Rescue Center's too stringent rehoming process??

[CorvusCorax]

After reading this thread again, I've just popped over to visit a couple of FB sites for some of the rescues I support and some of the questions/messages they are sent would make you want to bang your head off the desk.
Lots of people do seem to think they can just rock up whenever they like, pick the dog they want on the strength of a photo and walk off with it.
I can see why some of them are over-cautious.

 

[madeleine1]

To be fair I've always lived in flats (above pubs) in rural areas with no fenced gardens. I currently live in a very similar situation. As a family we've had rescued adults and puppies in these circumstances and never had a problem with either house training or dogs going missing. It's all down to common sense and a part of that is ensuring you take on a dog that can fit your lifestyle. The other part is of course, accepting that house training a puppy in a flat does take more effort. You can't just open the door to your private garden in the morning. You should see the speed I can don jeans, jumper and trainers when I wake up!

When taking on an adult dog, you shouldn't expect it to act like a Disney film dog. It will take time to settle, and part of that is using leads and long lines until you're sure of each other and confident with recall and the like.

I was admittedly somewhat pee'd off with rescues turning me down (often rudely and abruptly) for not having a secured garden last time I was dog-searching, but having read Cayla's posts above I now understand why they acted that way. Having only ever enjoyed a secure garden once, for the space of 2 years, I couldn't really see the issue. I was of course working on the incredibly naive assumption that people wanting to rehome dogs were not utter morons, and were dedicated to the responsibility that dog ownership brings (regardless of extra hardships, such as never removing shoes for weeks because you're doing a marathon up and down the stairs with a pup in your arms every hour- or in my poor dad's case, a fully grown 6 stone Labrador who was initially terrified of stairs ).

Sadly people that look to rehome a dog can be just as deluded as those who want to pick up a pup from Gumtree. Such people can convince themselves that there will be nothing finer in life than ambling around the local woods, with their Husky off-lead, for 30 mins a day. Provided the sun is shining.

That was so much more of a ramble that it was meant to be In essence there are a lot of idiots out there that make rules a necessity- rules that can seem odd to the sane among us.

i think this explains why i hav an issue with caylas rules as i though that people werent as stupied as they are.

 

[Spudlet]

Nope, I work in a job related to rescue, and believe me people really ARE that dim sometimes. Like Cayla says - it's not personal, the rescue doesn't know you, they just have the dog as their priority and rightly so too.

Also, believe me money does not guarantee a decent home - I have known welfare cases where the owners were millionaires, they just couldn't be bothered to do the right thing by their animals. So that woman thinking being middle-class makes a difference is very wrong, and no decent rescue should make a judgement based solely on someone's income or accent. Or boots.

 

[s4sugar]

Dim, dishonest, demanding....
Yes I've met all sorts but the biscuit goes to the one who had a home check done - at a friend's house!

I only check fences (and they don't have to be fancy but a barrier to stop a dog running onto a road) and that there are not signs of animal hoarding or drug abuse and would never open cupboards but this one raised suspicions.

I asked for a glass of water to take a tablet and prospective adopter didn't know where the glasses were.

None of the groups I work with have set in stone policies but it is about the right, hopefully permanent, home for each dog. We can cat test & kid test but once they are in a different environment there are no guarantees and a few days of idiot handling can undo weeks of training.

Read some of the comments under the article - why don't people prepare for a dog? How hard or expensive is it to repair a fence or fit a gate?
A few years ago I had a lovely retired service dog to rehome. 11 years old but didn't get on with her replacement or my dog . I posted her on a couple of rehoming sites and not one of the applicants had got their fences done.

 

[Luci07]

Can I return my dogs please? They have wrecked my garden, cover everything with mud, cost me a fortune in dog food each week, are due their vaccinations this week..only one have then come out in a hack meaning I still have to walk them anyway


Oh what's that? No? You warned me?

I would actually like to see anyone who wants a dog, if it is their first time round, need to spend time at a rescue and get a little more realistic about dogs and their needs. Yes I have three but they are extremely straightforward with no surprises. Quirks, yes!

 

[CAYLA]

People really do a have a phobia of fixing or erecting a fence...I have even on many occasion offered to waiver the adoption fee completely in exchange that a new fence is erected. One girl still sore it as " to much expense and hard work" she could not see I was actually saving her some money.


And yes madeline, people are really that stupid, which make you a very skeptical person when in a rescue position.