Dog Adoption Without Info About Dog

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, tell us what did you decide?

Tommy is still available on their website so....

OP here--Lucky Dog is a rotten organization and never want to deal with these people again. I asked them at the end of last week if when he arrives off transport, if we could bring the family to meet him for like 5-10 minutes and then sign whatever commitment paperwork we needed to sign to take him in for the two week trial that they require for their off transport adoptions. They refused--they said we had to sign first and commit to taking him before we could even say hello. I told them in so many words that I found that rigidity disappointing because I just needed to make sure he's not going to be freaked out by kids before committing to taking him and you can usually tell right away and given that they had ZERO information to tell me about him, (other than that he seems good with other dogs), I just couldn't commit without seeing him first. So, they called me the next day and said he's on his way up and will be going to a foster home that afternoon and they'd be happy to arrange a virtual visit so we can see him and then decide. I said great, let's do it! We had the virtual visit today and he seemed exactly as I had pictured--super chill, super sweet, seemed like a great dog. The foster noted that in the two day she had him, he seemed a little shy around men at first, but warmed up once he got to know them, and in saying this, she noted her dad is tall and she noticed he was shy around tall men, but again, he warmed right up once he knew to trust and did not run away or hide--just wasn't super friendly at first. I said okay, my husband is 6'3" but i'm sure they'll be fine together once he meets us and sees we're nice people. She also noted he gets a little jumpy when you're coming through the door, but in a happy, non-aggressive way and probably just needs some training to alleviate that. I said, no problem, I grew up with dogs, am familiar with jumping and we can handle that (I also told the adoption coordinator this when we were going through pre-approval, that jumping would not be a dealbreaker for me). No other problems whatsoever and he was basically just sniffing around, playing and having a great time while we were on the phone. Seemed like a super sweet, totally playful guy. We got off the phone, contacted the adoption coordinator immediately and said he seems great, we're ready to proceed! We're getting a dog! Yayyy!

A few hours went by and I was sort of worried they hadn't gotten back to me, but figured they were busy. Well, we just got an email from them that said something along the lines of they had talked to the foster and were concerned that he seems shy around men, mentioned that I had mentioned my husband is tall, and that they think he could jump and knock over my kids, and that basically, they want to make sure they find the right home for the dog., and have other people interested in he dog that they want to talk, as well. And they said something like, we just want to avoid having the dog change homes again if these behavior concerns don't work out for you. So, two days ago, they were willing to hand me this dog totally sight unseen, claiming that we can seek training for any concerns we have with the dog, wanting me to commit to this animal with no information in hand, and NOW they're suddenly super interested in making sure the dog is placed in a good, forever home?!? Which, apparently must either be female-only or with short men? Where was that intent two days ago? I've never heard such insanity in my life. I basically let them know this was completely disheartening and shocking that they would allow a virtual visit under the pretense of adoption, and then basically say they have other families interested and can't consider us for these behavior concerns, which frankly, really aren't concerns. Not to mention, maybe they should have spoken to the foster first before putting us on the phone with her to see what concerns, if any she has?
Anyway, I think they're an adoption mill rather than a puppy mill and were pissed that we made them find a foster home for this dog instead of taking it off their hands immediately like they wanted us to, and are basically passing us over for that reason. Their logic makes no sense and I'm done dealing with this organization.

[Anonymous]

OP here--actually I'm not quite done dealing with this organization. I plan on writing their CEO and Director of Operations to let them know exactly what I think of them. What they did was essentially cruel to us and the kids--there was no mention of well, we need to make sure he's the right fit for you, etc. when talked to them over the weekend. They did say, when he goes into foster, he's basically a free agent, but it was pretty implied we were first in line and if we like him, then we can proceed. I found this whole process gut-wrenching to the point that maybe we'll just buy a dog. I hate saying that because I truly believe in adoptions only, but I don't want to go through this with another rescue org. Once we met him over the phone, we could tell what a great dog he is and for this organization to basically make the decision for us without even trying to discuss first or talk it through is absolutely disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP. That sounds like an awful experience. Your family must be so disappointed.

