How to ethically get a 'pet' if a rescue turnes you down

Pollycat

Dollardog wrote: »

They picked out a female cat which they liked, only to be told that it wasn't going to be rehomed, it was going to be put down as it was pregnant and they hadn't room for a mother and kittens. My friends pleaded to be allowed to home it as they would keep a kitten themselves and had family who would rehome the rest but the RSPCA were adament that it had to be put down. My friends said that if they couldn't have that one, they didn't want any and had got to the car before the shelter had a change of hert and agreed to let it go to them as long as it had the op as soon as possible after having the kittens. They agreed as they wouldn't have wanted a further litter anyway. They took the cat to the vets for a check up a few days having got it and it turned out the cat wasn't pregnant at all, just fat!! If they han't have taken it, it would have been put down unnecessarily.
Lucy went on to make a lovely pet and died at a very old age.

That is absolutely shocking!

fannyadams

After acquiring dogs by fair means or foul (I mean they turn up on our doorstep) for the last 10 years and losing our last one around 8 years ago (lymphoma) we were told by ALL the local charity rescue places that we were unsuitable because 'we work'...
I argued with RSPCA lady that they would have a better life with us as we'd give structure to their day (an hour walk first thing with HWTHMBO, breakfast, half an hour walk before I go to work taking DS#2 to school on the way, an hour walk when we get back in from school and half an hour before we go to bed) than to have someone with NO structure to their day (unemployed) who might get up before midday or not, might not walk the dog(s), may not have enough money to get food or vet treatment for animal, etc. They still said no.
we are happy to have been adopted by two '40mph couch potatoes' who are loved and cared for and who seem to spend around 20 out of 24 hours asleep. and, as we'd had experience of rehoming different dogs GRWE allowed us to have two straight off the track (with all the inherent challenges that entails).
If you would like a dog and the rescue people say no, please ask the greyhound rescue centres as they might be able to help you out.
Greyhounds racing lives consist of a walk in the morning, something to eat, sleep inthe kennel, a walk in the afternoon, something to eat, bed for the night.
Greyhounds do not have undercoats and thus are less likely to trigger dog allergies in humans (I'm supposedly allergic to dogs but my two don't set me off the way my friend's slobrador does)

Azmataz

gettingready wrote: »

Rescues policies may be valid but it all seems like a box ticking exercise rather than looking at people's INDIVIDUAL circumstances/abilities/suitability.

I agree, it does seem like tick boxing often. Sadly, many rehoming centres don't have the resources for in-depth, one-to-one interviews and home visits to sufficiently ascertain the unique circumstances of prospective owners. It very often comes down to a paper-based assessment of 'suitability' - anything from proximity to roads, work patterns and number/ages of people living in a prospective home. Not to mention the legal (and sometimes antiquated) red tape that charities have to abide by, including what is stipulated in their Declaration or Charter...

Different criteria and subjectivity certainly do present challenges with rehoming.

mountainofdebt

gettingready wrote: »

As long as it stays this way - all rescues will be full as they are and a lot of animals will be put down as ther are not enough "suitable" homes for them.

No I wouldn't say 'suitable' I would say that the rescues want that perfect home for them and I'm sorry but in this day and age, those sort of homes are very few and far between.

Person_one

mountainofdebt wrote: »

No I wouldn't say 'suitable' I would say that the rescues want that perfect home for them and I'm sorry but in this day and age, those sort of homes are very few and far between.

There are 'homes' where the dog would be much better off in kennels to be honest.

Its not a case of any home is better than rescue.

moggymutt

I agree with the fact that it should not be any home is better than a rescue. Thats why the first sentence of my OP says that some people are turned down for good reason.

Rescues don't always get it right even when people pass their strict 'criteria'. We've homed cats on a few seperate ocaisions were I have then gone and fetched the cats back. We've had cats come in that are microchipped to other rescues, and in those cases they made a bad judgement call.

Fire_Fox

I would say to people ... try another rescue, perhaps a smaller independent one. RSPCA were horrible when I enquired about indoor cats before I got Noah, even tho I stated adult with health issues to prevent them being outdoor. Cats Protection reckoned after a homecheck I could offer an ideal environmental for the right cat. Am now on my second indoor cat, Lulu is a 'private rescue' - an ex stray who was temporarily lodging with a friend's colleague.

Second suggestion is to seriously consider why you have been turned down: maybe you actually are not best suited to a kitten or puppy but only an older cat or dog, maybe you are not suited to that particular breed. People can be very selfish about what they want, at the end of the day if you are a caring person you will fall in love almost any cat or dog you take and it won't be a kitten or puppy for very long anyway.

con1888

A lot of rescues are too ' ticky boxy'.

The rescue which I am a volunteer for is not one of the above, there is no set rules, during homecheck a volunteer has a chat, speaks about your lifestyle ( as in working hours, how long you're out house for, kids if any and age of them, other pets, garden etc) dogs have been rehomed to people with no garden or people in a flat, it just depends on their individual circumstances. Just because someone has no garden does not mean they can't have a dog, or cos they have young kids. It's all about matching people up with compatible pets.

mountainofdebt

Person_one wrote: »

Its not a case of any home is better than rescue.

I agree but all of my local rescues wouldn't even look at me because a) we work and b) our existing dog isn't neutered - both heinous crimes in the eyes of rescues it would seem

Doesn't matter that the dog is well cared for and well walked (both in the mornings and evenings) - in fact that's all I seem to do is eat sleep, work and walk the dog

zaksmum

We had a very elderly Yorkie in the family when I applied for a puppy I'd seen on a rescue advertising on the internet. I passed the home check and the puppy was to arrive a few days later.

Someone from the rescue then rang me and said the pup had developed kennel cough but "would be fine". I explained about our Yorkie and asked if they could keep the pup till the kennel cough cleared up as I didn't want him to catch the kennel cough.

Well, she went berserk! Literally screaming at me down the phone to just "wait till the damn Yorkie dies before hassling people"! and slammed the phone down.

I was amazed.

When I subsequently did find the right puppy for me, it certainly wasn't from that rescue!