Frustrated trying to adopt a dog - Happy Update Pg5!

[rosijet]

I guess this is mainly a vent. My husband and I decided we wanted to add another dog to our two dog household. We decided on a specific breed (or even a mix of that breed) and applied to two rescues that are specific to the breed.

I was instantly rejected by the one because I said on the application that I occasionally leave the dogs in my securely fenced yard on nice days. The dogs have access to an enclosed breezeway with water, food, rugs and dog beds. I’m talking a couple of hours every now and again. Otherwise they are in the house with me (I often work from home) or are in the house if I’m gone for awhile.

The rescue said that they expect their dogs (large breed) to always be inside the house so they don’t have unhappy memories surface from the times they were not included as part of their previous family.

Really?

The main frustration is that they could have stated on the web site that they have a non-negotiable, inflexible policy about this. I would not have wasted 15 minutes of my time this morning filling out the application.

I would love to get a pound dog, but I can’t risk bringing kennel cough into my house with a 14 year old dog. That happened with my two previous pound pups and almost killled one of my dogs when he developed pneumonia. I figured a dog in foster care has much less of a chance of contracting kennel cough.

Oh well. Maybe the other rescue will be more reasonable. Thanks for letting me vent!

[AlmostDun]

Some rescues are just sooo out there.
One of my relatives is looking to adopt a 1-2 year old dog. She’s a marathoner, so she wants a high energy dog she can take running. She’s being very selective about the dog, as she knows that not all dogs will be physically able to handle her lifestyle. One of the rescues lost her application - twice. She missed out on one of the dogs she wanted to adopt BECAUSE they’d lost her application. Then she got a snarky message from one of the volunteers saying, "We don’t really think you’re serious about becoming a dog owner, because you’ve been in our database for months and haven’t completed an adoption. " Hello, isn’t it normally a GOOD thing when someone doesn’t rush into adopting an inappropriate animal?

[Arrows_Endure]

I’m right there with you.

I tried to adopt a border collie from border collie rescue. I am an experienced dog trainer with dogs that have been titled in obedience and agility. I have experience with dogs with difficult temperments, including aggression and fear based issues. My dogs live in the house with me, get plenty of exercise and stimulation, and lots of love. I work for a vet.

I got turned down because I live too close to a major road and I don’t have a fence. Never mind that every one of my dogs goes out on a leash at all times. They are trained not to run out the door, it’s one of the first things I teach. We don’t have escapes. I’ve never lost an animal to hit by car. Nor have I ever had a dog get lost.

Don’t get me started on the adoption fees. I can buy a well bred purebred for the same amount. I don’t have a problem with paying a fair adoption fee ($150-300ish), but when you are asking me to pay $500 on up for a dog, well, that’s a bit excessive.

I ended up getting a cattle dog mix out of a high kill shelter in another state. I paid a $100 adoption fee for her, and brought her home. Fair enough. She’s a typical cattle dog in temperment, and is quickly becoming an awesome little dog.

I understand the need for rescue, but the rescues need to understand that there are only so many “perfect” homes out there for their dogs, and sometimes they are going to have to compromise on some things.

[irkenequine]

Maybe ask if the local shelter has dogs in foster? That way you can still adopt from a shelter environment but not worry about the illnesses.

Every rescue, most especially private ones are going to have specific (and sometimes extreme sounding) rules. In the case of my old rescue, we released NO examples of our rules or policies, some of which were controversial (no kids under 6, no outdoor dogs ever etc)…which infuriated people often. The reason in their case was because if people knew the rules, they’d inevitably lie.

It sounds like your dogs have an ideal situation, but often rigid rules like that come from an incident (ie: dog is adopted to home where theyre only left outside occasionally, sometimes, dog has a heatstroke and dies. Rule is changed.)

If you’re as great of a home as you sound like you are, your traits will shine through and many rescues will be HAPPY to have you Best of luck adding a new kiddo to the family.

[threedogpack]

ayep. This is exactly why I won’t go through a rescue again. Most of them are unreasonable…if you have a fenced yard they won’t adopt. If you don’t have a fenced yard they won’t adopt. If you have over X number of dogs, they won’t adopt. If you ever had a litter of puppies they won’t adopt.

If I can’t buy a dog from a breeder, I’ll just get a “free to good home” dog out of the paper.

[cnvh]

My parents got turned down by a rescue because they live on a 100-acre farm and, according to the rescue owner, “a farm isn’t a good place for a dog.” (Her exact words.) Meanwhile, this particular rescuer has over 100 dogs, almost all of which are at her “kennel,” which includes a 5- or 6-acre fenced-in enclosure where the dogs live outside as a pack. Can anyone say “hoarder???”

