Via Facebook: How much is that “rescue” in the window?
One of my long-term tenants called me last night. They are a lovely, retired couple with an adult daughter who lives with them that has health issues. None of them are in the best shape.
They lost their beloved Golden Retriever a few months ago and feel it’s time to get another dog. This time they are looking to “rescue” rather than buy a puppy. They found a dog 2 1/2 hours from here and I needed to call the Rescue Group and let them know it was OK for them to get another dog.
I explained to her about how there is a shortage of adoptable dogs up here….she agreed because they’ve been looking locally and all they find are pit bull or pit mixes. As she is telling me about “Tootsie” the dog they are interested in, I have some red flags starting to go off in my head. She tells me the dog was neglected and not socialized, but is making progress. It’s a lab/coonhound mix. I explain about the temperaments of labs & coonhounds and since they are looking for a quiet, medium sized lap dog, this mix was not going to be that.
I also explained that regardless of what dog they bring into their home, they cannot expect it to be reliable when it comes to housebreaking. They’ll need to treat that dog like an 8 week old puppy until it proves to be reliable and in a routine.
The more we chatted, the more she exclaimed “Gee, I didn’t know that!” or “Gee, I never thought about that!” I told her I would help her find a dog that was a better fit for her family and she was grateful.
After we hung up I found the dog they were looking at on-line. Neglected? Not socialized? Cripes, the dog is a 2½ year old feral dog picked up in North Carolina and transported to Upstate New York!!!!!
http://www.adoptapet.com/pet/6967964-middletown-new-york-redbone-coonhound-mix
My blood started to boil thinking that a rescue group would pawn a dog like this off to a couple that obviously did not understand what it was. I called the woman at the rescue this morning and said I would not OK this dog and if they were going to adopt I would need to personally approve the dog.
She said that won’t work. I asked her if she qualified them as adopters because if they had, they would not think this animal “Tootsie” was a good fit. It was at that point she hung up on me. I called back and she did not answer the phone.
Wow! I was not rude. I just asked questions. But obviously, questions she didn’t like.
This is so very troubling to me. Rescue has become a business. And some are no different than a pet store. Just get the money and cut the dog loose! However, at least with a pet store you get a puppy that you can socialize and train yourself. And there is a puppy lemon law in New York.
With dogs in rescue, you’re potentially getting a dog with baggage. Some baggage far worse than others. With this particular dog, my tenants would have ended up with a disaster and heartbreak on their hands, and God knows what kind of damage I might have realized to their apartment (my property)!
We have a fox that comes around our lunch trailer. Beautiful animal. Red with three black feet! Not quite socialized yet but making progress.
I will have nothing to do with dog or cat rescue. They will lie to you and cheat you if it advances their ideological bullcrap or hysterical vanity. When I ran a canine discussion board, we would not allow a rescue section, because of the insane drama these people carry around with them.
Most dogs are in rescue because they are bad dogs. It may not have been the dog’s fault. They may have been ruined, but they are bad, nonetheless. Bad dogs and neophyte owners do not mix. It takes special skills and a lot of patience to reclaim a ruined dog, skills and patience that few people have.
You’re better off with a pound dog. Not Humane Society [SPIT], they’re just as bad, but pound. Or if you want a good dog, buy from a respectable breeder. That way, you can check out the bloodlines, and talk to other owners of that line and find out about the temperament. Usually, breeders have “reject” dogs. These are animals that just won’t make it in the show ring or the trials field, but are otherwise fine specimens of the breed. Some of our most loved dogs have been “rejects.”
Learn before you buy. You can love any dog. Love a good one.
yup, know your dog. I never “liked” Jackass russels, but was talked into getting one because they tend to be “active”, and my min pin was hyper. Sooooo, JR it was, and I’ll never regret the decision. He’s not all that active, excellent personality, smart, and friendly with all other animals, including those he was bred to hunt, even made friends with my pet donkey when I had her!!He came throw the JR rescue society, his “parents had split up and she could not have a dog were she was moving to and it was her dog, not his. He still prefers women to men.
There’s rescue and rescue. Yes many “rescue” places are a crazy old lady with 35 ill cared for dogs and / or cats, or a business in disguise. But there are breed specific rescue organizations that do a great job placing their breeds with the right people. They know the breed and they know how to vet adopters, and especially how to break the cycle of an inappropriate breed leading to repeated rescue situations.
