What is it with rescue?

When I volunteered for a breed rescue (not sure which of Girl Fridays "types" I fit ), I did an assessment on a bitch who the owner was giving up and they showed me her papers. I told the rescue the breeders name but they said they never contacted breeders. :( I
contacted the breeder myself and she took the dog back.
 
How many rescue centres rehome dogs when usually the dog is half grown or an adult and they end up coming back, not once but several times, and that's after the rehomer has gone through extensive questioning?
A good breeder, which this one obviously, gives back up and support, but unless they are clairvoyant can not predict whether the new owners circumstances change, or if its a working breed they has underestimated the commitment needed.
I have rehomed from two large animal charities, neither of which asked me if I had the skills to look after a rescue dog with problems, just working hours and fencing. If I could be bothered again with the process, I would just lie.
Its true that 'do gooder', which tend help out, tend to be older,no longer work, and are perhaps looking for a rehomer that fits their ideal, not the working busy fractured family life we have now. Who have perhaps never seen a dog that lives in a pack in kennels but is quite happy for one to stay in a solitary kennel because its is 'safe'.
 
honetpot said:
How many rescue centres rehome dogs when usually the dog is half grown or an adult and they end up coming back, not once but several times, and that's after the rehomer has gone through extensive questioning?
A good breeder, which this one obviously, gives back up and support, but unless they are clairvoyant can not predict whether the new owners circumstances change, or if its a working breed they has underestimated the commitment needed.
I have rehomed from two large animal charities, neither of which asked me if I had the skills to look after a rescue dog with problems, just working hours and fencing. If I could be bothered again with the process, I would just lie.
Its true that 'do gooder', which tend help out, tend to be older,no longer work, and are perhaps looking for a rehomer that fits their ideal, not the working busy fractured family life we have now. Who have perhaps never seen a dog that lives in a pack in kennels but is quite happy for one to stay in a solitary kennel because its is 'safe'.
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There’s no excuse for turning down experianced family homes because someone is out the house an hour a day during term time .
My SIL bought a puppy instead .
I would never bother going to a rescue again I found my latest cats myself .
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
Similar to rspca and their equine pick ups. If they are found to be a registered 'breed' they will not inform the breed society whatsoever, but will re-home and often re-passport with a bog std passport.
This has come up a few times in recent years, depiste chip showing exactly who/what the pony is. Fuming just doesn't cover it :(
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Bransby have an Exmoor right now that they have branded as 'not for a novice' but have turned down several very experienced Exmoor people in favour of non-Exmoor/native people and the pony has gone back and forwards. and then there was the Peel case. grinds my gears.
 
What surprises me is just how many there are on here, often those with whom I've previously locked horns, but on this particular subject, we seem to speak as one.

I'll launch the boat …….. I strongly suspect that there are many rescue centres who's primary interest is their own sense of self worth, rather than the claimed charter of their own ethical stance and the concern there is that they end up as hoarders rather than being a body which connects an unwanted animal with a home for life.

I honestly wonder if most unwanted dogs or horses for that matter, wouldn't benefit from avoiding many of their rescuers, the poor sods.

Alec.
 
A more positive update. The breeder has contacted me to say the rescue owner has telephoned him to say that the bitch is not one he bred and he said she was quite helpful and apologised for the attitude of the volunteer who spoke to him earlier. He thinks if the breeder rings with the microchip number then they may well relinquish her to them ... but why they can't just contact the breeder themselves I don't know!
 
Alec Swan said:
What surprises me is just how many there are on here, often those with whom I've previously locked horns, but on this particular subject, we seem to speak as one.

I'll launch the boat …….. I strongly suspect that there are many rescue centres who's primary interest is their own sense of self worth, rather than the claimed charter of their own ethical stance and the concern there is that they end up as hoarders rather than being a body which connects an unwanted animal with a home for life.

I honestly wonder if most unwanted dogs or horses for that matter, wouldn't benefit from avoiding many of their rescuers, the poor sods.

Alec.
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Indeed. I obvious disagree vehemently with many (although by no means all, a lot of sense is talked) of AS's beliefs.

But honestly my happy, healthy (and, on a related note, still entire) rehomed dog set me back rather less than any rehoming fee was likely too and went straight from one home to another with no time in depressing rescue kennels or risk of being PTS if difficult to place (or, more likely, because those already occupying said depressing kennels were not being placed...

Because of the 'inappropriateness' homes like mine where he can sit on my lap whilst I work...)

ETA: MM, I have no idea... I volunteered with RDA during a period of unemployment. I've no idea how you found yourself with the time :-)
 
They don’t generally agree with breeding and will go out of their way to piss off breeders at a dogs detriment.
 
