Have you adopted a dog from a NOVA area rescue org?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks all.

I think the process just isn't working right now, for us. We have basically been rejected twice now for dogs that we were interested in adopting.

We have talked a lot at home over the past month or two about what we are looking for. We look at the dogs online. We go to the adoption fair. The volunteers are helpful and enthusiastic. After a couple of times going to see the dogs, we settled on one. We did the paperwork. In the first instance, they did the home visit and basically told us that getting that particular dog was not a good idea. The second time, after another fair and another round of paperwork, they just emailed us and said it wouldn't work out.

I totally understand that they are working hard to make a good match and their reasons, each time, have been understandable. But we have a 7 year old who keeps getting her hopes up and then it doesn't work out. So I guess I need to rethink this process.

We also have tried reaching out to the staff to ask them to suggest dogs for us (and have gone into detail about what we think we'd like), but then the suggestions that they send us are not aligned with what we've said we are looking for. So it's pretty frustrating.

I think you need to be more realistic then. There is something about your home or your expected interactions with the dog that makes them hesitate. Many rescues state up front that they will not adopt to families with children under a certain age. You might have the best of intentions but there is a disconnect between your intentions and the reality of having a dog in your home.

I disagree. I think many of these adoption agencies are ridiculous in their requirements. I love animals, but they are not humans. Lost Dog and Cat was WONDERFUL! We adopted a dog with no problem - and they knew that we both work out of the home, have a small backyard, and a rambunctious 4yo boy. We assured them that we would crate train, hire a dog walker a couple of times a week, take her on plenty of walks/hikes ourselves, etc. It was no issue. WARL, on the other hand, insisted that every dog we were interested in "wouldn't be good with kids." I found this ludicrous in many ways - I had plenty of dogs growing up. I can understand if a dog is aggressive but a nervous dog will relax once they are in a loving home. Ours has, and she is fantastic with my son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks all.

I think the process just isn't working right now, for us. We have basically been rejected twice now for dogs that we were interested in adopting.

We have talked a lot at home over the past month or two about what we are looking for. We look at the dogs online. We go to the adoption fair. The volunteers are helpful and enthusiastic. After a couple of times going to see the dogs, we settled on one. We did the paperwork. In the first instance, they did the home visit and basically told us that getting that particular dog was not a good idea. The second time, after another fair and another round of paperwork, they just emailed us and said it wouldn't work out.

I totally understand that they are working hard to make a good match and their reasons, each time, have been understandable. But we have a 7 year old who keeps getting her hopes up and then it doesn't work out. So I guess I need to rethink this process.

We also have tried reaching out to the staff to ask them to suggest dogs for us (and have gone into detail about what we think we'd like), but then the suggestions that they send us are not aligned with what we've said we are looking for. So it's pretty frustrating.

OP--some rescue orgs can be a bit wacky. (I'm not slamming rescue groups--they are amazing in general, but there are occasional volunteers that can be off the wall.) My friend was fostering a dog for a rescue group and was told to lie about the dogs breed (it was part pit, and they wanted her to not tell prospective adopters in case they wouldn't take it). After she had fostered the dog for several months, she decided she wanted to adopt the dog herself, and they made her do another home inspection (of course they had already done one in order to foster the dog) and came up with truly bizarre repairs they wanted her to make to her fully fenced yard (that the dog had been playing in for months already).

Four is a tough age though--a lot of shelters set 8 as a minimum age as an extra precaution.

[Anonymous]

My experience has been that the larger rescue groups are more restrictive about who they choose. Look for smaller rescue groups. They still require home inspection, and will not adopt a dog who doesn't get along w/ other dogs to a home with dogs, etc., but they are definitely less strict.

[Anonymous]

Friends of Homeless Animals--foha.org--is great. They are a no-kill rescue out in Loudoun County with lots of trails and play areas for you to interact with individual dogs.

You do have to have a phone interview and an in-home visit/interview before being approved to adopt, but I'm glad they do it. It wasn't an issue for us. I wonder why you're getting rejected--they don't give you a reason?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Friends of Homeless Animals--foha.org--is great. They are a no-kill rescue out in Loudoun County with lots of trails and play areas for you to interact with individual dogs.

