Frustrations in adopting a dog

Wow, that's too bad. I guess I can see both sides of the story. Rescues spend a lot of time and money on their animals, so I guess they have to be really, really careful about who they adopt out to. Did you try expanding the search? I know a lot of the shelters in Northwest Indiana are pretty flexible. My rescue let me take Teddy home for a week and try him out before I committed to adopting him. Of course, my mind was made up after one day, but that's beside the point. LOL

I was turned down once too & ended up getting my pride & joy from a petstore. The puppy I chose had a bad eye & didn't even have a "window seat" at the store. Though I now know more about the puppy mills I don't regret my decision. I was afraid he'd get put down since he wasn't "perfect."

I will have my boy cross his ears for luck that your friend & her family are able to find a new furry family member.

My Mom was turned down 3 or 4 times because of her age. She kept saying she was going to buy one. I told her to give me a chance to see what I can do. I found her the perfect dog and talked the lady at the rescue to give her a chance. That was 2 years ago and Mom still thanks me for finding him for her. She's also glad she was turned down for the others. So I say don't give up, keep trying. Shelters aren't that strict. Broaden her search to surrounding states if Indiana doesn't have what she's looking for.

Brown County Humane Society will allow adoptions with outdoor time during the day for adopted dog breeds that are "tempermentally and physically able" to handle extended outdoor time (with proper shelter, water, etc). I have adopted two seniors from there in the last year (although mine are indoor babies). Jaime Robbins is the shelter manager, and she and her staff do an excellent job in making sure the you and the dog are the match that would make you both happy and is the right situation for the dog. Your friend just needs to be open with her information on the application (and it sounds like she has been), let them know what dog she is interested in, and they will do their best to get "the right person with the right dog". She can check the website at www.bchumane.org and see the available dogs for adoption. There is always (unfortunately) a wide variey of breeds, ages, genders, etc. that need a good home. Please urge your friend to adopt!

Teri,
Your mom was turned down because she was too old? good heavens! I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.

Um, isn't that age discrimination?

Wow! The rescue we are with actually has a senior for seniors program. We adopt a lot of dogs out to older people.

I recently signed up for Freecycle and I see a lot of dogs being given away on there. My mom just got one last week that I found on there. Since they are posted by individuals, there isn't the extensive process. And that way you are probably saving one from going into a shelter, and not running the risk of supporting a BYB or puppy mill.

I do understand your friend's frustration. Some shelters and rescues are so understaffed and over-wrought that they just don't have time to keep up on e-mails and calls. It's too bad when a pet misses the chance at a home because of it. And some shelters do have too restrictive policies, that also might make a pet miss the opportunity to get a great home.

That's what I was saying. All rescues are different you just can't give up. Mom was really down after all the rejections but it all worked out for the best.

IACC is ALWAYS an option. Due to John's professed dislike of dogs (he ADORES Sheila & Charlie) and no fence, IACC was just about my ONLY option here in town to get Charlie.

I contacted IACC first, but they didn't have a dog that was right for her family and what she was wanting.

What kind of dog are they looking for? If you type in 46410 on petfinder, you'll get a lot of rescues/shelters that come up. Maybe you'll find what you're looking for up there?

I'm sorry to hear that they have had negative experiences with rescues. But honestly, two weeks is not that much time and four rescues are not that many. Most rescue people have full time jobs and have their own pets so it does take awhile to respond at times. They certainly should have responded by now but who knows if they are having problems of some sort. If she really wants to rescue, she should hang in there and keep trying. Many rescues have certain guidelines in place but are flexible IF you explain to them why you have answered a question a certain way(ie kennels during the day rather than crates). I know there are some that are very strict and make no exceptions to their rules but that isn't really in the dog's best interest. She needs to be proactive and have a conversation with the groups that have turned her down. Maybe once she explains about her kids and their experiences, the group will at least let her have a trial with the dog she is interested. Petfinder always has tons of dogs on both their shelter site and in the classifieds. Craigslist does too. I would be more careful with the PF classifieds or Craigslist since she has kids. People are sometimes less than truthful on there and just want to push off a problem dog on someone else. That's great that you are trying to work with her. Just remind her two weeks is not that long a wait in exchange for a lifetime of love.

The four places she contacted came from her PetFinder search.

You and I may not think 2 weeks is a long time, but in this age of instant gratification, it is an eternity. This is something I preach in my "real" job as the younger generation now expects an instant answer. They are used to email, instant messaging, fast food, etc. So, if your business isn't up to speed then it can affect you (which is one of my lecture topics). I think the same may hold true for the animal rescue industry as well. It's one of the things Nathan Winograd talked about. That's why people go to the pet store. You can get the animal right then, no waiting for forms, no waiting for references, etc.

