Rescue crisis

[CrunchieBoi]

I'll be flamed for saying this, but I honestly don't think it's as difficult as people say or think it is to get a dog from a UK rescue, and it's definitely not a UK wide problem, but it's always used by an excuse for people who want to buy a puppy- just buy the puppy. Or by people who try one rescue and give up, or who aren't honest with themselves about their own red flags. A lot of the foreign rescues I know of have been turned down by local rescues for things like - applying for dogs unsuitable to their circumstances, garden not safe etc.

Including myself I know 5 people who have recently (in the last year anyway) rehomed dogs, one from our nearest Dogs Trust, another one from the same rescue as me, and the other 3 from other reputable rescues around. We all work between part and full time and have arrangements in place for the dog and one couple have children 8 and over. I'm just sharing this because I was pleasantly surprised that the rescues were sensible on a case by case basis and relatively prompt. What I'm saying is in the majority of cases rescues just want their dogs rehomed to a good home and I had nearly been put off applying due to seeing repeated comments about how difficult it is. We really didn't find it that onerous.

I'd say the same thing regarding how difficult it is to adopt from a rescue. We've had several dogs each from the main big rescues and never had a problem, although being realistic and patient helps obviously.

Friends of ours recently adopted a wee whippet type dog from the SSPCA and they live in a 4 in a block flat without an attached garden and both work full time.

Purely in my experience, the whole "rescues are impossible to adopt from" is an issue that only seems to be present on social media. It's not something I've ever seen in real life.

 

[maya2008]

I think the solution for many would be to put time in to determine which dogs could be rehomed to a wider range of owners. We have provided a happy home to a dog for 14 years now - she has always had lots of acreage to run on, plenty of love and walks, food and places to sleep. We would never have been allowed to adopt, because we have never had a fenced garden, nor was there anyone at home during the day when we got her (she went to doggy daycare instead). We lived in a flat and spent most of the non-working time at the yard at first, where she spent her days with a pack of her friends while I worked. Then I had children (so again, no for a rescue) and we still don’t have a fully fenced garden. We did that thing called ‘training’ instead, and she came, reliably well behaved, out hacking off lead for many years. So if you asked my dog, I do not think she would be upset with the life she has led - but we will have to buy a puppy when she dies, as we won’t qualify for a rescue dog…

 

[splashgirl45]

I'd say the same thing regarding how difficult it is to adopt from a rescue. We've had several dogs each from the main big rescues and never had a problem, although being realistic and patient helps obviously.

Friends of ours recently adopted a wee whippet type dog from the SSPCA and they live in a 4 in a block flat without an attached garden and both work full time.

Purely in my experience, the whole "rescues are impossible to adopt from" is an issue that only seems to be present on social media. It's not something I've ever seen in real life.

depends on which part of the country you are, i am Suffolk/essex border and haven’t managed to get a rescue, it seems that having an existing dog is the main problem plus me being a pensioner who lives alone so dog would have to be left sometimes if I had docs appt etc. I tried for a rescue many times in the space of 7 years and could have had any number of staffies ,or larger dogs ,but they are not my choice of dog, my friend who is a year younger than me was actually told that her and her partner were too old, so she ended up with a puppy. So it’s not just on social media down here

 

[daffy44]

I do think a lot depends on the individual rescue centre, I have had rescue dogs and cats my whole life, including two cruelty case dogs, I also used to be a small animal vet nurse. About ten years ago i was looking for a new dog and i was rejected from some rescues because they thought it was dangerous to have dogs and horses together... My horses are at home and my dog is with me most of the time, they are rarely left for more than an couple of hours, and if longer they would stay with my Mother, this was not good enough for a couple of rescues. I did find it hugely frustrating, and it did tempt me to go to a breeder instead, but in the end I just couldnt bring myself to do it, so I kept looking and in the end found an amazing rescue who was delighted to rehome to a dog who would have an outdoor, active life, and the resulting dog was one of the best dogs I've ever had.

So I do appreciate that some rescues really do not help themselves at all, but there are some good, realistic ones out there. I did live in NI a long time ago and got a rescue dog there and the criteria was much less stringent than I had found in the UK at a similar time.

 

[TheresaW]

We have just taken on a rescue dog. It was a breed specific rescue, and I get that not everyone wants a Husky. They were really sensible. We were truthful that we both work full time etc. We wanted an older (5 plus) dog which probably helped. We were home checked etc, then went to meet Toby with our other dogs. Their most important requirements were a secure garden, and dog not to be crated for more than x amount of hours if no one home.