How was your rescue experience?

[iLLt3cK]

For those of you who chose to rescue your BC as opposed to going with a respectable breeder - how do you feel the entire process went? If good - what was good? If bad - what was bad?

 

Do you feel the foster homes were almost too protective of the dogs they were keeping?

 

Did you feel that the rescue was working against itself in some respects?

 

Has anyone turned away from rescuing due to their local organization's practices?

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Jo&Tex]

I jumped through some hoops to obtain my first rescued dog.

He was posted on a BC rescue website because his sanctuary home was closing. I inquired, and it took 10 days of back and forth emails before they'd even tell me what part of the province this dog was located in. Then I was interviewed by 4 different people over the phone and finally again in person when I went to pick up the dog.

His sanctuary protected their privacy because they held animals that were seized in animal welfare cruelty cases. They had to protect themselves from harm, either to themselves or the animals.

There was no home visit done nor did I have a fully fenced yard.

Were they being over protective? No, I don't think so - I understand their reasons for being careful. I had to earn the right to adopt this wonderful dog.

What he needed was much more important than what I wanted.

[Nellie's Dad]

Originally posted by iLLt3cK:

For those of you who chose to rescue your BC as opposed to going with a respectable breeder - how do you feel the entire process went? If good - what was good? If bad - what was bad?

 

Do you feel the foster homes were almost too protective of the dogs they were keeping?

 

Did you feel that the rescue was working against itself in some respects?

 

Has anyone turned away from rescuing due to their local organization's practices?

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Our rescue experience was tremendous. We initially saw Nellie on the Mo-Kan website the day that our previous BC passed away and there was something about her. The biggest issue was that we lived in Ohio and she was in Kansas City. We sent an email to see if they would even consider adopting that far away and they were open to it. We filled out the application and had interviews on the phone and they did talk to our references.

 

They put us in touch with the two foster homes that Nellie had so we could get more info on her to see if we though it would be a match.

 

Every one was very helpful in describing Nellie and the issues she had (fear, extremely shy, needed to be an only dog, fear of thunder) and very up front about the issues.

 

We then took the 12 hour drive to Kansas City to meet her and bring her home. It took around an hour for her to even come to us, but she did just jump in our car and spent the next twelve hours driving back to Ohio through some of the biggest thunderstorms we have been in for around 5 hours. She did very well and we have not regretted getting her.

 

I think the fosters may be a little protective from the standpoint that they may have had the dog for a while and have grown somewhat attached. Nellie was in foster for around 3-4 months and I think it was hard for them to part with her.

 

We will go the rescue route again, but we may try to fall in love with a dog that is closer to home. Of course, we are probably driving back to Kansas City to go to the reunion next weekend.

[airbear]

Do you feel the foster homes were almost too protective of the dogs they were keeping?

No, but there was definitely a sense that if it was a choice between disappointing me, the potential adopter, or the dog up for adoption, well, it was going to be me.

 

Did you feel that the rescue was working against itself in some respects?

Er, no, though I don't really know what this means. The rescue was looking for a good home for a little dog who had been through a lot. What they did seemed appropriate for the purpose of screening me to ascertain whether Wick and I would be a good 'fit'.

 

Has anyone turned away from rescuing due to their local organization's practices?

I did not have a problem with either the BC SPCA (from which I adopted Bear) or TDBCR (from which I adopted Wick). I probably had some 'red flags' on my application, because I live in a condo with no yard, but it obviously wasn't a deciding factor.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

My two bits, whether you go through rescue or a breeder, is that you might feel a bit defensive at times, but you have to remember that both the breeder and the rescue are looking out for the dog's best interest first and foremost.

[Pat W.]

I can offer opinions from both sides of the question being both an adopter and a foster home.

 

For those of you who chose to rescue your BC as opposed to going with a respectable breeder - how do you feel the entire process went? If good - what was good? If bad - what was bad?

 

From the adopter side of things we couldn't have asked for a better girlie and have been so happy with Meg for the last 5.5 yrs. Sarah from MABCR selected her for us, using our criteria as a guideline and although my husband wanted a red/white we wouldnt trade our blk/wht girl for the world. I will definately be looking at a rescue for my next addition.