You do have to have a phone interview and an in-home visit/interview before being approved to adopt, but I'm glad they do it. It wasn't an issue for us. I wonder why you're getting rejected--they don't give you a reason?

OP here - in the first instance, they felt that the dog was likely to jump our fence and run away. It was a mix, but mostly hound, and we have one section of fence that's lower than the rest. (I think they envisioned us letting the dog into the back yard and then ignoring it, which is not our intention at all. We would like to eventually be able to just let the dog out, but I assume that for a long time - maybe even a year - we will need to be right there with the dog when s/he is out in the back yard.)

The second time, they said that they have found that the particular dog is very unhappy when by itself, and that we were going to be leaving it alone too much, due to our work schedules. (Again, it's sort of a yes & no. We currently are gone from the house for up to 9 hours at a time, but starting in July it will be more like 6 hours)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback & suggestions - we are going to continue to look and to refine our expectations!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friends of Homeless Animals--foha.org--is great. They are a no-kill rescue out in Loudoun County with lots of trails and play areas for you to interact with individual dogs.

You do have to have a phone interview and an in-home visit/interview before being approved to adopt, but I'm glad they do it. It wasn't an issue for us. I wonder why you're getting rejected--they don't give you a reason?

OP here - in the first instance, they felt that the dog was likely to jump our fence and run away. It was a mix, but mostly hound, and we have one section of fence that's lower than the rest. (I think they envisioned us letting the dog into the back yard and then ignoring it, which is not our intention at all. We would like to eventually be able to just let the dog out, but I assume that for a long time - maybe even a year - we will need to be right there with the dog when s/he is out in the back yard.)

The second time, they said that they have found that the particular dog is very unhappy when by itself, and that we were going to be leaving it alone too much, due to our work schedules. (Again, it's sort of a yes & no. We currently are gone from the house for up to 9 hours at a time, but starting in July it will be more like 6 hours)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback & suggestions - we are going to continue to look and to refine our expectations!

You will need a dog-walker, no question. Did you tell them you would have one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friends of Homeless Animals--foha.org--is great. They are a no-kill rescue out in Loudoun County with lots of trails and play areas for you to interact with individual dogs.

You do have to have a phone interview and an in-home visit/interview before being approved to adopt, but I'm glad they do it. It wasn't an issue for us. I wonder why you're getting rejected--they don't give you a reason?

OP here - in the first instance, they felt that the dog was likely to jump our fence and run away. It was a mix, but mostly hound, and we have one section of fence that's lower than the rest. (I think they envisioned us letting the dog into the back yard and then ignoring it, which is not our intention at all. We would like to eventually be able to just let the dog out, but I assume that for a long time - maybe even a year - we will need to be right there with the dog when s/he is out in the back yard.)

The second time, they said that they have found that the particular dog is very unhappy when by itself, and that we were going to be leaving it alone too much, due to our work schedules. (Again, it's sort of a yes & no. We currently are gone from the house for up to 9 hours at a time, but starting in July it will be more like 6 hours)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback & suggestions - we are going to continue to look and to refine our expectations!

You will need a dog-walker, no question. Did you tell them you would have one?

You do not need a dog-walker while out working a normal day if your dog is well-trained. There is absolutely no need. Perhaps that one dog they were looking at would be unhappy, but most dogs are fine. (OP, it's probably good you didn't get that dog--you don't want a dog with separation anxiety!) We don't have a dog walker. Neither do our friends with a small dog. We walk the dog in the morning for exercise and let her out in the yard when we get home from work and play with her. The dog is free to roam the house during the day and all she does is sleep. She is very happy.

OP, the fence things sound a bit ridiculous. I hate to suggest this, but perhaps stretch the truth a bit. Say you'll get a dog-walker. Don't tell them you'll have the dog out in the yard unsupervised. But, do take warning if the rescue says that the dog gets unhappy when it's by itself--you'll have a lot of work ahead of you.

