Are you being upfront and very specific about what you are looking for with the rescue groups? It doesn't sound like they are matching you with suitable animals. I suspect a communication failure on both sides. If you only want small, young, healthy and good natured, SAY SO! Don't worry about how it sounds. Multiple bad matches would be really frustrating for me, so I see where you are coming from.

A year ago, we adopted through A Forever Home. We couldn't be happier. Our retriever mix is the best dog ever. Maybe we got lucky, but I've heard of several other success stories (people I personally know) through AFH.

https://www.aforeverhome.org/

Anonymous wrote:We adopted through WTAR, and they have several puppies available now: https://www.wtarescue.com/adopt-a-dog

I think they get new ones almost every week.

Yep!
Get a puppy from Wolf Trap. You can even foster to adopt and get first dibs and have a trial period with the puppy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is much easier. That’s why we ended up buying and not adopting.

We were denied dogs because our townhouse was too small (for a Maltese), didn’t have a fence and we had kids. We tried several adoption agencies too. I also didn’t like that some rescues had a contracts With stipulations.

This was 7 years ago.
Things might be different now. Ymmv.

We adopted a puppy through Lucky Dog this year. We live in a townhouse and have kids. They did the usual checks to make sure we aren't flaky like interviews and checking that we take our current pet to the vet, but they weren't looking for reasons to say no. The process was painless. If it's easier and faster to buy a puppy from a breeder you're dealing with a puppy mill.

Anonymous wrote:It is much easier. That’s why we ended up buying and not adopting.

We were denied dogs because our townhouse was too small (for a Maltese), didn’t have a fence and we had kids. We tried several adoption agencies too. I also didn’t like that some rescues had a contracts With stipulations.

This was 7 years ago.
Things might be different now. Ymmv.

It is much easier. That’s why we ended up buying and not adopting.

We were denied dogs because our townhouse was too small (for a Maltese), didn’t have a fence and we had kids. We tried several adoption agencies too. I also didn’t like that some rescues had a contracts With stipulations.

We adopted through WTAR, and they have several puppies available now: https://www.wtarescue.com/adopt-a-dog

I think they get new ones almost every week.

Honestly, our next dog will be a purchase. I would buy a puppy.

Our current dog is our 7th rescue dog. He's a disaster and we were lied to about him, but we didn't return him because we didn't want to add on to his issues. Also, we were in a position at the time to care for his special needs.

When we rescued him, we were told that he was surrendered by his owners and had been in a foster situation. Did great with kids and all other animals. No bite history (because we always ask about this). Yeah, they kept all of his "special needs" hidden and we had to get very forceful to get access to his file.

His file listed that after he was surrendered, he went to 3 foster families and was returned by 4 different adopters all within a 6 month span. It also listed his severe separation anxiety and destructive tendencies when left alone, both crated and uncrated. Umm, understatement of the year!

He can't be left alone at all ever. He destroyed his crate the first time he went in it and hurt himself. He destroyed hundreds of dollars of items in the house when he was left alone out of his crate (all of this was before we demanded to see his file). He can't even be left alone while we use the bathroom or he'll constantly paw at the door.

If we want to go out shopping or out to dinner as a family, we have to take him to doggy daycare. When we want to go out of town, we hire someone to stay in our house with. He can't get boarded because of his crate anxiety and issues with trying to escape to the point of hurting himself.

He's on medication for the anxiety but it just barely takes the edge off. He's tried them all and all had the same results. We've tried trainers and behaviorists and none could do anything with him.

And honestly, he doesn't even like us that much. He kind of just puts up with us and takes comfort in us always being there. His first owners must have driven a pickup truck because when he sees a pickup truck, he wants to go to it. He has to examine every pickup truck he sees. We have had him for 4 years and he's spent every moment outside of the house for the past 4 years looking for his original owners.

What type of dog are you looking for?

We knew what we wanted and adopted through Lost Dog. It has been a great experience. They are very thorough making sure it is a good fit.

The kids of dogs you can easily buy are puppy mill or back yard breeder dogs which have a whole host of expected problems that are easily as bad as an adopted dog. The king of dog that you'd want to purchase requires more hoops than adopting and a significant wait

Are you in the DC area? Lucky Dog and Lost Dog both regularly transport dogs from crowded shelters in the south. I would recommend you apply through one of them and tell them exactly what kind of dog you are looking for. They should be able to help you. The demand for dogs around here is higher than supply, so the dogs that stay in the shelters vs being adopted immediately tend to have some issues.

Check out these available dogs at Lostdogrescue in Arlington.

https://www.lostdogrescue.org/adopt/dogs-for-adoption/

We got a delightful smaller puppy through a rescue group. We did the application and got approved by filling out a form and doing a video home inspection. It was run by volunteers so took a few weeks for processing. Then they said they'd contact us when a dog that fit our needs came available. It took about a month. So I'd suggest contacting a few, telling them specifically what your requirements are (e.g., age, size, no biting history). Ask them to contact you when one comes available, and also check their listings for any new dogs.

Describe the dog you’re looking for.

We want to avoid buying a dog but after weeks of searching for a rescue, we are not having much luck. A few weeks ago, we adopted a dog from a local shelter but the dog viciously bit me and DH (he needed to see Urgent care for antibiotics). Sadly, we had to return the dog. I then contacted another local shelter about a dog on their website who looked perfect for us. When we went to visit the dog we were told “oh, by the way….he has a bite history”. Ugh…DH was like “no way!!” Then a few days ago I contacted yet another shelter about adopting one of their dogs. Before setting up a meeting, they sent me the dog’s health history. I knew the dog was a senior (it said so on their website) but boy oh boy does he have health issues!! Like needing multiple surgeries, multiple medications, etc…

So now i’m just totally frustrated. It seems like most of the rescues in local shelters are pit mixes (which we don’t want). And the others either have bite histories, serious medical issues, behavioral issues, etc…

Please convince me that I should not buy a puppy and that I should persist in my search!