[Nezzy]

i have adopted 3 dogs within the past few years. The standards are very difficult to live up to. They want everyone to have a fenced yard, and be supervised, and have a spotless vet record. It’s near impossible to give a dog a good home, anymore. What i have learned is to Tweak the truth if you have to. Don’t say you leave the dogs out without supervision. The dogs are only out when you are home. BTW you need to be home a lot. Good Luck, i know not all dog rescues are insane, but the process will drive you crazy.

[MunchkinsMom]

[QUOTE=threedogpack;5787004]
ayep. This is exactly why I won’t go through a rescue again. Most of them are unreasonable…if you have a fenced yard they won’t adopt. If you don’t have a fenced yard they won’t adopt. If you have over X number of dogs, they won’t adopt. If you ever had a litter of puppies they won’t adopt.

If I can’t buy a dog from a breeder, I’ll just get a “free to good home” dog out of the paper.[/QUOTE]

Like the two that need a good home in our local paper this week, this ad just broke my heart:

http://www.gadzoo.com/ocala/Ad.aspx?Id=153066378

[Jaegermonster]

Please don’t write off all rescues. Yes I know many folks in rescue are bona fide whackado hoarders, but not all of us. I am the vp of a rescue called The London Sanctuary, based in NE FL. We have pulled dogs from kill shelters nationwide and also placed dogs nationwide. We have volunteers all over who do our home visits and we are reasonable about our applications and what is and isn’t acceptable. Every app is reviewed by at least 3 board members and also discussed with the animals foster parent. And when someone adopts a dog from us, we pull another one from a kill shelter.
we are on petfinder, put in zip 32040, and if you don’t see what you want, please email us as we have several other dogs that are in various stages of socialization etc that aren’t listed yet.

[BetterOffRed]

Some rescues are just sooo out there.
WORD!

When I fostered for a rescue, the director of the rescue was completely overwhelmed because of the number of dogs that she had in her program. Mostly because she turned down great homes like yours because of stupid reasons like what you have experienced. I finally got fed up and told her I would vet the adopters myself…and I finally found an amazing home for my foster dog.

Keep trying! There have got to be more reasonable rescue organizations out there.

Anyway, maybe it would be better to ‘withhold’ some information?? What they don’t know won’t hurt them.

[pal-o-mino]

oh boy.

I went to adopt a cat one time. This was ages ago, so I dno’t remember all the stuff she asked me, but it was a lot of stuff, like ridiculous stuff. She wanted TONS of references, first born, etc. I mean crazy. But I went along with it, because I wanted a cat.

Then she said the cat could NOT leave without a collar and I had to go buy it. So I told her I’d go to petsmart and get one and off I went. While I"m in there, I’m getting paged in the store. I was like, wtf?? Sure enough, it was the cat lady. She had called my vet and since I had gotten married and not changed my files at the vet’s office, she was calling to demand to know why my vet didn’t know me! I said, he does, use this name.

Anyway, I eventually got the cat, but I can see why they don’t get many pets adopted. I sure would not have gone back or recommended the place.

Another time I tried to adopt a rabbit. She asked what pets I had. I said, well, a couple cats, a turtle, a snake… SNAKE?? She hung up on me and wouldn’t return my calls. Yeah, a 6 month old corn snake. He’s not going to eat your rabbit. I gave up on that one. I mean, if i was going to get the rabbit for food, I sure wouldn’t have said I had a snake! And the rabbit wasn’t free either, there was a fee! But anyhoo.

Last time I adopted cats, I just went on craigslist and grabbed a couple sweeties. No muss, no fuss. and only $40. lol

[furlong47]

My Dad found a dog on Petfinder several years ago that we wanted to adopt for our family. He was writing back and forth with the rescue and learning about the dog - he had allergies and needed special food (we were okay with that) - they like you to have a fenced yard (we don’t but our dogs go out on a leash at all times, period, rescue seemed willing to work with us on that one.)

All was okay until he asked how big the dog was. (It was a fairly unusual breed that we had not seen in person before, there was nothing in the photos to compare to for scale, and the ad did not mention height/weight.) Seems like a reasonable question, right? I guess she thought we wanted to know so we could use it for dog fighting or something :roll: Suddenly we weren’t suitable to adopt. Sooooo weird.

We ended up going to the local SPCA a few months later and picking up the most wonderful dog we have ever had, so it did all work out for the best. But that weirdness just left a sour taste in my mouth for dog rescues.

