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Misconceptions of Rescue OrganizationsWhile most people who contact us for assistance are kind and understanding, sadly, a few are not. Occasionally we get rude, belligerent, and even threatening demands to "Take this dog off my hands NOW or else!" Some people who contact us have the wrong perception of what a rescue organization is and does. Here is a list of "Rescue Misconceptions" that we've actually dealt with at one time or another. Misconception #1: "You have to drop everything and come over to pick up this dog NOW, or it will go to the animal shelter or be dumped on the street! You're a rescue organization - it's what you're supposed to do!" The Facts: We definitely wish our rescue group had unlimited financial resources and enough volunteers to rush anywhere in the Metroplex at a moment's notice! Realistically, however, we are a small group, as is the case for most rescue organizations. Most people who volunteer in animal rescue also work and have family responsibilities. Keep in mind that the priority of rescue groups is to rescue those dogs already in animal shelters or strays for which no owners can be found. If you are fortunate, and the rescue group actually has space for your dog in their program, please have patience while the details of the transfer are worked out. Misconception #2: Rescue groups will take a dog into their program to adopt out even if it is vicious or has bitten and attacked people and other dogs. The Facts: It would be nice if a rescue program had a magic wand to wave and make every dog non-aggressive. Unfortunately, no such wand exists, and sometimes, bad genes and poor training/socialization combine to create an unpredictable dog that is clearly unsafe. One must look at the circumstances surrounding a bite or act of aggression. Certainly, not all dogs that bite once are vicious. But if biting and aggression are ongoing behaviors, and training has not helped, there may be no other solution than to have your veterinarian euthanize the dog. Do consult your vet and an experienced animal behaviorist before taking this final step. Nothing is sadder than having to euthanize a beloved family pet, especially if there is something that can be done to correct the aggression. Keep in mind that if you knowingly surrender a dog with an aggressive history to a rescue program, you will be legally liable along with the rescue program for any injuries or damage this dog inflicts for the rest of its life. Misconception #3: A rescue group will take my elderly dog and provide for it for the rest of its life, or better yet, find my elderly dog a new home! I'm sure there are lots of adopters who would love to adopt a 12 year old dog. The Facts: The vast majority of adopters will not adopt a dog over 5 years old. They want to have as many years as possible with their new companion, and taking on a dog in potentially the most expensive years of its life is not something most people will do. If you need to place an elderly dog, your best option is to find a home yourself. We have an excellent article we can e-mail to you on this topic. Of course, the most humane thing to do is to let your senior dog live out their life with you - do not abandon them in their twilight years. Misconception #4: Rescue groups are desperate to place dogs in new homes, and will adopt them out to anyone who asks, at any time. The Facts: Rescue groups are usually very deliberate about placing the right dog in the right home. Each dog is unique, and has its own personality and set of needs. We have a detailed application process that includes an in depth home visit. It is important that the adopter and the prospective dog be a good match, because only in that way will the adoption truly work out. In general, we take the same steps a reputable breeder would take to ensure that the match we make is a good one. Our emphasis is to do what is in the dog's best interest. Misconception #5: Rescue groups always have puppies available. I will have no trouble getting a puppy right away. The Facts: Only occasionally do purebred rescue groups have puppies available. The majority of dogs we rescue are between the ages of one and five years. When considering adopting a rescue dog, you must be flexible in your expectations. There is no way for any one group to have the exact dog that a person is looking for. If you are determined to have a puppy, we would suggest finding a reputable breeder rather than going with rescue. We can help you locate a reputable breeder. Misconception #6: A dog adopted from a rescue group will be 100 percent housetrained from the moment it arrives in my home. The Facts: Rescue groups work hard on both crate training and housetraining with dogs while they are in foster care. In some cases, dogs in foster care master these skills in their foster home. Others will need additional training. However, all dogs will require a