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This kind of anger from both sides of the coin is not helpful to dogs in need of homes.
Some rescues are well run and a wonderful asset to their community. Some are well intentioned but understaffed. Some are poorly run by people who don't seem to find anyone good enough, probably because they've been burned by bad adoptions in the past, but they're hurting the animals. Some are poorly run by people who frankly aren't putting enough into it, or jumped into it without really knowing how to run a rescue.
Potential adopters have every right to be dissatisfied with the lack of response, or truly unreasonable responses they get from some rescues, but they need to stop painting them all with the same brush and turning other people off to even trying. They also need to try and walk a mile in rescuers shoes, and sometimes they'll find that what seemed unreasonable is understandable after all.
And if you can't find a rescue you can work with locally, please do try your local shelter, or broaden your scope (some rescues DO adopt to people at a distance). Nothing makes me sadder than people saying, I've had it with rescues, I'm going to a breeder.
Can we please all stop yelling at each other? The dogs depend on it. So many people in, and out, of rescue seem to forget that.
I DO donate - money, food, blankets, whatever I can.
I have also volunteered with a breed-specific rescue group answering emails (among other things) that STILL went unanswered because the organizational "managers" couldn't decide who's responsibility it was to respond to me (someone within their own organization)! Potential adopters were emailing me about dogs they wanted to adopt, and the dogs' foster families or the person who was put "in charge" of those dogs would not respond. I couldn't answer questions because of bureaucratic BS. If the rescue groups you work with don't have that problem, that's wonderful! And I hope they are having much success. But I suspect that many do have that exact problem or we wouldn't see so many folks being frustrated by the processes.
I'm glad that you are able to care for many dogs and then let them go. I can't. But I still help in whatever ways I can. Again, I guess that's just not good enough, though, is it?
But it is good enough for many of us pet lovers out there! Some people are able to maintain an emotional detachment and others are not. That only displays the deep care you have for all animals and not just ones in your home. FWIW I'm male and can't! So keep up all your great efforts regardless if it is to a rescue, local shelter, SPCA, or other large organizations. After all it is the animals that benefit from it!
This kind of anger from both sides of the coin is not helpful to dogs in need of homes.
Some rescues are well run and a wonderful asset to their community. Some are well intentioned but understaffed. Some are poorly run by people who don't seem to find anyone good enough, probably because they've been burned by bad adoptions in the past, but they're hurting the animals. Some are poorly run by people who frankly aren't putting enough into it, or jumped into it without really knowing how to run a rescue.
Potential adopters have every right to be dissatisfied with the lack of response, or truly unreasonable responses they get from some rescues, but they need to stop painting them all with the same brush and turning other people off to even trying. They also need to try and walk a mile in rescuers shoes, and sometimes they'll find that what seemed unreasonable is understandable after all.
And if you can't find a rescue you can work with locally, please do try your local shelter, or broaden your scope (some rescues DO adopt to people at a distance). Nothing makes me sadder than people saying, I've had it with rescues, I'm going to a breeder.
Can we please all stop yelling at each other? The dogs depend on it. So many people in, and out, of rescue seem to forget that.
Thanks for saying this.
I do want to apologize if anyone took offense at what I have said here. No offense was intended.
I support rescues and adoption rather than buying puppies from back-yard breeders or worse. My own experiences with adopting through a rescue were fine (home visits, etc) and the two dogs I got from that rescue were so great, and I still love that breed that I volunteered with them for several years after I adopted my two.
Later, when they had passed, I adopted my current little pisser (lol) from the local shelter. I would have gone the breed rescue route again, but I was looking for something different.
Anyway, for me, rescue or shelter, either one is a much preferred option to buying a dog from a puppy store or BYB.
Yea, 'cause my competition dogs aren't members of my family. Whatever.
So, when will you be starting your own rescue? You seem to have all the answers on how it should be done best. I'm thinking you should start your own rescue, and then you can do things however you want. Just like every rescue out there does.
