What really prompted me to start this blog was the fact that I had run into a question thread yesterday that left me rather worried from some of the responses. When you have been floating about the skirts of the dog world like I have, you see and hear things, you learn things.
The questions that set this all off were asking if anyone had bought a pet from a breeder, and why would someone choose that route.
The questions alone gave me icky feelings, as if buying a pet from a breeder makes one not normal. I suppose in this day and age, thanks to the AR propaganda machine doing it's job so well, it isn't considered normal these days in the typical 'just want a pet' circle of pet owners.
The responses varied. One person felt guilty over their bought dog that had been a gift. Another 'adopted' retirees from breeders, and another got a rehome from a breeder. A few people did buy from breeders. Some people hadn't, but knew someone who did, and some of those people 'didn't understand it'. Comments saying there's too many unwanted animals in the country. A comment calling breeding an 'industry' which paints all breeders with the same brush, which also insulted people who wanted a specific breed.
And I was worried. I was horrified actually. Because the general mass of these comments showed a vast support for rescues without question. Only a few comments mentioned anything about some possible negative aspects of some rescues.
Before any rescue supporters stop reading and write me off as some ignorant fool, please, continue reading. I have no problem with rescues, I have a problem with how some rescues do things. I am upset with how so many people can sit there and act as if all rescues and shelters are saints, and all breeders are evil. You can't EVER paint an entire group with the same paintbrush, you can't say they're all the same. Because they're not. There's many shades of grey. And just as there are bad breeders and great breeders and mediocre breeders and everything in between, there is just the same in rescues.
I have a friend who worked for a rescue not too far from me. A rescue that should have been shut down years ago, yet to this day, continues to hoard animals. Yes, the rescue is a hoarder. They have twice as many animals, if not more at this time, than they are allowed to. The number is such that only half the dogs get walked for a short bit while the rest stay caged/crated. There's cats in the ceiling, animals in rooms that should not have them, and no real drive to try to adopt out these animals, and they bash every other rescue and shelter in the area.
In fact, this rescue is such that they judge you by what you wear, what you drive, and where you live. The list of basis of refusal that my friend gave me can pretty much be summed up as 'if you have any signs of living in the country or being a redneck or hunter, you are evil' and they'll turn you away. Camouflage, orange collars on your own dogs, pick-up truck, owning land, etc.
The rescue will also refuse you to spend time alone with an animal for fear that you will steal it, so with a volunteer in the area, the dog may, depending on it's personality, be more focused on the person it knows. How is a person going to be able to tell if they mesh with the dog if it is distracted?
For all it's issues, the rescue has been reported, multiple times, and apparently to no avail.
That's not the only rescue around here that has had it's issues. Another rescue has appeared to adopted out feral cats, only to berate the adopters when they return a cat that is acting violent. This hasn't just been one person, it's been a few.
Shelters and rescues all over have been up to really strange things. I had alerted the Vallhund people to a Vallhund in another state. The breed club's rescue had no idea, and normally they're on top of things. The rescue that had the dog refused to turn it over to the breed club. Why would they? They were going to charge a $300 'adoption fee' for a healthy, spayed rare breed. Never mind that Vallhunds are not like Corgis, never mind that the breed club knows more about the breed than the rescue, and could probably place it far better.
Rescues refusal to work with breed clubs is one of the thing that makes me incredibly irritated. It's no secret that some rescues will charge more for purebreds and certain breeds. But hoarding dogs because of their breeds just so you can charge more for them is not in the best interest of the dogs, nor potential adopters. It is the breed clubs who know their breeds inside and out, who know the types of people who are suitable and can screen properly for their breed. Being able to charge extra because of a dog's breed is greedy as the dog's expense.
There's also plenty of rescues who refuse to work with breeders on fostering as well, turning away many breeders who, again, know their breed. There has not been any decent answers as to why. It's not as if the breeder is getting an intact dog unless if the rescue releases it like that, which is irresponsible on part of the rescue, and possibly even illegal in some places. Breeders get people looking for their breed often, they have are a powerful, untapped resource for many rescues who seem to loathe breeders as the cause of all their 'problems' and then cry when they are overcrowded. To me, you are making your own bed when you refuse to use a resource like that.
I also question some rescue's screening. I have heard multiple reasons for people being turned down, some of which simply don't make any sense. Not owning your own home even if the landlord allows pets, not having a yard even if the people living an active lifestyle or they're wanting a small breed they can simply walk, being single, having kids, having other pets, having intact pets who are either working or show or maybe have health problems which put them at risk for death if they're put under, having certain other pets, never having pets. I'm sure there many more I'm forgetting. But all this turning people away without any further questioning does nothing to increase adoption. I have heard many people who have given up trying to adopt and end up going to whatever breeder they can find, reputable or not, and writing off all rescues and shelters forever. Some of these people are great owners who just get passed up because they're not exactly like the people running some of these rescues.
These are just a few of the big issues I can think of off of the top of my head which causes me to wonder WHY? Why does it seem that for all we promote 'screen your breeders, ask questions', no one asks rescues anything? Where does your money come from? How do you use your resources? Who do you work with? Who can foster? Do you work with breed club rescue? If an answer is questionable to you, do you inquiry further? How do you place your animals? How many animals do you usually have? How many are in foster? Do you temperament check your animals? Do you consider breed/activity level/training level/etc in placement of a particular animal? And so on.
I think these questions need to be asked. I think we need to support good rescues who do right by their animals. I think that maybe if we do this, other rescues will notice and take some time to reflect if they're really doing right by their animals, or if they're actually harming them because of their own beliefs.
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