Non Breed Specific rescues

[alligande]

This question comes from being down to one dog and my recent online obssession of looking for rescue Border Collies. My husband is not ready to get another dog yet so I have not contacted a local Border Collie rescue, we will probably go to Glen Highland farm (our plan before Brody appeared), get a dog through the rescue Brody came from or if we got really lucky our amazing local animal shelter. Edited to add. My first 2 dogs came from our local shelter and although they are the "pound" for the three local towns it is an amazing place, that follows the type of placement guidelines of many rescues. They are also one of the many shelters that import dogs from the south.

 

So in the mean time I look at petfinder etc and I am amazed by the number of local rescue groups ( Southern New England) that have sprung up. They are all transporting dogs up from the south, charge a huge array of adoption fees, ( edited to add $100.00 donation to upwards of $750.00) some don't ship until you agree to adopt etc. It seems all over the board. Personally I want to meet my new family member before they move in, I want Brody to meet them as well especially if the dog has not been fostered by experienced people who can tell me about them.

I know there are a lot of experienced rescue people on this board and wondered how they felt about these groups and if I was been unnecessarily suspicious.

[BustopherJones]

Personally I want to meet my new family member before they move in, I want Brody to meet them as well especially if the dog has not been fostered by experienced people who can tell me about them.

I am not involved in rescue, but I would observe that this is the quandary faced by anyone considering adoption from a "rescue" situation. I perceive two alternatives. First, you can go the conventional rescue route (i.e., adopt from a rescue organization); in doing so, you may have to sacrifice the option of picking and choosing your dog and/or controlling the timing of the adoption, and trust the rescue organization to make a best choice for you. If you choose this option, I would STRONGLY suggest sticking with a recognized and established breed rescue network, such as the BC network. Second, you can place emphasis on personal interface, and choose a local option (vet, animal shelter, pound, etc.); in this case, you are presuming that you are a better judge of the right fit than those familiar with the breed and its needs (or you may not actually know the breed make-up of the dog you choose to adopt). It boils down to what is the best option for you. If you want a mixed breed and don't really care what you get, go the local option; if you want a purebreed (or a predictable mix), go with the recognized and established rescue option.

 

And, no, I will not tell you what my preference would be...

[PSmitty]

So in the mean time I look at petfinder etc and I am amazed by the number of local rescue groups ( Southern New England) that have sprung up. They are all transporting dogs up from the south, charge a huge array of adoption fees, some don't ship until you agree to adopt etc. It seems all over the board. Personally I want to meet my new family member before they move in, I want Brody to meet them as well especially if the dog has not been fostered by experienced people who can tell me about them.

I know there are a lot of experienced rescue people on this board and wondered how they felt about these groups and if I was been unnecessarily suspicious.

 

Well, without seeing any info on a particular rescue, I can't really make a judgement. But, I do know that rescues and shelters in the North will transport dogs from the South, that's not unusual. It's a win-win if the North has the space and resources, with people who want to adopt, while the South is overwhelmed with dogs needing homes. About fees, again, without seeing them quoted myself, I don't know what to say about the huge array. That could, or could not, signal something amiss. Around here, $200-$250 is the going adoption fee for most rescues. (I actually just saw a local BC rescue with $350-$450 fees, and that made me raise an eyebrow). The idea of "shipping" does send up a red flag for me. Most reputable rescues will not ship a dog, they require the family to meet the dog and pick it up (after being approved for adoption).

 

Having said all that, there are shady rescues out there. There are BYBs and puppymills who try to disguise themselves as "rescue". It is wise to do your research and try to make sure that everything is on the up and up.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Well since I'm way up here in the frozen north (quite literally today!), I'm not seeing some of those things. Generally speaking, in our area we have a handful of rescues that have been around for quite a while and are doing well. Others that pop up and aren't organized vanish just as quickly as they came. Lack of organization and proper funding usually the culprit. Non-profits, especially in the animal rescue world have an incredibly high mortality rate.

The rescue I am with takes animals from First Nations communities in our area only. That alone is enough to keep us busy. There are a couple others that bring animals up from Mexico and the U.S. In one situation, we have gone down to Montana to pick up an entire shelter of dogs. The shelter was shut down over christmas last year and no one returned. That alone was a huge feat to conquer and not something we want to do again. It was a huge strain on our resources even after one donor paid for the entire thing to be done. I can only imagine how things like this effect poorly run and organized rescues.

Personally, if I were to adopt from a rescue, I would choose a rescue that had been around for a few years and knows what they are doing. I would like the satisfaction of knowing there is a support system for me if I need it. Our rescue offers obedience classes with adoption and a series of follow up calls to ensure the animal and family are getting along. We always, always take an animal back if something does not work out. That would make me feel a whole lot better about adopting. We also don't ship our dogs. Under no circumstances. Every potential adopter has to fill out an application, have a phone screening, an initial visit with the dog and foster home and then a day visit with the dog in their home to make sure that everyone gets along. If, say, the family lives an hour or so away and they are great potential adopters, then we will bend the rules a little. But that is few and far between. It sounds a bit strict, but you have to remember, we are advocates for the animals, so we have to make sure they are going to the best possible home.

I guess being part of a rescue like this makes my standards a little higher, but I would feel a whole lot better about receiving an animal from us over one of the others in my city who don't put as much care into it. That's just my opinion though.

[eclare]

I work with an all-breed rescue in the Mid-Atlantic, and we work with several southern and rural shelters, pulling from the over-crowded high kill shelters and bringing dogs to the greater DC metro area. The fees sound about right, although I've never seen anything as high as $750. Typically our fees are $275, which covers the cost of vaccinations and spay/neuter. Fees for puppies are less, but we require proof of spay/neuter after adoption by a certain age.

 

As far as adopting the dogs sight unseen, most of our dogs are in foster care, so there are plenty of opportunities to meet. Occasionally, however, we will post a dog directly from the shelter before he comes into foster. In those cases we do require that potential adopters commit to at least a 2 week trial adoption, simply because we need to be able to make arrangements if it doesn't work out. It's a lot of work to bring a dog up from several hundred miles away without some sort of guarantee that he'll at least have a temporary place to stay.

 

Our procedures are typically the same as Ms.DaisyDuke's, but we have a pretty far flung volunteer network and we can generally find people willing to do home visits at longer distances. We're also willing to work with rescue groups in other cities so if, for example, an adopter has done a home visit with another rescue but the adoption fell through, we are willing to contact that rescue group directly for their input rather than doing another home visit.

 

At the end of the day, rescue groups are just groups of people volunteering their time and energy, so each group tends to have its own quirks.