[Anonymous]

Can't remember the name but they were at petsmart. Did only an on- site interview at the store. Left with an adorable beagle and still crazy about him 4 yrs later! My husband and kids are huge dog lovers ( I became one) so I guess the service got lucky that we were/are such good caretakers. But really, no interview. Although now that I love our dog so much I can see why these places want to and should do interviews -- so no abuse and to a good home. There are so many dogs in need of a good home. I hope you get one soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks all.

I think the process just isn't working right now, for us. We have basically been rejected twice now for dogs that we were interested in adopting.

We have talked a lot at home over the past month or two about what we are looking for. We look at the dogs online. We go to the adoption fair. The volunteers are helpful and enthusiastic. After a couple of times going to see the dogs, we settled on one. We did the paperwork. In the first instance, they did the home visit and basically told us that getting that particular dog was not a good idea. The second time, after another fair and another round of paperwork, they just emailed us and said it wouldn't work out.

I totally understand that they are working hard to make a good match and their reasons, each time, have been understandable. But we have a 7 year old who keeps getting her hopes up and then it doesn't work out. So I guess I need to rethink this process.

We also have tried reaching out to the staff to ask them to suggest dogs for us (and have gone into detail about what we think we'd like), but then the suggestions that they send us are not aligned with what we've said we are looking for. So it's pretty frustrating.

Been there, done that! Personally, I have had a much better experience with county SPCA (I'm in MD, not VA, though) shelters than rescue groups that rely on fosters. With the SPCA as with the local county animal shelter (the pound), they have space constraints, and I feel like they are actually a bit more motivated to adopt out animals.

My experience (combined with people I know) with the rescue groups that rely on fosters is that they don't understand the phrase "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." I know personally of several cases where the foster person ended up keeping the animal up for adoption. And I actually suspect that sometimes this is the intention all along.

I also know someone who works with one of those groups and fosters, and while he is a good person, his is very judgmental! He is actually very active in rescue groups and he has told me reasons he has recommended that people be rejected, and some of those reasons were, in my view, completely ridiculous (they had very little to do with whether the person would be a good pet guardian or whether it was a good fit and had far more to do with personality differences).

As a result, I usually try to go with either local animal shelter (county or city facility) or with the local SPCA. There are plenty of fantastic dogs and the people are very reasonable. The SPCA will do more in the way of vetting, and they usually try to determine if the dog is good with other dogs, cats, kids, et cetera. The local shelter (pound) usually does little of that. Try the SPCA first.

Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friends of Homeless Animals--foha.org--is great. They are a no-kill rescue out in Loudoun County with lots of trails and play areas for you to interact with individual dogs.

You do have to have a phone interview and an in-home visit/interview before being approved to adopt, but I'm glad they do it. It wasn't an issue for us. I wonder why you're getting rejected--they don't give you a reason?

OP here - in the first instance, they felt that the dog was likely to jump our fence and run away. It was a mix, but mostly hound, and we have one section of fence that's lower than the rest. (I think they envisioned us letting the dog into the back yard and then ignoring it, which is not our intention at all. We would like to eventually be able to just let the dog out, but I assume that for a long time - maybe even a year - we will need to be right there with the dog when s/he is out in the back yard.)

The second time, they said that they have found that the particular dog is very unhappy when by itself, and that we were going to be leaving it alone too much, due to our work schedules. (Again, it's sort of a yes & no. We currently are gone from the house for up to 9 hours at a time, but starting in July it will be more like 6 hours)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback & suggestions - we are going to continue to look and to refine our expectations!

You will need a dog-walker, no question. Did you tell them you would have one?

I'm gone from the house 9 hours a day and don't have a dog walker. I hate this kind of absolutism. There are all kinds of solutions and alternatives. Not to mention, so much depends on the individual dog (size, breed, training), et cetera. I would suggest a larger breed dog, though.

[Anonymous]

I would also suggest to the OP to look on craigslist to see if there are any "free to a good home" ads.

I absolutely would NEVER suggest you buy a dog, but I do think there are people who try to re-home their dogs themselves.

Just be cautious and careful. You might find a wonderful dog whose owner is moving or old or just doesn't want to care for it and is trying to find a new home before surrendering the dog to a shelter.