We must have been thinking and typing at the same time! I thought about Nathan too when I read your post. It's hard to preach the gospel of rescue and then your friend is turned down by several when you know she would provide a good home! Honestly, I'm an instant gratification person too. I understand your friend's frustration. It's also hard not to take it a little personally when someone acts like you wouldn't be a good pet owner and doesn't even give you a chance.

I know Mama had some frustrations when she was trying to adopt, but just think:If she had not hung in there she would have missed out on ME! An extra week or two is hard to accept, but another week or month of looking and finding a dog like me..what can I say? It is so worth it to get just the right dog. Bless her for wanting to share her love and home with a pup.

When I adopted my first Greyhound, it took about three weeks from start of the application to the home visit. So two weeks really isn't anything when you consider all the years you'll have a pet. And I hate to say it, but most rescue groups are right when not wanting to adopt out specific breeds to families with small children. Too, rescue groups are generally right about a dog being outside unsupervised all day. Not a good idea. The dog could be injured and no one would know, knock over its water and go all day without a drink . . . the dog could be stolen. What would happen if a major storm blew up? The dog would be outside and probably freaked. Quite honestly, coming from a person who has done a lot of home visits and has had several years' experience with placing dogs in the right families, given what you've said here, I'd probably deny them, too. Have they considered a cat?

And to say that IACC doesn't have the dog they want . . . oh, c'mon. There are many MANY dogs there who need homes. I'm finding it hard to believe that this family can't find one dog that they've fallen in love with. I'm thinkin' that we're not getting the whole story here . . .

And for the record, I have six dogs who live in my house, uncrated, for hours when I'm away from home. Aside from an occasional 'accident,' we have no issues here. The furniture is intact, no one chews the woodwork, we don't have fights . . . no reason to put a dog outside for hours on end.

Why not have her go to IACC. They do not have restrictions like this? I think that her acts to go thru a rescue are commendable and I am sorry she is frustrated but I do think that IACC would be a better bet than buying a dog. (The cost of fixing them is included in the 60$ so it sure is better than having them fixed on your own.)

Sorry Connie I had only read your intro and now I see that you had contacted them. Sometimes I think that it is better to go there to see about dogs. When I picked up Rocko, there were a lot of dogs that I thought fit your description. If you go to http://www.friendsofindyacc.org/ and click on pets there is a link for the available dogs and cats at IACC. They have most of them listed unlike Petfinder but few have pics but there are descriptions. I hope they can find what they are looking for without buying.

I've always been a "dogs outside" kind of person. Cats inside, dogs outside. Batman is the first dog in 40 years that ever had house privledges with me and he is outside during the day. I love him being in the house, but I love him being outside too. Just as many things could happen to a dog inside as outside. If a dog was injured inside the home and no one was home, no one would notice that either. A fire could kill them, some kind of poison could be found. They could eat the woodwork, etc. My entire extended family are all farmers or live in the country and everyone has outside dogs. Those dogs are not terrified of storms or in any danger any more so than any other dog.

I think this is a choice that should be made based on the dog, the person caring for it, circumstances, etc. I think if a dog had to choose between death in a shelter or life in a fenced back yard, it might choose the yard.

I totally think rescues should ask questions. But, every rescue I've spoken to since I went on the Indiana-Paw foster roster is desperate for more people to help foster. There are more dogs than people for many rescue agencies. If the rescues can't move the animals, they can't help more animals. So, there has to be some balance between the needs of the animal and the needs of the future animals. I just hate to see fosters be so restrictive.

The person I'm talking about has kept a dog that just about anyone else would have had put down or dumped or given away by now, but she is committed to keeping this dog because she knows no one else would tolerate it. It has some special needs and can be difficult to live with, but she sticks with the dog. She is a wonderful person and would be a great pet owner. She has raised dobermans in the past and has had a dog of one type or another her whole life. I would give her a dog in a heartbeat if I were in the position to approve her application. She happens to want a specific breed of dog. Or a mix that is predominately that breed. I can't fault her for that. Lots of people love a specific breed. She has a cat.

Has she tried Hamilton County Humane Society?

Have I missed where you said what breed she wants? I am just wondering what type of breed she is looking for if only rescues come up in her search.

I understand that, but has she expanded her zipcode search? If she only types a zipcode in for the Indy area, only the Indy area shelters will come up. The "46410" zip I suggested is for the Northwest Indiana area. Maybe they might have what she's looking for.

Sorry, I guess I didn't want to say the breed as the two breed rescues are really prominent and I can't find out why they stopped responding and I don't want to give them a bad name. Starr did a search by breed. Actually found a dog she wanted in Northern Indiana. The breed rescue agreed to transport to Indianapolis. Then, after all arrangements were made, application filled out, etc. the breed rescue dropped out of communication and won't even return phone calls. Maybe there is a problem with their website or email or phone, or something. I just know we spent 2 weeks on that dog alone trying to get it out of the shelter, to Indianapolis, etc., and everyone in the office got all attached to its profile and then nothing happened.