Am I just heartless?

[AdrianneIsabel]

As a very experience dog handler I will continue to obtain dogs with the best chance at not having DA and SA, aside from that issues can be debatable but the likelihood of me feeling an obligation to take in "cases" is very low.

[Laurelin]

I definitely don't think people should feel obligated to get the hard cases just because they know they can handle them. I know I can handle another Trey but I really really don't want to.

[Laurelin]

Bah I don't know. I hate dragging this back up but saw on a forum where people were complaining about the people that come in to shelters specifically to 'save' small, desirable dogs. I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. Apparently saving a yorkie is not as noble as saving a big mutt because the yorkie is going to get out of the shelter no matter what.

I hate the blame game where people blame the totally wrong person (ie: the adopter or breed specific rescue in this case)

[~Jessie~]

Originally Posted by Laurelin

Bah I don't know. I hate dragging this back up but saw on a forum where people were complaining about the people that come in to shelters specifically to 'save' small, desirable dogs. I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. Apparently saving a yorkie is not as noble as saving a big mutt because the yorkie is going to get out of the shelter no matter what.

I hate the blame game where people blame the totally wrong person (ie: the adopter or breed specific rescue in this case)

An old coworker of mine adopted a golden retriever from animal control, and people made her feel bad for not adopting a mutt.

I can't stand it when people make comments about how you didn't even "save" a shelter dog since you adopted a small dog or a purebred.

Then again, I've been told that I've killed shelter dogs since my dogs are from breeders. But if I adopted a chihuahua from a shelter, I still wouldn't "win" since I "should've" adopted a big black mix. Apparently that's the only noble thing to do.

[Laurelin]

That's the first I've ever seen of that attitude.

My personal favorites are the "animal lovers" that fall over themselves to rescue the yorkshire terriers and miniature pinschers that occasionally trickle into the shelter, but never seem to notice the 2+ year old mutt in the adjacent cage that is just as sweet, if not more so than the other dog that has a crowd of willing adopters and a guaranteed ticket out the door.

I mean really... the people got a dog out of the shelter and you're complaining? Really?!

I think that's deflecting the blame from the person who is actually responsible for the mutt being in the shelter in the first place, which is the former owner.

[Emily]

You know, I've been thinking about this. I've always been an advocate of rescuers allocating their resources to adoptable animals and I probably always will be but... Then the questions arrises... what about breed rescues? What about small dog rescues? What about big dog rescues?

I mean, let's be honest - the Cardi breed rescue is far from overflowing so they can afford to take in, say, a dog that needs a home with no other dogs and no children, and one person who doesn't and is home most of the time. And yes, they can wait for as long as they'd like for that dog to find a home because shelters aren't bursting at the seams with Cardis. Are they doing the greatest amount of good for the most amount of dogs? Nope. Are they obligated to do that? I don't know. When it comes down to it, most of us (myself included) are advocating for rescues to take a utilitarian approach - greatest amount of good for the greatest number of animals. In that case, rescues that specialize in any way are violating that principle to some extent, whether they pull dogs with expensive medical needs, or only rescue Australian Shepherds, etc etc etc.

When the question of the dog suffering because the people at the rescue refuse/can't bear to pass any dog up or put any dog to sleep arrises, well no, I can't agree with that. But I suppose I also can't say that rescues are obligated to only help the most adoptable dogs, because by that token, breed rescues just shouldn't exist. I mean, how many average mixed-breed dogs could have been pushed through foster care, vetted/vaccinated, and found homes while Pumpkin the Schipperke who need back surgery was staying with his breed rescue? Is the foster family wrong for the only being willing to foster a certain breed, and the rescue wrong for only accepting a certain breed? I just don't know.

[crazedACD]

Originally Posted by Emily

Is the foster family wrong for the only being willing to foster a certain breed, and the rescue wrong for only accepting a certain breed? I just don't know.

I guess it's part of what you know, what you are comfortable working with too though. I don't get along with schnauzers, I'm not big on Japanese breeds (Chow, Peis, etc), certain breeds wouldn't work here, and so on. I was just working on a hound girl (it ended very badly) and was supposed to foster her...but now that she is gone, I haven't found another that I would like to foster even though I know plenty of good dogs are at risk of getting put to sleep. I don't know why I would jump on that hound versus something else..she just pulled at me I guess.