Dreamer
09-14-2006, 04:22 AM
First, I'll let you know a little about my canine experience. Although, I’ve no professional training in the care of animals my wife and I grew up in houses with dogs. We’ve been married for 14 ½ years. We’ve rescued a total of four dogs in that amount of time from either municipal kennels or rescue shelters, and one private household about to give the dog away to a shelter. That puts our combined canine experience well over 50 years.
We’ve lost two dogs, one to cancer, and one to complications from a preexisting condition. One of our current dogs is 14 years old. We are in it for the long haul. We want to provide the best, fullest life we can for our furry friends.
We are committed to rescuing over purchase. The dogs we adopt all end up happy, well adjusted, and well behaved. We haven’t had really tough medical cases, but two of our dogs did have minor special needs. We make a reasonable living, and have a few acres for the dogs to stretch their legs.
Currently, due to a recent relocation, I’m not working. This is an ideal time to adopt another dog and ease the transition to a new home. We’ve got contractors coming to our new home to build a run, with a generous shelter, with electricity (for crying-out-loud) for comfort in inclement weather when we are not at home. The dogs are with us every minute we are home. We get the dogs a sitter if we are going away overnight and can't take 'em with us.
You’d think we are near ideal candidates for adopting a dog, wouldn’t you?
Why then am I having so damn much trouble adopting a dog?
I have been to different animal rescues/shelters, and have received a brush off from these places after filling out ridiculously lengthy adoption forms. One place completely ignored my application, despite repeated follow-up. At one place, I’ve been told what classification of dog I may adopt, based on a bullshit, transparent personality test, evaluated by a Johnny-Come-Lately shelter volunteer. One shelter receptionist couldn’t give me understandable directions to their facility, and copped an attitude when I explained I needed better directions. At one facility, I’ve been told I can adopt a specific dog, only to later have it yanked from me after “further adoption tests”. I had one adoption volunteer tell me that it would be foolish to adopt an unfostered dog into a home with existing pets, yet the dog is on death row in a kill shelter, unable to find a family willing to foster it. I don’t know how the irony of that situation escapes this particular nimrod.
I’ve explained my frustrations to our vet, and she dropped a bombshell on me. She does volunteer neuterings for local shelters, and she’s been told by some of them that she’s unfit to adopt a dog. What god-like being then, actually qualifies as a good candidate?
Adopting a dog used to be easy. It isn’t any longer. Maybe it’s an overly-inflated sense of self-importance, or too much legal CYA, or a lack of vision, or just general incompetence that actively prevents people who can provide a good home to needy dogs from actually receiving a dog. What exactly has changed in recent years, I don’t know.
Hooray, for volunteerism and active participation in the care for wayward dogs. I know people who genuinely care about our canine friends are out there and deserve our thanks. I don’t want to take anything away from them.
But, I have the stains on my carpet and the holes in my heart to prove I can provide a loving home to a dog. And I am here, wanting to do it again. If you work at one of these shelters and you really want to help, get the **** out of my way and out of the way of any person that has a reasonable chance to provide a good home to a shelter animal!
We’ve lost two dogs, one to cancer, and one to complications from a preexisting condition. One of our current dogs is 14 years old. We are in it for the long haul. We want to provide the best, fullest life we can for our furry friends.
We are committed to rescuing over purchase. The dogs we adopt all end up happy, well adjusted, and well behaved. We haven’t had really tough medical cases, but two of our dogs did have minor special needs. We make a reasonable living, and have a few acres for the dogs to stretch their legs.
Currently, due to a recent relocation, I’m not working. This is an ideal time to adopt another dog and ease the transition to a new home. We’ve got contractors coming to our new home to build a run, with a generous shelter, with electricity (for crying-out-loud) for comfort in inclement weather when we are not at home. The dogs are with us every minute we are home. We get the dogs a sitter if we are going away overnight and can't take 'em with us.
You’d think we are near ideal candidates for adopting a dog, wouldn’t you?
Why then am I having so damn much trouble adopting a dog?
I have been to different animal rescues/shelters, and have received a brush off from these places after filling out ridiculously lengthy adoption forms. One place completely ignored my application, despite repeated follow-up. At one place, I’ve been told what classification of dog I may adopt, based on a bullshit, transparent personality test, evaluated by a Johnny-Come-Lately shelter volunteer. One shelter receptionist couldn’t give me understandable directions to their facility, and copped an attitude when I explained I needed better directions. At one facility, I’ve been told I can adopt a specific dog, only to later have it yanked from me after “further adoption tests”. I had one adoption volunteer tell me that it would be foolish to adopt an unfostered dog into a home with existing pets, yet the dog is on death row in a kill shelter, unable to find a family willing to foster it. I don’t know how the irony of that situation escapes this particular nimrod.
I’ve explained my frustrations to our vet, and she dropped a bombshell on me. She does volunteer neuterings for local shelters, and she’s been told by some of them that she’s unfit to adopt a dog. What god-like being then, actually qualifies as a good candidate?
Adopting a dog used to be easy. It isn’t any longer. Maybe it’s an overly-inflated sense of self-importance, or too much legal CYA, or a lack of vision, or just general incompetence that actively prevents people who can provide a good home to needy dogs from actually receiving a dog. What exactly has changed in recent years, I don’t know.
Hooray, for volunteerism and active participation in the care for wayward dogs. I know people who genuinely care about our canine friends are out there and deserve our thanks. I don’t want to take anything away from them.
But, I have the stains on my carpet and the holes in my heart to prove I can provide a loving home to a dog. And I am here, wanting to do it again. If you work at one of these shelters and you really want to help, get the **** out of my way and out of the way of any person that has a reasonable chance to provide a good home to a shelter animal!