Why do rescues make it harder than it should be?

Shantara

Shantara

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The new boyfriend is looking to rehome a dog.
We found one that matched his needs, as he'd still be working, so that wasn't a problem. The only problem the rescue centre had, was that my bitch was still entire. I told them we don't live together, but would walk together often, but they said until I get my girl fixed, that we weren't allowed him!!! I'm not spaying mine yet for personal reasons, discussed and agreed by our trainer, not because I want to breed her.
We're going to call back tomorrow and ask for a 2nd viewing and to see if we'd pay for him to be neutered, we'd be able to have him.
Am I the only one who thinks this is a little odd? I thought rescues neutered and spayed every dog before rehoming?
 
I would say that it's a dodgy rescue allowing one of their dogs to be rehomed without being neutered, but I don't blame them for not wanting to rehome where there is the possibility of regular contact with an entire female. Personally I would step away.
 
webble said:
It doesn't sound a very good rescue if they are re homing an entire dog
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This.

I don't know any rescue who wouldn't spay or neuter before rehoming. And in the odd circumstance when they don't/you re-home and the dog is still entire, they pay for the dog to be done.

They do have some odd concerns sometimes - the lady who arranged everything with mine was concerned that I'd have to take mine out on frequent walks given that he was deemed not good with other dogs. Left me a bit puzzled at how she thought he was going to get exercise!
 
I got my dog unneutered, and that was from a big well known animal charity. I had to sign to say I would get him done, but have no idea how they would enforce it. Never saw them again after they did the home check.
I would never again rehome from a charity, he came with illnesses that I paid to treat caught in kennels, my main bug bear is they wanted to see my husband, when he worked long hours and was away a lot. Tick box mentality, never asked either of us and proper management questions. First morning woke up to a kitchen covered in a sea of s***. Lovely dog but had no bowel control because of the rubbish diet and illness he had caught in kennels.
I would just lie.
 
Clodagh said:
Me too, just say she is done. Or why mention you at all?
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I think it's almost impossible to get one from a rescue unless you lie a bit.

I stretched the truth but I don't feel bad about it at all. In my view the home that I can offer is 100% nicer than the quality of life he had in kennels, so if it means telling a porkie here and there to get him out of that situation then so be it.
 
SpringArising said:
I think it's almost impossible to get one from a rescue unless you lie a bit.

I stretched the truth but I don't feel bad about it at all. In my view the home that I can offer is 100% nicer than the quality of life he had in kennels, so if it means telling a porkie here and there to get him out of that situation then so be it.
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Totally agree. It seems that unless you're retired or work from home, there's no way you'd get a rescue dog. Surely they can't all have separation anxiety?
 
cinnamontoast said:
Totally agree. It seems that unless you're retired or work from home, there's no way you'd get a rescue dog. Surely they can't all have separation anxiety?
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Retired was no good for my mum. She is almost 80, but has a huge house with huge garden, and at the other side of her house is the stable yard with horses and our dogs. In deference to her age she was happy to rehome an elderly dog.

Nope, she was not good enough for 3 rescues! The last dog was a greyhound, and the greyhound rescue were wonderful, but 7 years on and she did not want such a big dog as although she still drives, when the greyhound needed the vet in a hurry when she was ill, the dog was too heavy for her to pick up to put in the car.

I would have thought a retired person, with a large entertaining property with other dogs outside in the yard, but calm environment inside, and private garden area, would have suited an elderly dog.

After failing with 3 charities, she bought one on Preloved! He is small, but was only a year old, but had been ill and needed to recover. He is now fully recovered, has put weight on and has the life of riley!
 
Thanks for all your replies guys!
It seems to be a rescue centre, but I'm not sure if it's a charity or not. I saw him on their facebook page and he seemed nice, so we went to see and other than my girl, they seemed happy with the set up.
I must say I was a little dubious, I've never been on site at a rescue, only to the Dogs Trust where they have the waiting areas for people, I've never been to the kennel area.

