Rescue centres, do they actually want to rehome dogs?

stencilface

stencilface

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Sigh.

Just frustrated really, I'm trying to adopt from a rescue centre, any centre, and either the dogs cannot be left alone for one minute (which begs the question, what do they expect you to do at night?) or they expect a 5ft high fence around your garden, well my garden is 0.3 acres and without either spending a fortune or making it look like a prison, that's just not possible.

All I want to do is give a needy dog a good home with lots of love, exercise and food, and oh yes, me and the oh both work full time, which is apparently a massive sin :(

Some days I can see why people buy puppies from shops :o
 
I don't have a garden at all but adopted a rescue dog last year - have you tried breed specific rescues at all? They seem a lot more realistic with their expectations so long as you're committed to that breed and its specific requirements.

Could you not fence off just a small part of your garden in order to fulfil the criteria? I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a decent fence if you do have a garden, if they've been the slightest bit wrong in their assessments you might end up with a bolter/wanderer and be thankful for having a secure area for a while.
 
My sister had this on her 8 acre yard. Fenced off the short driveway and job done. Also both worked full time but one of them was working shifts so they could show that the dogs were not left for long and if they were there was a person who could stand in. Found a breed specific rescue who were quite flexible and realistic about everything.

Keep trying, having a Rescue is worth it and it sounds like you have a lovely home to offer.
 
I can see were the rescue centres are coming from, but .... my Mum and Dad adopted a retired Greyhound 2yrs ago, he goes for a walk about once every month :eek::eek: (to be fair its been ill health thats contributed to it) He is nearly 10 years old and quite 'lame' he had been at the rescue centre for over 12mths and had already been returned once

So he doesn't get walked :o (they have 2/3 acre of enclosed garden) HIS alternative would be still sat in his rescue centre - I know which makes him happiest, life isn't always ideal ;)

xx
 
I think it's the case with all rehmoing centres whether it is Dogs, Horses or children. They are looking for the perfect home rather than a realistic home - this is why so many children are still unadopted.
 
I am currently trying with a breed rescue, and a solution to my fence, which I've previously put pics of on here, is to have a secure day run/kennel for when I go out, but when I've mentioned this they don't seem too keen on that either :(

The dog I did want has now been diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia which means he isn't really suitable for my lifestyle now.

My parents have always had rescue dogs and their garden is far from secure lol.
 
I was wanting to adopt two kittens from the RSPCA on a buy one get one free basis so I got two cats that would get on with each other and be company - nope, I work full time, so can't have one! I had a plan that because I was aware that they would need feeding four times a day, so I'd feed them breakfast when I get up, then leave another meal on a timer bowl to be given at lunch time, then I will get home about 3:30pm and feed them then, and then a small supper at night time. They will sleep or play the rest of the time with either each other or toys that I'll leave out for them, and kittens learn fast where to toilet so the litter tray wouldn't be a problem.
I love my female adult cat, and she's very happy and independent, but would have been nice to have two.
 
It's tricky. On the one hand I can understand a rescues concerns re fencing and on the other hand your frustration at offering a caring home and being refused. There are too many dogs languishing in rescues and attitudes have to change regarding rehoming. Working full-time is not an issue (dog walkers/carers can be employed), fencing will cost but you could DIY and reduce the cost. Fencing is important, rescues have invested time and money into their dogs and to hear one of their dogs has escaped and been squashed/garroted/drowned etc would be very sad and frustrating.
 
What blazingsaddles said.....for example I have dogs in here I have spent alot of time with and of course I am going to worry and try to cover all basis in regard to how they will cope if left alone to long/or escaping from a new environemt because there was no secure fencing around the garden. I don't want that dreaded call (I have had it b4) and it was me who slept in a car for 4 nights to get the dog back not the new owner.:o
We do have to be met half way.

On saying that we have a range of dogs and we near enough always have one that will suit the needs of a particular individual.
I have nothing against kennels and dogs being kept outside (if we have a suitable dog for that) the last thing we want is dogs getting returned over and over because we have literally placed them in a home for the sake of it an not matched the home as we should do. I am however very strict on the secure garden if indeed there is space for a garden. I will rehome to flats with no garden if on the home visit im comfortable the dog will get walked for it's toilet training, if we spent time toilet training a dog we don't want it undone because the new owner simply could not keep up the routine.

