- This topic has 20 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 15 years ago by .
-
Posts
-
*warning rant ahead*
I’m beyond frustrated right now. We have been looking to adopt a dog for awhile now. At first we were working with a very knowledgeable woman who was fostering a puppy. We had him come over to our house and meet our cat and Alyssa. Everything seemed fine and we set up a date for him to spend the night so we could be sure he would fit with us. I got a call from the woman who was fostering him telling me he had a setback and started to develop some anxiety problems and she didn’t feel comfortable adopting him out. I understood totally and still keep in contact with her because she was so helpful to us and I loved the puppy and like to see how he is doing. She told me about another rescue group and I contacted them telling them what we were looking for in a dog to see if they had any that might fit us. I was contacted back and told about a deaf dog they had that they wanted me to see. I told them I wasn’t comfortable with a deaf dog and they still pushed the issue. After going back and forth they told me of another dog they had and that they were going to bring them over thursday. I was kind of mad because I wasn’t given the option of the day they just pretty much said this is when we are coming. The day they picked was inbetween my nightshifts so I couldn’t check my email. I waited and waited for them to show and when they didn’t I got into my email to get their phone number to call them. I see a message from them saying they had to cancel and reschedule. I was mad because they had my number, I talked to them before on the phone and they didn’t bother to call me just send me an email. Soooo we look at another dog who seemed very friendly, got along with the cat and Alyssa. I asked if we could set up a time to have her spend the night and she said she would get back to me but that would be fine. That was a week ago and I never heard from her. She told me she had to work alot so it might be a bit since I heard from her and that was fine. Well today I get an email saying she has another application on the dog and its out of her hands now and up to the rescue who gets the dog. I’m pissed because she said she got the application a week ago, the same time I emailed and asked to see the dog again, that we were really interested. She could have told me they had another application on the dog. I understand that rescues are manned by volunteers but it just seems to me that they really are not interested in finding homes for these dogs. I was told by two rescue groups that we would provide a great home for a dog. I’ve gone through two home checks from two groups and had vet and reference checks. We have spent so much time working with these groups and it just seems they don’t really care. I wanted to adopt a dog and help with the overcrowding pet population but I am so done right now. I see why people use backyard breeders to find dogs since working with these people has be one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever done!
It can be frustrating. And I worked for a rescue! 🙄
I’ll never work for one again. I remember getting in a problem dog (she was abused) and I was told to work with her and see if I could get her adoptable. I say, ok, I don’t know what I’m doing but figured I’d try anyway. And then some random moron comes in the next day and freaks her out – they decided then to put her down (like I’d get her adoptable in one freaking day 😡 ).
Believe me, sometimes it does feel like they don’t care about the animal being adopted. However, I’d go to a rescue anyway, because, despite the people working there being morons, the animals can still be great, and they deserve a second chance.
Yeah, I understand this too. I support rescues, and have adopted cats from rescues before, but at the same time, most rescues seem very frustrating. I understand that they want to protect the animals from being abandoned or abused, but when it becomes as difficult to adopt a dog as it is to adopt a child, that seems a bit much. It seems like they are taking a lot of good owners out of the adoption pool by making a lot of regulations that don’t always make sense. (like not willing to adopt a dog to anyone who has a child in the house under the age of 5), etc. We tried adopying a dog through a rescue, but they never got back to us, never emailed us, nothing. I’ve also noticed that the dog rescues seem a lot more strict than the cat rescues for some reason. Shrug. Maybe they think cats are as important? I dunno, but I certainly feel for your frustration.
Keeper of the Fledgings
I don’t mind jumping through whatever hoops they want me to. I’ve had them come to my home to check it out, talk to my vet, talk to my friends and family and spend hours with us getting to know us. Its just that I’ve spent all this time trying to do what they want of me just to have them either a)ignore me and never talk to me again or b) take the dog out from under me and not tell me about it. Its just so frustrating that I’m ready to just find a good breeder and get on a waiting list so I know I’ll have a healthy quality puppy and not have to go through the frustration and heartache these rescues love to put me through.
That really sucks!! :/ I have some friends trying to get a dog, they saw a great one on a shelter website and emailed them about it, after a week of no response they emailed them again and instead of telling them anything, they just took the dog off the site, so I guess it was adopted and they were too lazy to update the site AND email back??
ETA: fixed typo, whoops
It seems like alot of the rescues and shelters are like that. They never write or call you back. I’ve emailed about a couple of dogs I found on petfinder and they never get back to me, EVER! How are they going to find a forever home for these animals when they don’t even write back to those inquiring about the dog? I feel bad for the animals in shelters but they make it so hard to adopt that I’m just not going to bother anymore. I think I could have adopted 5 children by now with all the paperwork and checks I’ve had done yet I cant seem to adopt one dog :shrug:
Do you have any non-chain pet shops or pet supply stores near you? The two that are local to me always have a bulletin board full of pets up for adoption or sale.
Yikes. I understand screening, but some things are overkill. I remember one adoption form asking whether the adopter was renting, or owned their place. (don’t think it even asked about landlord permission) 😕
If you’d prefer a larger dog and are comfortable not knowing much more about the animal than what you can observe, a rural county or non-yuppie city run shelter (instead of a rescue) could work. There’s less customer service, not much screening of the dogs past the basics (reasonably friendly and healthy), phonecalls and moving fast is a must, but there’s less paperwork too. Taking home a ‘mystery dog’ that may have issues to work through is less painful for me than the sheer irritation of hoop jumping. 2/2 so far, one highly sensitive doggy genius, and one fluffy manic troll. Love ’em both. 😈
IMO, adoption’s awesome but there’s nothing unethical with going to a dedicated hobbyist breeder (opposed to some yahoo looking for a few bucks/ introducing their kids to the miracle of life/ wanting their female dog to experience motherhood to become a happier dog) to get a pup that’s screened for health, disposition, and experience-wise is a clean slate. I like my dark horse dogs, others do well jumping hoops for hyper-careful rescue matches, but buying a purebred is a reasonable choice that shouldn’t be knocked.
