i hate people "saving" dogs graphic warning
- Thread starter Pops2
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I do get the OP's rant.. poor choice of title though. Over weight dogs are a pet peeve of mine.. lol unlike me they can't open the fridge on their own 
As with most anything else, extremist views and stances do more harm than good. The local BC rescue around here barely considers adopting to people who live in apartments, because they're "too small" and the dog "won't get enough exercise." I chatted with a guy at the park the other summer about his BC...he was denied by rescue for the above reason so he went to a BYB and bought a pup. He tried to do the right thing to get the dog he wanted and was turned down for a ridiculous reason. He had this dog out at the park just about every day possible too.
I'm involved in rescue as well, but I do find the "holier than thou" attitude of many rescuers very tiresome. The ones who do it full-time are...beginning to live on a different planet. Remember those old dogs I helped get to rescue earlier this fall? The rescue wanted to blacklist the owner so she could never adopt another dog...I get that what the owner was doing was harsh and not the kindest thing in the world, but she didn't just dump them at the shelter or go ahead and have them PTS as was her original plan...I don't think she deserves to never have another dog again. I haven't seen such an outpouring of blind hatred before, I"m talking death-threat scary, towards someone from a group of otherwise nice people. It rattled me.
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I can sort of see the OP's point, but the delivery was lacking.
However, I can also say, it's awful dam' hard to be a rescuer and want nothing more than for that dog you've spent months "fixing" to go to a home and be SAFE.
There's a fine line between being a good rescuer and being one of those nuts. It usually means alot of heartache to get to that point. That's when you have to take a step back and re-evaluate your process. Some people just haven't figured out how to do that.
However, I can also say, it's awful dam' hard to be a rescuer and want nothing more than for that dog you've spent months "fixing" to go to a home and be SAFE.
There's a fine line between being a good rescuer and being one of those nuts. It usually means alot of heartache to get to that point. That's when you have to take a step back and re-evaluate your process. Some people just haven't figured out how to do that.
Personally, I admire those who give their blood, sweat, and tears to find homes for these dogs. There are several greyhound rescues in this area that I have had nothing but good experiences with. Honestly, I don't know that it is a good idea to be letting a dog loose in open country unless the dog has good recall.
It's hard for me to pass judgment on these people not hearing the coversation. Truthfully, if the op took the same tone with the rescuers that they took in their post-well that could have had something to do with their behavior.
It's hard for me to pass judgment on these people not hearing the coversation. Truthfully, if the op took the same tone with the rescuers that they took in their post-well that could have had something to do with their behavior.
I tend to give rescue organizations a lot of leeway. Yes, I personally think that they can sometimes go too far -- for example, I have a friend who does great work with a cat rescue and won't adopt out to anyone who will declaw (or who she thinks will declaw) their cats -- but, honestly, it's not to hard to get around some of their restrictions, and I think they know that. I think that restrictions and perceived attitudes about appropriate adopters primarily comes from seeing the situation a lot of their dogs come from and wanting the best for "their" dogs.
And IMO the blame for buying from a BYB because a rescue has rejected him/her falls entirely on the shoulders of the buyer, who could find another rescue or research and save to purchase his/her breed of choice from a good breeder.
And IMO the blame for buying from a BYB because a rescue has rejected him/her falls entirely on the shoulders of the buyer, who could find another rescue or research and save to purchase his/her breed of choice from a good breeder.
i have a problem with cat rescues who won't adopt to people who will let the cat outside. There are a couple in my area. Most people don't understand that we are VERY, VERY overpopulated with cats, far more than most other cities. We actually have other rescues from all over California, Nevada, and Arizona who come here and take cats off our hands because they don't have "Enough" cats to adopt out in their cities. I would MUCH rather see a cat in a caring, loving home who lets their cats outside, then the cat dead because we are overrun with cats.
Perhaps it was a poor title choice, but I see the OP's point. I tried to get a dog from "rescues" once. Multiple rescues. And I probably never will try again. Here are the reasons why I was turned down:
-I lived in an apartment, and didn't have a fenced yard.
-I was a college student, and college students "don't take the best care of their dogs." (yes, that is a quote)
-Racism.
-The puppy would grow "too big for me to handle." Apparently, women are not supposed to own anything bigger than a toy dog.
I did adopt Zeus from a rescue, and he's a gem. But even I wouldn't go back to that particular rescue. About a year after I adopted Zeus, I found out that the rescue did not adopt out chows or pit bulls because (another quote) "we only want to adopt out *nice* dogs."
