Why is adopting a dog from a rescue so difficult?

[Marigold4]

We are looking for a rescue dog female over 2 preferably a collie or collie mix or a spaniel. Over the last 3 weeks, I have contacted numerous charities and applied for dogs advertised as soon as they appear on their websites. We have a great home in a National Park, large secure garden, field, lots of experience with collies and rescues, work from home so dogs not left. 3 walks a day. Happy to travel all over the country to meet the dog. I send photos.

NOT A SINGLE REPLY! All I get is standard email and then nothing. I know they are busy looking after the dogs as a priority, but what am I doing wrong???

 

[splashgirl45]

Can you register with the rescues first have a home check and tell them what sort of dog you would like. I went through similar a long time ago and had hoped it would now be easier as the rescues are so full. Sometimes they are already reserved by the time they are put on the websites ..good luck

 

[Marigold4]

Just had a phone call and going to see one on Tuesday as a potential foster dog!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously posting on here did the trick!

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

Oh yay! Keep us updated. Hope it goes well

 

[Thistle]

Try Spaniel Aid, you have to apply for individual dogs though. Alternatively apply to foster, that way you get to 'try before you buy'. You get first option to adopt any dog that you foster. Or if the foster isn't the right fit for you then it's rehomed. It's a win win situation.

 

[Dopeydapple]

Good luck for tomorrow x

 

[Celtic Jewel]

Good luck

 

[Marigold4]

Meeting the dog on Thursday now, not Tuesday. Long, long drive ...

 

[gallopingby]

All rescues are exceptionally busy at the moment. We’ve had at least a 50% increase in dogs coming through so far this year! So many people think that they can just rock up to a rescue and collect a dog but that’s not how the reputable ones work. For starters most are run by volunteers many of them also having full time jobs. So to apply for a dog you probably have to fill in an application form, this is the very first step and should give an insight into your experience and what you’re looking for.
Next step is a phone call to discuss options abd if everything seems ok a home check. We usually leave some time before carrying out the home check because it costs volunteer time and energy to visit someone only to be phoned up a week later and told they’ve changed their mind and now want a 2 year old cream poodle instead of the 6 year old black lab bitch they were interested in. We also assess the dog, usually before we agree to take them in as today some people are happy to dump their old and infirm dogs or those with a bite history, others find themselves in a genuinely impossible situation with no one to look after their well trained and beautifully groomed pet who may have separation anxiety.
Once we have all the info we’ll try and match a dog to a suitable foster home and then once vet checks etc have been completed a dog may remain with the foster family or become available for rehoming.
Dog may appear on the internet for a variety of reasons but they rarely go to the first person who offers them a home. Our object is to find the most suitable ‘match’ where everyone will be happy so it may take several weeks and a couple of visits meet and greets before everything is completed.

 

[Marigold4]

All rescues are exceptionally busy at the moment. We’ve had at least a 50% increase in dogs coming through so far this year! So many people think that they can just rock up to a rescue and collect a dog but that’s not how the reputable ones work. For starters most are run by volunteers many of them also having full time jobs. So to apply for a dog you probably have to fill in an application form, this is the very first step and should give an insight into your experience and what you’re looking for.
Next step is a phone call to discuss options abd if everything seems ok a home check. We usually leave some time before carrying out the home check because it costs volunteer time and energy to visit someone only to be phoned up a week later and told they’ve changed their mind and now want a 2 year old cream poodle instead of the 6 year old black lab bitch they were interested in. We also assess the dog, usually before we agree to take them in as today some people are happy to dump their old and infirm dogs or those with a bite history, others find themselves in a genuinely impossible situation with no one to look after their well trained and beautifully groomed pet who may have separation anxiety.
Once we have all the info we’ll try and match a dog to a suitable foster home and then once vet checks etc have been completed a dog may remain with the foster family or become available for rehoming.
Dog may appear on the internet for a variety of reasons but they rarely go to the first person who offers them a home. Our object is to find the most suitable ‘match’ where everyone will be happy so it may take several weeks and a couple of visits meet and greets before everything is completed.

