Trying to adopt a rescue dog!

fizz

supersaver2 wrote: »

Good morning,

Now I'm not sure if I've just been unlucky but I've been trying to adopt a rescue dog since September and its hard work! You'd think they'd want good homes for pets!

First tried a breed rescue centre. I've always had this breed and lost my elderly dog in July this year and decided to adopt instead of getting a puppy. Filled the application out online and heard nothing for a month. Then I had an email asking me to fill the form out again which I duly did and then heard nothing again, I've emailed the address and heard nothing back. Yet the website is updated with dogs needing good homes! I'm an experienced home, only work part time, term time holidays, large garden, and most importantly I love dogs!

So I've now been looking at the RSPCA and seen a suitable dog so emailed last week, heard nothing so I've just called and the women was breathtakingly rude! I've arranged to go and see him but I'm sat her astounded at the way she spoke to me. I have a daughter and clearly an important questions is 'is the dog good with children?' her reply was 'are you stupid he's just a puppy so of course he is (dog is 20 months so an adolescent, not a puppy!)

Don't feel like I'm having much luck, might have to be a puppy again!

Contact a local, very small rescue centre. Most are wonderful,run by dog mad staff who want to find forever homes for the sad furries in their care. Keep your options open...went in the Summer for a 3/4 year old, came away with Border Collie x Lab who is 11....going on Puppy:rotfl: and she is one of the best dogs I've ever had. She fits with my other dog and 3 cats.

fizz.xx

happysaz133

Smaller local rescues are usually easier to deal with. I've had 5 rescue dogs, 3 from a UK wide charity and 2 from my local. All were easy adoptions (clearly this depends on the rescue involved!) but the local one was definitely quicker and less demanding. Also they don't have kennels, only foster homes, so its easy to see what a dog will be like in a home environment.

I really do recommend rescuing, its so rewarding.

duchy

missbiggles1 wrote: »

The Cats' Protection League used to be the worst - unless you live in the middle of a field and never leave the house they don't want to know.:(

Not quite that bad but they turned me down because of my 11 year old's Aspergers which was pure ignorance on their part. Ironically one of their biggest fosterers own cat decamped from her house and decided she lived with me (long story very old cat who had lived in my house 12 years earlier and decided one day to go live with the fosterer)

She asked me if I would foster as I'd done such a good job with her cat (including relocating her back home) and after I explained I was a CPL reject I got a formal apology and was told that particular inspector had a reputation for being "difficult".

That said I know CPL will not rehome this close to Christmas which I think is sensible.

SensibleSarah

Rescue responses depend very much on individual rescues I find. It took me 18 months from when I seriously started looking to actually get my current dog, as I am single & work full time, plus have cats. Bigger rescues such as dog's trust were happy to rehome to me with assurances that I would get a dog walker. They just didn't have any cat-friendly dogs which were used to being left at that time. Some smaller rescues not so much, and if was often a frustrating experience not getting replies - but it was very much a case of waiting for the right dog for me & being patient in the meantime.

In the end it was a dog I spotted on a rescue site which was being rehomed by an individual (an experienced rescue person & fosterer) as the breed rescue has decided not to take her because she'd been a bit growly (petrified) at first. That person came & did the homecheck & I took the dog for a couple of short weekends before both sides were happy that it was going to be a good fit & I brought her home for good.

There is often some confusion I think between a responsible rescue organisation & a place that has the local pound contract. One will usually have strict rehoming criteria & the other will usually not even homecheck or neuter before rehoming to the first person who pays the fee. The latter might call themselves a rescue, but in my opinion they are close to pet peddlers.