I know there are many people here involved in rescues that are not like that. But after so many bad experiences, I'm hesitant to try rescue again. If I don't want to go through a breeder, I think I'll just go to the nearest kill shelter and pick out a good dog. Much less hassle, and I'm still saving a dog.
-I lived in an apartment, and didn't have a fenced yard.
-I was a college student, and college students "don't take the best care of their dogs." (yes, that is a quote)
-Racism.
-The puppy would grow "too big for me to handle." Apparently, women are not supposed to own anything bigger than a toy dog.
I did adopt Zeus from a rescue, and he's a gem. But even I wouldn't go back to that particular rescue. About a year after I adopted Zeus, I found out that the rescue did not adopt out chows or pit bulls because (another quote) "we only want to adopt out *nice* dogs."
I know there are many people here involved in rescues that are not like that. But after so many bad experiences, I'm hesitant to try rescue again. If I don't want to go through a breeder, I think I'll just go to the nearest kill shelter and pick out a good dog. Much less hassle, and I'm still saving a dog.
Sorry all that happened Pops. A completely identical experience with the arizona greyhound rescues prevented us from adopting a greyhound so we got Strider instead.
It was so sad, we went to a meet and greet and the dogs were really great and nice. Though, most of the dogs who were owned by people at the meet and greet were morbidly obese. I'm talking about one who had ZERO tuck up. Her entire torso was as rotund as her rib cage (shudders).
Then they, chatting amongst themselves, were clucking their tongues at how underweight the dogs just off the track were. And how they had been starved, and they were going to fatten up "those poor babies". :yikes: Those track dogs were literally in the finest shape ever. Rippling lean muscles, the perfect body weight. It's called racing weight in greyhounds.
Ultimately one would not adopt to us because I was pregnant, despite the fact that we showed them a big old management plan to keep them safe until she was old enough to interact. The other decided not to because, despite the fact that we owned our own home with a fenced in yard, we were under 25 and that was not acceptable.
I'm sorry, but for every good home you flush down the toilet because it doesn't comply with some inane rule is one more dog DEAD. We bought a puppy finally, and I'm glad we did so we wouldn't have to deal with those people trying to micromanage our lives with our dog.
I really admire the rescue we fostered through for that at least. If your home check looked good and it seemed like a good fit you could adopt the dog. Once in a while a dog came back but by far, many hundreds more dogs were placed in homes than would have been if we made up a bunch of retarded rules and enforced them on everybody regardless of individual circumstances.
It was so sad, we went to a meet and greet and the dogs were really great and nice. Though, most of the dogs who were owned by people at the meet and greet were morbidly obese. I'm talking about one who had ZERO tuck up. Her entire torso was as rotund as her rib cage (shudders).
Then they, chatting amongst themselves, were clucking their tongues at how underweight the dogs just off the track were. And how they had been starved, and they were going to fatten up "those poor babies". :yikes: Those track dogs were literally in the finest shape ever. Rippling lean muscles, the perfect body weight. It's called racing weight in greyhounds.
Ultimately one would not adopt to us because I was pregnant, despite the fact that we showed them a big old management plan to keep them safe until she was old enough to interact. The other decided not to because, despite the fact that we owned our own home with a fenced in yard, we were under 25 and that was not acceptable.
I'm sorry, but for every good home you flush down the toilet because it doesn't comply with some inane rule is one more dog DEAD. We bought a puppy finally, and I'm glad we did so we wouldn't have to deal with those people trying to micromanage our lives with our dog.
I really admire the rescue we fostered through for that at least. If your home check looked good and it seemed like a good fit you could adopt the dog. Once in a while a dog came back but by far, many hundreds more dogs were placed in homes than would have been if we made up a bunch of retarded rules and enforced them on everybody regardless of individual circumstances.
Sometimes rules are too strict, and sometimes you wonder if you're being strict enough.
In the past two weeks, in total, there were four or five dogs returned! Moochie, a mastiff mix, was returned for jumping up too much (duh, couldn't you tell he liked jumping up when you met him on the property?), a yellow teenaged lab named Samuel was returned for being a teenaged hellion lab, and a dog named Lotus, who may be a jindo, was returned for being DA to dogs bigger than she is.