[Anonymous]

OP here - in the first instance, they felt that the dog was likely to jump our fence and run away. It was a mix, but mostly hound, and we have one section of fence that's lower than the rest. (I think they envisioned us letting the dog into the back yard and then ignoring it, which is not our intention at all. We would like to eventually be able to just let the dog out, but I assume that for a long time - maybe even a year - we will need to be right there with the dog when s/he is out in the back yard.)

The second time, they said that they have found that the particular dog is very unhappy when by itself, and that we were going to be leaving it alone too much, due to our work schedules. (Again, it's sort of a yes & no. We currently are gone from the house for up to 9 hours at a time, but starting in July it will be more like 6 hours)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback & suggestions - we are going to continue to look and to refine our expectations!

I don't think those are unreasonable factors in rejecting you. They probably know the one dog could be a jumper and that the other had some separation anxiety. They should have known that ahead of time but still reasonable reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friends of Homeless Animals--foha.org--is great. They are a no-kill rescue out in Loudoun County with lots of trails and play areas for you to interact with individual dogs.

You do have to have a phone interview and an in-home visit/interview before being approved to adopt, but I'm glad they do it. It wasn't an issue for us. I wonder why you're getting rejected--they don't give you a reason?

OP here - in the first instance, they felt that the dog was likely to jump our fence and run away. It was a mix, but mostly hound, and we have one section of fence that's lower than the rest. (I think they envisioned us letting the dog into the back yard and then ignoring it, which is not our intention at all. We would like to eventually be able to just let the dog out, but I assume that for a long time - maybe even a year - we will need to be right there with the dog when s/he is out in the back yard.)

The second time, they said that they have found that the particular dog is very unhappy when by itself, and that we were going to be leaving it alone too much, due to our work schedules. (Again, it's sort of a yes & no. We currently are gone from the house for up to 9 hours at a time, but starting in July it will be more like 6 hours)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback & suggestions - we are going to continue to look and to refine our expectations!

You will need a dog-walker, no question. Did you tell them you would have one?

You do not need a dog-walker while out working a normal day if your dog is well-trained. There is absolutely no need. Perhaps that one dog they were looking at would be unhappy, but most dogs are fine. (OP, it's probably good you didn't get that dog--you don't want a dog with separation anxiety!) We don't have a dog walker. Neither do our friends with a small dog. We walk the dog in the morning for exercise and let her out in the yard when we get home from work and play with her. The dog is free to roam the house during the day and all she does is sleep. She is very happy.

OP, the fence things sound a bit ridiculous. I hate to suggest this, but perhaps stretch the truth a bit. Say you'll get a dog-walker. Don't tell them you'll have the dog out in the yard unsupervised. But, do take warning if the rescue says that the dog gets unhappy when it's by itself--you'll have a lot of work ahead of you.

I disagree. It is cruel and I humane to leave a dog for entire workdays, every week. Ask your vet, who will tell you about the UTIs he sees in dogs made to hold it every day for all those hours. Not to mention, the loneliness - dogs are social creatures, not like cats.

And you are telling OP to lie?

[Anonymous]

^^^*inhumane*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP here - in the first instance, they felt that the dog was likely to jump our fence and run away. It was a mix, but mostly hound, and we have one section of fence that's lower than the rest. (I think they envisioned us letting the dog into the back yard and then ignoring it, which is not our intention at all. We would like to eventually be able to just let the dog out, but I assume that for a long time - maybe even a year - we will need to be right there with the dog when s/he is out in the back yard.)

The second time, they said that they have found that the particular dog is very unhappy when by itself, and that we were going to be leaving it alone too much, due to our work schedules. (Again, it's sort of a yes & no. We currently are gone from the house for up to 9 hours at a time, but starting in July it will be more like 6 hours)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback & suggestions - we are going to continue to look and to refine our expectations!

I don't think those are unreasonable factors in rejecting you. They probably know the one dog could be a jumper and that the other had some separation anxiety. They should have known that ahead of time but still reasonable reasons.

OP- I agree - I did not mean at all that those are unreasonable factors. I was just answering the question about why we got rejected. I think the frustration stems from feeling like we are being judged, rather than they are working with us, and also the disconnect between the enthusiasm of the volunteers at the events (who are all about how great the dog would be for us) and then the skepticism/rejection from the "coordinator" person.