 

Do you feel the foster homes were almost too protective of the dogs they were keeping?

 

 

From the foster home side of things, in short NO. I have kept a foster in my home for 7mos looking for the right home for him. Our JOB and RESPONSIBILITY to the potential adopter is to know as much as we can about the dog(s)we foster. My last boy was very shy/fearful of everything but delighted in the interaction with my family once he settled with us. I took him everywhere I possibly could to help him around that roadblock on his path to adoption. I want to be able to say "In this situation, this is most likely to happen, In that situation, that is what is most likely to happen" Of course there is no way of my knowing how he/she will react in every situtation but at least I have a good idea of the possibilities. Foster also socialize with other dogs, cats, kids of differing ages, men, women, cars, trees, butterflies...you get the idea.

 

Did you feel that the rescue was working against itself in some respects?

 

The potential is there yes, but in the long run I do not feel this is true. Adopters at times resent that we are so thorough in our screening of applicants, feeling that we should simply be delighted that they have graced us with their application. And, we are but that doesnt mean that we will compromise our requirement that the home be a correct fit for the dog

 

Has anyone turned away from rescuing due to their local organization's practices?

 

I personnaly have not but then I am very familiar w/the organization that I deal with and their practices and agree with them. At this point I would suspect a rescue that didnt at least do a home check, but adopted out on the merit of the application alone.

[painted_ponies]

I'm curious - why do you ask? Has a rescue organization done something to put you off?

 

My Violet was a stray, found by some friends of mine, so I didn't adopt her through a rescue. Since getting her, though, I've begun volunteering with our state's BC rescue as a home visitor. And I keep an eye out for dogs who need rescuing.

 

I suppose rescues can seem a little overprotective, but you ought to see the situations we find some of our dogs in. Tied to trees, abandoned, malnourished, ill . . .. Even those dogs we take in from shelters have been through the mild trauma of leaving a private home and being put in a kennel environment.

 

Not to get on a soapbox . But you can see why we do everything we can to make sure the next home the dog has is a "forever" home.

 

We don't mean to put people off, though, since the more dogs we can adopt to good homes the more space we have for rescues. So that's why I ask if you've had a frustrating experience. Maybe we can learn from someone else's error.

[Carson Crazies]

For those of you who chose to rescue your BC as opposed to going with a respectable breeder - how do you feel the entire process went? If good - what was good? If bad - what was bad?

 

I have both adopted a couple rescues, and also have placed a foster. I thought the process was very reasonable, and positive. With my rescue Papillon, Zippy, I felt like the rescue folks were thorough, asked the important questions, and obviously had Zippy's best interests at heart. They were fairly quick, detailed, and obviously dedicated. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

 

Do you feel the foster homes were almost too protective of the dogs they were keeping?

 

Not at all. When I adopted out my foster, Mitzi, what I wanted for her was a good, safe, nourishing home. I probably turned down 10 potential homes in the process. It's really not personal - I had a responsibility to find her her right forever home. I will ALWAYS feel responsible for her.

 

When I adopted Zippy, I felt like his foster parents (and the folks who did my home visit) were reasonable and appropriate in their words and actions. They asked the tough questions, and did what I thought was necessary to make sure that I was right for Zippy. It would have been easy to have felt defensive, but I understood where they were coming from, and appreciated the care they were giving towards placing Zippy in a good home.

 

Did you feel that the rescue was working against itself in some respects?

 

No. While I think the potential could be there, not in this case - or in any that I've been involved in.

 

Has anyone turned away from rescuing due to their local organization's practices?

 

While I wasn't turned away, as I said I turned down several homes for Mitzi. However, that wasn't organization practices, that was personal decision on my part, as I was adopting her out privately.

 

Hope this helps some. Really there are good and bad experiences to be had. You have to be diligent and careful whether you buy from a breeder, or adopt from a rescue.