Yes... There were some forms which explicitly said that if I didn't neuter other pets in the household then I wouldn't be allowed to rehome a dog. Despite the other pets being
a) house pets
b) living in a single sex (male) group
c) kept separately from the dog-to-be because
d) they are a different species! (One which doesn't respond well to GA or being walked in public... but would make a great terrier snack)
 
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Those who run rescues have to have plenty of time but those who volunteer often just do as much as they can outwith their employment and other responsibilities.

When I was a legal assistant (9-5) I volunteered for rescue and secured five kennels in a local boarding establishment to house five rescue GSDs so long as the boarding kennels weren't fully booked up. The lady who ran the boarding kennels only charged the rescue £5 per dog per week (going back 20 years now) for keep and board, and she had her own staff groom, feed and walk the rescue dogs during their working day. It was absolutely fantastic. I went down most evenings and every weekend with my own dog to exercise and assess the rescue dogs in a variety of situations. It worked really well. I was also responsible for vetting and homechecking any potential adopters. I enjoyed the fact I could see the job from start to finish.

When I moved to Scotland and had a family and a job helping OH on the farm, I volunteered for the Scottish breed rescue but just made initial return phone calls to enquiries made online, assessed dogs or homechecked in my local area - but as I live out in the middle of nowhere, there weren't many of those. I probably only spent an hour a night on the phone.

So volunteering does not mean the same as running a rescue.
 
I have mixed feelings about rescue centres as I approached the RSPCA to adopt two cats many years ago and was immediately told by the receptionist that I could not have any because I intended for them to live in my stables. Luckily for me there was an officer there who called me to one side and said he would do a home check for me which he did and I had two kittens who have lived in my stables ever since, lost one last year at the age of 17 and the other who decided to become a house cat about two years ago is currently fast asleep in the lounge on a chair and sleeps every night on my bed. They have been loved and cared for but a voluntary receptionist would have deprived them of that life. My MIL who is 78 years of age adopted a whippet from the same centre and as it turned out the dog was completely unsuitable for an older person, she was aggressive if she didn't get her own way and extremely bolshy. Lucky for the dog my MIL is very experienced with animals and once she made the commitment she worked so hard to ensure she could keep her. Now three years on happy MIL and very happy, well behaved whippet. I have worked for an equine rescue and frequently the adopter has to have better facilities if they want to adopt than the rescue centre has which must seem very unfair to the person wanting to adopt the animal. I do think many staff in rescue centres think they know so much more than the people wanting to adopt and in many cases I am sure they do but more needs to be done to recognise a good owner when one comes forward even if rules have to be bent a little. More common sense wouldn't go amiss.
 
Alec Swan said:
What surprises me is just how many there are on here, often those with whom I've previously locked horns, but on this particular subject, we seem to speak as one.

I'll launch the boat …….. I strongly suspect that there are many rescue centres who's primary interest is their own sense of self worth, rather than the claimed charter of their own ethical stance and the concern there is that they end up as hoarders rather than being a body which connects an unwanted animal with a home for life.

I honestly wonder if most unwanted dogs or horses for that matter, wouldn't benefit from avoiding many of their rescuers, the poor sods.

Alec.
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Unfortunately I think you may have hit the nail on the head here.
 
There are rescues and there are rescues, though. I had issues when looking for my first dog, Dogs Trust and RSPCA turned me down at the phone call stage, and still would now. Second dog came from a breed rescue with a refreshingly pragmatic approach, and for whom me working full time and at the time not having a garden were workable obstacles rather than an instant no.

I still volunteer for them now, even while functioning in paid employment. :p They make a big deal of not being anti-breeder - the founders were breeders and successful show and working exhibitors themselves for many years - they are anti *irresponsible* breeders. Without the responsible ones the breed would be irrevocably changed and lost very quickly.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
Bransby have an Exmoor right now that they have branded as 'not for a novice' but have turned down several very experienced Exmoor people in favour of non-Exmoor/native people and the pony has gone back and forwards. and then there was the Peel case. grinds my gears.
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It's so frustrating, and completely unnecessary :mad3:

Back to dogs, I have 2 branches of a very well known rescue within 4 miles of my house.
Branch 1 is large, fully staffed, dogs are mostly staffies and crosses, cattery always full.
Never ever contact breed societies if they have an uplift. (Policy is not to and a member of staff got sacked last yr for doing this out of f hours).

Branch 2 is small, works closely with dog warden. Has no kennels but retains at least 2 spaces at local boarding kennels and has a good band of fosterers.

