willing to give the shelters the benefit of the doubt.

So, please understand, it is the adoption agencies choice. Do not take it out on them They are trying to find the best home for these pets that have already been through a lot.
Sorry....I agree with the shelters on this one.

I didn't say I didn't understand. I do, so many of these animals ahve had a tough life. But it is frustrating, we would be able to give an animal a loving home but many places cross us off the list.

I have checked with our local SPCA and their rules are very strict as well, but not as tough as some rescues. When we are ready we will try and adopt through them.

 

[Lanshark]

On the other side of the coin, the volunteers who work for the humane society and rescue groups sometimes see the very worst of humanity. The things that a very small minority of humans do to some animals is unbelievable. I have heard horror stories that still haunt me even though it's been at least 15 years since I volunteered at the humane society. You also have the people who adopt a pet and discover it sheds, poops and grows up. Once this happens they no longer want the animal.

That said, I do think some groups take things way too far with their guidelines and rules. There needs to be a middle ground where you look at the person/family and their history and come to the conclusion that the dog/cat has a pretty good shot at a good life. I do agree it is a power trip for some and they would rather put the animal down then adopt it to a home that is not perfect, in their eyes.

 

[Aneille]

My family has also always had dogs. We recently had to put down our 12 year old Keeshound. We now have one very sad 6 year old mixed breed we got from a rescue organization when she was about 6 months old.. She is the sweetest dog I have ever met. We aren't ready for another dog yet but I know when we do we will not be able to go through the same rescue org. that we did before because we have young children.

Our family will most likely end up having to purchase a dog instead of rescuing one because most rescue leagues will not adopt out puppies to families with young children. Doesn't matter that I am a SAHM and someone is almost always here.

My kids are great with dogs. They grew up with dogs, the dogs were here first. And obviously as a family we know what young dogs are like around young children.

I too understand the rules, but it is frustrating for those that feel they can really provide a great home for a dog and simply are crossed off the list.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

How do people ever get pets? I understand wanting to put the pets in a good, safe home, but I think there is a point of reasonable vs. unreasonable.

We lived on acreage for a long time, and when I went to adopt a cat, the woman was trying to tell me that I was to keep my cat indoors - that is what they suggested. It wasn't mandated, it was just a strong suggestion. The reason she gave me was that letting a cat outside was considered cruel by the adoption agency. She gave me a multitude of reasons - at the top of the list was limited life span to cats that are put outdoors. I could use the counter argument that cats are natural hunters and it is cruel to keep them caged in - but I wasn't going to get into that fight with her. Then she asked if we'd had cats before, and how long they'd lived. I told her that yes, we'd had a cat, and that he died of old age - he was 18 years old (indoor/outdoor cat by the way). Then she started jumping on me because I didn't know specifically why my cat died except that he was very old. I was getting really annoyed with this gal, so I finally said "Does it matter? The cat was 18 years old and one day he just literally dropped over from old age. " (He was well loved until the day he died, and I can only hope I go that way.) I wish I'd had a camera for the expression on her face. I guess I was supposed to bring the cat in for an autopsy or something? I didn't tell the woman the cat was buried by his favorite hunting spot in the back yard. She probably would have hauled me in for not treating him to a formal burial at a pricey pet cemetary.

The cat I was adopting at the time was nine years old, and had been at the agency for a long time. I'm sure if the cat had been younger, the woman wouldn't have let me adopt her. We also had to sign a paper allowing the agency to do unannounced visits at our house to see how the cat was adjusting.

I wanted to adopt a kitten from a shelter. But they were very strict. I was actually ruled out because the cat I had before was an outdoor cat. Even if i could promise I wouldn't let the cat outside ( I wouldn't) the chances of the kids letting it out by mistake were great, because the were used to opening the door to let a cat out.

 

[mainewmn]

A friend of mine used to work at the local shelter and she would tell me some sad stories of what some people do to their animals. One of the stories she told me was a young couple that brought in a pair of Dalmatians they no longer wanted. Their reason for doing so….They were remodeling their house and the dogs no longer fit their décor.

On the other hand this past spring we came across a Golden at a local rescue group web site that was available for adoption. We were very interested so we submitted the online adoption form and waited, and waited and waited. There is no number listed on the web site as it’s supposedly staffed by volunteers only so instead we found an email address and waited again, and waited and waited. We did this 3 times before giving up. No one ever called us or emailed us about the dog who is sadly still looking for a home.

 

[VSL]

A friend of mine used to work at the local shelter and she would tell me some sad stories of what some people do to their animals. One of the stories she told me was a young couple that brought in a pair of Dalmatians they no longer wanted. Their reason for doing so….They were remodeling their house and the dogs no longer fit their décor.

Yep, there was recently some article about this in a UK newspaper (just after Christmas I think - addressing the whole 'a pet is for life, not just for Christmas' thing). I was disgusted when I read about the ones like this.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

I think we had more paper work then my sister when she adopted her kids!!!!!

just kiddding but it sure seemed that way

LOL! Maybe not more paperwork, but I was thinking along the same lines, regarding some of the requirements listed here! Refusing people who work full-time or haven't raised a puppy before? Unannounced visits? That's more stringent than when we adopted our (human) daughter!

I understand some of the requirements, especially when the animal has been mistreated in the past, but some seem over-the-top.

 

[In a hurry]

LOL! Maybe not more paperwork, but I was thinking along the same lines, regarding some of the requirements listed here! Refusing people who work full-time or haven't raised a puppy before? Unannounced visits? That's more stringent than when we adopted our (human) daughter!

I understand some of the requirements, especially when the animal has been mistreated in the past, but some seem over-the-top.

Theoretically, they would eventualy wipe out all puppy adoptions. If you can't get a puppy without having raised a pup. Ignorant rules. They believe that people are too stupid to raise a puppy. It isn't rocket science.