Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 9:08 am Post subject: Lady wanting to adopt
Last night while out on my walk with Annie I met a lovely lady with her elderly greyhound. I have seen her many times before and know she really loves her dog. She was telling me that she went to a local rescue to return a chincilla cage and while she was there she saw three 7 month old greyhound pups that had recently been dumped. She applied to adopt two of them but was phoned two weeks later to say that she had been rejected. She is absolutely heartbroken as she could of given two of these a lovely home. She has a double length garage and has recently had one end of it converted into a room for her dogs with heating and patio doors leading into the garden which she says the dogs would have access to. She has no small children the only downside is she works 9 - 4. Bearing in mind also that she has her elderly dog to keep these two pups company and show them the way. Greyhounds are not quite as exhuberent as our labbies and only require a couple of 20 minute walks a day being very much couch potatoes. I think these two pups have now missed out on having a lovely home. Not to mention walks in the country park which is only across the road from where this lady lives.
Surely with rescues brimming over with dogs looking for homes there can be a bit of leaway on this. What do you all think?
As hard as it may sound I would not let any of Milly's puppies go to homes where they were full time workers for the simple fact that there were many, many others where one of them didn't work or if they did it was only a couple of hours a day.
I would never question this ladies love for her dog, obviously she does care but so do many others who don't work 9 - 4.
It sounds harsh but you have to look out for the puppies and give them the best possible start.
Yes you are right in your assumption, rescue is brimming with dogs, particularly Bull breeds and with Greyhound racing still popular and Greyhounds and Lurchers.
However, the whole point of rescue is to ensure a home for life for that dog, and therefore there are policies in place that rescues are guided by when rehoming.
Puppies need to be let out for pee breaks very regularly and fed 4 x per day, and if the lady says she works 9-4 (unless she lives next door to work then its 9 hrs including travel time) then this is not going to be possible, in fact most rescues would require a max 4 hour for a dog to be left on its own without a break, so full time workers would need to ensure they get a dog walker or neighbour to come in regularly.
I know it seems frustrating looking from the outside in, but the right dog must be matched with the right person and vice versa, I am sure they wouldn't turn her down for an older dog, if she could ensure the dog got a break through the day.
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
I think the point is that in a rescue, your options are far far fewer than a lovely shiney new litter of Lab puppies.
Its YOUR perogative as a breeder to chose which homes they go to, but for a rescue to be picky and choosey to me smacks of the cutting off noses to spite ones face! I understand the reasons they do it. I just think they can't be as choosy as they are.
There is a world of difference between a Lab and a greyhound. I agree with the OP, perhaps they have prevented these pups going to a wonderful home and consigned them to a long wait in kennels for what they consider a more "suitable" home.
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I know it seems frustrating looking from the outside in, but the right dog must be matched with the right person and vice versa, I am sure they wouldn't turn her down for an older dog, if she could ensure the dog got a break through the day.
I've got to say I do have a bit of an issue with some of the reasons some rescues give for refusing people.
Last year while I was out, I was approached by a retired lady and her GR and as we got chatting she said she had lost her old Lab and wanted to get a rescue one. I took her number and rang her back with all the local Lab Rescues and didn't think anymore of it. Anyway I met her last month and she now has a lovely young working Lab, as well as her GR. I said to her I didn't think she wanted another youngster but she told me after her home visits where they had told her they were more than happy to let her have a dog, they then refused her because her husband was 75 years old . She orginally told them she wanted an older dog, not a youngster but that she is (and I'm witness to this) very active, has had Labs and GR's all her life and was happy to work with a dog with issues....yet because of her husbands age (not a frail man, just a happy, active 75 year old) they couldn't let her have ANY dog.
So quite rightly she said "Stuff 'em" and went and sourced herself out a pup instead. Then funnily enough, weeks after she got her pup, the rescue changed it's mind and offered her a large 2 year old male with man and dog aggression issues....I presume they were desperate to rehome him by then and thought she would be desperate enough to take him. Hardly surprisingly, she told them where to get off .
Now I know most rescues do sterling work.....but there are sooooo many dogs rotting away in kennels for want of a decent home, surely it's time for them to reassess some of their more extreme rules, to at least give these dogs a chance of a life out from behind bars.
I have been rejected from rehoming centers on two occasions. Before i got Madison we wanted to rescue a dog, the did all the checks and said no as i live in a flat...a bottom flat of a 4in a block with a front and back door and my gardens are both enclosed and secure...didn;t understand it. Second time was a pup, a friend for MAdison, again i was told no with no explanation.
I honestly think the re homing centers near me are being far too choosey, i can give a dog 24 hrs a day, yet other people go in and these dogs get to stray and cause a nuicsance.
I think the point is that in a rescue, your options are far far fewer than a lovely shiney new litter of Lab puppies.
Its YOUR perogative as a breeder to chose which homes they go to, but for a rescue to be picky and choosey to me smacks of the cutting off noses to spite ones face!
I suppose you are right, its very different with lab puppies.
I do believe a rescue centre still has to be picky though, if not, then surely the chances are the dog will be returned to them, which can't be right for the dog. Its got to be tough for these places, they can't please everyone.
Don't get me wrong I know rescues have to be very careful as to who the dogs are rehomed to but usually good owners stand out a mile. They have not given this lady a chance and not even arranged a home visit. I have always worked full time and have had quite a few dogs in my time and I am sure none of them have ever sufferd in any way. My OH always says that second time around he wants to come back as one of my dogs as they get better treated than him. I am lucky with my Annie as I get home for an hour at lunchtime and she knows our little routine of walk and a biscuit and off she goes for another sleep until I get home at 5pm. Dogs soon get to know when you are going to be around and as greyhounds are not the easiest dogs to rehome I just think this lady should of been given a chance to sort something out. I think I will tell her I will take them out with Annie at lunchtime!!
OK, let me try and explain from a homecheckers prospective.
Rescue have a network of homecheckers all of the country, some chefck for just one rescue, others for multiple rescues (like me)
We are given guidelines as to what we are looking for, what we need to ask, a checklist if you like, we are also interviewing people as to their suitability, some rescues let you decide if that family can adopt, others take your recommendation and others just go by what you have ticked on the homecheck form.
Every rescue has different criteria for rehoming, some are very strict, others very flexible, I find that the large well known Rescue 'Centres' are more rigid with their policies.
One local to me, wont rehome to anyone outside of Clacton, or to older people, people with kids and on a main road, which is ridiculous as they have kennels full of dogs, but that's their perogative.
The Oldies, will rehome to older people, I did a homecheck for them for a lady in her 80's she now has a lovely JRT companion.
LRRSE have rehomed to older people, I know as I did the homecheck and they have a Lab and live in the next village to me.
I have a also turned people down, Jules you came with me on one, remember, the one where you took Oyster, and the the kids and mother sat there not interested, and when the partner walked in her was all over Oyster, he worked all day from early til late and would mean that the dog would be left for his partner to look after and she made it clear she didn't want a dog.
Its a tough call homechecking and a HUGE responsibility and if you get it wrong, it goes wrong big time!
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
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. She orginally told them she wanted an older dog, not a youngster but that she is (and I'm witness to this) very active, has had Labs and GR's all her life and was happy to work with a dog with issues....yet because of her husbands age (not a frail man, just a happy, active 75 year old) they couldn't let her have ANY dog.