Edit: Oh… forgot to mention the downside to the public shelters. Lots of footwork after the phone calls, and it varies, some are very nice, but in others there’s the dizzying cacophony of barks, and the rows of dewy brown eyes staring at you. Still beats hoop jumping IMO, but… yeah. 😮
lamortefille wrote:Do you have any non-chain pet shops or pet supply stores near you? The two that are local to me always have a bulletin board full of pets up for adoption or sale.
The little pet supply store chain we go to also has bulletin boards, so if you have an equivalent, you can check there.
Read my books! Volume 1 and 2 of A Dragon Medley are available now.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/mybooks.htm
I host the feedback lists, which are maintained by drag0nfeathers.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmpurpledoggy wrote:I don’t mind jumping through whatever hoops they want me to. I’ve had them come to my home to check it out, talk to my vet, talk to my friends and family and spend hours with us getting to know us. Its just that I’ve spent all this time trying to do what they want of me just to have them either a)ignore me and never talk to me again or b) take the dog out from under me and not tell me about it. Its just so frustrating that I’m ready to just find a good breeder and get on a waiting list so I know I’ll have a healthy quality puppy and not have to go through the frustration and heartache these rescues love to put me through.
There’s nothing at all wrong with finding a good, knowledgeable breeder to buy a puppy from, and if that’s what you decide you want to do, by all means, go for it.
I also second the suggestion of finding a county or city animal control shelter (and not a rescue) if you want to adopt. Most of the time those shelters only have something like a $40 fee, a short form to fill out and no home checks, contracts or any of that other unreasonable mess (including the clause that some rescues like to include in their paperwork stating that they can come do a home check at any time and if they don’t like how you’re keeping the dog, they’ll take it away. I *hate* that one!) that high handed rescues like to use.
Best of luck, PD. Some resuces will always wonder why they’re full and can’t adopt out their dogs.
Other places to check for bulletin boards would be local vets and grooming salons. I know our vet always has listings of critters needing new homes.
I don’t want to adopt from the local shelter because we did that already and once we got the dog home it was extremely animal aggressive and wanted to eat our cat. I decided to try rescues since the dogs they have are already in homes, temperment tested and they know if they get along with cats and kids. I will only adopt a puppy from a shelter but of course all the puppies are in foster homes so I have to go through the same crap I’ve been through now. When working with these rescue I would have the dog come over my house or I would go meet them. If they seemed like they were what we were looking for I asked to meet them again since I don’t think you can judge a dog on one meeting. The latest lady I was working with said “why don’t you borrow her for the night, I’ve already checked your references so I know it wont be a problem.” I sent her my work schedule and she told me I would have to come meet her at work to get the dog and I could borrow her crate, leash, some food, etc. She told me she was working alot so I wouldn’t hear back from her for a bit which I was fine with. The next email she sends me a week later tells me that she has another application for the dog that she got a week ago (while we were setting up the overnight visit) so I can’t see the dog again and I have to wait and hear from the rescue if we get the dog or the other application does. That was the straw that broke the camels back. I’ve been dealing with these flighty rescue groups for months now and they all pull stupid little stunts so I’m done. I always thought “oh how great” these people pull these dogs out of kill shelters and find them a home. Never in my life did I know what a ridiculous process they make go you through just to adopt one.
What kind of dog are you looking for?
I’m a bit far in Indiana but I have a lovely 5 year old male German Shepard who is looking for a good home. I haven’t tried him with the cats yet, but so far he gets along with everyone he’s ever met. He was a stray who wandered into the parking lot at work and was headed for US 30. Dog road kill was no going to happen if I could stop it. So I caught him, vetted him and took him home. He’s been a total doll, although he does need to be crated when I’m not home. He gets a little nervous and chewed on a blanket so we just crate him and that has solved the problem.
I don’t know any rescues in Maryland. I do know that the rescue I work with has that clause about re-poing our dogs and we’ve even had to do it once or twice. The dogs were being starved and left out on a chain which is 1.) a clear violation of their contract. 2.) not what the dogs deserved. Some rescues are flakey but not all of them are bad. if you’re not particular about the breed I would also recommend a small rural shelter. Thise dogs often don’t get seen before they are euthanized.
I hope you find your dog.
Looking for Blue Fawn Baby Kirin
Sanguine Oriental Test Paints, kinglet
Sun Dragon Koi #3I work with the Hawaii Dog Foundation (all volunteer) and they seem to be in chaos most of the time. Applications are sent in via email and screened when the person who runs it has time. The person who runs it usually works full time and gets backed up on applications. I will tell you from my perspective, the foster family has absolutly NOTHING to do with who actually gets the dog..At least thats how it is here. That is up to the person who runs the program. We do make suggestions about what kind of family the dogs would be best in, IE; No small kids, no cats, etc… but thats about it. Dont listen to the foster about who gets the dog, only ask them about the dogs habits, etc. Dont give up on the foundations just yet, but maybe find a different one, and DEF dont let them push you into a dog you are not ready for. That is just rude!!!!!! I echo the suggestion to hit the shelters. They usually have a 3 day return policy so if the dog goes after your cat, you can usually bring it back to the shelter. Sorry about your bad experience… the group I work with needs alot of organization, too, but we really have the dogs best interest at heart and just want to help. 🙂
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Recent Comments