I t does suprise me the stipulations some rescues have, and worse if they don't carry out a home check and simply fail them without a home check and more indepth discussion.


If I began to rhyme of the complete and utter nutters we deal with you would be horrified;)

What are you looking for OP in regard to age, breed? you say you work full time (fair enough) I don't discriminate against that aslong as people can get home to break the day/have a dog walker. If they are going to be out all day and not get home at all then of course a younger high energy breed is out of the question for me because thats more than likely why it got handed in, but a more mature dog of the same breed with less energy may well be fine at home with a dog flap:)
All rescues vary.
 
Mum was turned down as they said her big garden wasn't secure enough, even though her last dog which was a stray she lived with mum for 17 years so we don't actually know how old she was, these are the people who have damm well proved they can look after dogs. She also had a stray cat who lived for many years. Quite sad really as she has money to pay for vets bills and is retired. Not like the idiot down the street who is on the social and got a dog. But has to go to the Pdsa for vet treatment, thus draining a charity when mum can pay.
 
we lost our rabbit a few weeks ago aged 10! we wanted another so went to the local rescue centre as they had 80 needing new homes.
we picked two and reserved them waiting a home check, went to fill in forms and they wanted £60 pounds each, OH nearly had a stroke!
£120 is a lot for two rabbits or is this the going rate at a rescue centre?
 
My mum and I got turned down by the Dogs Trust for rehoming a JRT. Already had another JRT who was lonely although mum is home pretty much 24/7 so thought we'd look into getting her a canine friend!

They turned us down on the grounds that our 1 acre garden has a cattle grid at the entrance of the drive - they advised we fill it in and put a gate there before we could take on the terrier. What made it worse was that the dog was previously rehomed by the Dogs Trust in a third floor flat with no access to a garden and they worked shifts. Sure enough the terrier was returned and then declined a home with us where we have a run so the dogs can get out (through a large cat flap) 24/7, walked twice a day and can go out on to the grass whenever during the day.

We did put in a complaint and they did let us have the dog but by that stage it was a couple of months after we had the home check and already bought a puppy.
 
I adopted a wee Staffie 3 weeks ago turned up for a look, left there and then with the dog , no questions asked really, told if it did not work out to just bring her back. But it did work out and we all happy family now. That was just from a private type charity not like the RSPCA , just the local Aberdeen dog home.
 
For what it's worth I was talking to an RSPCA animal rehoming centre employee recently and he said that where they were always forced to turn down full time workers there has recently been a change of policy and the powers that be are now finally realising that having a dog walker come in regularly is a perfectly acceptable arrangement. It's a shame it's taken so long but now, finally, if you can prove that arrangements are in place they will consider you. :)

Though you're still unfit scum if you don't have a garden. "Except for you, obviously we'd let you have one, you're always bloody walking those dogs." I can't possibly be the only person capable of doing that. :rolleyes:
 
Ludoctro said:
I adopted a wee Staffie 3 weeks ago turned up for a look, left there and then with the dog , no questions asked really, told if it did not work out to just bring her back. But it did work out and we all happy family now. That was just from a private type charity not like the RSPCA , just the local Aberdeen dog home.
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Sounds more like a council pound than a charity?
 
clait said:
we lost our rabbit a few weeks ago aged 10! we wanted another so went to the local rescue centre as they had 80 needing new homes.
we picked two and reserved them waiting a home check, went to fill in forms and they wanted £60 pounds each, OH nearly had a stroke!
£120 is a lot for two rabbits or is this the going rate at a rescue centre?
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What BC said, if those rabbits where vaccinated and neutered and possibly even chipped then the rescue has spent way more than any £60 and for their upkeep, I did not realise how expensive rabbits where until a few came into our dog rescue not so long back. We neutered, chipped and vaxed all the rabbits we had and they went off to a kids school, but the neutering it's self costs over £60.

Of course you can get one free from a local paper or pets at home for half the price, but you will possibly not guarantee it's health the way that rescue could and they certainly would not be vaxed and neutered which is very responsible to help stop the over breeding of them resulting in that rescue having 80 in the 1st place.
 
