How to tell legitimate puppy ads from scammers and puppy mill ads.

[dainerra]

Quote:
to me, it's much the same as the idea that we need to try to rescue and rehab the dog that is on his 4th home, has bitten 5 people and is scared of his own shadow. Or pay for medical care for a dog that has multiple health issues and needs major surgery and still will have a limited quality of life vs saving and rehabbing 3-4 other dogs with the same amount of money. The big news tearjerk stories bring in donations. It's sad but true. They also bring in adoption applications because everyone wants the "special" dog they saw on TV. people tend to lose sight of the big picture in the feel good attitude of saving the "lost cause"

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I think America needs an overhaul, a revolution of sorts, in how they run their rescues. I saw some kids and teens had an idea for a dog rescue and its doing wonderful because it is self-sufficient and does not rely on donations. They have a pet store where they sell food, toys, etc. and do grooming as well, and all of this funds the rescue efforts. We need more rescues like this, not so desperate for donations.

The big news tearjerk stories bring in donations. It's sad but true.

 

[snow5164]

The word rescue is so messed up where I live. Someone literally collects the cats out of the ditches , gets them shots and sells them for $200 and up. We feel so good " buying" from a rescue that we miss the big picture that the owner of it is making as much or more than a breeder but she gets the glory of saving the unloved. Give me a break!!
True rescues are out there , they have big hearts and good motives you just have to research .
Owner of two rescue dogs, one breeder dog and one bought from a farmer.

 

[snow5164]

I just don't understand... all that money needed to purchase a dog could easily help more dogs if they would save the money for spay/neuter and instead of buying dogs, take in strays or owner surrenders.

Why don't we all adopt foster kids instead of making our own? Because we have a free will to choose what's right for us and our families.
You choose and I'll choose, I won't judge you.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Why don't we all adopt foster kids instead of making our own?

edit:
I don't think the ethics of creating more humans has much to do with dog rescue

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
I think Heritage was talking about rescues who purchase dogs and then rehome them. there are plenty of animals needing homes but some rescues become part of the problems. they give money to bad breeders just to "save" those dogs, overlooking the fact that the breeder just turns around and produces more because the rescue is actually making sure the breeder earns a profit on their venture. and you have people who are flippers - they take dogs free to good home or really cheaply sold and turn around and list them as "rescues" with a huge mark up

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Quote:
Yeah that's what I was talking about.

A lot of rescues for some reason refuse to say where a dog has come from. They'll say, "oh, he came from a bad home, I don't want to say too much" and that is it. Do you think that's suspicious? I like when the rescue tells you if the dog was a stray or owner surrender. I don't know what to think when they won't say anything. Do you think these rescues could be paying for these dogs?

 

[collie1470]

Yeah that's what I was talking about.

A lot of rescues for some reason refuse to say where a dog has come from. They'll say, "oh, he came from a bad home, I don't want to say too much" and that is it. Do you think that's suspicious? I like when the rescue tells you if the dog was a stray or owner surrender. I don't know what to think when they won't say anything. Do you think these rescues could be paying for these dogs?

If it was a cruelty investigation, they may not be able to.

 

[collie1470]

Occassionally, we'd have some come through that we were "advised" by law enforcement not to disclose too much. Because they were the result of major investigations, I think. The biggest thing was just making sure the potential adopters knew about any health or behavioral issues resulting from the animals' previous life.

We also had some dogs we pulled from out of state high-kill shelters, so we only knew what that shelter told us, which usually wasn't much.

 

[collie1470]

Some legitimate rescues do "purchase" dogs. But that's usually only when getting breeding dogs from a puppy mill (who isn't breaking any laws). National Mill Dog Rescue commonly gets dogs who were being sold at auctions as breeders. Because currently they can't yet stop the mill, unless it is breaking one of the very lax laws.