At this rate, I'm going to suggest just buying one, but he really wanted to help a dog, especially one like the chap we spotted! He was a really friendly and easy going dog.
It'd be his first dog and he doesn't want a pup, I'm getting involved as while i don't have THAT much experience in owning (only on my 2nd dog) I've done a lot of research and been to months worth of group and 1 to 1 training with Tam.

Before I got Tam, I was looking at a rescue and I wasn't allowed, because I think I was too honest! I told them I'd be taking it to work with me. D'oh! I ended up buying.
The Tamaskan we got from the Dogs Trust is entire, but he wasn't there long and he'd been ill, so they hadn't done him. They were going to in a few days, but since it was his original breeder that took him back (contract broken, long story!) they didn't bother.

We're going to call tomorrow and possibly bend the truth a little, but if they still say no, we'll walk away and buy I think!!
 
Most rescue centres don't let you walk round as it stresses the dogs out. I presume there is a rehome fee that covers neturing, vaccinations, chipping etc Might be worth finding out how much it is?
 
Kaylum said:
Most rescue centres don't let you walk round as it stresses the dogs out. I presume there is a rehome fee that covers neturing, vaccinations, chipping etc Might be worth finding out how much it is?
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I did think it was strange, especially since we were unaccompanied!
I didn't ask about a fee, but I assumed it'd be roughly the same as the others, which he's happy to pay.
However, I've just been reading the reviews and it's shocking :O :O
 
You are so right OP.

My neighbour, a single 40 something man and a lorry driver. He had a lovely staffie bitch, totally adored her and she went everywhere with him, no better home would be possible. Last summer she developed a few worrying lumps on her back, he withheld nothing in the vet care she had, but he lost her aged 11. He was utterly heartbroken and vowed never to have another dog.

He was so lonely and I managed to persuade him to approach a staffie rescue centre to look for another dog. Now remember the stats say that 1 in 3 dogs in rescue kennels are staffs. Everyone of the homes turned him down because he was single and worked. He told them about his old dog, showed them pictures of her in his lorry with her crate, bed and food etc. But no he was not suitable.

After numerous references from his vet and me he finally got a puppy. He took on 'Hero' who had been beaten, burnt and had a broken leg that had needed pinning. He loves that dog, I hear him every morning taking Hero for a 5am walk before going to work at 7, with Hero and a bucket. Apparently Hero isn't quite a good traveller yet !

I work in animal welfare and am all for vetting suitable homes, but common sense has to be used.
 
I have heard of rescues not rehoming to people with entire animals, because they believe so strongly in neutering but that doesn't make sense if the dog is entire.
 
I live in a large country property. I grew up with bull terriers, have had a staffie and owned a male castrated boxer and a submissive spayed lab bitch. I decided to rehome another staffie. Local staffie rescue turned me down, they don't rehome with another dog of same sex. Local large rescue centre turned down as fencing only 4ft (if they get out they get into my stock fenced fields). I contacted Battersea who are much keener to get dogs out and take back if it fails. I have had my staffie for 8 years now.
 
It's normal that rescues won't rehome to homes where existing dogs aren't neutered (particulalry girls) as it is often people who do intend to breed, or just tell the rescue they don't want to breed. in addition it often reflects a lack of willingness to spend money on the dog, or follow veterinary advice - why should a rescue believe you when you say you don't want to breed if you don't evidence it by spaying - just see it from their perspective.
 
I agree with Susie T, it rather defeats the purpose of rescue if there is a chance the dog will be bred. Having said that a lot of the big rescues do have ridiculous criteria, people have to work,as long as the dog is walked in the morning before work and someone comes home lunch time to let it out for a wee then that is fine. How you can prove that god knows. I know one of my foster dogs goes to work everyday with his owner, I did say when they came to see him what would happen if he barked and made a nuisance of himself and the husband said no problem I own the company. More concerning is the dogs adopted out to people in rented accommodation who dont have the landlords permission as so many dogs are coming into rescue as landlords wont allow it. The rescue I foster for has to see a letter of approval from the landlord which Im sure some people would see as intrusive but ultimately its in the best interest of the dog.

A lot of the smaller rescues are not so strict in their criteria but everyone I know neuter or spay their dogs first unless they are puppies and then they specifically say on the adoption form they have to come back to their vet or they send out neutering vouchers and they do check.
 