We recently adopted with K-9 Lifesavers and had a good experience. The adoption coordinator set up a meet with the dog at the boarding facility in VA. We were pre-approved prior to meeting the dog. She said if the meet goes well, you can take the dog home with you which is what we did. Maybe check them out.

[Anonymous]

Yeah it sounds like theyre making odd excuses, or there is some weird hole in their story/logic. I know they try to find the best fit, but that does seem quite contradictory with an adoption without having met the dog.

[Anonymous]

To all the people saying don’t adopt a pit mix you should really own one first before commenting. Admittedly when we adopted our 10 week old puppy we didn’t want a pit. Well our 10 week old lab beagle /puppy grew into a pit mix that looks very much like a pit bull. In all honesty, this dog is now almost 2 years old and we’ve never heard her growl. She is the sweetest least aggressive dog I’ve ever owned. Don’t label a dog based on its looks. Look at commercials on TV, most contain pit mixes. They’re the “in” dog right now because people are realizing that stereotypes don’t define animals and they are readily available at shelters. “Racism is the pits”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the people saying don’t adopt a pit mix you should really own one first before commenting. Admittedly when we adopted our 10 week old puppy we didn’t want a pit. Well our 10 week old lab beagle /puppy grew into a pit mix that looks very much like a pit bull. In all honesty, this dog is now almost 2 years old and we’ve never heard her growl. She is the sweetest least aggressive dog I’ve ever owned. Don’t label a dog based on its looks. Look at commercials on TV, most contain pit mixes. They’re the “in” dog right now because people are realizing that stereotypes don’t define animals and they are readily available at shelters. “Racism is the pits”.

Who are “all the people saying don’t adopt pit mix”? I don’t think that’s what this thread is about.

[Anonymous]

We did this--she came right off the transport from WV and we took her home having no idea what to expect other than we thought she was super cute. We had no kids at the time but we did have cats she needed to be able to get along with. We took her to get spayed and found out she was pregnant. Homeward Trails was the rescue and they were great. They managed the adoption of the pups and found a foster to watch her and the pups while we were on an international work trip (we had planned on boarding her). She was a wonderful dog for 13 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the people saying don’t adopt a pit mix you should really own one first before commenting. Admittedly when we adopted our 10 week old puppy we didn’t want a pit. Well our 10 week old lab beagle /puppy grew into a pit mix that looks very much like a pit bull. In all honesty, this dog is now almost 2 years old and we’ve never heard her growl. She is the sweetest least aggressive dog I’ve ever owned. Don’t label a dog based on its looks. Look at commercials on TV, most contain pit mixes. They’re the “in” dog right now because people are realizing that stereotypes don’t define animals and they are readily available at shelters. “Racism is the pits”.

Who are “all the people saying don’t adopt pit mix”? I don’t think that’s what this thread is about.

If you took the time to read all of the responses you would see that multiple people replied not to adopt a pit mix.

Duh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you adopt a dog you've never met before and know very little information about? We are looking to adopt and are working with a couple of organizations. Lucky Dog has the option to adopt a dog that is arriving to DC from another area without the dog going into foster first. The upside is, this makes for a fast adoption, but the downside is that they haven't really gotten to know the dog and have very little information to provide about the dog's demeanor, temperament, etc. We would just be going on a photo alone and taking a chance. We found a dog we like through them, but he is available for this type of adoption and we just don't much more about the dog than that he likes going on walks and supposedly is good with kids, so we're sort of torn on what to do. They do allow you to return the dog after two weeks, but that just seems cruel to everyone involved. Have you taken this risk before--has it worked out?

Don't do that. Dogs chose people, not the other way around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you adopt a dog you've never met before and know very little information about? We are looking to adopt and are working with a couple of organizations. Lucky Dog has the option to adopt a dog that is arriving to DC from another area without the dog going into foster first. The upside is, this makes for a fast adoption, but the downside is that they haven't really gotten to know the dog and have very little information to provide about the dog's demeanor, temperament, etc. We would just be going on a photo alone and taking a chance. We found a dog we like through them, but he is available for this type of adoption and we just don't much more about the dog than that he likes going on walks and supposedly is good with kids, so we're sort of torn on what to do. They do allow you to return the dog after two weeks, but that just seems cruel to everyone involved. Have you taken this risk before--has it worked out?