period of adjustment when they move to their new home. This requires patience and time. If you require that a dog be 100 percent housetrained from the moment it arrives in your home, you should re-consider whether a dog is a suitable choice of pet for your home. A majority of dogs end up in rescue programs because the original owners do not have realistic expectations of the housetraining process and do not have a good system in place for housetraining. Misconception #7: As soon as I see a dog I like on the rescue group's website, I can call and schedule any time that is convenient for me and go meet the dog. The Facts: Rescue groups have specific steps in their adoption process. The first step, before meeting any dog, is to fill out an application. After the application is reviewed, references are checked, the applicant's veterinary clinic is contacted, and then a home visit is scheduled. If the application is approved, a mutually agreeable time to meet the dogs in the program is set up. Applying to a rescue group (as opposed to adopting from an animal shelter) requires more work on the "front end" in that the application process is more involved. However, once you adopt your dog it will be fully vetted and should not require any trips to the vet except for a "meet and greet" to fill out new client paperwork. On the other hand, city animal shelters allow you to look over the available dogs without an application process. However, you will most likely have more work on the "back end" because you may need to take your new dog to be spayed or neutered, he or she may require some additional shots and there may be additional medical problems that must be treated (at your own expense). You also will have to supply documentation to the shelter that the spay/neuter surgery has been completed. Adopting a dog takes some time and effort. It's more a matter of whether you prefer to put forth the effort on the front end of the process or the back end of the process. Either way, adopting a dog in need of a home is a good thing no matter whether the dog comes from a rescue group or a city animal shelter. Misconception #8: A rescue group will pay for my dog's spay/neuter, cancer surgery, back surgery, etc. The Facts: Rescue groups are not free clinics for dogs. Vet care is part of pet ownership, just as pediatric care is part of parenting. Please do not contact a rescue group for help with personal vet bills. You can refer to this site for assistance: www.thepetfund.com. Misconception #9: My dog needs some expensive vet work that I'd rather not pay for. If I call the rescue group and pretend it's a stray, they will take my dog and have the required vet work done. Then I'll apply to adopt the dog, pay the adoption fee, and get my dog back - that would cost me far less money! Or I found a stray dog that I'd like to keep, but it needs a lot of vet work. I'll call the rescue group, they will take the dog, do the required vet work, then I'll adopt it afterwards. The Facts: This is a scam that unscrupulous people have actually attempted! As stated in #8, rescue groups are not free clinics for dogs. If your dog needs care, or if you find a stray dog, are unsuccessful at locating the owner, and wish to keep the dog, YOU are responsible for any veterinary expenses. Once you surrender a dog to a rescue group you may not reclaim it nor may you apply to "adopt it back" later. Misconception #10: Rescue groups are just out to make money for their group. If they were really interested in helping find these dogs homes, they would give them away and charge no adoption fees whatsoever. The Facts: All rescue groups, including ours, have limited financial resources, very small budgets, and very large expenses. Some dogs come to us with treatable, but expensive illnesses such as heartworms. Some have never been given the proper vaccines or veterinary care. Many come to us unaltered (not spayed or neutered). Some have badly infected mouths, requiring expensive cleaning and dental care. Others have serious infections that must be treated. A few even require expensive procedures, such as surgery to repair a hernia, or treatment for life-threatening injuries. Our rescue veterinarians give each dog the vet care required to restore them to excellent health. The new owners adopt a dog who is fully vaccinated, spayed or neutered, in excellent health and microchipped for permanent identification. We are fortunate that our rescue veterinarian gives us a discount, but excellent care for dogs in poor condition is not cheap. The adoption fee rarely covers all of our veterinary expenses. In addition, we feed our foster dogs premium dog food to assist them in attaining and maintaining good health. We also give them vitamins and supplements, as well as monthly heartworm prevention. We must purchase toys and collars, grooming supplies, crates and bedding. It would be nice if all of these things came to the organization for