Love only goes so far ?

[Mad Murphy]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Well maybe rescues do get it wrong sometimes- and sometimes they may give people the most bland reason for refusal when the homechecker has had multiple alarm bells going off during the visit. Homecheckers are human and not infallible. BUT I suspect I have erred on the side of caution and I can't apologise for that. All rescues should. The dogs they try to help have often been through more than enough. As for going to some BYB I've actually had someone threaten this to me on the phone. My answer to that is if the person involved is happy to support this grim puppy-farm trade then maybe they're not dog lovers after all. In which case you can't blame a rescue for refusing them in the first place.

Really? Many people IME dont even realise about BYB and many think buying a pup from apuppy farmer is rescuing, so I cant really blame them for that .. As for bland homechecks and daft refusals there is no excuse for this,if alarms bells are going off they should be discussed and maybe a bit of help or support offered to help an adopter get it right. The dog should be the priority and that dog deserves a bit of effort to see beyond first impressions and gut feelings.
OH and I proberbly wouldnt have passed a home check in the uk. We have the parrot , we have a garden but its all gravel and no grass, I have fibromyalgia and OH has early dementia with limited life expectancy we live off his pension. So with all the alarm bells ringing I dont suppose we would have passed and yet look at the life we give Murphy.. Hardly a shabby effort.

 

[Nanny71]

In our seventies. We would definitely have been turned down. But we have had Dudley three years. He gets walked minimum 5 miles a day.
He is only left.for maximum of one and a half hours once a week when we shop.
If we can't take him with us when we go out a friend has him maximum three hours.
Mainly we love him and can afford him.
Groomer, vets, etc.
If he was a big dog we might struggle but he suits us.
A puppy was not intentional but he has transformed our lives.
If we should predecease him I have family who would take him, and who he is familiar with.

 

[Rhythmpig]

I gave up ages ago on rescuing,kept failing home checks. I've had dogs for 46 years now,but it's going to be a puppy instead of a rescue dog in a few months time. Sad because I can give one a really good home.
I'm very experienced in keeping lurchers and terriers. I must admit it does grind my gears sometimes when I go on the rescue forums and there's people who are clearly out of there depth on there at there wits end and have no idea how lurchers behave or what they are capable of. But they can provide a square patch of grass with a 6ft fence around it instead of miles of open moorland.

 

[Nanny71]

Many years ago we adopted a feral cat for our stables
We were visited three times until they were certain we were right for the cat. He slept in the hay barn. Kept the rats away and eventually allowed us to stroke him. We had him fifteen years and he was always an outdoor cat.
Vaccination was a nightmare

 

[Nanny71]

I gave up ages ago on rescuing,kept failing home checks. I've had dogs for 46 years now,but it's going to be a puppy instead of a rescue dog in a few months time. Sad because I can give one a really good home.
I'm very experienced in keeping lurchers and terriers. I must admit it does grind my gears sometimes when I go on the rescue forums and there's people who are clearly out of there depth on there at there wits end and have no idea how lurchers behave or what they are capable of. But they can provide a square patch of grass with a 6ft fence around it instead of miles of open moorland.

Went to Yorkshire moors last September. Husband still suffering with his sciatica. So Dudley and me roamed the moors for hours. Absolutely loved it.

 

[merlina]

I can't say it oftener or more openly: people in their seventies can still get dogs from rescues- it just has to be the right dog. So REALLY don't be put off applying. And please reread what I said- nothing about 'bland homechecks' before replying- I said 'bland reasons'. As for 'talking through the problems', it isn't always a good strategy or even a safe one. I once taught Behavioural Science and don't overreact. But if anyone has been on the receiving end of aggression they will understand it- and know a bland reason can be accepted where another will not be. There is a school of thought that having a dog is a human right. I don't believe that.

 

[Mad Murphy]

Out of interest I just checked the shelter data base here. Theres a regestered shelter in most large towns and cities. At this moment in the whole country there are 298 cats and 483 dogs up for adoption.

We have a no kill policy in shelters and vets so these animals will be re-homed. The home check critirea is much more relaxed here you can look online at what type of dog or cat youre looking for and see what matches your needs the shelter then tries to help you make the match. Returns are not unheard of but they are not frequent.

So what is different? I know in the Uk shelters are bulging at the seams somewhere something is going wrong. Is it over breeding, dog unfriendly situations or have people just found the adoption process so judgemental that they give up? Whatsever it is something needs to be done about it because soon something will have to give.

 

[merlina]

"UK's stray dog numbers decrease but more needs doing...(Dogs Trust's Stray Dogs Survey report 2018.) The number of strays collected by local authorities in the UK is at its lowest level in 21years, and is 15 per cent down on last year." 26 Nov 2018

Often what we think we know isn't accurate. Actually through legislation, education and social changes it does seem to be improving re stray dogs. New rules for breeders, mandatory micro-chipping and the enormous effort put in by charities are all factors. I've seen it in my own small area.