Indeed. But I am applying for dogs and fill in every detail of the application form. I have done several but don't hear anything back. We are a retired couple with grown up children, decades of dog experience, 2 x rescue dogs successfully homed, approved twice by Dogs Trust, large secure garden, 5 acre secured field with stock fencing around, 3 walks a day, we live in a National Park with footpaths on the doorstep, once a week beach walks, dogs not left, great vet care, housesitter if we go away, references from vet and housesitter if required. I send videos of our dog facilities. We have not had a single reply to our many applications. I'm not sure what else the dog rescues are looking for? I am going to see a dog from Freeads not from a rescue centre. They seem pleased to hear from us!

 

[I'm Dun]

My friend sadly lost her old girl last week. The rescue they got her from flat out turned her down for any dog. She gave her little dog a brilliant home and had her from being a puppy until old age came. But nope, she cant have any dog from that rescue ever again. She went and bought a puppy in the end as the stress and hassle was too much.

 

[Spotherisk]

@Marigold4 whereabouts are you in the country?

 

[Dobiegirl]

What rescues are you applying to?, in my experience rescues are full to the gunnels and although they are run by volunteers you certainly should have had a reply. Have you checked out their fb page where you could ask on there just in case your emails are going into spam.

 

[Bradsmum]

We applied to several rescues both large and small. Try to get to know a couple that are nearby and get a home visit booked so they know you are serious. Once you are on their radar, you should start getting offers of what they think might be suitable. Beware, what they think are suitable may not be what you had in mind! Good luck

 

[Red-1]

We had this with mum. It was so hard to do. She wanted an older dog, loads of experience, she was retired, had a secure garden...

However, she didn't drive more than locally so needed taking, which took time, and they were spectacularly unhelpful. One charity simply told her she was too old. She was older, and yes, the dog did outlive her (but TBH, she got a 2yo dog and would have been happy with a 10 year old one, where the issue wouldn't have occurred), but that simply meant that my husband and I took the dog on so he wasn't homeless!

We found her one from Freeads in the end.

Cracker is now aged 14, and companion to my own dog, Hector, age 17!



The charities didn't help themselves, IMO.

No wonder people buy off foreign rescues. Such a shame when there are more local dogs that people can't seem to adopt.

 

[gallopingby]

We had this with mum. It was so hard to do. She wanted an older dog, loads of experience, she was retired, had a secure garden...

However, she didn't drive more than locally so needed taking, which took time, and they were spectacularly unhelpful. One charity simply told her she was too old. She was older, and yes, the dog did outlive her (but TBH, she got a 2yo dog and would have been happy with a 10 year old one, where the issue wouldn't have occurred), but that simply meant that my husband and I took the dog on so he wasn't homeless!

We found her one from Freeads in the end.

Cracker is now aged 14, and companion to my own dog, Hector, age 17!

View attachment 154651

The charities didn't help themselves, IMO.

No wonder people buy off foreign rescues. Such a shame when there are more local dogs that people can't seem to adopt.

It depends entirely on the charity / rescue. Breed societies are probably more focused and easier to work with if you have previous experience of the breed. Many foreign rescues are unreliable and many of these dogs are so unsocialised they end up in UK rescues. Although many charities use FB as a way of advertising / promoting themselves you’ll usually find they don’t have the capacity to look at or respond to individual comments but do post a link to the application page or their website. We have people applying looking for a 4/5 year old bitch, good with children, doesn’t pull on lead, 100% reliable in all circumstances etc etc. IF we think they’re a good home they’ll stay on the waiting list having been told it could be a very long wait. Although there are far too many dogs looking for homes there are also lots of people looking for a dog that’s going to be cheaper and often easier to accommodate than a puppy.

