Rescues “saving” adoptable dogs

[Anonymous]

Why do shelters allow rescues to “save” dogs that clearly will be adopted rather than taking those who have been there for months? We went to PG county today to try to meet 2 dogs. One was in surgery and the other was being”pulled for rescue”. While there we saw a new dog that had just been posted on their site in the last hour - but the rescue was also pulling him. Both young, small dogs, up for adoption less than a week (or one day, in the one case). There is a list of about 25 dogs up for euthanasia - it seems like the shelter would do better adopting out the easy ones and giving rescues the harder cases. Do rescues pay the adoption fees? If they then ask a $500+ fee, how is that not reselling the dog?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do shelters allow rescues to “save” dogs that clearly will be adopted rather than taking those who have been there for months? We went to PG county today to try to meet 2 dogs. One was in surgery and the other was being”pulled for rescue”. While there we saw a new dog that had just been posted on their site in the last hour - but the rescue was also pulling him. Both young, small dogs, up for adoption less than a week (or one day, in the one case). There is a list of about 25 dogs up for euthanasia - it seems like the shelter would do better adopting out the easy ones and giving rescues the harder cases. Do rescues pay the adoption fees? If they then ask a $500+ fee, how is that not reselling the dog?

It is reselling the dog. "Rescues" are big business. Did you confuse them with being benevolent organizations?

[Anonymous]

The shelter just wants animals out. It doesn’t matter to them which ones go.

[Anonymous]

I guess from the shelter's POV, every dog out is a win. But I agree that rescues shouldn't be brought in until the dog is in trouble or at a no kill shelter, has been there a while.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I guess my naivety is showing! I assumed rescues are trying to help lower the euthanasia rate. The shelter employee mentioned the dogs we were interested in are “highly adoptable” and said we needed to come early when they open and wait until adoption hours; that why I was wondering if the rescues pay the adoption fee. I always assumed they are helping free space, so not paying the fee. It does explain why so many rescues are pulling dogs from the Carolina’s or Texas though. we last adopted 20 yrs ago and the environment has definitely changed!

[Anonymous]

It is all politics and $$$$

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I guess my naivety is showing! I assumed rescues are trying to help lower the euthanasia rate. The shelter employee mentioned the dogs we were interested in are “highly adoptable” and said we needed to come early when they open and wait until adoption hours; that why I was wondering if the rescues pay the adoption fee. I always assumed they are helping free space, so not paying the fee. It does explain why so many rescues are pulling dogs from the Carolina’s or Texas though. we last adopted 20 yrs ago and the environment has definitely changed!

Rescues should be focusing on finding fosters and pulling animals with medical needs that can’t be met by the shelter and raising funds for them so they can be adopted in the future. They are now about profit. During the pandemic I saw a Pekingese at my local shelter and was going to meet and adopt. The dog was only there for a day and that morning a rescue had picked him up. His adoption fee went from $75 to $750. I turned around and purchased 2 Pekingese puppies from a breeder because I saw I wasn’t going to be able to get my desired breed from a shelter for much less than what I would pay a breeder for a puppy.

[Anonymous]

Any dog that gets out of the shelter is a good thing. That allows more dogs, resources and time to go to other dogs. Why is that bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any dog that gets out of the shelter is a good thing. That allows more dogs, resources and time to go to other dogs. Why is that bad?

Apparently, some people think they can just walk in in the shelter and walk out with the dog they like without putting any effort.
Nope, it doesn't work like that. Open intake shelters have to balance a lot of things to limit euthanasia for space. Lining up rescues to get dogs out as soon as stray hold period ends is one of ways to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The shelter just wants animals out. It doesn’t matter to them which ones go.

Mostly this. Every day a dog is in the shelter, its chances of being adopted out sane decrease dramatically. A shelter is NO place for an animal. I'm glad they exist, and I respect the volunteers who work so hard to help the animals they can, but they'll all tell you the same thing. Shelters are loud and smelly, with hard floors. They're stuffy in the summer/chilly in the winter, and full of scared, anxious animals who spend most of their days (sometimes ALL of their day) in a very small pen, without much stimulation or individual care.

Rescues with available foster homes will pull some of the easier-to-manage cases out of the shelter environment, leaving space for shelters to handle more complicated cases, including animals with medical issues. Some breed-specific rescues coordinate with shelters, know their "dropoff days", and yes, get "dibs" on whatever breed(s) they're working with. Why? Because those animal have a better chance going straight to a foster than spending even a handful of days in a shelter, waiting for a new owner who may/may not show. Those same owners (I'm @ing you, pekinese person) can search a little bit harder to find a breed-specific rescue if they really want a particular type of dog. Other owners may be fine with getting a "whatever" mutt from a shelter. There are options, and they're not hard to find.

The bigger problem is that people have confused animal shelters and rescues with bargain shopping stores. They only want an animal they can adopt right now, for cheap. It's a mentality that frequently leads to animals coming back to the shelters. Good, Cheap, Fast - Pick two. You want a purebred cocker spaniel for cheap? You'll need to put your name in at shelter and wait (you'll get queue advantage if you sign up to foster, volunteer a bit, treat the people there like people...). You want a cheap dog and fast? Go to the shelter. I've never seen one empty; there's a dog there you can take home today. You want a specific kind/sort of dog right now? Be prepared to pay for it.

