Having just tried to find a rescue that would take in an abandoned dog in my neighborhood, I have to say that I was more than a little disappointed in the responses, which included: "We don't take intact males", "We are full", "I don't have enough money to take him in", and "You get him to the vet, neuter him, get all shots and a checkup, and I MIGHT consider it...if you bring him to me."
MAN!
What I have found is that, SEEMINGLY, the rescues I contacted were individuals taking in lots of pets, or a loose network of people taking in animals. And this is not a bad thing at all. God bless 'em for doing it. But at the same time, doing this does not elevate one to a higher plane of existence. I have definitely sensed a "martyr complex" in some of my dealings with these folks. A few were kind, refusing and wishing me well. But the others... almost an attitude of "I am overburdened, overworked, under appreciated, and a SAINT. I cannot deal with one more thing" (placement request). So I did my own "rescue" and found Bam-Bam a loving home, which seems to be working out great for him.
Yet you do have to jump through hoops to not just surrender a pet to them, but to adopt one as well. It is as if they know "what's best" for the animal, and have lost sight of objectivity. For me, my animals are part of my family, but not substitutes for people.
Maybe I am loosing my objectivity. But I worked briefly with a "trap and spay/neuter" organization in New Orleans for feral cats. I liked the work, but found the attitudes of some of the volunteers to be just obnoxious. Treating the general populace like they were ignorant jerks- rather than using them as resources to locate colonies.
Again, IMHO- persons do this for a reason, and should know what they are getting into. No one forced them to begin a rescue.
My final beef is that the "professional appearance" of a website for a rescue is NOT indicative of the level of "professionalism" when contact is made. Websites should be updated frequently, and a large notice should be displayed with the basic "ground rules", and especially if they are full, and temporarily not taking in any more animals. They should note this clearly, and shift the focus to adoptions.
I just talked with my neighbor, who was denied a dog because she did not have a fenced in yard. She has two other dogs she treats like gold...but since we rent here, a fence is a costly proposition to just leave behind when one moves. So yes, some of the "rules" are a bit much at times. Others are there to weed out the bad apples.
If I had gone to a rescue to try and adopt Stanford, I would have most likely been turned down. I don't have fenced yard. I have a larger dog. I have two cats.
I guess the point is: If rescues are overworked and overwhelmed, then focus on being ADAPTABLE and looking at all aspects of a potential family's life. If not, then do not complain about the situation... and go get more volunteers to spread the work out.
Again, I am sure not all rescues are like the ones in this thread, or the ones I have experienced. So no offense meant if the brush stroke seems a bit wide.
Thanks all for letting me rant.
Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
