Question for owners of rescue pets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rescue loving people are nuts. My brother would take his rescue dog to a dog park and a random person thanked him for rescuing. He didn’t adopt a child, it’s a dog!

So you are not a animal lover. That does not make us nuts. Rescuing a dog is worth thanking!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a beautiful dog. She was a plain little brown lump of fur when I adopted her as a puppy and she grew into a gorgeous dog that everyone comments on.

I say "she's a rescue" to preempt the constant "What kind of dog is she?" questioning that I get because of her looks. She isn't any kind of dog; she's a mutt. Her genetics testing revealed some lab, some gsd, some aussie cattle dog, some "terrier," and mutt history. That takes forever to explain so I just say "she is a rescue" and that usually nips the conversation I don't have time to have in the bud.

Similar. Everyone assumes our dog is a pure bred pointer. Our vet was even willing to put money on it. Nope, just a mutt that's a mix of tons of things.

[Anonymous]

I tell everyone. My dog is an expensive breed if bought from a breeder, and I like to point out we got it from a rescue group.

[Anonymous]

We got both our dogs from rehoming agencies. One from the county shelter, and the other from an outfit in a nearby state. Neither were rescued by us. They were not tied to the railroad tracks in front of an oncoming train.

The county sheriff did rescue one of our dogs, who was found starving, tied to a tree at an abandoned house.

If people ask what kind they are, I say Great Pyrenees mix and Supermutt.

It irks me that everything is a "rescue." Like "off the track Thoroughbred" whose last race was eight years ago.

[Anonymous]

I say it mostly because I'm still working with her and don't want people lunging forth to pet her when I don't fully trust how she'll react.

[Anonymous]

Some people make this a big part of their identity.

Who rescued who, amirite?

[Anonymous]

If you are insecure about other people rescuing dogs, ask yourself why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live near a dog park so people are often walking by with their dogs. My kids sometimes say something to passersby, like "your dog is adorable!" And 9 times out of 10 the response is a variation of "thanks, he's a rescue."

Do the rescue groups tell people to answer that way? My kids don't really understand what it means (or at least they didn't at first), so I don't think it's a flex to look like saviors or something. Is it like a subtle advertisement for rescuing pets? Or defensive, like not wanting to look like they support bad breeders? Just curious why this is almost always the response.

I have two dogs from a shelter and I think it’s weird as hell to answer “They’re rescues!” if anyone says they’re cute. If someone asks the breed I just say they are mixes.

[Anonymous]

My guess is it probably doesn't happen as often as OP thinks. Confirmation bias: she only remembers the time that solidify the bias.

[Anonymous]

I find a lot of people ask me how old my dog is. I will respond that we’re not really sure because she was a stray or rescue. Other than that, I wouldn’t bring rescue up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live near a dog park so people are often walking by with their dogs. My kids sometimes say something to passersby, like "your dog is adorable!" And 9 times out of 10 the response is a variation of "thanks, he's a rescue."

Do the rescue groups tell people to answer that way? My kids don't really understand what it means (or at least they didn't at first), so I don't think it's a flex to look like saviors or something. Is it like a subtle advertisement for rescuing pets? Or defensive, like not wanting to look like they support bad breeders? Just curious why this is almost always the response.

A "flex"? LOL. You have issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some people make this a big part of their identity.

Who rescued who, amirite?

So what? I guarantee you have something that is "a big part of your identity" that annoys someone else.

Your being judgy kind of annoys me, tbh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at all the defensive people who bought their dogs from breeders.

Exactly. They know the problems with doing so and make the choice to do it. Fine. That's their right. But, ethically, that is a notch down on the scale. Sorry, it is when you know how many animals are languishing in shelters. But, again, your right. People make ethically questionable decisions all the time.

But -virtue signaling or not, you feeling defensive about it is a you problem.

[Anonymous]

I'll tell people that my dogs are rescues to cut off anyone who starts in on the whole 'doodle breeders/owners' thing since I have 2 obvious poodle mixes. Otherwise if you don't ask, I don't mention it. They are my good boys and I'd rather not hear negative comments about them.

[Anonymous]

It's virtue-signaling, or a warning, or a conditioned response to the inevitable what-breed-is-your-dog question (especially if the dog is super-cute and non-replicable from a designer dog standpoint), or just conversation, or some combination of the above.

signed - owner of a terrible, untrainable, adorable rescue dog