We have just rehomed a dog and the charity where amazing . We work but we come home st lunchtime. We were vet checked as we had had a dog before they look for signs like the questions you ask and conversation in general . From the start we filled out a form online if you see a dog your interested in. The system was simple very stress free . We had to meet her a few times and take the children with us as well. There were dogs that could live with other dogs
 
SusieT, I could understand if the dogs would be living together, but it'd be for my boyfriend, not for me.

AdorableAlice, he sounds like a wonderful man! It's a shame when they judge like that, as it's the dog who misses out the most!

It's just frustrating as I know he's going to do everything properly, I introduced him to my trainer, he's coming to a talk about how dogs learn this evening with me and Tam likes him! That's a excellent sign that someone is a good person, haha! :P She'll even do a trick or two for him! He's done loads of research about the type he wants and knows what type would suit his life style.
I might try Battersea, I've been looking and they have so many poor souls!
 
When I was doing homechecks for a rescue I always felt (and told the rescue) that it was somewhat hypocritical that I was meant to turn down people who left their dogs for more than 4 hours when I did this myself. I have to admit I often fudged the forms a bit if I thought the home was right even if it didn't 100% meet the criteria.
I think quite a few rescues won't rehome if there is an entire dog/bitch in the household, but agree a bit extreme in this case Chan. On the other end of the scale, a local rescue rehomed 2 staffies together to my ex, dog and bitch both entire. No home check at all was done. Luckily they were responsible and the dogs were both neutered asap, but I wonder how many other "breeding pairs" this rescue rehomed.
 
I'm registered to foster for a breed specific rescue, My own dogs, both older bitches are spayed, the 2 years Springer has just had Suprelorin implant, not because I want to stop him breeding, but because I want to stop him being a thug. I don't want to rule out breeding, he's a good worker and a good addition to the gene pool of his breed. He is genetically clear or some breed specific illnesses so later in life, they're still there if required.

The other dog is a 10 month lab dog
I argued that I don't believe in castrating under 18 months/2 years of age anyway and lab has a superb temperament and is a great example of his breed. I only castrate if I deem it necessary. He wouldn't be bred unless all health tests are good. I feel that many dogs are neutered far too young which has been shown to be bad for their health. I judge each case on it's merits.

However I fully understand why rescue dogs are neutered as a matter of course and would take any fosters to be done if necessary (and they were old enough).

My rescue Staffie arrived entire, as too unwell to be spayed, then as her health improved had a season, eventually we had he spayed as the contract required.
 
Thistle said:
I'm registered to foster for a breed specific rescue, My own dogs, both older bitches are spayed, the 2 years Springer has just had Suprelorin implant, not because I want to stop him breeding, but because I want to stop him being a thug. I don't want to rule out breeding, he's a good worker and a good addition to the gene pool of his breed. He is genetically clear or some breed specific illnesses so later in life, they're still there if required.

The other dog is a 10 month lab dog
I argued that I don't believe in castrating under 18 months/2 years of age anyway and lab has a superb temperament and is a great example of his breed. I only castrate if I deem it necessary. He wouldn't be bred unless all health tests are good. I feel that many dogs are neutered far too young which has been shown to be bad for their health. I judge each case on it's merits.

However I fully understand why rescue dogs are neutered as a matter of course and would take any fosters to be done if necessary (and they were old enough).

My rescue Staffie arrived entire, as too unwell to be spayed, then as her health improved had a season, eventually we had he spayed as the contract required.
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I went to the vets yesterday to get wormers for the dogs and they have a big notice up saying they no longer recommend neutering under 12 months of age. Good to see.
 
That is one reason my girl is entire, she's 15 months and a large breed so I won't be doing her until about 2. There are other reasons but that's a biggie!
 
its ridiculous. I gave up with rescues and bought a dog instead.