I hope 2014 is the year the term “rescue” dies a horrible death. Unless you jumped into a freezing river or ran into a burning building to retrieve the animal, you did not rescue him. You picked him up in a cozy stripmall. You’re no more morally superior than me because I purchased my dog from a reputable breeder.
Our female Golden Retriever is a rescue. Picked her up in New York State and brought her up to the Great White North. The lady that ran the rescue shelter was great. The story for the dog is that the shelter lady’s husband is the county sheriff and went to a call around Christmas at a local farm. The owner of the farm raised Golden’s but started to use the pups as a way of supporting a drug habit. The owner was found dead from an overdose and two pups were found in the barn. We adopted the one that was left. She’s a beautiful dog, but does have some issues around men she doesn’t know. Once she warms up to you, she’s quite the character.
Dogs are like people. You get the good, bad and the ugly. We have always done well with “Heinz 57’s) from the local SPCA. A little research on the reason they are in “prison” was all it took. The only thing we hate about the SPCA is leaving, with heavy heart , knowing we can’t drag them all home.
Our family cat was a rescued kitty. He showed up on a farm outside of town. The kijiji ad the farmer placed read: “No tail. No friends. No family. He just showed up one day. The other barn cats are going to kill him if we don’t find him a new home.” I went and got him right away, not because of “rescue”, but because he sounded as messed-up as me… Someone who didn’t fit in… It was a good decision… Mice around the house are nonexistent, the magpies keep their distance from the yard, the jack-rabbits are scared and he keeps my toes warm at night…
Not sure if there’s a moral to the story but my thoughts are that if you’re going to adopt a “rescue” pet, adopt it from the source. Don’t pay for it. You’re going to be paying enough for shots etc as it is. You shouldn’t have to pay an adoption fee in order to do something kind to an animal.
Yup. I remembered when I ‘rescued’ my Great Glengarry Moosehound, Jerome. He was floating down the mighty Rigaud River in a pannier of woven bullrushes – a true basket case, I tell ya.
I’ve been involved with “breed specific” rescue – or rehoming if you prefer – for well over a decade. The last seven of my lifetime ten dogs have been “rescues” and only one was from the SPCA. I heartily dislike the SPCA, especially our local one which is overpopulated with cat people. When collecting a dog for a new home (thoroughly vetted) I was required to pay the full adoption fee and a licence for a dog collected as a stray and sign documents that I new what a vet was and what bills could accumulate! I only had the dog 24 hours before delivering to its new “forever home” in a different town! I recommend finding a breed-specific rescue organization rather than shelters; the people will know the breed and determine if it is right for you. Now my three are waiting of supper or I could ramble all night…
Wow, that’s sure different than our nearest SPCA in Dawson Creek. Pay the usual fee for shots and all she said was try the dog for a while and bring it back if it doesn’t work out. Great people, no Nazis. Was the same when I had to get a new cat for mother a few years ago. No hassles at all.
I found Mr. Fluffy starving under a porch in the winter. He’s a wonderful cat.
All the animal rescue outfits around here (Calgary) have at least 3 page applications and a personal interview process, some requiring written guarantees the dog will never be crated or tied up or put down (for any reason). I wonder how many good homes are missed out because these rescue people are so (too) controlling.
I got my big, goofy, golden doodle off Used Victoria. I’d done a couple of rescue dogs but neither worked out. If you are getting an adult dog I think you need to know where he’s coming from. Meet the parents as it were.
My doodle had good people for his first three years. Now he’ a gent. Not too ambitious, but relaxed and under my desk as I write. For adult dogs a trial period is critical. Do they fit your family? If not, do yourself and the dog a favour and pass.
“Most dogs are in rescue because they are bad dogs. It may not have been the dog’s fault. They may have been ruined, but they are bad, nonetheless.”
Holy cripes, Mannie – what a strange statement from someone who claims to “love” dogs.
My wife and I do rehab work with dogs that have been abused/abandoned. Each one of them would more than qualify to be called a “rescued” dog. We didn’t jump into a river to save them – we were asked to take them by rescue organizations who usually obtained them via raids on filthy, decrepit puppy mills. And no, CeeJ, that doesn’t make us morally superior to you – provided you know for a fact that your breeder is truly reputable, and not just a sham front for one of those puppy mills…
Anyway Mannie, I beg to differ – most dogs are in rescue because they are in trouble, not because they are bad dogs. What do you mean by a “bad dog”, anyway? And what do you mean by “it may not have been the dog’s fault (that they were bad dogs)?