 

[Mad Murphy]

great report but its only about the strays... what about surrenders?

As for not knowing , I can only go on what the news media and press reports from animal charities put out..They all seem to be cries for help due to overcrowding.

Anyway Im done with this thread there are some very judgemental and somwhat arrogant ideas floating around which just annoy me.

 

[merlina]

Well I can certainly agree with your last comment so happy to leave it there.

 

[leashedForLife]

.

In the USA, there are *still* towns & counties which are not rural spaces, yet do not require leashes & permit or ignore free-roaming dogs. Naturally, these inviting spots also have no regulations that require S/N for non-breeding dogs & cats.
The shocking result is a plethora of strays, hordes of pregnant Fs, & troops of unwanted kittens & puppies - most of whom will die in the local shelters, which are typically outdated, overcrowded, underfunded, short-staffed, & open to sweeping tides of contagions.

These suburban neighborhoods are the source of many New England adoptees, some born in the very shelters that then ship them north, others dumped by the job-lot as soon as they could legally leave Mum - who, of course, is STILL NOT SPAYED & will eventually have another unplanned litter.
If Mum is feline, that next unwanted litter is right around the corner, as she may already be preg when her weaned kits are surrendered to the shelter.

Sheer ignorance on the part of owners, compounded by a lack of commitment in their local or regional officials, is the root of much of this suffering. // Elected officials want to be RE-elected, & won’t smirch their reps by passing unpopular regulations, such as mandatory S/N of nonbreeding animals, mandatory licensing, mandatory microchips, & taxes sufficient to do their jobs adequately, being disbursed to the shelters.
Plus, of course, they’d need to knock down their 40 to 60-YO shelters, & build anew, or retrofit the existing buildings, & put on newly constructed additions - which also requires MONEY from the public purse.

One low-cost critical change would be that every state of the 50 states pass legislation which REQUIRES all animals placed for adoption by shelters & rescues, whether publicly owned or privately funded, be S/N prior to changing hands.
But that, too, takes $$$ to accomplish, & the shelters are among the last to get any of the tax dollars collected.

Does no one see that taking in & caring for animals who will never get a home, is also crazily expensive?
That even killing them wholesale on arrival is costly?
That trying to stem the flood of homeless animals by killing the ones already born, is futile?
Apparently not.

And so the flood rolls on, unchecked, & animals suffer needlessly. As a nation, we still kill between 3 & 5 MILLION unwanted pets, every year. Most of them are young, healthy, & behaviorally normal.

I am so grateful to be living in New England, where strays are few & promptly picked up, S/N is the prevalent state of pets, & surplus kittens & puppies must be imported to satisfy the demand. That’s a wonderful problem, IMO.

Florida is similar to my experience of Virginia - undersized shelters coping with a flood of surplus pets, strays are common, S/N pets are owned by the “middle class” [what there is of it, as comfortably well-off working families are also an endangered species in the U-S], & the many poor families & those just getting by, “cannot afford” to desex their pets.
It’s discouraging & sad.

- terry

.

 

[leashedForLife]

.

Many rescue groups in the U-S use volunteers to do their home inspections in distant places, or ask the local ACOs to do a home check for them, using the rescue’s check-list as their criteria.
With such an enormous country, mileage is definitely a problem when placing adoptees, so there are on-line groups which organize long-distance relays of volunteer drivers to transport adopted animals to their new homes.
There are also volunteer pilots who offer their services to shuttle adoptees across the country.

3,500 miles across & one-half that from north to south, it’s a daunting problem - but there are folks who put their love of animals into action, by driving adoptees several hours along their way, as part of a relay team. DoG bless them, every one.
As for the pilots, they are simply angels in human forms. They are so generous.

- terry

.

 

[John Craig]

I homecheck for several rescues ...this all came about from rescue helpers unite ...some have different rules ...most have a catchment area as if a dog needs to come back it is very hard to collect a dog that has been rehomed hundreds of miles away when the adopter wants them gone Now ...a few years ago a man that had adopted a dog a week before wanted to return the dog (which wasn't a problem )but he didnt want to bring the dog back it was over 80 miles away, a voulnteer had arranged to collect the dog in 3 days time ....when she arrived he had had the dog PTS ....so please understand why some rescues have strict rules in place

One of my gripes here; you could have a folio of positive home checks from several rescues which are not recognised by another rescue. A VERY valid point with regards to returning a dog though and I am aware of two such events with a much larger distance involved. I have no easy answer to that one. In my own defence though, we adopted a dog which had been returned five times. We said it wouldn't be back, the rescue owner said " don't be so sure", but the creature was the most delightful little bundle imaginable, all 11.5 kilos of Viszla. Three months later she was up to 16 kilos and we had her for four wonderful years