I approached both 2 years ago. Turned down by branch 1 without even having a home visit, as I worked 3 days a week.... tho potential dog could go to work with me, fantastic walking on the doorstep there too.
Branch 2 came and visited me at home and work, declared a fab home and got a lovely small adult dog from them. I totally support this group now and help with fundraising for them, but not the main charity that they are a branch of.
 
I have been on both sides of the fence, both from the point of wanting a rescue (and being turned down because I work) and from the point of helping rescue and knowing the founder very well and her pov.

The rescue I help with has a big database of names of people interested in a dog, and they often will say what they want in a dog. Fair enough they say "not a puppy" or "Not a large dog" or "good with kids/cats" which is understandable. However when someone says they want a bitch, between the ages of 3 and 5, and either apricot or cream, but no blacks or whites and must be housetrained....well they just simply go to the bottom of the pile. And it is totally reasonable for a rescue to not be willing to rehome to someone that works if the dog they are trying to place has separation anxiety and there is no logistical approach to tackling it. But to just blanket state that no one with a job, who isn't independently wealthy, who has ever had an unneutered dog/bitch or any number of ridiculous requirements is basically prolonging the time in which a loving home can be found.

oops, I ranted.
 
As a rescue I'd be not engaging with most breeders tbh as many many breeders would either want to breed the bitch if she was still entire to 'make it worth their while' , sell her to make money or not want her. There's very few who when push comes to shove actually stand over their pups responsibly. You might, some might, but many wont! Why open that kettle of fish if you don;t have to? Better to just find the dog a new home without complicating matters
 
SusieT said:
As a rescue I'd be not engaging with most breeders tbh as many many breeders would either want to breed the bitch if she was still entire to 'make it worth their while' , sell her to make money or not want her. There's very few who when push comes to shove actually stand over their pups responsibly. You might, some might, but many wont! Why open that kettle of fish if you don;t have to? Better to just find the dog a new home without complicating matters
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Not really a massive generalisation there!
 
SusieT said:
As a rescue I'd be not engaging with most breeders tbh as many many breeders would either want to breed the bitch if she was still entire to 'make it worth their while' , sell her to make money or not want her. There's very few who when push comes to shove actually stand over their pups responsibly. You might, some might, but many wont! Why open that kettle of fish if you don;t have to? Better to just find the dog a new home without complicating matters
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I actually think it's perfectly acceptable for a breeder to take a pup back and then sell it to another suitable home - much like rescues taking a donation. Especially as the good breeders assess any older dogs coming back in and then do further training or iron out any issues that may have arisen in the first home. That is what we expect from our responsible breeders isn't it? That they take responsibility (for life) for the pups they produce.
 
Why there are those who bash the breeders I'm not sure because without them we wouldn't have any dogs and those who get upon on their horse whether high or not, would have to direct their righteous indignities and condemnation elsewhere. :)

I haven't bred any pups for a while now, but when I did I eventually gave up on considering whether the owner could be trusted with one of my precious pups or not, because it occurred to me eventually, just how wrong I often was with those who seemed totally suitable owners turning out to be hopeless and those who raised question marks all so often making a better than passable job of the dog.

The last litter of sheepdogs which I bred had me left with one bitch pup; the DG met a girl during a short stay in hospital who was desperate for a pup, and so, glad to see the back of the pup, I gifted it to her. The woman concerned brought the pup back after a week as she couldn't cope with the energy level and that it was constantly heading the cats! The next guy to turn up wanted a pup as a toy for his children, or so I assumed. He came back to see me about 7-8 months later, he'd rented a small field, he'd acquired a handful of sheep and with no experience whatsoever of either sheep or dogs, this now grown pup was a little corker — she adored the decidedly grubby collection of children and they her and the last I heard, he was going to have a bash at trialling. The dog was as much an integral part of their family as any that I've ever seen!

Perhaps we shouldn't always be quite so quick to judge.

Alec.
 
PucciNPoni said:
I have been on both sides of the fence, both from the point of wanting a rescue (and being turned down because I work) and from the point of helping rescue and knowing the founder very well and her pov.