Get back to me when the real world hits.
Wow, you could not rebut a single thing Escanlan posted!
You didn't even attempt to address any of the excellent points he/she made. I wonder why?
I, too, have had many problems with so-called rescues.
Also, contrary to one of the things you posted, not all people want a female dog. I prefer males.
I DO donate - money, food, blankets, whatever I can.
I have also volunteered with a breed-specific rescue group answering emails (among other things) that STILL went unanswered because the organizational "managers" couldn't decide who's responsibility it was to respond to me (someone within their own organization)! Potential adopters were emailing me about dogs they wanted to adopt, and the dogs' foster families or the person who was put "in charge" of those dogs would not respond. I couldn't answer questions because of bureaucratic BS. If the rescue groups you work with don't have that problem, that's wonderful! And I hope they are having much success. But I suspect that many do have that exact problem or we wouldn't see so many folks being frustrated by the processes.
I'm glad that you are able to care for many dogs and then let them go. I can't. But I still help in whatever ways I can. Again, I guess that's just not good enough, though, is it?
Lunetunelover -
Please accept my apologies. And my thanks for the work you have done to help save the lives of homeless dogs. My rant was not directed at you personally (and I should have made that clear in my original post) but at all those people who come up to us at adoption events and talk about how they can't foster but when we suggest lots of other ways they could help they never say, OH, OK, I can find the time to help out a little with some of those other needs. They tend to make some other excuse and then walk away.
In my small rural group we know that if we had just 5 more people who would foster just one dog at a time we could probably save about 95% of all the adoptable dogs who wind up in our tiny pound. We also know that if a few more good people would volunteer a bit of their time the rest of us might not be so overworked and overwhelmed and get burned out so quickly.
It is always hard to let go of a foster and a couple of mine had been with me for over a year because they had behavioral problems that had to be dealt with before we could send them off to forever homes or they were older and less desireable in the eyes of most of the adopting public. I go in to it with the notion that I'm just taking care of this nice dog temporarily until his owner can be "found" and that they will think he or she is the greatest dog ever, even the ones that I didn't particularly like very much ultimately find homes with folks who are head over heals for them.
My hope is that those of you who unhappy with rescue organizations will go adopt straight from your local pound and therefore take some of the burden off of the groups who are all trying to do to much with to little money and too few volunteers.My otehr hope is that some who read this thread will decide that they can find a few hours of time each month to help out in some small way.
You have a point however rescues doing things so stupidly turns many people off to using rescues and just go buy a puppy mill dog so they are also shooting themselves in the foot and going against their mission
I have had both experiences as a volunteer and as a potential adopter. I fostered a Great Dane for a short time with a rescue group. I enjoyed fostering, and kept the dog for five months until she was adopted. I didn't foster any dogs after that, though I agreed to foster for them a couple of times when they called me saying they needed assistance. After they called me, they canceled last minute, saying the dogs got adopted shortly after their requests for help. I own two Great Danes of my own. Several months later, I saw an 8 year old senior Dane on their website for adoption. I thought she would be wonderful for our family, and I've had Danes 22 years. Besides, senior Danes are notoriously hard to adopt out. Danes are a short lived breed to begin with, and as they age, they have more problems with arthritis and other joint issues than other breeds.
Despite the fact the rescue was overloaded, they refused to adopt to me, a former foster mom! They told me the dog needed a quieter home. Considering I owned two low key adult Danes, had no children, stayed at home, and my husband worked offshore most of the year, I didn't see how she could have a quieter home than that. I washed my hands of them then, and have referred my acquaintances who want a Dane to my older harlequin female's breeder instead. I suspect some of these "requirements" have nothing to do with the dog's well being at all; it's about politics and control, at least it is with this rescue. I wasn't a part of the little rescue clique like the others; therefore I didn't deserve one of "her" dogs. And that's what the lady who ran the rescue group called them.
