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Wow. Talk about an invasion of privacy. Some rescues do amazing things for animals that would never otherwise survive or be adoptable. I am glad I donate money to them. But I don't want anyone searching my property, much less a dog group. Just because you don't have anything to hide doesn't mean you've lost sight of privacy. It's like the new law that goes into effect where the gvt is storing all your emails. I am not for that, either.
All of this reaffirms why I purchased my dogs from reputable breeders and why we'll be having our first litter this year. Like I said, I love to donate money and supplies but willfully giving out that much personal information, upfront money, and being subjected to a very thorough search is not my idea of getting a dog. Kudos to those who go through it.
A reputable breeder should run you through as many hoops as a rescue organization. If they don't, I queston the 'reputable'.
I foster for 3 rescue groups and the Humane Society and a town shelter. All of the groups are quite reasonable. One does ask for drivers license numbers on the application (which is only something needed if they write a check for the adoption fee and could be collected at that time) that people often refuse to supply and we never turn down an app for that reason. All require a home visit. None require fences or houses - apartments are accepted, nor that that adopters feed specific brand foods or anything else unreasonable.
I am a believer in home visits. I go and spend about 30-40 minutes visiting with the family. I have never inspected any non-public parts of a home; I have never opened a closet or drawer. But these are things I have personally experienced or observed:
*2 children (about 4 & 6 years of age) who kept trying to ride on the back of the dog I brought along and the parents didn't correct it. I told the kids that, tho this was a very sweet boxer, dogs are not for riding. They tried several more times and parents never said a word so I finally had to ask parents why they were not intervening. They said that even if they corrected the kids, that in this would likely happen when they weren't watching and they want to make sure the dog will not snap when the kids get "a little wild, as kids do" !!
* front storm doors that don't catch so any pressure makes the door fly open(many rescue dogs were strays that escaped)
*gaps in the fence, loose boards in fence, old wooden fences hanging and kept from falling by flimsy string holding posts together
*dog houses in dog pens with obvious signs of use (we require our dogs live inside with the family)
*personal dogs in the household that look under nourished, with long nails that curl under, with severaly matted fur...
*fence gates that don't latch close.
*split rail fences with gaps between each rail that I could easily roll thru.
*members of the family (one wife, one child) so frightened of the dog I had to hold the dog by the collar for the person to be in the same room with it....friendly dogs! -- which likely means the dog will never be unrestrained in the home.
*personal dogs in the household that look under nourished, with long nails that curl under, with severaly matted fur...
I found a stray St. Bernard once. Long nails, long hair on the feet, matted fur. When I found the owner, it turned out the dog wasn't stray. He had just wandered from his yard. I had found a block away and by the time I caught him, I literally caught him in his front yard. I didn't know it was his front yard. Two hours later, I took him back after much research into where he belonged. Anyways, turns out that this owner was a very very active volunteer for humane society. Even the most avid dog lovers don't take care of their dogs sometimes.
A reputable breeder asks questions and forms a relationship but does not inspect your home. As a matter of fact, many reputable breeders ship dogs all over the country.
As far as my breeder, we have formed a very close bond and even though we are hours away we both ha e large families and share similar values. Our families get together to enjoy eachother and we not only share dogs, but I sold her a horse, as well.
As far as breeding dogs, I plan to have more than one litter. There are plenty of people who want dogs from bloodlines that I have, and dogs from extremely loving homes that are well-adjusted to kids, but most importantly are healthy.We've been round and round this bush. It never goes anywhere.
This is not meant to start a flame war, just a legit question for those in the rescue camp regarding The extremely strong 'don't buy a puppy' sentiment held therein. What should happen to the dogs currently at pet stores? My daughter asked this question as we were beginning our dog search, and I didn't have a good answer. We had gone through the interrogation process at a shelter, and have no interest improving that pit bulls are just merely misunderstood.
We've researched and found a legitimate, caring pet shop owner, and found a lovely puppy. One of our more strident neighbors lit into my 13 year old daughter for even considering buying a dog as if we were planning to blow up an abortion clinic. I understand the logic, and there are far too many unwanted dogs in shelters, but there seems to be a gap in tolerance and logic. Are dogs already in legit pet ships and breeders to be left to die or be added to the millions of shelter dogs too? Thanks for any input.