[zorra's Pappy]

My rescue experience was excellent. I e-mailed the Border Collie Rescue of Texas just with general questions about the breed at first. I received several e-mails back as well as a few phone calls, they were extremely helpful. I then asked about a few BCs i saw on their website and they were honest saying that these dogs would probably not fit my lifestyle (I was worried about living in a townhouse and not having a huge yard) and after about 2 weeks of looking they contacted me with a BC that had lived in an apartment, and was the only dog in the household, which was important for me. They thought she would be a good fit. I had a home visit, and within a week I met Zorra and was driving home with her.

 

I think they overall experience was good, and would definitely rescue from them again. I think the $200 adoption fee was well worth it, because I know I have a lifetime of support. I would call any of the people I dealt with if I had a problem or needed some advice or support. Tumbs up to Border Collie Recsue of Texas.

[Root Beer]

Maddie is a mix, but she came from a rescue. It wasn't a particular breed rescue, but it wasn't an animal shelter, either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For those of you who chose to rescue your BC as opposed to going with a respectable breeder - how do you feel the entire process went? If good - what was good? If bad - what was bad?

 

I felt that the process went well. We had to take our current dogs to go and meet Maddie. We spent an entire afternoon with the person from rescue and Maddie and we learned a lot about the work that the rescue does as she learned a lot about us.

 

It was well worth the time - it wasn't like an interrogation or anything. We were happy to let the rescue person know what kind of home Maddie would have with us and she was very helpful as we expressed some of our concerns while we considered adopting her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you feel the foster homes were almost too protective of the dogs they were keeping?

 

No. Granted, the presence of our other two healthy, happy dogs attested to our qualifications as new owners for Maddie, but we were very happy to give them all of the information that they needed to assure them that Maddie would have a great home with us.

 

I appreciated their standards and the fact that they would not have adopted to just anybody who came along looking for a dog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you feel that the rescue was working against itself in some respects?

 

No. It might have been different for us if we were first time adopters, but as things stood, they wanted us to adopt her as much as (actually probably more at that time) we wanted to adopt her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Has anyone turned away from rescuing due to their local organization's practices?

 

No. And even if I were to have a negative experience in the future, I would still try to adopt from other rescues at other times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

On a side note - I do some evalution and transport for a Border Collie rescue. Every single time I go out to do an evaluation or get back home from a transport, I am grateful that I have had the privilege of giving Maddie and Sammie a wonderful home.

 

When I come home to their bright eyes and wagging tails, my sincerest hope is that the rescue dogs that I have tried to assist that day will soon have the best possible life with great people.

 

I may not go through rescue to get every dog that I have in the future, but I definitely want to have at least one that we have adopted from rescue always!

[Jack & Co.]

We got Jack at 2-months old from an animal shelter in a neighboring county. He and his sibling were in an outdoor kennel with 10 adult dogs. We were looking for a puppy that would grow into a small adult dog out of respect for our two cats. The nicer puppies were housed inside in nice cages in the main office. My boys liked Jack's tri-coloring and bubbly personality. No questions were asked about our family or home; I just handed over $55.

 

Jack had every worm known to man, he developed a terrible upper respiratory infection, diarrhea, and had no vaccinations. We probably spent over $500 on him in the first several weeks just trying to help him feel better.

 

We don't regret getting our best friend for one minute and can't even recall our lives before we got him! However, I would go the rescue route in the future and would welcome a home visit or anything else a rescue group asked of me. I think what's best for the dog should come above everything else.

[Hector]

I got Bailey, our BC/Sighthound-X, through a rescue group. That group is part of a low-cost veterinary clinic and I knew the people there because of taking our previous dog for vet services. Bailey was an 8-week-old pup when I got him. I spent just a short time with him and liked his friendliness and outgoing personality. He turned into a great dog and the overall experience of getting him through rescue was very positive.

[MrSnappy]

I'd like to know what your motivation for polling this topic is. Call me sensitive but I get tired of people trying to maginify the flaws of the rescue/adoption system. It's usually a result of a failed attempt to adopt.

