Rescue organizations keep puppy mills in business--open vent/rant

[Sswor]

I am in search of a puppy but as far as the rescue organizations are concerned, I am unfit for puppy ownership. Why? Because I work and therefore leave the house. No matter that I am self employed and enjoy that flexibility. No matter that my retired mother has offered to provide doggie daycare. No matter that I am able to bring my dogs to work with me. Nope, I’m not even worthy of a reply. Once any rescue organization sees that I work outside the home and am gone for any part of the day, my application for a puppy goes into the circular file.

My application and everyone else’s application who isn’t 1) retired, 2) independently wealthy, or 3) works out of the home and never leaves, will all go straight into the trash.

I suppose these rescue organizations are trying to save all the poor helpless puppies from us evil, cruel, and somehow bad working people who might, omg, leave the house and therefore, leave the poor helpless puppy alone! Because of course this will result in the puppy developing behavior problems which will of course will cause us working people to abandon the poor helpless puppy because everyone knows working people are stressed out idiots who can’t manage to train a puppy. OF COURSE! It is so inevitable as to be a law of nature.

This policy that rescues have is exactly why there will always be puppy mills. People want puppies and puppies people shall have. The internet is FULL of people who want puppies. And no wonder–with misguided, ridiculous, and asinine policies such as these from the rescue groups, who can blame anyone? These groups comb all the city pounds and animal control shelters nationwide and snatch up all the available puppies. Most move them from the South to the North–as if no one in the South could possibly give an appropriate home to a puppy :mad: What am I, and others like me supposed to do? Trust that some complete stranger “rescuer” knows better then I precisely what age of dog would incorporate best into my home, family, and lifestyle? I don’t think so.

I have my reasons for wanting a puppy, and I am confident that they are sound reasons. I have raised 3 puppies now, myself, in my adult lifetime, living the same lifestyle as I am now, and all 3 had (or have) wonderful, full, well adjusted and stable lives. Not once have I had an issue with training or behavior problems. Not once have I ever considered “dumping” a puppy, nor would I. There is zero reason on my radar nor in my ethics that I would ever “get rid” of a dog, under any circumstances. Same for compromising on their care and/or management. Dog are for life and they are akin to children, this is how I feel.

Rescues be damned. I’m getting a puppy. And I frankly don’t care where it comes from so long as it is a happy, healthy, and well adjusted puppy that will fit into my home, family, and lifestyle based on MY judgement.

I am so disgusted with so called “rescue” groups. They are no better then dog hoarders and they are the reason I have little choice then to get a puppy from a BYB, flea market, Amish breeder, or pet store. And I know I’m not the only one.

[Nezzy]

Not every rescue group does this. many of them make decisions based on the individuals situation.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=Nezzy;8207329]
Not every rescue group does this. many of them make decisions based on the individuals situation.[/QUOTE]

Agreed… Maybe you are looking under the wrong rocks.

[saultgirl]

I found breeders were worse and I ended up adopting from the local humane society. Although I did come across a few rescues with 5 page long application forms and $500 adoption fees (for large adult dogs with major issues).

Hang in there, you’ll find something!

[Anne_FS]

It’s no secret I think many “rescues” are puppy brokers and are despicable. All one has to do is look around with open eyes and it’s glaringly obvious.

The most recent experience: family member was looking for a dog and went the animal shelter/rescue way. Found via Petfinder an area shelter that had just gotten in from another state 25 - yes, 25 - puppies of the breed they were interested in. Of course most of them were probably mixes but still kind of typey, and mixes didn’t matter to them. Puppies arrived at the shelter on Thursday, already completely vaccinated, neutered or spayed, and microchipped. Puppies arrived Thursday and were put up for adoption on Friday. $500 each.

So the shelter, despite screams & cries of pet overpopulation, obviously has plenty of room and is constantly importing puppies to sell, literally by the dozens, from other states and selling them for $500 each. These 25 puppies were from several litters. They’re brokers.