FOHA's main requirements for adopting a dog are that you must be 21 or older, you must agree NOT to leave your dog outside when you are gone (too many dogs have jumped fences because of this, including one who was never seen again), and if you've had pets before, we check your vet references. There is also a home visit, just to chat with you a little further about where the dog will stay during the day and such. Those are relatively easy to get through, as long as you don't live in a house that looks like its about to cave in on you, or say that you're going to keep the dog locked in a dank and dark basement 24/7. We do not care if you live in an apartment, if you are gay, black, white, have children (with or without disabilities), have a disability yourself (we once adopted a dog to a lovely couple who happened to be deaf), are in college, or in the military.
It just seems like people aren't willing to give a forever home to anything that doesn't have the temperament of an elderly golden retriever anymore. People aren't willing to WORK with dogs anymore. No patience, no understanding. Dog exhibits one undesireable behavior? Back to rescue it goes!!!
In the past two weeks, in total, there were four or five dogs returned! Moochie, a mastiff mix, was returned for jumping up too much (duh, couldn't you tell he liked jumping up when you met him on the property?), a yellow teenaged lab named Samuel was returned for being a teenaged hellion lab, and a dog named Lotus, who may be a jindo, was returned for being DA to dogs bigger than she is.
FOHA's main requirements for adopting a dog are that you must be 21 or older, you must agree NOT to leave your dog outside when you are gone (too many dogs have jumped fences because of this, including one who was never seen again), and if you've had pets before, we check your vet references. There is also a home visit, just to chat with you a little further about where the dog will stay during the day and such. Those are relatively easy to get through, as long as you don't live in a house that looks like its about to cave in on you, or say that you're going to keep the dog locked in a dank and dark basement 24/7. We do not care if you live in an apartment, if you are gay, black, white, have children (with or without disabilities), have a disability yourself (we once adopted a dog to a lovely couple who happened to be deaf), are in college, or in the military.
It just seems like people aren't willing to give a forever home to anything that doesn't have the temperament of an elderly golden retriever anymore. People aren't willing to WORK with dogs anymore. No patience, no understanding. Dog exhibits one undesireable behavior? Back to rescue it goes!!!
And Dizzy, I totally don't get what you are saying here. You're saying the industry is horrible because of the amount of dogs they pump out and discard (fair enough).
But then you tell him he should look elsewhere for a coursing dog. Greyhounds are coursing dogs. The vast majority of greyhounds adore coursing/running/anything to do with it.
What I don't get, is when you look at the number of racing washouts who never even made it to the track. They're still puppies and never "worked", but love to run and have that drive. Why not adopt one to a working home and save one more life?
But then you tell him he should look elsewhere for a coursing dog. Greyhounds are coursing dogs. The vast majority of greyhounds adore coursing/running/anything to do with it.
What I don't get, is when you look at the number of racing washouts who never even made it to the track. They're still puppies and never "worked", but love to run and have that drive. Why not adopt one to a working home and save one more life?
To follow on with what Romy is saying:
Until you shut down the gambling people will race greyhounds. Many of those will be "retired" before they ever run on the track. From what I understand, those are the ones you want for recreational coursing. They don't have race related injuries, they're still young, and they tend to be somewhat smaller, reducing the risk of injury while turning.
The race winners often make miserable coursing dogs, they don't turn well.
Until you shut down the gambling people will race greyhounds. Many of those will be "retired" before they ever run on the track. From what I understand, those are the ones you want for recreational coursing. They don't have race related injuries, they're still young, and they tend to be somewhat smaller, reducing the risk of injury while turning.
The race winners often make miserable coursing dogs, they don't turn well.
okay i freely admit i was not very articulate. however as mitigating factors please note the quotation marks in the title. FTR before i got married & overloaded i did volunteer w/ a local spca in 3 places where i lived. i wasn't even looking to adopt, just checking out their dogs and wanting to pass some pleasantries.
it wasn't even the whole crew, it was the one witch. first she talked down to me, automatically assuming i didn't know what a greyhound was. i ignored that because i am sure they deal w/ a lot of people who don't. then when i noticed how fat they were i assumed they were older. there was no way i hid the shock on my face when i found oiut they were all 5-7 YO. now to understand this, these were hotbloods about 25-26" and AT LEAST 75 lbs. my shag is 29 1/2" and 66# in running trim 70 if he's had an Iraq deployment to get fat. then they get around to asking if i've ever seen a greyhound & know what great dogs they are. i tell them i have a total sweetheart of a shag that i hunt w/. they didn't know what that was. understandable, more a lurcher term than a greyhound one. i explain that he's a mix of saluki & grey, both hot & coldbloods. so i explain those terms. there is some kindly exchange w/ the other lady & the guy. but the one witch just gave me dirty looks and then the intentionally rude commentary (not what but how).
so yeah these dogs are MORBIDLY obese. a breed w/ bone cancer & heart condition issues and these dogs were at least 15# overweight. it would even be different if they were senior dogs instead of in their prime. and yet somehow i'm the a-hole because i let my dog do what his genes programmed him for.
yes i am totally aware that there are a lot of dedicated people doing an incredible & thankless job. this witch wasn't one.
