I wanted to adopt a dog from PAWS but ..

[zazouse]

There is a pup our local PAWS facebook that has been returned 3 times, she is a now 6 month old Great Pyrenees/labradoodle mix .

This morning when I saw her again listed for adoption and inquired as to how I would go about adopting her that I lived on a farm and felt she would fit well here .. they told me I needed to come in and fill out papers on her Saturday and that she was an inside dog.. I asked them if I still could adopt her if she was going to be an outside dog and they told me that they only adopted to inside homes only.., WHAT.. Can they do that? I see all kinds of dogs outside in the photos so why would they put such a stipulation on a potential owner like this? Perhaps that is why she has been brought back so much, I know one person kept her kenneled all day while they were at work, seems cruel to do this to a pup especial one this size.. I will look elsewhere to adopt as I never adopted before and don't know if they all require this.

Guess I just wanted to vent to cause i been watching her progress for 2 months and she is back again for the 3rd time.
I hope she finds a place soon she doesn't know where she belongs anymore

 

[sourland]

Not an unusual situation in scenarios with rigid/non think regulations. Sadly a lot of animals never find their 'home' because of a lack of common sense on the part of those running these purported rescues.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Unbelievable, isn't it? I adopted a coon hound four years ago. The application was daunting - listing every pet I'd ever had, the age they died, what they died of, etc. Then the name/phone # of my vet that they were to call to confirm that info. Yard had to be fenced. Had to bring our other dog to the kennel to meet the dog we wanted to adopt so they could observe them together. Then they were to bring the dog to my house for a visit only - to look at our house, yard, set-up, etc. They were to take the dog BACK to the kennel even if we were approved. We were to then go to the kennel to finalize the paperwork and bring the dog BACK to our house. How's that for energy conservation? Not to mention this poor dog who's been driven all over the countryside.

AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT . . . the person who brought the dog to my house for the visit had a brand new car. Brand New Just Off The Showroom Floor. The coon hound has a horrific case of motion sickness, threw up in that car about three times. All down the side of the back seat door. It puddled in the floor. Poor hound was a mess when she got here. Not to mention what that car looked - and smelled - like.

So, an exception was made and we got to keep the hound that day. Surprise!

She still gets carsick, can't make it to the vet 3 miles away without her throwing up. Good news is we've now trained her to throw up in a bag so it doesn't get everywhere.

I guess they do really good work in placing animals but it's terribly frustrating when a good home is bypassed because of all the red tape and requirements. Very few homes can accommodate an inside Great Dane. Did they give you a reason why? Is she allergic to grass or something? OR - you could adopt her as an inside dog and . . . well . . . circumstances do change, you know.

 

[zazouse]

Makes me kinda sad, here i thought this must be something meant to be because she was the only one that caught my eye and she kept coming back up for adoption, didn't dawn on me i had been waisting my time looking there. Whoda thought

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Not uncommon at all these days, along with other things. The small, rural shelters are often better about having animals for sale that do not come with invasions of privacy or overbearing requirements. Part of the ridiculousness of these types of situations is that people can and do have a friend purchase the animal for them/lie on the application. I personally am not comfortable giving money to shelters/rescues that behave in this manner, and find that the internet has been a much better source for finding animals in need of rehome. The owner gets the comfort of knowing someone will take their pet rather than it getting possibly put down, and I often get much better background info on the animal.

Sorry you got your heart set and broken. That is so rough!

 

[theoldchick]

Not an unusual situation in scenarios with rigid/non think regulations. Sadly a lot of animals never find their 'home' because of a lack of common sense on the part of those running these purported rescues.

x 2

 

[BakinInAZ]

I was checking out a lab rescue place-they had a lovely 90 lb. + female that we really liked a few years back- all their dogs were a few hundred dollars, & they had to be inside! No exceptions. Our property was fenced & cross fenced & I had kept many dogs there over the years. But, without a promise of being mainly inside, they won't release the dog,& it is never yours, as if your circumstances change, or you move they have to know. Even the shelters are getting more expensive, but they have "sale" days & can waive fees, as they do get tired of putting so many "to sleep". Also, as an alternative post when you are looking for a dog (or pet) as you may get one before it is turned in somewhere.