 

[Marigold4]

It depends entirely on the charity / rescue. Breed societies are probably more focused and easier to work with if you have previous experience of the breed. Many foreign rescues are unreliable and many of these dogs are so unsocialised they end up in UK rescues. Although many charities use FB as a way of advertising / promoting themselves you’ll usually find they don’t have the capacity to look at or respond to individual comments but do post a link to the application page or their website. We have people applying looking for a 4/5 year old bitch, good with children, doesn’t pull on lead, 100% reliable in all circumstances etc etc. IF we We think they’re a good home they’ll stay on the waiting list having been told it could be a very long wait. Although there are far too many dogs looking for homes there are also lots of people looking for a dog that’s going to be cheaper and often easier to accommodate than a puppy.

We don't even get a reply though, just a standard confirmation email. And we are specifically targeting a breed we have experience of. It's all quite strange. The last rescue dog we had was in a cage in kennels for 7 weeks, then living with a foster home in an upstairs flat with no garden in a city (a collie!) for weeks, until finally we were allowed to have her. She was PERFECTLY behaved with no issues and 8 years old. You would think it would make better financial sense to get on with rehoming the ones without issues more quickly, although obviously they have to get to know what the dog is like, have vet checks etc. Maybe that's part of the reason why there are so many dogs in rescue centres? It's taking months to rehome.

 

[Marigold4]

@Marigold4 whereabouts are you in the country?

south

 

[Marigold4]

What rescues are you applying to?, in my experience rescues are full to the gunnels and although they are run by volunteers you certainly should have had a reply. Have you checked out their fb page where you could ask on there just in case your emails are going into spam.

Yep, fb and email

 

[Marigold4]

We applied to several rescues both large and small. Try to get to know a couple that are nearby and get a home visit booked so they know you are serious. Once you are on their radar, you should start getting offers of what they think might be suitable. Beware, what they think are suitable may not be what you had in mind! Good luck

I've applied to 5. I rang a couple but they say they are too busy to do advance home visits.

 

[Marigold4]

We had this with mum. It was so hard to do. She wanted an older dog, loads of experience, she was retired, had a secure garden...

However, she didn't drive more than locally so needed taking, which took time, and they were spectacularly unhelpful. One charity simply told her she was too old. She was older, and yes, the dog did outlive her (but TBH, she got a 2yo dog and would have been happy with a 10 year old one, where the issue wouldn't have occurred), but that simply meant that my husband and I took the dog on so he wasn't homeless!

We found her one from Freeads in the end.

Cracker is now aged 14, and companion to my own dog, Hector, age 17!

View attachment 154651

The charities didn't help themselves, IMO.

No wonder people buy off foreign rescues. Such a shame when there are more local dogs that people can't seem to adopt.

The one I am going to see is from freeads! She sounds good and they say if we like her we can take her back with us.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

We had this with mum. It was so hard to do. She wanted an older dog, loads of experience, she was retired, had a secure garden...

However, she didn't drive more than locally so needed taking, which took time, and they were spectacularly unhelpful. One charity simply told her she was too old. She was older, and yes, the dog did outlive her (but TBH, she got a 2yo dog and would have been happy with a 10 year old one, where the issue wouldn't have occurred), but that simply meant that my husband and I took the dog on so he wasn't homeless!

We found her one from Freeads in the end.

Cracker is now aged 14, and companion to my own dog, Hector, age 17!

View attachment 154651

The charities didn't help themselves, IMO.

No wonder people buy off foreign rescues. Such a shame when there are more local dogs that people can't seem to adopt.

When we sadly lost P dog in autumn 23 we were rejected by 2 rescues as we were over 60 and too old, (then aged 61 and 66) except to take on an old dog, which isn't what we were looking for.
Never got replies from others including 2 breed specific rescues.
One other breed rescue turned us down as a section of fence was 4ft and not 6ft (temp tornado 12ft run as 2 panels had been damaged in the storm the previous week and was awaiting replacement), but as I pointed out, I could understand if dog was a medium to large breed but not a 5 to 7kg breed. (My shepherd would have scaled 6ft if deemed necessary lol)

So, much against my better judgement we got a 10 week old puppy, the week before that xmas.
Not looked back, she's been a delight

 

[Marigold4]