free, but they do not. A rescue program is not run for profit. We do this because we love the breed we are associated with, and because we want to give dogs who would otherwise be euthanized a chance at a happy new life. Misconception #11: My dog had a litter of puppies and I can't find homes for them. The rescue group will advertise them for me, so I can sell them easily, or they might come pick them all up for me. Or I have a puppy from a litter I bred who is blind, deaf or physically or mentally impaired in some way. Since I won't be able to sell this puppy, the rescue group will rush over and take it off my hands. That way, I can "clear out" my undesirable inventory any time I need to, and continue my breeding business without feeling any guilt. The Facts: Rescue groups never advertise and sell puppies for people. The purpose of rescue groups is to find homes for dogs that might otherwise end up being euthanized. If, under extenuating circumstances, the rescue group does take your puppies into their program, they will require that you spay or neuter all remaining dogs on your property. The surrendered puppies would be spayed or neutered by the group when they reach the appropriate age and would not be placed for adoption until this is done. If you have a health impaired puppy from a litter, as an ethical and responsible breeder, you must take care of this situation yourself. Rescue groups do not exist to "clear out" a breeder's undesirable inventory. They do not accept or place puppies from an unwanted litter. And they do not contribute to the pet overpopulation problem by assisting irresponsible breeders further their businesses. If your dog has puppies, you must bear the responsibility for them. One accidental litter is one too many. Please, spay and neuter your pets! Misconception #12: A rescue group will give anyone a pair of intact dogs to start their own kennel, so they can breed puppies and sell them. The Facts: As ridiculous as this sounds, we do get calls of this type! The purpose of a rescue group is to reduce the number of dogs who wind up in shelters, unloved and unwanted, not to help boost those numbers. No ethical rescue organization will adopt out a dog that is intact. It totally defeats the purpose of rescue. In fact, state law prohibits us from placing animals for adoption unless they have been altered or are subject to a "spay/neuter" contract. Spay/neuter is the critical focus of rescue programs. Misconception #13: Breed rescue groups are against breeding altogether, and have nothing to do with those who breed dogs. The Facts: Actually, some people involved with rescue are reputable breeders themselves or members of a breed club (i.e, Dachshund Club, German Shepherd Club, etc.). Rescue groups oppose irresponsible breeders who do not know what they are doing and who do not maintain lifetime responsibility for every dog of their breeding. Breeding is not something to be taken lightly. It is not something one just "does" out of curiosity, to "teach the kids about nature" or to make some extra pocket money. When done correctly, breeding is not profitable, and is done ONLY to improve the overall quality of the breed. There are many people out there who breed simply to satiate the demands of the "pet" market, which ends up weakening the genetic pool of the given breed. This is what most rescuers are against, because we do not want to see anything happen that will diminish the quality of the breed we love so much. Please contact us for an article on how to identify a reputable breeder. And avoid the "Three P's" - never obtain a dog from a pet store, an ad in the paper, or from a pick-up truck (such as in a parking lot, flea market or at a swap meet). Misconception #14: Breed rescue groups scale fences in the dead of night to take dogs out of abusive homes. They kick in doors and raid puppy mills. The Facts: Taking a dog from a private home is theft of property, and no legitimate rescue group does this. Raids on puppy mills are done only by law enforcement and animal welfare groups. Private rescue organizations do not have the legal authority to do these things. When we say "rescue", it is generally in reference to "rescuing" the dog from a shelter rather than see the dog euthanized when no one adopts or claims it. Some groups also will accept owner surrenders or stray dogs for which the owner can not be located after a reasonable period of time. Misconception #15: Rescue programs are the groups of people who train and keep dogs that sniff in rubble or avalanches to find trapped people or bodies. Or they are the people who train dogs to help the disabled. The Facts: No, those are not dog rescue programs. The first refers to Search and Rescue, and the second refers to Service Dogs. However, many of the dogs that are trained to work in both of the above types of situations do come from animal shelters or rescue groups. Back to the Dachshund Resource Library |