The rescue I help with has a big database of names of people interested in a dog, and they often will say what they want in a dog. Fair enough they say "not a puppy" or "Not a large dog" or "good with kids/cats" which is understandable. However when someone says they want a bitch, between the ages of 3 and 5, and either apricot or cream, but no blacks or whites and must be housetrained....well they just simply go to the bottom of the pile. And it is totally reasonable for a rescue to not be willing to rehome to someone that works if the dog they are trying to place has separation anxiety and there is no logistical approach to tackling it. But to just blanket state that no one with a job, who isn't independently wealthy, who has ever had an unneutered dog/bitch or any number of ridiculous requirements is basically prolonging the time in which a loving home can be found.

oops, I ranted.
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When my last dog died, who just happened to have come from a large animal charity, I wanted to replace it with a similar sort of dog and who have quite happily rehomed one.
Now I am always of the opinion just like people if you are not attracted to an animal when you first get it, when it costs you a fortune in bills, pooed on the carpet, got you up in the night etc the relationship is soon going to wear very thin, very quickly.
A dog is often a member of you family for a very long time, why should I not have a choice of colour, sex or even age, if possible?
So in replacing my pet I contacted most of the rescues locally, one in particular offered me a one legged dog, that had a history of running off, hence the one leg, it got hit by a car, and then they still couldn't catch it. What really got my back up was the distain bordering on dismissal in the way they spoke to me, customer service skills 0. Even the rescue that wanted me to rehome the unrehomeable was dismissive. So like most people who keep getting rebuffed I went elsewhere.
I bought a pup, who is the virtual double of my last dog, different temperament, virtually has all the same traits but as I have had from a pup has none of the rescue dog hangups/ medical problems. It cost me about the same amount as the donation fee, has not cost me anything in vets fees and my carpets where not destroyed, plus I had the 'pleasure' of the puppy stage.

I think the problem is rescue staff see themselves as doing the rehomer a favour, they only see the ones that do not work out, where as lots of rehomers often change their lives( I started working nights) and spend time and money in and effort to provide the best home.
Both my rescue dogs had problems that a lot of people could not cope with, with time they were resolved, if they had been rehomed to someone and had been returned, knowing them it would have not been the rehomers fault. I got no help or support from either of these well supported rescues, and their seems to be the assumption that if a dog is returned their is something wrong with the rehomer. Any follow up visit, if done, is seen as a test, not support.

I got my last dog from FB, rehomed from a family, far less stressful, its an unspayed bit+h, of breeding age, a working breed. I am not a breeder and do not intend to, I also work part -time, so the chances are if she had been in a rescue kennels I would have been discounted.
She is also a big aggressive looking dog, exactly what I wanted, I chose her for a job we live on a smallholding, no one come up my drive without me knowing, but she also barks at any loud noise, and people are frightened of her look, they literally cross the road to keep out of her way, so the chances are she would be dead by now if she had ended up in a rescue kennels.
 
WorkingGSD said:
:( I just don't understand it! Especially when rescues all over are fit to burst with unwanted animals.
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. Are there actually dogs needing homes??

about 3 weeks ago when my attempts at a gsd pup fell through we went to a rescue wondering if we should offer a home to a rescue dog of another breed. They were open to the public, no one else was there yet we were not allowed to actually see any dogs. Two people being shown round by staff was hardly going to disrupt the dogs. We were told, very condescendingly to go to the office to look at photos of dogs wanting homes. We did, the pics were thumbnails of lousy quality. Impossible to see one way of another so we left.
The staff didn't seem to care one way or another if we were interested in rehoming. Their only interest seemed to be money and donations.
If they had been a little more welcoming we would no doubt have supported them financially and waited until they had a suitable dog. Having wasted our time we could only presume there were very few dogs needing homes.

In respect of your original post a couple of days later we met a similar sad situation as you describe. We went to see the mother and family of a potential GSD mum in pup. This was the best sort of breeder you could imagine. Dogs above everything. They told us they now had a contract saying the dog would go back to them if we couldn't keep it. That was fine with us. They had decided to do that as although they vetted their potential owners and kept in touch with them all it had gone wrong with one owner. That person got ill, the breeder had wanted to take the dog back but the new owner gave it to a shelter. Breeder was frantic, rescue wouldn't let them see it, wouldn't let them have it back. Any home check on that breeder would have shown what an excellent experienced home would have been offered. So the rescue was left with a GSD to rehome and the breeder distraught. There doesn't seem much sense in that.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Sorry you're still on the hunt Paddy :/ was thinking about you the other day.
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I'm on waiting list due 6/12, scanned in pup so that is some progress. Mummy, grandma and sister are gorgeous as is their breeder and her family. Beautiful dogs that would just fit ideally into our situation. However, there is a long way from being in pup to producing pups and then producing the correct number!!!! We can but wait. I have learnt patience!
 
'Two people being shown round by staff was hardly going to disrupt the dogs. ' Afraid to say yes it probably will - kennelled dogs normally get excited, bark etc at people passing in rescue centres. Not saying the rescue centre was actually good but just imagine how many people think really they should have the right to decide to disrupt the kenneled dogs in a week/day etc.
 