The people I know ended up buying from a private individual; they definitely felt like going to a shelter or rescue these days is just like going to a pet store.

[Countrywood]

To think rescue groups keep puppy mills in business is absurd. That said, rescue organizations vary as do their policies, not all have such draconian application process.

Why dont you stop looking for a puppy and adopt a dog, even a young dog…become part of the solution and not part of the problem. All the dogs that end up abandoned started out as cute puppies …

[Sswor]

Not the puppy I buy.

[Marshfield]

You do have the option of seeking out a puppy from a reputable breeder. The ones I know would consider you an excellent home. You’re just likely to have to wait. I bred two girls recently. All potential puppies have homes. I started my 2016 wait list last week.

[Alagirl]

Might as well look into reputable breeders.

I agree the PETA driven conversation makes it really tough to be a regular pet owner.
You will have a better chance adopting a kid with a written promise to send it to boarding school for kindergarden!

OMG, breeders are the evil…
Of course, that’s only the bad purebred breeders…not the mutt producers…

Of course, there are nutty breeders, I mean,you got to, in this day and age, but in the end, I think their strings are much more bearable than this rescue nonsense.

(they do export dogs from down south, because we have a higher survival rate during winter, thus more dogs…but yeah, it IS ridiculous)

[tbchick84]

OP, I totally hear ya. Heaven forbid you work for a living and can’t be home to tend to fluffy 24/7. I experienced the same thing with several parrot rescues. What a bunch of snobs. I ended up buying from a breeder and made sure the let the rescues know they helped an evil breeder make a sale. With dogs, I would just keep putting the feelers out to breed specific rescues until you find a group not run by nut jobs.

[Countrywood]

The reputable breeders usually sell the puppies pre birth or right after birth. Imo they can tend to be, let’s say eccentric…not all but some. A friend of mine paid 3k for a purebred puppy. The breeder picked out the puppy for her ( policy, she picks all the puppies no buyers get to pick), and was crazy to deal with per my freind. She loves the dog but imo it almost could have been any dog. It has allergy problems, was very difficult to train as a puppy , the last dog she also got for a lot $ from a big name breeder had a heart condition and needed treatment. Honestly she could have done as well with a mixed breed puppy from Craigslist. ( the breed she paid so much $ for is a mixed breed , a labradoodle which to me is ironic, charging so much $ for a mixed breed dog )

[make_x_it_x_so]

I think it really depends on the rescue in question.

The group that I adopted my dog from didn’t even call my references, and never did a home check. They did ask about backyard fencing, etc., but were willing to adopt to me even though I was upfront about the fact that I was leaving for veterinary school the following year, which I thought would be enough to exclude me.

Municipal shelters DO get puppies sometimes, and they are often a lot more relaxed about their owner requirements.

But there’s also nothing wrong with buying from a GOOD, RESPONSIBLE breeder.

[Sswor]

If I wanted a purebred dog I would look into a breeder. But I want a crossbred dog specifically. Don’t even get me started on the purebred dog people. That’s a whole 'nother can of worms.

[tbchick84]

Have you tried just going to local animal shelters or those dog adoption days at Pecto?

[jetsmom]

[QUOTE=Sswor;8207483]
If I wanted a purebred dog I would look into a breeder. But I want a crossbred dog specifically. Don’t even get me started on the purebred dog people. That’s a whole 'nother can of worms.[/QUOTE]

Look at kill shelters. Lots of puppies, many breeds. Not any requirements to get one. I’ll ship you one from ours…we kill 20,000-25000 pets per year at our “shelter”. There are 2 corgi mix puppies, german shep mix puppies, lab mix puppies there now…
http://apps.elpasotexas.gov/animalservices/listofpets.aspx

[Mango20]

I understand completely! I had always had dogs. Shortly after my oldest of two died, I started looking for a new one. I didn’t even require a very young puppy - I was looking for up to one year old. I wanted a lab mix mutt, like my previous dogs. Most rescues would not consider me at all because: 1) anything under a year old is a “puppy” 2) I have a job 3) I had a 4 1/2 year old kid (who of course, lived with 2 dogs his whole life, and was a very calm and obedient child, unlikely to irritate a dog too much).