FTR over 85% of track grey's get placed (in the USA) in "pet" homes about 1-2% wind up in clinics as blood donors and about 10% make up breeding stock. only a very small percentage get PTS or in med research (the industry associations work hard to prevent this because it's bad publicity).
it wasn't even the whole crew, it was the one witch. first she talked down to me, automatically assuming i didn't know what a greyhound was. i ignored that because i am sure they deal w/ a lot of people who don't. then when i noticed how fat they were i assumed they were older. there was no way i hid the shock on my face when i found oiut they were all 5-7 YO. now to understand this, these were hotbloods about 25-26" and AT LEAST 75 lbs. my shag is 29 1/2" and 66# in running trim 70 if he's had an Iraq deployment to get fat. then they get around to asking if i've ever seen a greyhound & know what great dogs they are. i tell them i have a total sweetheart of a shag that i hunt w/. they didn't know what that was. understandable, more a lurcher term than a greyhound one. i explain that he's a mix of saluki & grey, both hot & coldbloods. so i explain those terms. there is some kindly exchange w/ the other lady & the guy. but the one witch just gave me dirty looks and then the intentionally rude commentary (not what but how).
so yeah these dogs are MORBIDLY obese. a breed w/ bone cancer & heart condition issues and these dogs were at least 15# overweight. it would even be different if they were senior dogs instead of in their prime. and yet somehow i'm the a-hole because i let my dog do what his genes programmed him for.
yes i am totally aware that there are a lot of dedicated people doing an incredible & thankless job. this witch wasn't one.
FTR over 85% of track grey's get placed (in the USA) in "pet" homes about 1-2% wind up in clinics as blood donors and about 10% make up breeding stock. only a very small percentage get PTS or in med research (the industry associations work hard to prevent this because it's bad publicity).
It just sucks, doesn't it? My best friend does rescue, and has had a really hard couple of months, with some people surrendering dogs who they should have taken to be euthanized themselves, southern shelters sending up dogs who are completely unplaceable hoping "she would be able to do something with them", and people returning dogs for ridiculous reasons. While it's nice to say that rescues should be more flexible on their adoption rules, every one of those rules exists for a reason. It's easy for one of us to say (and be right that) "it's different for us, we know how to make this work", but the rescue doesn't know you, and they are just trying to protect the dogs and their own sanity and hearts from having to deal with homes that aren't going to work at best, and are going to result in a dead or unadoptable dog being returned at worst.
With my experience in rescue, this exists primarily because the foster home "parent" just doesn't believe there is anyone out there than can provide a better home for the dog, obviously you cannot, thus the dog must go back home with him/her.
I made a HUGE mistake in handing over a beautiful little red nosed 'pit bull' gal I found trying to cross a major highway. I put her in the hands of a foster "mom" for the LA-APBT rescue and was told to expect to see her pics up on petfinder within the week. It's been 5 years and that dog's picture was NEVER put up. And the worst part? I later found out that that woman & her husband had a living room full of crates that contained over 20 dogs. Those dogs got to go out about 3 times a day to potty. But she, & the rescue owner, maintained the diluted belief that the dogs were just "happy to be alive". I'm sorry, but living in a kennel 24/7 getting food and water is not living. And I was prevented from getting her back and then both people moved and I'm left screwed to this day.
Now please, I'm not bashing all rescues or rescuers as there are some mighty fine ones out there. But many have taken such a holier-than-thou you're-a-stupid-idiot-that-obviously-doesn't-deserve-one-of-our-prestigious-dogs attitude and it's a major turnoff.