 

How on earth does a rescue work AGAINST itself? As far as I know, all rescues want one thing; to rehome dogs into the best possible situation for the dogs' needs, where they will hopefully remain for the duration of their lives. No foster home I know wants to keep their dogs forever and if they do, they adopt them! So I don't see how they can be "overprotective." I don't know what practices would turn people away - the only thing that turns people away from adopting is me, the person who decides whether they can or can't have one of my dogs!

 

And I put up with a tremendous amount of shit in the process, let me tell you. There are people who are a pleasure to deal with and understand our concern for the dogs, like Kristi ... and then there people like the fellow who responded to the question "What experience do you have with pathologically shy dogs, border collies in particular?" with a lovely "F*ck you. Liberalism is a mental disorder you should seek treatment."

 

I had an applicant's husband threaten to come over and talk to me "man-to-man" (ie kick the shit out of me) because I didn't offer his wife condolences on the passing of their previous dog.

 

I had someone apply for a dog whose profile screamed "no children" all over it apply for this dog because of her protective nature for her and her newborn child and would make her feel safe. When I suggested that an alarm on the house could accomplish this without putting her child at risk of being bitten ... her response was so appalling I could not reproduce it here, the language was that bad.

 

So maybe the question should be: rescues, do you ever want to throw in the towel and give up because a significant percentage of the people who apply are certifiable looneytoons??

 

The answer is no, of course. Every time a dog goes to an excellent home I am deeply gratified with the results of what we do.

 

Adopters ... feeling that we should simply be delighted that they have graced us with their application. And, we are but that doesnt mean that we will compromise our requirement that the home be a correct fit for the dog

Amen!

 

RDM

[juliepoudrier]

RDM,

Great reply.

 

My rescue experiences have been positive. There have been a number of threads on this board started by folks who were irritated about one aspect or another of the rescue application/adoption process. I think it would behoove all potential adopters to repeat to themselves daily "These folks are here to help the dogs. That is their first priority. This is not all about me. It's about the dogs. Their health, safety, and happiness for the rest of their lives is at stake."

 

J.

[Jack & Co.]

I like what Jo said at the end of her post too....

 

I understand their reasons for being careful. I had to earn the right to adopt this wonderful dog.

What he needed was much more important than what I wanted.

[Catu]

My expierences are far far away from yours as I'm far far away from you too. In my country dogs shelters are very much different. They work with minimal resources and I mean MINIMAL. With just one exception, what I've seen are a bunch of good intentioned people trying to do more then they can with the money they have and resulting in poor conditions for the dogs in the shelters. Don't take me wrong, they were healthy and well nourished, but we all know that that is not enough. The first thing those people should learn is to say "No", don't accept more dogs and take really good care of the ones they already had.

 

In most cases the kennels were almost falling apart, the numbers of dogs in there were excesive and with insufficient staff to take proper care of all of them. Not all the dogs had names, people was puting in adoption the most charismatic ones, but there were a lot of dogs that you knew never will be adopted, just bumped in the shelter for life. The people who "interviewed" me knew a lot less than me of dogs, I ended guiding them on some of the issues of the dogs and teaching them how to aproximate the age based in the incisives wearing as they havo no clue of the age of most of their dogs.

 

My experience was not good, but I have to say that I was not looking for a pet. I had very clear what I wanted and will not let myself to be win by sad puppy eyes. Those dogs had more behavioural issues by the life in the shelters than by their previous life in the streets. People from the shelters don't put me any obstacle, it was me who decided not to adopt dogs from them.

 

I still consider my GSD/Belgian a rescue, but I gave up in shelters and picked her from a house. An accidental litter whose owners published the puppies on internet. I wanted an older puppy at that time, but I was discouraged by what I've seen and now I'm more, but much more than happy with her. My brave black Tasmanian Devil.

[D'Elle]

Thanks for a good reply, RDM.

 

I can also speak from both sides. I adopted Jester from BCR-CA in southern California when I lived there. Now I am a foster home for AZ BC Rescue.

 

My whole experience with BCR-CA, from first contact through all the Fun Days events we had after I adopted my dog, was wonderful. I still miss the people I knew in that group. They let me have Jester even though I lived in the city and had little space and no yard at all. They had seen me at Fun Days interacting with the dogs, and knew I would do right by Jester, and make sure he got enough excercise and play even so, and of course I dedicated myself to doing so and still do.