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If people would stop buying those pitiful puppy mill puppies from pet stores, the market would dry up, it would no longer be profitable.
No legitimate responsible breeder would sell their pups to a pet shop.
Regarding your daughter's new puppy, do be prepared for a lot of vet bills. Pet shop animals are usually very unhealthy.
I was once told that some OCD'ers run rescue groups and from what I have seen some of them do . I have never seen so much paperwork in my life as when I tried to adopt an animal . One of my friends luckily had a chihuahua she was looking for a new home for and she called me and I went and looked and gave the girl 100.00 for her and I took her home . She has never been one bit of trouble and I thought why cant all adoptions be this simple . I think ppl sometimes make things more complicated than they really are . Oh well I wish you luck on getting a dog because I feel your pain and know the process .
I have had it with rescue people too. They are just over the top with invasive requiremnents. They want to run credit/income checks, home visits, personal/vet references, signed contracts, return agreements. Forget it!
They take all the beautiful dogs out of the shelters leaving only the unwanted pitbulls. Then sell them for several hundred dollars.
I don't need anyone telling me my home is not good enough. I have had dogs all my life, They sleep on the furniture and drink bottled water, They go for several walks a day and are spoiled rotten. They're happy as can be, are fully vetted, and live long lives, but yet because I'm gone for work for 8 hours a day they say that's too long for a dog to stay alone.
Never mind that they sleep for 16 hours a day, have a doggie door to go in and out to the yard as they please. I have been turned down several times.
I'll adopt in a shelter anyday! I just need to get there before the rescue people get there and grab the desireable dogs first.
I'll be damned if some nut is going to tell me how to raise my dogs.
If people would stop buying those pitiful puppy mill puppies from pet stores, the market would dry up, it would no longer be profitable.
No legitimate responsible breeder would sell their pups to a pet shop.
Regarding your daughter's new puppy, do be prepared for a lot of vet bills. Pet shop animals are usually very unhealthy.
When they breed the family pet for extra money they're backyard breeders. When they put cages in the yard to earn a living it's a puppy mill. Either way, it's about money and only money.
A reputable breeder should run you through as many hoops as a rescue organization. If they don't, I queston the 'reputable'.
The difference is...after I get my paperwork together (along with vet's letter of rec) and send it all in to the breeder, I ACTUALLY GET A DOG.
Not to mention the added bonus of knowing the dog's lineage, health history (hip/eye certification), etc...
My dog is 4 years old. I still talk to her breeder (who is in Georgia). That's the way she wants it. I also signed a contract that says I return the dog to her only - never surrender to shelter or rescue. I call that a responsible breeder.
My dogs are indoor dogs, they have their own beds, eat organic (or prescription) food, are groomed, go to vet, get obedience trained, are allowed to roam the home freely and be with us all the time, have a backyard big enough to play frisbee in (one of our criteria on our home purchase was enough room for the dogs to really run - that took us $200k over what we really wanted to spend but it was a non-negotiable), a swimming pool...my dog that recently died (at 11) had a regular vet, an ophthalmologist, a dermatologist, and an internist. The last couple of years of her life (when her skin condition really got crazy), I spent thousands of dollars a year on her care, including nearly $4000 on her 2 day ICU stay when she passed. My dogs are NEVER boarded...in fact, we have housesitters come and stay with them when we leave town (which is only once or twice a year) so they feel at home and their routine isn't spoiled.
I have tried off and on for 7 years to get a puppy or young dog from my breed rescue in 3 different parts of this state. mod cut Once we even drove TWELVE HOURS to pick up a puppy (they wouldn't meet us halfway or anything) only to have these people not show up and come up with some stupid flakey excuse about having to go to some fair.
I have only recently found out that this is not an uncommon thing with rescue organizations (and certainly not limited to the breed of dog I own).
So while I still donate money to various rescue organizations, I will never attempt to adopt a dog from one again.
Last edited by Sam I Am; 12-10-2012 at 09:00 AM..
Reason: make your point without the language, please
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