I have had both experiences as a volunteer and as a potential adopter. I fostered a Great Dane for a short time with a rescue group. I enjoyed fostering, and kept the dog for five months until she was adopted. I didn't foster any dogs after that, though I agreed to foster for them a couple of times when they called me saying they needed assistance. After they called me, they canceled last minute, saying the dogs got adopted shortly after their requests for help. I own two Great Danes of my own. Several months later, I saw an 8 year old senior Dane on their website for adoption. I thought she would be wonderful for our family, and I've had Danes 22 years. Besides, senior Danes are notoriously hard to adopt out. Danes are a short lived breed to begin with, and as they age, they have more problems with arthritis and other joint issues than other breeds.
Despite the fact the rescue was overloaded, they refused to adopt to me, a former foster mom! They told me the dog needed a quieter home. Considering I owned two low key adult Danes, had no children, stayed at home, and my husband worked offshore most of the year, I didn't see how she could have a quieter home than that. I washed my hands of them then, and have referred my acquaintances who want a Dane to my older harlequin female's breeder instead. I suspect some of these "requirements" have nothing to do with the dog's well being at all; it's about politics and control, at least it is with this rescue. I wasn't a part of the little rescue clique like the others; therefore I didn't deserve one of "her" dogs. And that's what the lady who ran the rescue group called them.
Kudos to you for trying to adopt a senior Dane who you know all too well would require additional care but were still willing to take on that responsibility!
Here's another example of a person with breed specific knowledge and extensive experience who would have made the ideal parent but was denied for another silly reason. I would fully expect that Scooby Snacks would already be aware of or be able to easily see if there was a need for special circumstances for this senior Dane and no doubt would have handled that appropriately. Hopefully for the senior Dane's sake it was eventually placed in just as good of a home?
Please accept my apologies. And my thanks for the work you have done to help save the lives of homeless dogs. My rant was not directed at you personally (and I should have made that clear in my original post) but at all those people who come up to us at adoption events and talk about how they can't foster but when we suggest lots of other ways they could help they never say, OH, OK, I can find the time to help out a little with some of those other needs. They tend to make some other excuse and then walk away.
In my small rural group we know that if we had just 5 more people who would foster just one dog at a time we could probably save about 95% of all the adoptable dogs who wind up in our tiny pound. We also know that if a few more good people would volunteer a bit of their time the rest of us might not be so overworked and overwhelmed and get burned out so quickly.
It is always hard to let go of a foster and a couple of mine had been with me for over a year because they had behavioral problems that had to be dealt with before we could send them off to forever homes or they were older and less desireable in the eyes of most of the adopting public. I go in to it with the notion that I'm just taking care of this nice dog temporarily until his owner can be "found" and that they will think he or she is the greatest dog ever, even the ones that I didn't particularly like very much ultimately find homes with folks who are head over heals for them.
My hope is that those of you who unhappy with rescue organizations will go adopt straight from your local pound and therefore take some of the burden off of the groups who are all trying to do to much with to little money and too few volunteers.My otehr hope is that some who read this thread will decide that they can find a few hours of time each month to help out in some small way.
Thanks zugor! It's all good you know because we both (and many others here) really just want what's best for these poor animals who don't have their forever home yet.
I have found that any rescue group I have been in contact with are usually overwhelmed with many calls. They are staffed with only volunteers who are very dedicated, usually work full-time, and are trying to rescue.
You might want to email. I have emailed in the past and got good responses.
Rescues are super frustrating to get a dog through; I understand and I used to foster for numerous rescues! Unfortunately, you are dealing with volunteers who often have regular jobs and families plus the holidays are nuts for everybody. And I don't know if its just my own personal experience but the people heavily involved in the rescues were really much, MUCH better with animals than they are with people... Be patient, be persistent and THANK YOU for considering a rescue!!!
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Rescue Returning Calls