Methinks that if you truly believe there are inherently bad dogs out there, perhaps you should become a cat person. I’ve never come across a dog that was incorrigible, nor have I experienced any “insane drama”, “ideological bullcrap” or “hysterical vanity” from rescue people.
Rather, I’ve met people who care passionately about what they are doing, people who will pay from their own pocket for hundreds, even thousands of dollars worth of medical care for a dog that is suffering but otherwise has a long life ahead of it, even though they will only know that dog temporarily until the dogs forever home is found.
I’ve known people who will fly a rescue thousands of miles to give that dog a chance for proper rehabilitation. And I’ve seen that air passenger dog, that was victim of horrid abuse such that even after being “rescued” the dog went through five forever homes, was brought back again and again with labels such as “crazy” and “fiercely aggressive”, I’ve seen that dog become normal again. In fact that very dog sleeps on my bed every night. That very dog is now a registered therapy dog. That very dog is one of the calmest and friendliest dogs in our pack, and has helped rehabilitate dozens of other dogs. Bad dogs – no such thing.
What’s this nonsense about adopting animals. You own animals, you don’t adopt them.
If the dog is no good, you shoot it and get a different one…it’s not like there’s a shortage.
HEEEE, Heeee, heeeeeeeee………….
“I have no use for neither man nor boy, who has never had an understanding with a pup.”
Samuel Clemins (Mark Twain)
Some dogs are unsuitable for some owners, being too aggressive, too unstable, cowardly, . . . There is a host of vices that make a dog unsuitable for human company. And there are vices that can be instilled by bad owners. Most of the foregoing are such, but not entirely so. Some of them can be saved. Others should be put down. But a neophyte owner often does not have the resources, either in skill, experience, or time to save a bad dog. It is dangerous to place such a dog with an average owner. And I’ve seen too many unethical Rescue Mills do so.
LOL! It sounds like you are one of those Rescue Mill idealogues. I’m not a great dog trainer, but as someone who has bred, trained, showed, and trialed world class German Shepherd Dogs (First Ring at the Bundesieger isn’t bad for an American GSD in Germany.) I’ll stick with my experience.
You can love any dog. Love a good one.
Yeah, understanding a pup, not make it into a relation.
Great Glengarry Moosehound
My Great Pyrenees actually tries to kill moose that come into the yard. I’d never seen moose do anything to a dog other than ignore it or try to kill it. Saves the fruit trees. Best farm dog I’ve ever had.
“…My Great Pyrenees actually tries to kill moose that come into the yard”
Kill? Not my Great Glengarry Moosehound. No Sirree!
I think he’s got a bit of taxidermist DNA, my Ol’ Jerome. He herds moose into deep snow so that he can mount them.
Sorry, Mannie – didn’t mean to jump all over you.
Sounds like we agree on a lot more than we disagree on. I’m with you – not all dogs are suitable for all owners. I just hesitate to dump that on the dog. I have yet to see a “Hannibal Lecter” type of psycho-dog, one that couldn’t have a good life somewhere with someone (the right someone).
The great pyrenees is a great dog. They tolerate no animal intruders. Skunks, porcupine, duckling, muskrat, all have met their end at the paws of mine. He only ever licks people though, no aggression whatsoever to humans it seems. No coyote has come within a mile in over a year now as well.
Not a problem. This is a rough and tumble place.
I had a line that I discontinued breeding that had some pups that would go psycho, and had to be put down. Others from the same litters were “perfect dogs.” But most dog vices are caused by their owners, some of whom should be put down, too.
I often say that for a novice, 90% of dog training is owner training. When you get to be an expert, it’s about 50/50. That is why I always recommend training to dog owners.
I was surprised at the limited selection of rescue dogs in your area. If they lived Nth California, they would have no trouble finding a rescue Golden. I have met Golden Retriever rescue people and dogs on Nth Sierra hikes, and I was very much impressed with both.
That said, I have read about a large So Cal-based dog rescue organization that raised my suspicions. But that’s the exception here.
My overall impression is that Canadians are more responsible as dog owners than Americans are. That would account for our greater supply of pure-bred rescue dogs.
If distance is not an issue, your tenants could save a life, and adopt an adult Golden, thereby by-passing the high-maintenance puppy stage. The dog’s temperament has been evaluated by a volunteer family at a foster home. Prospective adopters would have info about energy level, cat chasing tendencies, etc. Moreover each dog has been checked by a vet, and is current on shots. The adoption fee is in the same ballpark as the price of a puppy.