What Rescue is and What Rescue is not.
By Rottweiler Rescue of NY, a fantastic breed specific rescue group:
The
following information may seem harsh, rude, and perhaps even ignorant.
If you plan on pursuing adoption from rescue please continue to read no
matter your opinion. The following things are meant as information
only. These are not all truths in our rescue, but many of them DO fit,
and we want you to be aware of the rescuer’s side of rescue.
We
will spell this information out as plainly and distinctly as we can, so
that hopefully it cannot be misunderstood or read incorrectly. You may
not agree with some of the things said on this page, but please
understand that these are the realities of many rescues. This is not to
say that it should excuse rude or ignorant behavior, but it lets you
have a behind the scenes view.
You
may have encountered rescues who didn’t ever reply to your e-mail,
never returned your call, never contacted you about your application,
wouldn’t let you adopt a dog, wouldn’t let you foster a dog, or a
rescue person who was impolite to the point of being rude. As you read
the following page you will be given an insight to a rescuers
day/week/month, and perhaps you will begin to see why so many rescuers
are hardened, snippy, crabby people who don’t seem to be living in the
same word as everyone else.
If you take offense to anything
below we regret that, but if you are offended it may let you know a
little more about yourself and your thoughts on rescue prior to reading
it. We are not here to lecture anyone, and if you feel after reading
this that you cannot for some reason adopt from our rescue, please find
one that you feel you can adopt from.
When you are finished
reading this you still may not agree with how some rescues handle
themselves (and even many rescuers feel this way) but hopefully you
will at least understand a little better WHY they are like that. Our
goal is to help educate you about rescue....what it is and what it
isn’t.
WE’LL START WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND
RESCUE IS NOT A SERVICE FOR YOU ... PERIOD . NOT FOR YOU TO FIND A DOG, OR TO GET RID OF YOUR DOG.
Rescue
is a service for the dogs. We care about them, the dog is who we are
here to help. Helping you find the dog of your dreams is a result of
that, but our main concern here is the dog and what is best for each
individual dog.
RESCUE IS NOT A SHELTER THAT YOU CAN JUST STOP
BY TO VISIT, PICK OUT A DOG, AND TAKE IT HOME WITH YOU WHENEVER THE
MOOD STRIKES YOU. THERE IS NO PLACE TO DROP BY AND WINDOW SHOP, NO
BUSINESS HOURS, AND NO TIMES WE ARE OPEN.
Rescue is a group of
people that love their breed. Those people open their homes and hearts
to the dogs, give them a place to live, and love them until they find a
loving home. We take applications, screen them, and then have people
come and visit with the dogs in our homes .... See .... no shelter
involved. There is a volunteers’ home on the end of any phone number
you are given. Please respect that.
RESCUE IS NOT DIAL A DOG,
DIAL A PERSON THAT WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT MY TROUBLES, DIAL A PERSON TO
UNLOAD MY DOG .. I’VE HAD IT FOR 10 YEARS AND IT SIMPLY DOESN’T MATCH
THE FURNITURE ANYMORE.
Rescue is a phone number or e-mail that
reaches right into the home of a volunteer who has little time to deal
with the guilt you are feeling over giving up your dog or tossing them
out like last nights leftovers. They have even less time to deal with
you see-sawing back and forth between keeping the dog and giving it up.
If you’ve taken the trouble to find a rescue and call or email, then
99% of people have their minds set on getting rid of the dog. Don’t lie
to us or to yourself. Simply tell us the reason you are giving the dog
up and answer the questions we ask. If we are going to help you the
least you can do is help us speed up the process.
Please do not
think us cold or callus, but we don’t have time for every person giving
up a dog to cry on our shoulders. We’ve heard all the reasons for
giving up a dog before..... including :
* allergies, moving,
housebreaking issues, money issues, new baby, too hyper, barking, sick,
injured, nasty, uncontrollable, landlord doesn’t allow, parents said
no, owner died and nobody wants the dog, divorce, marriage, too many
animals, doesn’t like new dog, doesn’t like old dog, chases cars,
chases cats, sheds too much, too much trouble, new job, wants too much
attention
To the other extreme, which includes
* it’s
cross-eyed, it’s ears don’t stand up, it doesn’t match the new couch,
it looks at me funny, he doesn’t like it here, and he’s told me he’s
not happy.
We’re
not cold hearted, we simply have too many things to do and not enough
time to do them all and still listen to how sorry you think you are
about getting rid of your dog. If you have done everything you could do
before coming to rescue, you should not feel guilty. We understand
things happen in people’s lives that make hard choices a necessity. We
are not judging those who have done everything they could yet still
have to give up the dog. We just want those who haven’t taken the
responsibility seriously to understand that we are not here to offer
emotional support to them when they’ve made a stupid decision and
refuse to take responsibility for it.
Rescue should be one of
your last resorts. Try obedience training, try crate training, try
everything you can before you make the decision to give up your dog.
