To me, shelters, rescues, and the HSUS are all separate entities. I won’t even get started with HSUS.
It seems to me that the article is a little “off.” I can’t say I have ever heard a County or City shelter denying the adoption of an animal because the cat would be indoors/outdoors, etc. Most County or City [euthanizing] shelters adopt if you hand them their measly adoption fee, fill out some paperwork (which doesn’t include any history about previous or current pets, etc.,) and take possession of the animal.
Now the rescue groups are a different beast altogether. Most of the well-run and legitimate ones can afford to be choosy as to who adopts their animals because their animals aren’t in any danger of going anywhere or being euthanized. They’re considered “safe” with the hopes of being adopted into a home of their own.
I think if you don’t like the policies of one animal rescue group, just use another one. For example, there was a Doberman rescue that required persons only use a choke chain on any of their adoptees because “one adoptee came in abused from a prong collar so much that he had a single hole in his neck, and because the hole was almost perfectly round, it HAD to be a prong collar.” You’d think they would use some common sense and say, “hmm - a single hole from a prong collar with many prongs applying equal pressure around the dog’s neck? Maybe the wound was caused by something else?” When I had asked them about using a Martingale or how about actually training the dog and just use a flat buckle collar? They said, “that’s not our policy!”
However, if a rescue is going to have ridiculous requirements like “no hardwood floors,” then they shouldn’t be crying and complaining that they just don’t have any room and need to find homes for their animals because they’re limited on funds from caring for all of them.
I can tell you two horror stories of adoptions with rescues:
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Several years ago, I volunteered for an animal rescue. An adopter came forward to adopt an [already spayed, vaccinated, and starting housetraining] puppy. Her Veterinary records checked out. Her home check was okay. She adopted the puppy. Two weeks later, the woman called the Director absolutely FURIOUS saying the dog would NOT housetrain and she would be dumping the puppy unless someone came and got it. When the puppy was picked up, it SCREAMED anytime someone would touch it or anytime someone would speak in a stern or loud voice. The puppy was also underweight to the extent that it didn’t look like she had been fed…at all. She would cower down and urinate all over herself and start shaking. She had two wounds on her thighs that could have been from being burned. After taking the pup to the Vet to have it checked out (and no major medical issues,) the Director called the adopter’s Veterinarian and complained. The Veterinarian she spoke with (not the receptionist) asked, “well what about her nine other dogs?” What 9 other dogs? At her home at (address.) What home at (address?) The address we were given was her sister-in-law’s home. Her real address had 9 dogs chained outside. The receptionist that had given her a good review and said “no other dogs” said, “oh you didn’t ask about the other dogs.” Huh?
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Just last year around Atlanta, the rescue with whom we volunteer adopted out an older pup to a Police Officer. In the adoption contract it says dog cannot be chained or left outside alone on a runner, etc. Director receives a call from the shelter stating they scanned a chip on a dog, and their rescue came up as the contact. They went and picked up the dog, and it was sort of skinny. AC said the dog was found dragging a stake and chain down the road. They guessed he had gotten free from being chained in the guy’s yard.
Even the best screening doesn’t work too well.