We would have been an almost Ideal home for any dog. I've got 20 years experience of rehabbing golden retrievers (abused or neglected), have had dogs all my life. We were in Rented accomodation but had permission from the land lord, big garden, proper nutrition, 3 walks a day, lots of cuddles, days out and long walks with me and horse etc. I was happier with an older dog or a dog who was maybe not so good with kids or other dogs etc
unfortunately as both me and my husband work every single rescue turned us down. Didn't seem to matter that I could easily get home at lunch time and that the longest the dog would ever be alone was around 5 hours as we work different shifts.

So we bought a beagle instead, he is the happiest and best behaved beagle i've ever known. He even recalls beautifully (a rareity in beagles it seems), he is healthy, walked for 2.5 hours a day (an hour before work, 20 mins at lunch time and at least an hour in the evening), mentaly stimulated as I am constantly teaching him new tricks, doing recall work with him, I'm even starting to teach him some agility (though he is not impressed with jumps), my OH will play with him for hours in the evenings after his walk. The dog is extremely friendly and our nieces/nephews keep threatening to dognap him as they prefer him over thier dog. Oh and when he is done playing with my OH, he gets to come up on the sofa and cuddle with me.

My mother also got turned down by all the big rescue centres. She has a home with 4 acres of securely fenced fields (dog proof, shetland pony proof and sheep proof), her own business where she can take the dogs during the day, many many years of experience with dogs (rehabbing, fostering etc), a grown up family (so no children), glowing references from the Golden retriever rescue society, my dad is extremely active and likes to do long walks every day (at least 5 miles), regular walks on the beach, in forestry, up Snowdon etc.
We normaly have 2 goldies but when one passed away (age 17!!!) she decided that due to her age (60) and declining health (just been through chemo) that they would replace it with a smaller dog, age not an issue.

Apparently her age and health and my dads age means its a flat no from the likes of the RSPCA (despite the fact the shelter is half a mile down the road) and Dogs trust. Also the fact that they looked at the fencing and said it wasnt secure enough despite the fact my beagle (escape artist extraordinaire), lots and lots of goldies, my sisters westie and several spaniels over the years have tested it and failed to get out (and lots and lots of sheep have failed to get in). Infact the only time in 30 years we have had an escapee dog was a rather large (well over breed standard) Golden retriever who was startlingly intelligent and was seen scaleing a 6ft wire gate (which we very quickly borded it up so he couldnt climb) to get to next doors in season bitch (he was not yet castrated, was booked in to be done at that point).

So if anyone knows of a nice medium sized dog in need of a home my mum is looking. She doesnt want anything big or bouncy but happy to put up with behavioral quirks!
 
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I know I will get shot down for this but you could consider a foreign rescue. They don't have all the same red tape that UK based rescues have. UK rescues turned us down for various reasons (I already have 5 dogs, one of my dogs is a little unstable with strangers, I work full time even though mum is home with dogs while I'm working sleeping on sofa after her night shift, we have cats etc)

We have a Cyprus rescue coming to to us in a few weeks. We wanted a rescue and this is the only way we will get one. We didn't want another puppy.
 
SusieT said:
It's normal that rescues won't rehome to homes where existing dogs aren't neutered (particulalry girls) as it is often people who do intend to breed, or just tell the rescue they don't want to breed. in addition it often reflects a lack of willingness to spend money on the dog, or follow veterinary advice - why should a rescue believe you when you say you don't want to breed if you don't evidence it by spaying - just see it from their perspective.
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Dobiegirl said:
I agree with Susie T, it rather defeats the purpose of rescue if there is a chance the dog will be bred.
A lot of the smaller rescues are not so strict in their criteria but everyone I know neuter or spay their dogs first unless they are puppies and then they specifically say on the adoption form they have to come back to their vet or they send out neutering vouchers and they do check.
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Surely that only makes sense as a 'stance' if they are neutering their own dogs though? The male to be rehomed is still entire?
 
Clodagh said:
Me too, just say she is done. Or why mention you at all?
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Yes this is the answer .
I would believe any rehoming madness after my SIL was turned down because she helped at the primary school at the end of her road for one hour a day at lunchtime .
Experienced dog owner had an other dog enclosed garden perfect you would think but no unsuitable because the dogs were left an hour a day during term time .
They bought a puppy instead .
 
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