Adoption Rant....

[cafarmgirl]

A little over a year ago we decided to adopt a dog from a rescue a few months after our old dog died of cancer. I had no idea what we were going to go thru trying to do that! The reasons we were turned down by multiple places was unreal!

We live in the country and have a fenced backyard as well as a perimeter fence. My husband and I work here at home, our dogs are not left alone all day, they hang out with us. They are indoor/outdoor dogs, house and crate trained. They are UTD on vac's and medical care and are fed top of the line food.

I was told NO because:

Your kids are too young (one under 9 at the time)
Your kids are too old (older one was 15, seems a lot of places don't like teenagers)
Your perimeter fence is too low (it's 4 feet, this is if they were to get out of the 6 foot chainlink around the yard and dog runs)
Your dogs sometime spend time outside (yes, when I go to town they have safe, comfortable, spacious runs to stay in, with toys and comfy beds. And did I mention SAFE!)
You are more then 30 minutes from us (seriously?!)
Your other dog is a rottweiler (Yes, and a big, dumb, albeit well trained, goofball whom you'll meet if you ever come for the site visit you say you require)

And the list goes on, you get the point. There was even a woman who told me she believed we'd be the ones approved to adopt a pup we found on Petfinder and that she'd call the next day to set everything up. Never heard from her again. That was the last straw.

I finally found the breed mix I was looking for in the paper, picked out my pup and brought her home. Now I have a pup I've raised and trained myself, is easily the smartest dog I've ever had and I couldn't be happier with her.

I will never go thru all that again.

 

[chickened]

Running a shelter or rescue as it is called now days seems to be a perfect racket. People are willing to pay, err I mean donate and it provides a job for a certain type of person/personality type. Vets make good money also as it is a way to get a new practice going. The sheer number of them and they are growing just says the success of the scheme, err I mean organization.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:

How true that is!

 

[Bossroo]

This RACKET is now expanding to include seizing one's farm in addition to horses as some well known elderly and/ or vulnerable due to their health issues horse breeders ( a friend suffering through legal battles for a year now) are in the middle of experiencing. Last fall I had to take a chihuahua to a dog rescue due to the fact that our newborn grandaughter turned out to be alergic to dogs. My son and daughter in law tried to give away this very friendly doggie privately, on craig's list, and calling 9 different shelters and no one would take him due to their overcrowding. I had to fill out a 6 page surrender document, pay a shake down, er surrender fee of $110, wait 2 hours in their very smelly waiting room so that their animal behaviorist could take this doggie out back and evaluate if it is appropriate for adoption. Then while I was there, they called my son for a $100 donation to be charged on his credit card, and at the same time they called my daughter in law for a $100 donation and charge it on her credit card. Then they had the nerve to call my wife for another $100 donation to charge on her credit card. When I found this out we all cancelled those charges. While I was there , a couple that had filled out adoption forms and had their home " approved" adopted a small mongrel, for a shake down, er adoption fees + suppies + Vet health exams+ neuter fees. etc.. of $455 . Another lady that passed their screening adopted an alley cat and she too emerged with a shake down of $383 , er adoption fees,+ Vet health exam + spay fees + feed + toys. I will NEVER AGAIN support any so called "rescue" or get any animal from them much less recomend anyone to do so.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
They ought to be shut down.

 

[chickened]

We have a certain group that goes around in the rural areas and looks for abused animals and they get their database from Dog Licensing.

 

[Arcnadius]

Wow! Reading about some of your misadventures with shelters is saddening. We've been very happy with the two shelter dogs we've adopted and the experience. The first dog was in 1992 adopted for a whopping $65 and a promise to have her spade within 30 days (they even refunded $30 after we sent the spay receipt). Our other dog was adopted 5 years ago from a rescue group. The price tag was a tad higher (about $230) but they provided free spaying at a local vet and certificates for free dog food from the local store.

We did try to adopt from a rescue group that made me fill out a 5-page application first. The problem was that they spent so much time checking my references, vet, and insurance agent first that I figured the dog was already adopted out so we went elsewhere. I wish they had called to say, "We have your application, and while we review it, would you like to come meet the dog that you're interested in?"

All in all, good experiences though. I guess shelters are like any business; you have to weed out the good from the bad.

 

[carolinagirl58]

If more private breeders screened potential buyers like rescue groups do, there would be less dogs in rescue to begin with.

 

[Kaitie09]

Our shelters around here are very willing to adopt out. We went to Maryland Humane Society in Baltimore and within 4 hours we had picked out, adopted, and took home our dog for about $150. We sat in a waiting room for most of that while the woman called our vet. We do not even have a fenced yard, but they did not care. Our Emma had been abandoned in the city with a litter of 8 puppies. When we got her, she was 1 week away from being euthanized, cowered in the corner, would not eat, and weighed 35lbs. She is the best dog we have ever had and is amazing with babies and children. She even lets my 2 yr old cousin walk on her when her is laying down.


Emma is the black Lab/hound mix. Picture was taken last January, She is 8 yrs old with not a hint a grey. Chunk(Chocolate lab) is 4 and every thinks shes older than Emma.