 

[zazouse]

Yea I don't know why they don't just stick with re homing smaller dogs that need home cause god knows there are plenty out there but just like 3 days ago they picked up a Great Pyrenees at target parking lot put him up for adoption , shaved him and placed him in 9 hours saying how he was neglected, well I have Great Pyrenees here and they can get matted, they are working dogs but I never ever shave them, that dog looked good, his weight was good and I saw no hot spots on that shaved body, someone cared for him, it is gonna be sad if it belongs to someone, if he were mine I would be real POed about them doing what they wished with my dog without first trying to locate the me as the owner cause I would be looking for my dog if it was lost and it may take longer than 9 hours.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

That attitude is also unfortunately becoming very common, and not just amongst rescues and shelters. I was able to catch that kind of thinking in myself as an older teen. As a kid, I was surrounded by very AR messages, so every cat/dog on the street was "abused/neglected/abandoned" in my mind. I think the two major turning points for me was:

1. Bringing in a bag of bones hound that was infested with ticks that I almost hit on a mountain road. He had a funny sort of collar on, and i was just sure the poor thing had been abused/abandoned. Brought him to a rural shelter, and the level headed clerk quickly quashed that notion. Both the collar and the hound were incredibly expensive, and the shelter owner knew the hound breeder who would be overjoyed to be getting his dog back! The collar was a tracking collar, but this hound must have followed his nose too far to have the signal pick up and had been running free in the woods for a good while. I can't tell, you how silly I felt. I had reached saintly levels of pompous animal savior-ness in my mind.

2. Having various dogs with deformities and such in our area go missing. It was highly suspected, and I have to agree after meeting many people like this, that someone thought these animals were being abused and was "rescuing" them from their owners.

Sadly, this kind of thinking is actively being taught in regards to animals, and by some very powerful lobby groups. I wish I could say that it was just a one-off case of someone calling a healthy animal neglected, but just in the last decade, I have seen a sharp increase in this irrational type of thinking and had experienced it in myself.

You sound like you have an amazing home and heart for a dog. I hope you find a great dog to share that with soon.

 

[dainerra]

These policies come from a good heart and a LOT of bad experiences. The "typical" outside dog has an owner that works all day. Comes home at night to have dinner and chill in front of the TV. Dog only sees someone at feeding time. They don't have a "pet" - they have a lawn ornament. People here aren't the typical adopter because they are "animal people" Outside taking care of the chickens. Doing yard work. Hiking. Whatever. Things that the dog can be a part of and that they WANT their dog to be part of.
Or in the old days of the farm/ranch dog. You went outside at sunrise. Worked all day, dog by your side. You weren't in until evening - you went to your bed to sleep and the dog went to his bed to sleep. He just happened to be outside but he never lacked for human interaction. Today, outside is usually a punishment - away from the family. "He sheds" "He barks while I'm watching TV" "He's over-excited and he doesn't settle down. He drives me crazy" So they put the dog outside, feed him and then complain because he still gets overexcited and jumps on people when he does see them. So they take him to the shelter. "He jumps on the kids" "He digs holes" "The neighbors complain that all he does is bark"

Why the blanket policy? Because simply put - people lie. Or they have the best of intentions but fall into the "just this once..." trap

Such as the fenced yard policy. Yes they will swear that they will always make sure the dog is on leash. Until the first cold rainy night when the dog needs to go potty AGAIN. "Just this once I'll just open the door and let him out" Then the next day "oh he didn't run off last night. I'm in a hurry, I'll let him out by himself" before you know it, they are back looking to adopt another dog because this one was lost or hit by a car.

Blanket policies are stupid but going in with a hostile attitude means that they won't tell you that they COULD make an exception. But you aren't going to get around a home visit with pretty much any rescue. Why? Because people will lie about where they live. "Yes I own my own home" actually they live in an apartment where the dog they want to adopt is a banned breed.
Recently there was a dog put down after scratching a toddler. It was a pit mix which is illegal in town. The dog was kept chained outside and got excited at actually getting attention. The child ran by and the pup jumped at her. It didn't even break skin but the child scraped herself when she fell down so she went to her pediatrician the next day who reported that the woman owned an illegal dog. The dog was euthanized. The woman lied about where her house was (she said it was outside city limits). She said she had a fenced yard (she didn't). She said the dog would be an inside dog (it wasn't). The shelter has since changed its policy and requires home visits.
They lie and say that they don't own any other dogs but when you show up you see a snarling dog practically foaming at the mouth chained in the yard. "Oh that's not my dog. That's my brother's dog. He lost his job so he lives in the basement"
"We don't have kids" but you go to their house and find a yard full of toys because the husband's kids from his first marriage visit every other weekend. "oh but they don't LIVE here....."

It's AMAZING the things that people will not consider "relevant" or will outright lie about.