 

Speaking as a Rescue worker now, I don't think that the foster homes can be too protective or too careful. It's not as if we do not want the dogs to get homes, just that we must make sure they get the Right homes. When a foster dog comes into my life, that dog comes into my heart, and I will do everything in my power to improve the life of that dog. I train, encourage, love, groom, build confidence, and socialize like crazy the dogs that come to me. Whatever that dog needs I do my best to provide, including the right kind of permanent home. Permanent being the operative word, here. I don't want the dog to have to go through losing a home again. And it is my responsibility to make sure it is a good match. I take that responsibility very seriously.

[iLLt3cK]

To answer the two questions above- the reason I posted this query was because I wanted to see first and foremost what other people's experiences were.

 

Let me preface my next comments by the fact that I volunteer twice weekly at a local humane society that has one of the most stringent adoption processes in the county let alone the southern california area. It is also the most stringent of any adoption I've been in contact with but it is within reason in my opinon.

 

They have you fill out a questionaire / application and have you bring in any and all family members or pets that will be in contact with the potential adopted animal. While visiting with the animal they also guage your experience with animals and whether or not this particular dog will work out with the family. Most times they do however sometimes they also do not work out. All of the dogs have had full medical check-ups as well as a behavioral and obedience evaluation by the trainer on staff in order to get the best picture of who the dog really is. This is not a general shelter that accepts strays off the street so the staff usually have a history on each of the dogs they house. One thing that sets them apart from my experience with one foster home thus far is they always look for great reasons why the potential family would make a good fit. In contrast my experience with the local rescue thus far has been the exact opposite.

 

Here are some questions I was asked and how I answered them - then an anecdote.

 

Can you say that a dog adopted to you won't get overly bored and understimulated? Will he be in a crate while you are at work? How many hours does he have to wait between bathroom breaks? What is he supposed to do while he's alone? If he's not confined while you are at work, and he gets bored--he's liable to chew things for entertainment and you might find yourself unhappy with the mess when you get home.

 

My answers:

 

1. I do not believe the dog that I adopt will become bored or understimulated as I am a very active person myself and plan to take my future dog on at the very least, 2 long walks per day to the beach (one in early morning / on afternoon) in conjunction with some obedience training.

 

2. I plan to have the dog in a crate while I am at work.

 

3. I would provide the dog with whatever toy pleases him / her the most and if they took well to it I would provide them with a kong filled with treats that they would have to dig out. It really depends on the specific dog I end up adopting however I would never just leave the dog to it's own devices with nothing to occupy themselves while I am away.

 

4. The dog would wait ~ 3-4 hours between bathroom breaks as the new apartment is 15 minutes from work so at lunch I would be at home eating and tending to whatever the dog may need at that time; be it a short walk with a bathroom break or whatever else may arise.

 

 

The foster response:

 

I'm happy to hear you've thought out a plan for how to integrate a dog into your lifestyle but in my opinion you underestimate their needs. A kong with food in it or any other such toy/cube will keep their interest for about 3 minutes tops and then they still have the rest of the 3 hours 27 minutes to do nothing but wait for you to come home.

 

My point of contest with this statement is instead of looking at the great qualities that I have the potential to provide a rescue from the organization they chose to pinpoint one thing out of the many things that I have been asked to focus on. I then took a poll of the board on what their dogs do when they are at work and 90% of the responses were "they sleep until we get home then they are ready to go".

 

So not only was it something small but it was also a moot point. Not only this but they were happy to point out my error but provided nothing in response that would help me better estimate the dog's needs - just that I was wrong.

 

Do current BC owners that work 8-5 have something for their dogs to do for the entire time they are gone? To me it seems unrealistic and it also seems that this foster in particular has unrealistic expectations for the future owners of the dogs they currently look after for the organization. I am more than willing to go through interviews, house reviews, questionaires, or anything they may ask of me within realistic expectations - witholding dogs for their "perfect" owner seems counterintuitive if the foster's idea of the perfect owner is unattainable. I realize that the fosters get attached to the dogs in their care and only want what is best for them however I think that in this case this line of thinking is counterproductive to the goal of the organization.