When we sadly lost P dog in autumn 23 we were rejected by 2 rescues as we were over 60 and too old, (then aged 61 and 66) except to take on an old dog, which isn't what we were looking for.
Never got replies from others including 2 breed specific rescues.
One other breed rescue turned us down as a section of fence was 4ft and not 6ft (temp tornado 12ft run as 2 panels had been damaged in the storm the previous week and was awaiting replacement), but as I pointed out, I could understand if dog was a medium to large breed but not a 5 to 7kg breed. (My shepherd would have scaled 6ft if deemed necessary lol)

So, much against my better judgement we got a 10 week old puppy, the week before that xmas.
Not looked back, she's been a delight

That's crazy that they think early sixties is too old. So that must be why we get no replies. So me and my marathon running husband are too old. Average life span in UK is 82, though of course you need to be able to walk them. But if you are aiming to adopt a middle-aged dog, like we were, that doesn't make any sense. And many of the dog ads say there mustn't be any children or any children under 12 (which I totally understand) but the sort of people who don't have children living in their home are older adults! So you need to be a childless couple in your 50s or below with Fort Knox for your garden. Is this in the interests of the dogs stuck in rescue without a family?

If this dog doesn't work out on Thursday, we will get a puppy, who will live longer than a middle-aged rescue dog. But puppy breeders are happy to sell to us.

 

[teacups]

Don't forget you must also either work from home full time or be retired.

ETA we found our rescue at www.jerrygreendogs.org.uk. They are in East Yorks, North and south Lincs, and Notts.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Don't forget you must also either work from home full time or be retired.

That's what I got quoted by one rescue, I pointed out that though I worked 1 day and a morning in the office which was dog friendly, still a no go. Even pointing out that we would be looking at a twice daily yard visit, inc walks 7 days a week on my fields and the commons adjacent .... sigh.

So, puppy had a great time in the office in her 1st few weeks, I took her out every hour in the back yard to start with, increasing as time went on. She made great friends with the other 3 office dogs as and when they were/are in, met the occasional clients coming in and still has her playpen around my desk to keep her safe when I'm focussed elsewhere.
The only issue I have (self created, I know!) is that she isn't happy about being left alone - as she's with me just about all the time, or DH or our late cat who we sadly lost 10 days ago - her best chum.

Sorry OP, going off track a bit here, good luck with your search x

 

[Gloi]

After a friend's old dog died I helped her with going round rescues trying to find a new one but she was always refused though she was retired and had always had a dog. We ended up getting a nice little dog from pets4homes website from someone who was having to give him up due to new accommodation not accepting pets. Nice little dog and cost her far less than the rescues.

 

[splashgirl45]

It’s such a shame so many of us on here have not been successful with rescues . My friend aged 63 and retired had applied to a rescue , filled the form in etc and eventually was told they don’t rehome to people over working age ??? What rubbish, she bought a puppy!!! Her dogs have a great life, get walked every day whatever the weather , if it’s hot she gets up extra early and gives them a walk in the shade , they go on holiday with her and her partner and very rarely are alone as one of them is generally at home … it’s crazy. I’ve been turned down and so has my friend who was 65 and dog would have not been left at all as she would take it to work as she was semi retired. Both of us bought puppies

 

[Marigold4]

Don't forget you must also either work from home full time or be retired.

We are mostly retired. What little work we do is mostly from home. Nobody stays at home 24/7 do they? A dog has to accept being left from time to time (once trained and accustomed to do so), sometimes for 4 hours if you go out for the evening. It's a dog, not a child. What the rescues are looking for is very difficult to find and life doesn't work like that. To my mind, the situation with rescues is a little crazy. Their restrictions create a set of criteria that few people can meet so dogs stay in rescue for a long time (hence very full, as we constantly read) when they could be rehomed to loving families who would do their best by them.

 

[Marigold4]

Don't forget you must also either work from home full time or be retired.

ETA we found our rescue at www.jerrygreendogs.org.uk. They are in East Yorks, North and south Lincs, and Notts.

But then if you are retired, you are too old

 

[Clodagh]

Sadly I have heard this from so many people. Rescues are ridiculous. Yes I know some people lie and so on but they are looking for a gold plated unicorn.