Given up trying to get a dog from a rescue.

I work full time so I am the devil incarnate :mad:

My dogs are with us for every minute of the day we are at home and that includes the time we are asleep. The Lakeland goes to work with my OH most days. They want for nothing.

However, the lady who lives next door leaves her dog outside for 24 hours a day, regardless of the weather (it does have access to a wooden garage) and it never sets foot either inside the house or outside the garden BUT she is a better owner than me because she is at home all day!! :eek:
 
Ah Stencilface, stop whingeing! You know you just have to be economical with the truth that's all! Stop being so honest when you go in. Get a story ready and use it!!! YOU know the dog's going to have a better life than being in kennels. They are not going to do a home check anyway (not like with Molly because I had guinea pigs that she MIGHT be obsessed with!!) Lol The garden you have is secure enough for a dog to run about in supervised - ie it can't get on to the road easily. you just don't mention the "it may be left for several hours a day in a kennel/outside run", which incidentally is NOOO different from how they are left most of the time at rescues really anyway!

Oh, what you should do (this will keep them happy) is get these two!!!

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/molly1087343.aspx

Problem solved as they can keep each other company - LOVE a deerhound too!!! Comes with a dalmation! :)
 
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Labrador Rescue were a lot more realistic about rehoming. I live on a farm and yes the garden is secure but to be honest they didn't check anything - didn't even look inside:eek: and I had done the housework:mad::mad::rolleyes: It is a sheep farm and a livery yard but they weren't fazed by that or by the fact I worked. Just delivered Max-i-Moo the Monster 2 days later.....;):D:D:D
 
I guess I feeling bad because I feel like I have jumped through hoops for one rescue, and now I'm looking at another its another whole set of hoops to jump through.

Thing is, I would make it work if I had a dog, I would never take it back, unless due to health meaning I was incapable. And I just won't be letting the dog off lead in a non secure area until u know it will come back, so my gardens not secure, fine it wont be off lead in the garden for a few months, there are worse things than being kept on a lead imo.
 
I would have never ever been allowed dogs if I got one from a rescue centre. Both mine are ones we rescued ourselves...well my friends did and I fostered. They came from a hellish life and nobody would help them because of where they were so they were liberated and came to me to be fostered on separate occasions. The vets wanted to try and bring a case for the female dog I rescued as she was in such a bad way.

At the time I worked fulltime in an office (I now take them to work with me) as did my OH. One dog did not mind this at all, he sleeps all day but can walk for miles when we go on long walks. My other dog is a complete traumatised mess who I could not rehome for anything, she wasn't so easy to leave all day but adapted though never fully settled. I have a small garden.

Stencilface which rescues have you tried and what are you looking for? Though you are unlikely to know what you are getting and this is some of the issue, and I will probably be shot down for this but have you considered going to the pound and getting a dog from 'deaths row'? I know its not saving one from a life of kennels but its giving a dog a life. I know of people who have got lovely dogs from the pound.
 
Why would you get shot down for recommending a poundie? If more people went to the pound it would take a lot of pressure of the rescues who have to help empty them every week. Around here they have seven days before PTS.
 
One of my local dog rescue centres has a policy 'we don't put healthy animals to sleep'. Probably true to many.
BUT,
It is a shame that, many kennels/runs have dogs that;
Must be the only pet
Needs a 10ft secure garden
Not suitable with children under 18
Needs £x spent on ongoing veterinary care
Must be kept on a lead at all times
Must not be left alone
Is not house trained
and various other 'issues'. And still 'they' want £100 odd pounds!? Some have been in kennels years - Why? Waiting for their Euro ticket, chance of that is a fine thing. Poor dogs.

No wonder places are so full! I find it increasingly shocked that when good homes pop up there is still problems rehoming. It makes no sense! I also believe that 'the perfect home' has to be even more 'perfect' now than ever before...
I' had been on the lookout for a lurcher whippet type (before we had to move house, not now suitable sadly). I got no phone call, even after passing the home check.. and even when a potential match was on the web site... I had to keep phoning them, never managed to speak to the 'right person'!
 
