Pet Lovers

[domel]

I agree with you. Let me preface what I am going to type .... I am completely in agreement with making sure an animal is given to good people who will be kind to the animal.

I currently have 2 small rescue dogs, prior to these 2 pups, we had 3 westies who were loved and cared for more than I can express. They all passed at almost 17 years of age and we miss each one of them every day. Westies are so close to my heart and I have been searching for a westie rescue.

I reached out to the westue kennel club to see is they would know of any rescues I may not have found. I sent a pic of the 3 of them right after being groomed and this breeder, who by the way charges 4300.00 (how or why do or can a breeder justify this) for a westie, told me as a breeder and groomer she wpuldnt sell me one of her pups because my 3 dogs had been cut down short. Now they were just groomed and really only had cuts 3 times a year, so they had longer hair more often than not.

I also applied for a resue of a westie mix who had tested positive for heartworm but was treated and would have to be on heartworm and flea and tick meds for the next year but I assume for good. That is not a problem, I had paid for 3 cardiac meds every month for years for 2 of my westies. I was turned down because my current dogs are not on heartworm meds. They are in flea and tuck because I can bring a flea in the house. My dogs don't roll around in grass or stay out for long periods of time. They do walk multiple times per day around a couple city blocks.

I am not a fan of placing my dogs on medications they may not need and I believe my westies lived as long as they did for that reason but instead of asking why and if I would be willing to buy the dog I applied for this medication and they could check with my vet whenever they wanted, they didn't, just no.

Then you have shelters who don't answer one way or another.

You are told get a big dog they have but I don't have experience with Big dogs and frankly don't want a big dog as cute and loving as they may be. We know our limitations.

They should really meet or speak on the phone with people as well.

I almost feel like they are judgmental and self righteous and this is why people end up buying dogs (I also know there aren't enough of certain types of dogs to adopt).

Sorry for going on and on...touchy subject I guess.

[fairydogmother]

A few months ago I was perusing the adoptable pets in my area. Actually I widened my search to about 100 miles. One rescue had the usual requirements: an extremely detailed application must be approved, you have to pass the interview, a meet and greet. They also said you would have to use their vet and they would be following up to make sure you were keeping appointments. 😠
I kid you not. And you wonder why ppl buy from pet stores or hobby breeders. This example is far from unique.

Even the county animal shelters don't put you through all that. A brief application to see how many and what kind of pets you currently own. A few minutes with an animal control officer to review it.
I came home with my new kitten that very day. They only charged me $30

[SeaMaiden]

I had no luck with the local shelters when I put in applications... then, when I applied to a mexican rescue group called MexPup out of Canada....   they ship dogs to both Canada and Washington State.   I was approved and the process was easy and a great experience...

we went and picked up Negrita from SeaTac Airport a week after applying as she was flying in to the air port from Mexico the next weekend.  The people from MexPup I worked with were always available and so wonderful.  I would not hesitate to adopt from them again. 

I do not know why the local shelters made the experience so hard.... I just wanted to give a dog a loving home....

[goldensrbest]

This has been a big problem for years, very hard to adopt , i tried to do this , with finding a dog before i got clancy this past year.

[cozyseeker]

@Nataliesgramma  Oh I so agree with you. I was totally and completly embarrased at a local Petsmart cat adoption fair a few years ago.

I was literlly told I was too old to adopt a cat, even though I have had spoiled rotten well cared for house cats all my life. She said they must ensure that if I die there will be someone to adopt the cat. She also said possibly if I could find someone in the right age group to sign a form saying they would be responsible if I could not. I felt like falling into a crack. Went to the parking lot and cried.

I guess they figure it is better off to put the cat to sleep, keep it in a cage at Petsmart, of shuttle it from forster home to foster home than let a senior adopt.

I no longer contibute to any pet adoption centers.

Lucky for me, my vet had cats that needed homes and was very glad to let me adopt one. My best friend!

[Tallgal]

I am a volunteer at my local SPCA. We offer barrier free adoptions which simply means we don’t require adopters to jump through a bunch of hoops to adopt a cat or dog. We do require a meet and greet with family members and dogs who are already members of the household at the SPCA just to see how everyone gets along. We also offer a 7 day foster to adopt which means you have 7 days to decide if a cat or dog is a good fit for your family. After the 7 days the adoption is finalized or the cat or dog is brought back to the SPCA. Our goal is to find forever homes for our cats and dogs.

[GinaV24]

@cozyseeker I'm so sorry that happened to you. That's an awful thing! 

Now I'm worried, I'm in my 60s and in good health and was considering adopting a senior cat but if this is the type of experience people my age go thru, it doesn't encourage me to do it.

Your sentence about them figuring it is better off to put the cat to sleep or keep it in a cage is heartbreaking too. 

[GinaV24]

Thank you for the information @Tallgal  Like others, I would never want to see an animal go to a bad home or some place where it could be abused but putting barriers up for good people who love their animals and want to provide a good loving home makes no sense to me. Especially not when we KNOW there are animals in need.

[fairydogmother]

@Tallgal  Lots of good stuff going on with the SPCA. I do have an issue with the requirement of having a meet and greet with other animals in the household. My dogs would fail that test in ten seconds. So maybe we would be turned down. I'm guessing that many dogs would not take to a new pet immediately. The first night we had our new kitten, our Chihuahua mix dog growled, snapped and tried to "get" the kitten. We kept the kitty safe by keeping him in a closed room with  litter box, food, water, toys and comfy bed. Only taken out when we could closely monitor the dog around him. In two weeks remarkable progress had been made. Now, almost two months later, they're friends who play together. 
It's cool that you have the seven day policy. 
thank you for volunteering!!!

[Sooner]

My head is spinning from all of this. I know people who do not have the money for expensive medicine for a pet, but would give a fabulous and loving home to an animal. 

So if the pet has a happy life, but without treatment for some disease, because they can't afford it, they can't get a shelter pet.  Boggles my mind. 

There is more emphasis on forever homes than dogs than kids.