And I was recently turned down for adopting an American Bulldog because it had to go into an only dog home because of DA. When I explained everything about me and my experience with APBTs and managing DA in the home, she basically looked at me like I was an idiot and then stated the dog need to have it's DA "trained out" and that could only be accomplished if the owner only had that dog to work with and worry about. And then the fact I have kids was a deal closer. Honestly........................ (but good thing I never mentioned the mean ol' chains and springpole and flirtpole.................. )
I made a HUGE mistake in handing over a beautiful little red nosed 'pit bull' gal I found trying to cross a major highway. I put her in the hands of a foster "mom" for the LA-APBT rescue and was told to expect to see her pics up on petfinder within the week. It's been 5 years and that dog's picture was NEVER put up. And the worst part? I later found out that that woman & her husband had a living room full of crates that contained over 20 dogs. Those dogs got to go out about 3 times a day to potty. But she, & the rescue owner, maintained the diluted belief that the dogs were just "happy to be alive". I'm sorry, but living in a kennel 24/7 getting food and water is not living. And I was prevented from getting her back and then both people moved and I'm left screwed to this day.
Now please, I'm not bashing all rescues or rescuers as there are some mighty fine ones out there. But many have taken such a holier-than-thou you're-a-stupid-idiot-that-obviously-doesn't-deserve-one-of-our-prestigious-dogs attitude and it's a major turnoff.
And I was recently turned down for adopting an American Bulldog because it had to go into an only dog home because of DA. When I explained everything about me and my experience with APBTs and managing DA in the home, she basically looked at me like I was an idiot and then stated the dog need to have it's DA "trained out" and that could only be accomplished if the owner only had that dog to work with and worry about. And then the fact I have kids was a deal closer. Honestly........................ (but good thing I never mentioned the mean ol' chains and springpole and flirtpole..................
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Far too many rescue people look at an application for adoption and if everything doesn't suit their strict requirements, they turn down the home without even meeting the potential adoptors. A few years ago, I wanted to adopt a toy dog so I cruised petfinder. I filled out an application and was immediately turned down without anyone even actually speaking to me. Over and over this happened. Many wouldn't bother to offer a reason but the ones that did said I was declined because I had intact dogs in my home. A couple of rescue people became aggressive because not only did I have intact animals but I was a horrible person because I actually bred dogs! Ummmm, hello? Every single one of the dogs I had applied for was already altered! None of those people had bothered to take any time whatsoever to get to know me but rather let their own prejudices and eccentricities get in the way of a good, solid placement. I'll be getting my next dog from a breeder.
Pops2,
I spent many years actively lure coursing my dogs and I can tell you that ex-racing Greyhounds are seriously prone to injuries. Blown pads, broken toes, and even bones snapping from not being able to make sharp turns happened uncomfortably often. I wouldn't get an ex-racer for hunting for this reason among others. If you want a Greyhound for hunting, I would recommend contacting the closest racetrack to you and seeing if they have any pups that didn't make the grade for racing. A lot of tracks are happy to have someone take unwanted dogs and just give them away.
Pops2,
I spent many years actively lure coursing my dogs and I can tell you that ex-racing Greyhounds are seriously prone to injuries. Blown pads, broken toes, and even bones snapping from not being able to make sharp turns happened uncomfortably often. I wouldn't get an ex-racer for hunting for this reason among others. If you want a Greyhound for hunting, I would recommend contacting the closest racetrack to you and seeing if they have any pups that didn't make the grade for racing. A lot of tracks are happy to have someone take unwanted dogs and just give them away.
By all the standards of most of the rescues i have read about here i would not have any animals. I am so lucky that when i wrote Connie i told her i did not have the adoption fee, but i could give her some pet portrait certificates to raffle off. I told her about Bronki passing from cancer and how i thought i was going to lose Mary too. I said we were two mothers without a baby boy to love. SHe gave him to me. I was so lucky.
I can't imagine growin up without a dog as a child. Yet i read here about rescues that turn down homes with children, without fences. I haven't had a fence in 4 years. YEt i believe i take good care of my dogs. I believe a dog knows when he/she is in limbo and their lives are so short that sitting in a rescue for years is a waste. ALl i can say is i am glad that Connie gave me that chance. SHe trusted her instincts and not a bunch of requirements. I think if VIctor had remained in a kennel much longer his mind would have been lost for good.
I can't imagine growin up without a dog as a child. Yet i read here about rescues that turn down homes with children, without fences. I haven't had a fence in 4 years. YEt i believe i take good care of my dogs. I believe a dog knows when he/she is in limbo and their lives are so short that sitting in a rescue for years is a waste. ALl i can say is i am glad that Connie gave me that chance. SHe trusted her instincts and not a bunch of requirements. I think if VIctor had remained in a kennel much longer his mind would have been lost for good.