There are a few reasons that rescues prefer not to home to a full time worker

1) dog needs the toilet 9 - 5 is a very long time to wait
2) most dogs live alone and they need company if all they are being given is the couple of hours before you go to bed its a little unfair on the dog
3) some genuinely cannot cope with being alone for that length of time the general rule of thumb is 4hrs.
4) boredom - stuck in the house for that length of time dogs get bored, some are great they sleep till you get back but others well, destruction, bad behavioural problems are something rescues wish to avoid so the dog has the best chance of a long term forever home.

Its not a reflection of you as a person its purely for the welfare of the dog so try not to take it personally. Most breed rescues are flexible, fencing is important in case your dog escapes when your not there - take a peek on dogs lost you don't want to end up having to post one of those yourself. I wouldn't leave a dog outside in a run without supervision purely because of the number of dog thefts, there are far too many, the other reason being that I know of a dog that got itself stuck in the bars and was dead when the owners returned, heart breaking for all concerned.

I'm afraid horse enthusiasts do not have a good reputation with some rescues really because they tend to think horse first dog later, great having a dog down the yard wondering about but they don't get walked, they lack proper exercise and socialising or training works for some but not for all. Not my personal view but I hear this repeated a lot when I do home checks for various rescues they prefer the dog to be the priority which is understandable especially as these dogs have had more than one home.

Do a bit of research pick a breed you really like that you think will fit into your lifestyle and then contact the breed rescue. Good luck I'm sure there will be a lovely one out there for you.
 
CaveCanem said:
Why would you get shot down for recommending a poundie? If more people went to the pound it would take a lot of pressure of the rescues who have to help empty them every week. Around here they have seven days before PTS.
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I know its not always agreed with but I know a girl who used to rescue them on their last day and people who have gone to get their dogs from there. Its where I would get my future dogs from if they didn't find me first. Working at a horse rescue though you end up finding out about rescues of other species, somehow!

They have seven days here too.
 
horseloaner said:
There are a few reasons that rescues prefer not to home to a full time worker

1) dog needs the toilet 9 - 5 is a very long time to wait
2) most dogs live alone and they need company if all they are being given is the couple of hours before you go to bed its a little unfair on the dog
3) some genuinely cannot cope with being alone for that length of time the general rule of thumb is 4hrs.
4) boredom - stuck in the house for that length of time dogs get bored, some are great they sleep till you get back but others well, destruction, bad behavioural problems are something rescues wish to avoid so the dog has the best chance of a long term forever home.

Its not a reflection of you as a person its purely for the welfare of the dog so try not to take it personally. Most breed rescues are flexible, fencing is important in case your dog escapes when your not there - take a peek on dogs lost you don't want to end up having to post one of those yourself. I wouldn't leave a dog outside in a run without supervision purely because of the number of dog thefts, there are far too many, the other reason being that I know of a dog that got itself stuck in the bars and was dead when the owners returned, heart breaking for all concerned.
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The thing is it's a bit of a contradiction in terms really though isn't it. How many people actually are lucky enough to be able to (a) no have a job as they are supported by their other half (b) work from home or (c) can take dogs with them to work? The answer? Not many! The fact is, from what rescue centres stipulate, their 'ideal' owners are in fact those who don't work at all so have ALL the time in the world to spend with dogs. Now for me, these people fall into 3 categories (1) People rich enough to not have to work (2) retired people (3) people who are claiming benefits and have never worked and have no intention of working! In reality MOST people work and the majority I would say work office type hours.

This means though they are not able to be with dog 24/7 BUT can at least afford to have said dog!I work 9-5 5 days a week. I got a rescue in Dec. She goes to my parents everyday when i work but she knows I am her owner and she knows HER house. It's not hard and her eing with my parents is no different to her having a dog walker daily or going to a doggie creche. She has her stability at the end of the day. i think this is what rescies overlook to be honest. i fully understand them being wary but they do have a tendency to put off potential owners!
 
Wiz201 said:
Neuter and vaccinate a rabbit? I've never heard so much rubbish, we never did.
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Myxi is a horrible lingering death.

No idea about the neutering, I don't keep rabbits, I just presume that most people are stupid and lopping the bits off prevents them breeding more unwanted bunnies. :o Maybe it has some advantage in keeping mixed pairs or groups together, I've no idea.
 
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