SusieT said:
'Two people being shown round by staff was hardly going to disrupt the dogs. ' Afraid to say yes it probably will - kennelled dogs normally get excited, bark etc at people passing in rescue centres. Not saying the rescue centre was actually good but just imagine how many people think really they should have the right to decide to disrupt the kenneled dogs in a week/day etc.
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OTOH if you are going to take a dog on you do actually have to see it, don't you. I didn't think I had a right, I was offering an unwanted dog a home! If I didn't see it how would I know if I was interested? Oh, and I was proposing to disrupt the dogs during the shelters advertised opening to the public hours.
 
SusieT said:
'Two people being shown round by staff was hardly going to disrupt the dogs. ' Afraid to say yes it probably will - kennelled dogs normally get excited, bark etc at people passing in rescue centres. Not saying the rescue centre was actually good but just imagine how many people think really they should have the right to decide to disrupt the kenneled dogs in a week/day etc.
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Where there is a will there is a way. Ok you do not want them constantly worried, so you arrange hours that are shorter and perhaps include something that the dogs may find pleasurable like exercise or food.

You asking people to take into there homes mainly fully grown dogs with sometimes physical and psychological issues, you should be making every effort to inform and support them, not see them as a nuisance.
In the two weeks I was waiting for my chosen dog from a large rescue kennels, it got kennel cough, mange and a stomach upset so volcanic that I can not believe it did not have it in kennels and yet I got no hand over. I went to the kennels with my children to walk it every two days, after school, nobody was interested in me or told me anything useful about the dog. The only person who was any use was the home checker who realised it was better off with me at home completing its treatment or else it would have been in there another two weeks.
I think a little disruption for a few hours a day with perhaps the chance of leaving kennels for good is preferable to a good chance of a greater chance of getting a kennel acquired infection and not getting a home.
The kennels that I got my dog from wanted to see all the family, children in school, husband working in London not home till eight at night so you can imagine how difficult that was to arrange. Yet another obstacle.
The rules are being made to 'protect' dogs and not actively to promote find them a home. Just asking for money is not a solution.
 
em.. why wouldn't a rescue want to meet all the people who would be in the home? If you can't organise that for a one off how will you organise anything if there is a problem with that dog?

It shouldn't be a problem for any prospective adopter to look at photos and discuss dogs characteristics/what they are wanting then meet those dogs that might fit rather than a 'scan' of the whole kennels disrupting all the dogs. It makes far more sense for a sutiable dog to be brought out of the kennels to see the adopters than adopters taken into the kennels - I think you don't realise how many similar enquiries a rescue gets a day of ' I just want to look' and 90% of those are not genuine rehomers so it can be difficult.
In saying that - many rescues put people off by not clearly explaining or making it an attractive option to rehome. But I don't think everyone should think of rescue as being 'grateful' for the handout of them being there - genuine rehomers who are going to be committed to an adult who generally has some baggage and needs time and effort will normally realise that 'any home' is not the answer - it has to be the right home . Anyone who thinks are being turned down should walk a couple of weeks in the shoes of those who hear the same story every day about how x person is an 'experienced' dog owner and they know better than the rescue who've had the dog... But anyway - there's not much more for me to say on this other than the above - feel free to set up your own rescues and then see how willing you are to have the scenarios you described above.
 
What's meeting the whole family got to do with sorting a problem with the dog? If there was a problem with the dog I, the main care giver, would sort it. Not my at the time school age children or my husband at work a 60+ miles away. I suspect in most household their is one person who actually ends up taking up most of the responsibility.
As I managed to bring up two children, take them to PC, look after four ponies, work part time and run a household, all without my husband being there most of the time, his input apart from providing money and fixing gates was practically 0. When he actually attended the kennels they asked him nothing, another box ticked. It reminded me a bit of when husbands had to sign consent forms for their wives to have hysterectomies or the attitude of car salesmen, 'would you like to come back with your husband'. If there had been some discussion about dog care, or some exchange of information it would have perhaps have been relevant.

Your answer, just shows the mind set.

I work all the time with complex human problems, one size does not fit all, you have your objectives but you have to be open to various solutions and no matter what try to be judgemental when they come back with the same problem. Yes its very sad, I do not blame people or criticise people who could not cope with what I see, or have a different point of view, I listen, you never know it may be a valid one or part of a new solution. You work with people.
I will never be out of a job, the aim should be to put me out of a job and that's what yours should be.
 
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