 

Going back to my volunteer work - the organization I work with has the most stringent adoption process / policy however they also have the highest adoption rate in the county. Why? In my opinion, it's because the are realistic.

 

I have so much to offer a potential rescue dog in the way of companionship, training, and a lifelong relationship so I find it interesting that a foster of a rescued dog would choose to harbor on such a seemingly insignificant detail when I could just as easily go through the humane society for my BC or even develop a relationship with a local breeder.

[painted_ponies]

I think that's a bizarre reason to turn down an adopter. If it were me, I'd be thrilled the potential owner was proactive enough to plan to crate the dog - as opposed to leaving him/her loose in the house and then pitching a fit when the dog destroyed things.

 

Violet has to be crated about seven or eight hours/day. It's the price she pays for living on a farm - the flip side is neither my husband or I work close enough to home to let her out at lunch. She's survived nicely. At first I kept giving her different toys, but she never paid them any attention and finally I quit. I suppose she naps while I'm gone, but TBH I've never asked her.

 

My friends who gave her to me weren't thrilled about the crate idea. They thought it would be too confining. But then I pointed out that Violet, in her Great Dane sized crate, has as much room proportionally as their two horses have when confined in their stalls. That seemed to make them feel better.

 

Anyway, I guess now you start watching the Humane Society websites and/or talking to breeders. Did you want a puppy or an adult dog? Or you might check out the Rescue Resources in this forum - you might see someone you're interested in and maybe arrange transport if the details could be worked out.

[juliepoudrier]

iLLt3cK (wow, that's tough one to write),

There are a couple of outstanding rescue organizations in California. Is it possible you just went to the wrong rescue? I wouldn't give up on the basis of an interaction with one foster with unrealistic expectations, but I would consider looking into the big border collie rescues that do exist in that state. And if you were dealing with one of the big rescues, then I think I'd bypass the foster parent and try for a different dog or contact the rescue's officers and ask the same questions you asked in your last post about why the foster would concentrate on one "negative" to the exclusion of the rest of your application/responses.

 

And while I admire the humane society for having a very high adoption rate, that statistic is somewhat meaningless unless we also have a statistic to tell us how many of those adoptees stay with their adopters for the rest of their lives. Not trying to pick a fight--just pointing out that a high rate of adoption doesn't necessarily equate with a high rate of dogs finding their forever homes.

 

J.

[MrSnappy]

Originally posted by painted_ponies:

I think that's a bizarre reason to turn down an adopter.

I'm not clear on the fact that this OP was turned down, as nowhere in the post does she state that she was, just that she did not like the reply.

 

I also don't get the impression that you two do, that she was denied the dog because of the Kong question/answer. The rescuer quite specifically said "I'm happy to hear you've thought out a plan for how to integrate a dog into your lifestyle but in my opinion you underestimate their needs."

 

I believe the concern here is not the kong thing, but rather the overall impression the OP has given the rescue about being prepared for a BC in general (or not being, as the case may be). Please keep in mind that we have only seen one small portion of the application, and the conversation, and in seeing that, we have only seen what the applicant wants us to see. (And to the OP, that is NOT an invitation to post any and all correspondence you had with the rescue please - many of regard these exchanges as private.) Supposition based on this snippet would be not be wise.

 

To the OP - I don't necessarily give applicants ideas about something if they have not answered a question in a way I feel is satisfactory; I am looking for the applicant to show a willingness to explore options and be creative (in a circumstance like this, as an example). But I can't comment on this specifically as I was not involved in this conversation. To ask people to judge rescue based on YOUR (private) experience with one rescue is not going to offer you anything except an opportunity to gain sympathy. That gets you no closer to adopting the dog. What are you hoping this thread will gain for you?

 

I would also like to point out that "the highest adoption rate in the county" is a pretty meaningless claim for a shelter, no offense - it's easy to adopt out dogs, it's not always easy to adopt them out successfully or well. MAJOR difference.