Rescues said “no puppies to homes with children under 12” and “no puppies to homes where someone is not home all day”. My question was: who is home all day except for mothers of young children and retirees who may not be able to keep up with a puppy? I was so frustrated that I started to consider buying a dog instead of rescuing one.

I had avoided city shelters because I did not want something that was part pit bull, and it seemed like that’s all they had. My cousin got me to look at a site for a city shelter that brings in dogs from high-kill shelters. They had a 5 month old golden retriever mutt. They temperment tested all dogs, and this one was approved for children over 5 years old. We went to look at her, and she was excited but friendly, and could jump right up on my son’s shoulders and make him cry. He still wanted her. They made us bring our second dog in to meet her, too. That went well. We went through home visits, references, etc., and by the time we took her home the dog was 6 months old and my son was 4 years, 10 months old.

I went to work on Monday. She got housebroken. She learned some manners. She is super sweet and cuddly. She’ll be 10 years old this summer, and she’s the best dog I’ve ever had. It makes me sad for the dogs that many rescues are holding out for the “perfect” home, instead of a good home, and that they have blanket policies and won’t consider individual circumstances.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Countrywood;8207450]
The reputable breeders usually sell the puppies pre birth or right after birth. Imo they can tend to be, let’s say eccentric…not all but some. A friend of mine paid 3k for a purebred puppy. The breeder picked out the puppy for her ( policy, she picks all the puppies no buyers get to pick), and was crazy to deal with per my freind. She loves the dog but imo it almost could have been any dog. It has allergy problems, was very difficult to train as a puppy , the last dog she also got for a lot $ from a big name breeder had a heart condition and needed treatment. Honestly she could have done as well with a mixed breed puppy from Craigslist. ( the breed she paid so much $ for is a mixed breed , a labradoodle which to me is ironic, charging so much $ for a mixed breed dog )[/QUOTE]

Just because some breeders are crazy doesn’t mean they all are. But yes, it is pretty standard for breeders to match puppies to owners, not let owners choose. What would they choose based on - color and markings? After seeing them for an hour or two? Not really the best way to make sure of a good match, which is, after all, the whole point of breeding a litter.

I know many breeders that would consider someone like the OP to be a great home, assuming they were a good match for the breed.

Puppies from rescues are fairly few and far between. Usually a longer waiting list than available puppies, so they have the option to pick from the best possible scenarios.

I don’t think rescues keep puppy mills open - I think it’s owners looking for instant gratification. There are lots of good breeders out there that are looking for homes just like yours…take some time to find a good breeder.

[Liberty]

Check Craigslist if you don’t want to look around at rescues/shelters anymore.

[LauraKY]

[QUOTE=Sswor;8207483]
If I wanted a purebred dog I would look into a breeder. But I want a crossbred dog specifically. Don’t even get me started on the purebred dog people. That’s a whole 'nother can of worms.[/QUOTE]

I don’t know where you are, but there are plenty of puppies out there, even in shelters. Start by looking at petfinder.com There are plenty of rescues that don’t need you to be the perfect homes, county shelters are even more likely to have less stringent adoption rules (too loose in many cases, but that’s my opinion.).

I don’t know what there is about rescue, but it sure attracts the crazies and the zealots. You just have to weed them out.

Please don’t buy from a puppy mill, you just perpetuate the cycle.

If you want to tell me where you are, send me a PM and I can send out a facebook smoke signal. You never know, I’ve been part of a lot of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend adoptions.

[tbchick84]

[QUOTE=Mango20;8207522]
It makes me sad for the dogs that many rescues are holding out for the “perfect” home, instead of a good home, and that they have blanket policies and won’t consider individual circumstances.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. For all the time they invest on vetting their eventual hard working rejects, you would think they would have time to consider each person on a case by case situation.