Posted on 01/29/2012 7:56:10 PM PST by Altariel
No Pet For You Want to adopt a dog or cat? Prepare for an inquisition at the animal rescue.
eople who rescue animals can be reluctant to believe anyone deserves the furry creatures. Some rescue groups think potential owners shouldn’t have full-time jobs. Others reject families with children. Some rescuers think apartment dwelling is OK for humans but not for dogs, or object to a cat’s litter box being placed in a basement. Some say no to people who would let a dog run around the fenced backyard “unsupervised,” or allow a cat outside, ever.
It used to be that people who wanted to get an abandoned or abused animal went to the local pound, saw one they liked, paid a small fee, and drove home with a new pet. Since the 1990s, however, the movement to reduce animal euthanasia and the arrival of the Internet have given rise to a new breed of rescuer. These are private groups, or even individuals, who create networks of volunteers to care for needy animals.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
I didn’t mind the questions either. They did put a chip in the dog though, and the contact info goes back to them which I don’t like. But it was a bunch of money to have the chip removed and replaced. He’s got his dog tags, so hopefully anybody finding him would call us first. (And a fenced yard!)
And he was NOT cheap. IIRC it was something like $250 to buy him. (Plus a larger dog crate, new dog dishes as my wife and son couldn’t stand the thought of him using our old dog’s ones, new toys, etc. Plus the first vet visit to get him checked out and neutered which the adoption place was going to return $50 on the price for when we mailed them the proof but they never did. And then when he chewed up and swallowed a plastic wiffle ball within the first month that my wife freaked out about, with vet’s bills, xrays, etc. Cheap my a55!)
Love him - but not cheap!
I bet you’re a load of fun at parties!
Oh, sorry.
Maybe, someday, you’ll experience one...
Adopting a shelter animal is NOT free. There is usually a multi-hundred-dollar charge to adopt.
Our family went through this too. The problem was that although I had owned many dogs over the years, it was long ago in another part of the US, so I couldn’t provide vet references from a small-animal vet. We finally did adopt but not from a shelter. We have two dogs now. They have the perfect life.
Local shelters generally are not like this. It’s these national organizations that really don’t do rescue but just put sad commercials out for fundraising, appearing to be a group that saves animals all over the nation.
Local shelter people want animals adopted. They would love to place all animals instead of being over capacity and having to put some down.
No-kill shelters pick and choose and will refuse taking in animals when they are full - so these then go on to county animal shelters that don’t refuse surrenders, and have to have the burden of doing the no-kill’s work for them. They get to have ‘clean hands’ because other shelters are mandated to take in animals even when full.
Shelters have refined requirements over the years because they have learned certain general warning signs that can lead to the animal being returned to them - which defeats the purpose and wasted time - or abandoned again. Many shelters also develop profiles of the animals via socialization to see if certain animals would be good with kids, or prefer quiet, are high energy, may have special needs, etc. They spend a lot of time trying to make better matches with prospective adopters to improve the odds the animal won’t be surrendered and both animal and people are good fits for the other. Not every place can do this but more and more are. They just have so many animals coming in they really want to cut down on re-surrenders.
I’ve never met people in the local shelters, and I’ve known them all from adoption counselors, to shelter managers, to executive directors and facilities managers, that they all are really pro-pet owner - if they weren’t, there’d be no animals ever leaving the building. They all want their adoption numbers to go up and their euthanasia numbers to go down. Most of them I know have at least one animal they’ve adopted from their shelter.
Don’t confuse the large national groups with your local shelter people. Many of them don’t even realize the anti-pet mentality of HSUS or PETA.
In my experience the rescue groups are far,far better than the town shelter.
When we adopted through a rescue group there was no paper work, no threat of follow up, just got to know us a bit and done.
That cat lived twenty years.
Well, friend, every business and every place has rules. There are no shelters that are just going to give you an animal no questions asked. They have a responsibility to ensure the animals are placed in a safe environment. No rules for adopting out is not living up to that responsibility.
You want that, go to craigslist and get an animal someone offering up there.
My local SPCA is excellent in that regard. But I know a lot of these animal advocacy groups are often run by shrills, who should not be anywhere near an animal.
If I was to get a dog, I’d probably go to the SPCA or city pound to pick one up.
Piss off. Maybe when you grow up, you can adopt an animal (from a reputable organization).
Best bet really is asking your Vet. Generally they either have animals dumped on them needing homes or know serious persons that are wanting good homes and you don't have fill out applications and deal with Kooks etc.
In fact most areas do not have any presence of any of the national radical pet organizations. If anything they may have some educational relationship with local shleters but the shelters pretty much determine what they want to do, not HSUS.
I have adopted from our local shelter and from the state rescue group for the animals I live with. Both are good. I spent time making the section better for the animals I adopt (small animals) - which are always third in line - if that - behind cats and dogs. They have a great program now because a lot of us pushed for it and spent volunteer time there.
As I, and others, said, shelter pets aren't free. You don't seem to understand that.
Why are you hostile? It's not our fault that nobody invites you out for parties. Maybe you should stop eating your boogers in public.
Oh, gosh . . . maybe I am involved in the industry. Idiot.
I have read some of the replies here and think the rescue people are nuts. We were going to adopt 2 kittens to keep them together and when we showed up to pick them up, they changed the rules.
Instead of $25 each, it went up to over $100 for both and we were supposed to fill out a 4 page form. We said never mind. We were doing THEM a favor, not the other way around.
Shortly afterwards, we took in a problem cat from a co-worker of my wife. We already have 2 cats. As far as cost, I gave away 6 Lab puppies this weekend. I will have my male fixed. Always had just females, and we took in a pair (male and female) to go with the Lab female we already had, from someone who could no longer care for them. The male got busy and both females had puppies.
I think the rescue people get too attached to the animals in their care. I would NEVER agree to allow someone to come to my house to inspect it just to get a dog or cat. I am not real eager to allow anyone around my place. And I can get animals (dogs or cats) much easier from anywhere else. Even the pound is cheaper and easier.
I can respect their saving animals but I feel their rules are far too intrusive and my wife & I both agree, we won’t waste our time with them again.
I wish they would focus on the person seeking the adoption. A few questions is all it takes to know if someone is capable of the adoption. Likewise, those not obviously capable can be educated on what’s needed.
I have done it both ways, dogs and cats, and prefer the get to know/educate to the inquisition every time.
JMHO
No.
You're just a worthless mouthbreathing half-wit of no concern.
Jump up and down in place and shake your fists and feel important...freak.
I guess that I would be unable to get a dog from them also. My 3 labs live outdoors 24/7. That’s why I got them-large outdoor dogs. They have one job to do for me-keep people out of my backyard-and they are very good at it.
I don’t. After my experience the last time, my wife & I agree-we’ll never go back.
I’m just going to throw this out there: if an animal is rescued from an abusive environment, what purpose is served by sending that animal to the next person who walks in the door? Why not just put the animal down?
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