Quote:
Originally Posted by ladyjane  If you go to a shelter for a pup, yes you are running a huge risk of medical issues. |
I'd like to elaborate on what I think this statement means.
When you go to a shelter is does not mean that you will adopt a dog with medical issues. I think what Linda is was trying to say (from my point of view) is that a shelter dog is not vetted as fully as a rescue dog. The dog (shelter) will be given very basic medical exam and UTD on vaccines and spay/neutered. Their job is to get dogs rehomed as quickly as possible. They have a lot of dogs in their care and a lot of people coming through looking at them to adopt. So things might be overlooked and show up later.
An example of this would be my friend who adopted her lab mix from a shelter and within 3 days she found a growth on his side that required surgery. A rescue/foster home would have noticed something suspicious like this and had it treated prior to adoption. But since he was with 70 other dogs and they were just providing basic care it was overlooked.
In her case, the shelter did pay for the surgery that was required to remove the growth but many times that would not be the case.
A good rescue has the resources to address any issues medically that might arise and will give a much better health baseline, know temperament as well as a good medical history while in their care. IMO trying to compare a shelter vs rescue would be nearly impossible.
Let me add one more twist to your question. There are rescues that pull from shelters that treat, vet, foster and then transport to large shelters in the City of Chicago to rehome. I know of one that moves dogs from Southern IL where their chance of euthanasia is about 100% if left in the shelters and their program is very effective. Some are fostered in Southern IL homes until their medical needs have been accessed and treated. It really all depends on the area of the country that you live. Here in the Chicago area it is a rare occurrence to see a Yorkie in the shelters. But in other parts of the county (TX, CA, NC....) you can look just about daily and find shelters with Yorkies. I think (IMO) there is might be a different mindset regarding pet ownership. Also, there seems to be a lot less ByBer and puppymills in the city and suburbs of Chicago.