When you’ve done all that you can, then call us and let us know why
you’re giving up the dog in the least amount of words you can. We’ll
ask questions, you answer them. Quick, Simple, and Honest.
RESCUE
IS NOT A PERSON SITTING AT THE COMPUTER OR PHONE ALL DAY JUST WAITING
FOR YOU TO CALL OR EMAIL. WE’RE ALSO NOT RUNNING HOME DAILY HOPING
WE’LL HAVE LOTS OF EMAIL AND ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGES. WE’RE NOT
RUSHING TO RETURN YOUR CALL OR EMAIL.
Rescue is a group of
people who already have a life, a family, a full-time job, their own
dogs, foster dogs, 50 e-mail a day looking to adopt or give up a dog,
20 phone messages a day looking to adopt or give up a dog, calls from
shelters needing a rescue to take a dog who is about to be put down,
not to mention applications to process, vet appointments for foster
dogs.....and countless other things that rescue involves.
Of course, this does not include the volunteer eating, sleeping, and having a life, I almost forgot.
RESCUE IS NOT A WAY FOR YOU TO FIND A PUREBRED DOG FOR LITTLE OR NO MONEY
Rescue
is a safe haven for dogs of a specific breed, with people that know and
understand the quirks and personality of that breed, and have the
knowledge needed to handle that breed, it’s medical requirements, and
who can access an application to be sure it would be an appropriate
home for that breed.
RESCUE IS NOT A BABY-SITTING SERVICE FOR YOUR DOG, A KENNEL,
OR A PLACE THAT WILL TRAIN YOUR DOG
Rescue
is a place that dogs who are homeless, about to be homeless, or in a
shelter, come into where they will receive the medical attention,
physical attention, and behavioral attention they need. Rescue is most
times the only thing standing between a dog and a lethal injection.
CAN I GET A DOG FROM YOUR RESCUE THAT IS NOT SPAYED OR NEUTERED?
Rescue
is not a place where you can pick up a "girlfriend" for BUTCH or a
"boyfriend" for FIFI so that you can irresponsibly mass produce
puppies, sell them to homes that may very well want them for Pitbull
bait, toys for the children, something for the kids to take care of, or
something to neglect and then later abandon.
Rescue is
responsible about the reproduction of their breed. In fact, rescues
believe that they only breeding that should be done is by the FEW
responsible breeders out there, and only to improve the breed. And by
the way, responsible breeders are not those folks with "free puppies"
signs or ads, and doesn’t not include Jane down the street who has a
few Chihuahuas she allows to breed whenever they feel like it and then
charges $500 for a puppy. Responsible breeders are folks that care
about their puppies and take pride in placing them in loving homes
where they will be cared for. Responsible breeders have quality pups
who are lovingly raised, given proper care, and sold only to homes that
are appropriate for the breed.
All rescue dogs are spayed or neutered before adoption so that no "Accidents" happen.
You won’t get a dog unaltered, don’t even bother to ask.
RESCUE
IS NOT A PLACE THAT WILL TAKE THE MOST VICIOUS, NASTY, AGGRESSIVE DOGS
AND KEEP THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, LIVING HAPPILY EVER AFTER IN
THEIR OWNERS MIND WHILE THE DOG IS MISERABLE.
Rescue is a place
where the nasty dogs that are not safe for anyone to own, handle or be
within 5 feet of are humanely put to sleep where they will be happier,
and people will be safer. If YOU don’t want to deal with your dog that
bites, whom you’ve loved for 6 years, what on earth makes you think
that someone else would want it biting them or their family?
We
do work with every dog to see if they are just frightened, or have an
issue that is fixable, or if they are just nasty. Those who are scared
or have an issue that is fixable we work with and allow them time to
adjust and overcome their fear. Those who are nasty are put to sleep -
PERIOD. Some people think a rescue that euthanizes is horrible, and
that’s fine, but let us fill your house up with dogs you cannot sneeze
around without getting bit and let us see you still save the lives of
60+ dogs a year.
RESCUE IS NOT A MAIL ORDER SERVICE TO FIND YOU
THE DOG OF YOUR DREAMS, THE DOG THAT LOVES KIDS, CATS, EVERYONE,
DOESN’T BARK TOO MUCH, IS PERFECTLY HOUSEBROKEN, IS 3 POUNDS, DOES
TRICKS ON COMMAND, AND KNOWS HOW TO ACT IN EVERY SITUATION.
Rescue
is the place that gets calls from shelters and owners who have a Dog in
need. Sure, we may come across a dog like the one described above, but
chances are it will be adopted quickly and it will be a long time
before we see another one like it.
We work with each dog to make
them better pets than they were when they entered rescue, but we aren’t
miracle workers. Every dog has his own personality, and that is what
matters. If you want a dog that fits a few certain requirements - okay,
that’s realistic. But trying to find one that matches perfection is not
going to happen anytime soon, and if one comes in that is perfect we
have a line 5 miles long of people waiting for it...
CREDIT FOR THIS BLOG GOES TO ROTTIE RESCUE OF NY!
(And thanks to Gypsy!)