Pets are a privilege, not a right. If the upfront cost of acquiring one is too steep for you, you might need to consider whether or not your budget can truly afford the animal and its ongoing care. Anyone needing a pet RIGHT NOW will raise major flags for any responsible/ethical shelter, rescue, or breeder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any dog that gets out of the shelter is a good thing. That allows more dogs, resources and time to go to other dogs. Why is that bad?

This. All those rescue dogs left the shelter ASAP, freeing up spacefor more dogs and minimizing the trauma to adoptable dogs. Leaving then in the shelter in case OP wants them is not actually best for the dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do shelters allow rescues to “save” dogs that clearly will be adopted rather than taking those who have been there for months? We went to PG county today to try to meet 2 dogs. One was in surgery and the other was being”pulled for rescue”. While there we saw a new dog that had just been posted on their site in the last hour - but the rescue was also pulling him. Both young, small dogs, up for adoption less than a week (or one day, in the one case). There is a list of about 25 dogs up for euthanasia - it seems like the shelter would do better adopting out the easy ones and giving rescues the harder cases. Do rescues pay the adoption fees? If they then ask a $500+ fee, how is that not reselling the dog?

It is reselling and they shouldn't allow it. The rescues should be taking true rescues and ones that aren't quickly adoptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any dog that gets out of the shelter is a good thing. That allows more dogs, resources and time to go to other dogs. Why is that bad?

This. All those rescue dogs left the shelter ASAP, freeing up spacefor more dogs and minimizing the trauma to adoptable dogs. Leaving then in the shelter in case OP wants them is not actually best for the dogs.

The discussion is about dogs who can quickly be adopted so the shelters should adopt those dogs out and the recuses take the hard to adopt dogs. Its reselling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The shelter just wants animals out. It doesn’t matter to them which ones go.

Mostly this. Every day a dog is in the shelter, its chances of being adopted out sane decrease dramatically. A shelter is NO place for an animal. I'm glad they exist, and I respect the volunteers who work so hard to help the animals they can, but they'll all tell you the same thing. Shelters are loud and smelly, with hard floors. They're stuffy in the summer/chilly in the winter, and full of scared, anxious animals who spend most of their days (sometimes ALL of their day) in a very small pen, without much stimulation or individual care.

Rescues with available foster homes will pull some of the easier-to-manage cases out of the shelter environment, leaving space for shelters to handle more complicated cases, including animals with medical issues. Some breed-specific rescues coordinate with shelters, know their "dropoff days", and yes, get "dibs" on whatever breed(s) they're working with. Why? Because those animal have a better chance going straight to a foster than spending even a handful of days in a shelter, waiting for a new owner who may/may not show. Those same owners (I'm @ing you, pekinese person) can search a little bit harder to find a breed-specific rescue if they really want a particular type of dog. Other owners may be fine with getting a "whatever" mutt from a shelter. There are options, and they're not hard to find.

The bigger problem is that people have confused animal shelters and rescues with bargain shopping stores. They only want an animal they can adopt right now, for cheap. It's a mentality that frequently leads to animals coming back to the shelters. Good, Cheap, Fast - Pick two. You want a purebred cocker spaniel for cheap? You'll need to put your name in at shelter and wait (you'll get queue advantage if you sign up to foster, volunteer a bit, treat the people there like people...). You want a cheap dog and fast? Go to the shelter. I've never seen one empty; there's a dog there you can take home today. You want a specific kind/sort of dog right now? Be prepared to pay for it.

Pets are a privilege, not a right. If the upfront cost of acquiring one is too steep for you, you might need to consider whether or not your budget can truly afford the animal and its ongoing care. Anyone needing a pet RIGHT NOW will raise major flags for any responsible/ethical shelter, rescue, or breeder.

Rescuses should be cheap or free, and not a sales transaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I guess my naivety is showing! I assumed rescues are trying to help lower the euthanasia rate. The shelter employee mentioned the dogs we were interested in are “highly adoptable” and said we needed to come early when they open and wait until adoption hours; that why I was wondering if the rescues pay the adoption fee. I always assumed they are helping free space, so not paying the fee. It does explain why so many rescues are pulling dogs from the Carolina’s or Texas though. we last adopted 20 yrs ago and the environment has definitely changed!

Rescues should be focusing on finding fosters and pulling animals with medical needs that can’t be met by the shelter and raising funds for them so they can be adopted in the future. They are now about profit. During the pandemic I saw a Pekingese at my local shelter and was going to meet and adopt. The dog was only there for a day and that morning a rescue had picked him up. His adoption fee went from $75 to $750. I turned around and purchased 2 Pekingese puppies from a breeder because I saw I wasn’t going to be able to get my desired breed from a shelter for much less than what I would pay a breeder for a puppy.

That's why we went to a breeder. Plus we have gotten support from the breeder for years and we know the bloodline.