I am in a group that volunteers at my local shelter to organize and help with events they do. A few weeks ago we were invited to a "Free" (or price reduced by $50) pet adoption. There were quite a few local shelters and rescues. A lot of people came and around 57 animals were adopted.
That sounds great and all but a lot of the volunteers couldn't help wondering if it was actually a horrible idea. While I personally wouldn't pay hundreds for a dog, I believe you should pay something. They are getting all of their shots, micro-chipped, spayed/neutered and a lot of shelters/rescues give additional things like food.
I am a bit concerned that people think "Oh it's free! I should get a dog/cat then!". Having an animal shouldn't be determined by "free" and I worry that some of the animals that get adopted at these "free" events aren't going to be cared for properly. Not only is the decision usually based on a whim but several times I've had people ignore what the volunteers say about the dog.
If we say the dog would be best with older children, we don't mean you should bring your two children under five to crawl all over the dog. Or if we mention that this dog is working on her space issues and would prefer to be left alone, don't assume you will be the sole exception to this rule and try to pick up the dog. (In my opinion this dog should not have been brought to the event, but she was being fostered and I believe it was more of a test.)
(Side note: I get annoyed by a lot of the dogs that get hand picked to come to events. It's usually the same dogs and there are reasons they don't do well at events. One is an good old shepherd mix who is 8 years old. I love him but at these types of events, people rarely want older dogs. Another was a blind and deaf spaniel. She was a great dog, but again, not the best candidate for immediate adoption. There were a couple of others who had kennel depression and I assume the guy brought them to get them out. We had four dogs adopted out. All small and all younger. I would think you would bring the dogs you know could easily be adopted so you could have more room at the shelter for those dogs that can't find homes. What are your thoughts? Would you bring the scraggly, old and disabled or the happy, ready-to-go dogs? Am I missing something? )
There was even a group that really wanted to adopt a dog even though their dog hated the dog she wanted to adopt. Their dog was not very well behaved and they didn't really seem to notice.
Anyway, rant's mostly over. What do you think of these "free" events? If you could only bring a few (under 15) dogs, what would be the determining factors? (Age, time at shelter, breed, etc)
That sounds great and all but a lot of the volunteers couldn't help wondering if it was actually a horrible idea. While I personally wouldn't pay hundreds for a dog, I believe you should pay something. They are getting all of their shots, micro-chipped, spayed/neutered and a lot of shelters/rescues give additional things like food.
I am a bit concerned that people think "Oh it's free! I should get a dog/cat then!". Having an animal shouldn't be determined by "free" and I worry that some of the animals that get adopted at these "free" events aren't going to be cared for properly. Not only is the decision usually based on a whim but several times I've had people ignore what the volunteers say about the dog.
If we say the dog would be best with older children, we don't mean you should bring your two children under five to crawl all over the dog. Or if we mention that this dog is working on her space issues and would prefer to be left alone, don't assume you will be the sole exception to this rule and try to pick up the dog. (In my opinion this dog should not have been brought to the event, but she was being fostered and I believe it was more of a test.)
(Side note: I get annoyed by a lot of the dogs that get hand picked to come to events. It's usually the same dogs and there are reasons they don't do well at events. One is an good old shepherd mix who is 8 years old. I love him but at these types of events, people rarely want older dogs. Another was a blind and deaf spaniel. She was a great dog, but again, not the best candidate for immediate adoption. There were a couple of others who had kennel depression and I assume the guy brought them to get them out. We had four dogs adopted out. All small and all younger. I would think you would bring the dogs you know could easily be adopted so you could have more room at the shelter for those dogs that can't find homes. What are your thoughts? Would you bring the scraggly, old and disabled or the happy, ready-to-go dogs? Am I missing something? )
There was even a group that really wanted to adopt a dog even though their dog hated the dog she wanted to adopt. Their dog was not very well behaved and they didn't really seem to notice.
Anyway, rant's mostly over. What do you think of these "free" events? If you could only bring a few (under 15) dogs, what would be the determining factors? (Age, time at shelter, breed, etc)