[Kryswyn]

I applied to adopt a specific dog from one of my breed’s 501©(3) non-profit rescues. That was in late June. Someone got their application in a few days ahead of mine. The dog IS STILL IN RESCUE because 'they want to get back from vacation before they pick her up." HELLO??? This dog would’ve been blended into our household and have attended two terrier trials by now.

Breaks my heart everyday when I open my browser because I really feel that I was supposed to have this particular girl.

[allintexas]

Just to add some balance, I have adopted 3 dogs through rescue groups. All were reasonable and the dogs are GREAT.

We did go to one local group but got turned off by their ridiculous and somewhat snobbish attitude, but this, I think, is the exception rather than the rule.

[MunchkinsMom]

I also adopted to great dogs from a rescue. Had to drive to another state to get them, but they were reasonable to deal with. The local groups just took too long to get back to us after we filled out the applications.

[Philibuster]

Every now and then I look at rescue websites just to see what’s out there for when I’m ready for another dog. Some of them are awesome and don’t nitpick. They realized that no situation and home is going to be perfect. And some seem like a nightmare to deal with, and I wonder how they ever place dogs. One poodle rescue wanted up to $800!!! for their adults and stated they wouldn’t even consider adopting out to a home with invisible fence. I can see preferring a home without invisible fence, but all fencing needs to be looked at on a case by case basis. Some invisible fence systems are great and some traditional fencing is horrible. To flat out say no to that shows that they are ignorant and uneducated,and they probably lose some great adopters because of it (and the outrageous fees).

[Philibuster]

Also, another source to adopt through is craigslist I found my second dog (standard poodle) on there when he was a puppy. The previous owner decided after having him for 1 month that she didn’t want to learn how to groom dogs. Oh well, worked out great for me

[dressagetraks]

My stepmother just recently adopted a dog for her father - from a rescue down by me. I’m a couple of hundred miles away. She did try local first, then switched to trying the areas of family members. She lives in a major metropolitan area that has to have rescues and shelters swinging from the trees, have to be all sorts of dogs there, even meeting her criteria.

Father (elderly, starting to have some issues, no longer independent, lives with them, i.e. yes, he’s not what he was, but this is a 100% supervised situation) had his long-time dog die. Just took a nap and never woke up. Father devastated - he’d gotten it after his wife died for company.

Stepmom wanted a replacement dog to cheer him up: Another small dog, preferably same breed or breed cross, similar in color/appearance, calm with older and sometimes somewhat confused father, patient and not snappish as little dogs can get. Again, totally supervised situation, and she was vouching for dog, could present her own vet, references, history, fenced yard, etc.

She did try local shelters, rescues, etc. Nope. Either not approved for whatever reason (you can’t get a dog for somebody else, I guess?) or tried to be offered things totally unsuitable (nervous, snappy, hiding behind things at test meeting, etc. This will NOT work in her situation with her dad). Some time was wasted on a few visits with things she turned down within 10 seconds. Hello, this was MY application you referred to, right?

As said, they finally adopted one from hundreds of miles away. THAT rescue was very nice to work with, even long distance. Dog was everything they said, calm and affectionate immediately on meeting father (in parking lot at Walmart).

Elderly father loves the dog. But it took a few tanks of gas to get her. I still cannot believe that in that MAJOR metropolitan area, there was nobody who had something matching description who would work with them.

[ManyDogs]

Wayyy before we had “many dogs” :winkgrin: DH and I spoke to a rescue outside of a Petsmart about two of their dogs. We had a good discussion and went ahead with the process. We got an email response saying they wouldn’t adopt to us, then got another longgg email from one of the rescuers going on and on about how we lived near a river and they were afraid the dogs would swim down the river :eek::eek::eek: among other reasons we weren’t good candidates. Yeah. Uh huh.

I’m sure there are plenty of wonderful rescues out there, but our experience left an impression. We don’t have a totally fenced yard, but we have the perimeter collars we use for a couple of ours. They LOVE those collars because they equate them with going outside! The JRT would growl and her tail would be going 100 mi an hour when we brought hers out.

Anyhoo, 7 of our 10 are either pound dogs or side-of-the-road dogs. The pound/shelter here is wonderful. I joke they have our # on speed dial. I’m trying to stop at ten :winkgrin: but if a little JRT girlie was available. Welllll…:yes:

[cmdrcltr]

My cousin once tried to adopt from a specific breed rescue and was turned down. She’s a small animal vet. :eek: