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Okay, I asked for input on this awhile back, and it's obvious from the acrimony that has developed that I have to make a decision.

 

I have received a lot (and I mean a LOT) of private input from people who are dissatisfied with the quantity of the "dog in Nevada will die tomorrow!" posts. This feedback is from people who are active in and supportive of rescue as well as those who are not. A lot of people feel that we are drowning in these posts and that they would be more effective if posted to dedicated rescue boards rather than here, and I'm inclined to agree. I feel sure that all active rescuers read at least one of those boards, as do a lot of people who are looking for a pet.

 

Two points were made going the other way that weighed heavily with me. Kajarrel and others posted that the sheer quantity of rescue dogs posted here kept new and/or clueless people aware of the consequences of irresponsible and excessive breeding. I think that's somewhat true, but I think it's probably equally effective just to post in new/clueless threads (as RDM and others usually do) that "there are X,XXX border collies in need of a home currently posted on Petfinder." The second thing that weighed heavily on me were the people who posted that they found their dog here. I believe there was only one (or at most two) who reported getting a dog as a result of a posting on these Boards; others credited it to posts "on the internet" or on other boards. But still, if it's done some good, even if only in a handful of cases, that's a good thing. Yet, OTOH, numerous people said they no longer read this forum because the number of random, heart-wrenching postings are too numbing as well as too hard to sort through. That's a bad thing. And there's no doubt it's gotten worse in the last few months.

 

Within the next day or two I will put a sticky in this forum saying what posts are appropriate here. I also intend to put a link in that sticky to bcrescue.org. My present thinking is to say that the following posts would be appropriate:

 

1. Rescue resources, and referrals to rescue resources. (This would include links to your rescue site.)

 

2. Posting of dogs in your rescue or being fostered by you who are currently being offered for adoption (put location in header).

 

3. Posting of dogs in shelters that you have had actual contact with, know are currently available, and can recommend for adoption (put location in header; avoid emotional appeals).

 

4. Requests for help with transport and offers of help with transport.

 

5. Posts from people looking to adopt a dog, or offering to foster.

 

6. In response to specific posts seeking to adopt a dog, links to dogs in shelters near that poster.

 

My thinking is that rescue-to-rescue communication is most suitable for the dedicated rescue boards. This forum is more for "rescue to people looking for a border collie" or "rescue to people who may be able to help with rescue" communication, because our advantage over the rescue boards is that rescues may be able to reach people here who are not already focused on rescue (or maybe even not aware of rescue). As OffTopic and others pointed out, every dog in rescue that can be placed through a post here would open up a slot in that rescue to take one of the "at risk" shelter dogs, so hopefully there would be an indirect benefit to those shelter dogs as well.

 

If you have any comments on this, or any additions to suggest, please post them here, or send them to me privately, within the next 48 hours. Thanks.

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One quick thought about point #3: I don't know if we need to be able to "recommend" a specific dog for adoption; I work at a shelter and do come into contact with a number of dogs on a daily basis, but the vast majority of those I interact with I don't have the time to assess fully so that i would be comfortable "personally recommending" them - I (nor the shelter I work at) can never guarantee a dog will be perfect from day one and I don't think it's wise to encourage the idea that someone who does not know a dog intimately can truly "know" the dog as the phrase "recommend for adoption" implies (IMO).

 

Other than that, i think the guidelines are reasonable. :rolleyes:

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I hadn't given this much thought but it is obvious that Eileen and others have done so. More careful and stringent posting would avoid my situation.

 

A dog posted in my county was, unbeknownst to me, already the object of three rescue organizations' interest. Meanwhile, due to his posting here (and my not checking with the shelter beforehand), I made inquiries among my friends and had several offer to consider taking him into their rescues, with two foster homes made available, an evaluation set up by an experienced evaluator, etc.

 

So, while I was very gratified by that outpouring of interest and offers of help, another rescue was already commited to taking him and so I should have done my homework and not made a fuss over something that was already being taken care of.

 

I guess my point is to check things out more thoroughly than I did before trying to set some wheels in motion...

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I'm not engaged in rescue but I do look at this forum daily, just in case I can help in some small way. I think these guidelines will work very well since I am one of those who feels heartsick when I see all the "urgent' postings here, knowing there is little I can do. I think the link to bcrescue.org is an excellent idea. Once again, you have come up with what should be a workable compromise. :rolleyes:

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I'm one of the people, who always reads this forum with the intention to help if I physically can (ie: in my area). I have actually really dreaded coming here to see the myriad posts with horrendous death day vigils etc... frankly it was more than numbing... We all know these dogs are in desperate need, but when nothing can be done it becomes such an exercise in frustration that I actually end up avoiding the forum. Which is a shame. I think Eileen's Guidelines sound great and if they help clear up some of the static that has been fuzzing up the boards, so much the better.

Sara

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Thank you. I've stayed out of the emotional discussion, but I think these guidelines are very good. Rescue is not "my life" but I like to help out where I can with pulling, evaluating, transport and/or fostering. I don't have time to troll the rescue boards, or call shelters; and I'm not affiliated with any specific rescue group. (Been there, done that...many moons ago.) My contact information is on this board, and I appreciate the dogs posted here being at least "known entities" who are actually in need of transport, fostering, or adoption - with a single rescue contact having taken the lead so that everyones' time and energy is not duplicated (and subsequently wasted).

Laurie

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I have always wanted to see a sticky with links to the various border collie rescues such as GLBCR, MOKAN, TDBCR, MABCR, etc. Those of us that have been on the board a while know about them, but most people do not.

 

I'm not sure about links to the 2 bcrescue boards, because both of them seem to be more of a rescuer to rescuer resource than a placement board. I say this because the dogs I see listed there are usually unknown entities and the boards are looking more for pull and evaluate or foster.

 

I know I would not recommend that a person without knowledge of Border Collies just go in and adopt directly from the shelter since the shelters are rarely concerned about matching dogs to owners. For BC's in particular I think the odds on a successful pairing are not in the dogs favor and could lead to an untimely demise for the dog should it bite little Joey because the shelter or pound did not know or care that Fluffy did not like kids or had a strong herding instinct.

 

Seeing as this is a BC board it is also my opinion that listings should be for Border Collies and primarily Border Collie mixes only. It is not because I do not have sympathy for all dogs in pounds or shelters or that BCs are my chosen breed since only 1 of the 9 we have are BC's and she is a cross at that.

If someone is looking for an Aussie or ACD or GSD, there are sites and rescues dedicated to those breeds.

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like it......

 

would add a sticky that if you are new to Border Collies and/or dog adoption that it is unwise to adopt off the internet or without assistance from a reputable rescue group.

 

maybe one of the really active groups we know well here could also create a sticky of what consistutes a legitamate rescue group a novice should be working with. I.e. clean, temperament testing, spay/neuter done, lifetime follow up.... There are some *bad* groups out there if novice doesn't know what to look for.

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I have always wanted to see a sticky with links to the various border collie rescues such as GLBCR, MOKAN, TDBCR, MABCR, etc. Those of us that have been on the board a while know about them, but most people do not.

 

I've never liked this idea. To me, that's kind of like saying that these boards should have links to all the various reputable breeders. I don't think that it's this board's responsibility to decide who is reputable, but certainly, people should be free to ask for opinions about breeders or rescue groups from other board members. I think it is good that this board makes people aware of rescue because many people may have never even realized that it existed before coming here. But, I don't think there needs to be any public endorsement of particular groups. Please don't take that to mean that I don't endorse those groups that you listed. But, most of them are well established and easy enough to find with a simple Google search. But, let the judgement of worthiness be up to the individual who is considering working with the rescue group. I don't, however, have a problem with having a sticky about what to look for in a good rescue group, similar to the breeder sticky.

 

I'm not sure about links to the 2 bcrescue boards, because both of them seem to be more of a rescuer to rescuer resource than a placement board.

 

I'm not sure I agree with this. The bcr.org board has tons of lurkers and a lot of urgent dogs that are mostly Petfinder re-posts are posted there, similar to what was happening here. It does have rescuers on it, as well, but I think that it is much more of a placement board than a rescue to rescue resource. I think most rescuers tend to communicate privately, in my experience.

 

ETA: I think the new guidelines are good.

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I've never liked this idea. To me, that's kind of like saying that these boards should have links to all the various reputable breeders. I don't think that it's this board's responsibility to decide who is reputable

 

I agree with this. Certainly some rescue groups may be more 'prominent' than others, but that does not equate to reputable - and their reputability is not for the board to decide, IMO.

 

RDM

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I think the guidelines are a good idea.

 

I have learned from several experiences this year that, just because the shelter worker lists it as a BC, and it's picture on the internet looks like a BC, does not necessarily mean it's actually a BC. :rolleyes:

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I like the guidelines

 

The biggest problem with the "will die today" is misinformation. I get tons of well meaning people who forward stuff to the rescue that I know for a fact that the dog is now in foster or rescued or even adopted privately. Then there are the shelters who are always bursting at the seams without making a plan to get regular rescuers.

 

I got one this week " dog with no legs needs help desperately". No matter how bad you feel I cant imagine what you can do with a legless dog logisitcally.

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What about rescue-to-rescue appeals for resources *other* than transports? Say, for instance, a particular rescue has a need to borrow spare travel crates, or a need for the loan of agility equipment to run a multi-arena agility seminar, or say, recieves an injured dog and needs additional guaze and wrap for changing dressings?

 

What about appeals for professional resources, such as behaviorists specializing in unacceptable odd-ball behaviors, or in socializing ferals? Or trainers to run seminars?

 

Would such appeals be approprate in this forum, or should they go in another forum?

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