Don't do that. Dogs chose people, not the other way around.

Maybe if rescues hold events during normal circumstances. Not sure how pets can choose people during social distancing.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I am so sorry OP. I would be furious in your case as well.

I would strongly urge you to reconsider buying a dog and spend a little longer looking at local shelters. These rescues are insane sometimes. We tried to sign up to foster and potentially adopt through a highly-touted beagle rescue and they were so condescending and rude, lecturing me on how to take care of a beagle knowing we HAVE a beagle and have had her for years! We got our beagle from a shelter and it was a really smooth, simple process with no judgement or crazy restrictions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, I am so sorry OP. I would be furious in your case as well.

I would strongly urge you to reconsider buying a dog and spend a little longer looking at local shelters. These rescues are insane sometimes. We tried to sign up to foster and potentially adopt through a highly-touted beagle rescue and they were so condescending and rude, lecturing me on how to take care of a beagle knowing we HAVE a beagle and have had her for years! We got our beagle from a shelter and it was a really smooth, simple process with no judgement or crazy restrictions.

+1. Why the need to take a dog sight unseen from Texas of all places. This doesn't make sense. Everyone adopting dogs from organizations that are trucking in animals from out of state are just perpetuating puppy mills. Might as well just buy a dog from a reputable breeder.

[Anonymous]

OP, any update? Did your family make any progress on finding a dog?

[Anonymous]

So I work with Lucky Dog as a volunteer and have to say that it is super well-run on almost entirely on volunteer labor. OP I get your frustration but they have made number of changes to their operations since COVID-19 hit. It sounds like what you are looking for is an adoption event where you could meet the dog ahead of time. This is how it used to work- fosters would come to the transport location on Saturdays (often at their offices in Arlington) to pick up the dog that they had volunteered to foster. The next day the fosters would bring the dogs to the adoption event (which were held around DC at pet stores) to give people a chance to meet the dogs, etc. Each dog would have a handler (usually the same person that was fostering). If the dog was not adopted that day the foster would take it home or it would go into boarding (not all fosters were ale to foster full-time).

Now with COVID-19 they have cancelled their adoption events so that they do not have too many people congregating in one place. So they now have the option to do an off transport adoption with a two week trial. That was not an option previously- you either adopted the dog or you didn't at an adoption event.

I am on their foster list and they circulate a list of all dogs coming on transport a f ew days before the transport day. I looked back at the email where Tommy came up and there were 26 dogs total that came up on various transports that day. OP wanted to come to the transport with her husband and kids to see if the dog was OK with them- imagine if all 26 of those dogs had potential adopters who wanted to do that- you would have 100 plus people seeing if the dogs were the right fit.

THEN, if the potential adopters didn't want the dog then they would have to find a place for them that night- Lucky Dog does NOT have a shelter so they would have to have 26 additional people waiting to take the dogs home in case they were not adopted. This not only adds to the number of people at transport but also adds to uncertainty for fosters- people foster because they want to take care of a dog for a few days, not because they want to drive to Arlington to be backup in case people don't want to take a dog. There are a ton of moving pieces to getting dogs up from Southern shelters (they rescue dogs from kill shelters) and adding on more uncertainty would make it really hard for them to make sure the dogs all have places to go.

You are right that it seems inconsistent that they would not let you adopt once they got to know the dog but that is what the two week trial would have been for- it basically takes the place of the adoption events where they used to let you get to know the dog.

I looked back at Tommy's profile and he has been adopted but at some point the profile was amended to say that they would not let anyone with kids under 12 adopt him- so they obviously worked on information from the foster to come to that conclusion.

Anyway, just wanted to give some context as I have always found the organization to be well run and they have had to pivot with the pandemic and I think they are doing the best they can with the limitations they have.

[Anonymous]

I think that the fact that you can return him within two weeks gives you a little bit of a safety net in case he REALLY doesn’t work out. I say do it!!