 

That's really all I can say on this - as you've not applied to me I can't speak for the rescue. Only THAT rescue can do that. No point in airing your laundry here, is there really? I mean that as an honest question, not to be rude.

 

I can say that I have had nothing but excellent experiences with the rescues in California though.

 

RDM

[Jack & Co.]

I wonder why the OP doesn't adopt through the humane society where he volunteers twice a week? Surely BC's or BC mixes come through from time to time.

[RaisingRiver]

Originally posted by MrSnappy:

"What are you hoping this thread will gain for you?"

 

The OP just wanted to know other people's experience with rescue and supplied NO indication with their displeasure of any rescue. The OP was ASKED why they were asking, and the OP relied honestly, not condemingly.

 

Had the OP's experience happened to me I probably would have asked the same question to see if it was a common experience.

 

More importantly, BECAUSE the OP asked this question, I would image the OP is MORE LIKELY to revist the idea of rescue groups (maybe a diff one) based on all the positive feedback that was given. Perhaps that is what the OP initially sought to gain

[MrSnappy]

Originally posted by RaisingRiver:

Perhaps that is what the OP initially sought to gain

I'd rather here from the OP herself. I actually feel like the OP set this up quite deliberately, first with the "what does your dog do all day" thread and then this seemingly innocuous and unrelated (but completely related, actually) one. I believe a little more thought went into this, or at least this is the impression it leaves me with. It seems like a lot of work for a simple "what were your experiences" finding mission.

 

JMO

 

RDM

[iLLt3cK]

Originally posted by painted_ponies:

I think that's a bizarre reason to turn down an adopter. If it were me, I'd be thrilled the potential owner was proactive enough to plan to crate the dog - as opposed to leaving him/her loose in the house and then pitching a fit when the dog destroyed things.

 

Violet has to be crated about seven or eight hours/day. It's the price she pays for living on a farm - the flip side is neither my husband or I work close enough to home to let her out at lunch. She's survived nicely. At first I kept giving her different toys, but she never paid them any attention and finally I quit. I suppose she naps while I'm gone, but TBH I've never asked her.

 

My friends who gave her to me weren't thrilled about the crate idea. They thought it would be too confining. But then I pointed out that Violet, in her Great Dane sized crate, has as much room proportionally as their two horses have when confined in their stalls. That seemed to make them feel better.

 

Anyway, I guess now you start watching the Humane Society websites and/or talking to breeders. Did you want a puppy or an adult dog? Or you might check out the Rescue Resources in this forum - you might see someone you're interested in and maybe arrange transport if the details could be worked out.

I wasn't turned down and I am still working with this organization to hopefully find my new dog in the coming months, that is why I made sure to point out that this was only one foster and not the organization itself.

 

I guess I was just dissapointed to know that at least one member of this rescue think the way that they do. I have obviously done a great deal of research and have been in contact with many people so for a foster to immediately write me off without even offering the "correct" answer to their question is confusing.

 

There are a lot of things that I do not know - but one thing I do know is that I'm looking for a BC to call my own for the rest of it's life and to provide that dog with the greatest quality of life that I can during it's lifetime.

 

Isn't that what rescues are looking for in an potential adopter?

 

Seems penny wise and pound foolish.

[Cheri McDonald]

For those of you who chose to rescue your BC as opposed to going with a respectable breeder - how do you feel the entire process went? If good - what was good? If bad - what was bad?

 

***Our experience was excellent and we went back for our second border collie. After our first recsue we volunteered with the group to help anyway we could.

 

Do you feel the foster homes were almost too protective of the dogs they were keeping?

 

***NOT AT ALL. Foster homes and rescue are there to find the RIGHT home for the DOG. Not to satisfy some instant gratification of a would be adopter.

 

Did you feel that the rescue was working against itself in some respects?

 

***Again not at all. The most important job for the rescue is finding the perfect FOREVER home for the dog.

 

Has anyone turned away from rescuing due to their local organization's practices?

 

***We would have people get upset with us and turn away from our rescue when they didn't get what they wanted. We are there to serve the dog's best interest. If we can find the right person for that dog great, if we judge you the wrong person too bad!