Nathan Winograd has an excellent post regarding this very thing.
Because of the attitude with so many rescues, I have decided to NOT bother, and instead of adopting, I will be shopping. I do not think that I should have to beg about hunt and peck and HOPE and PRAY that I am not only approved, but then I can actually GET the dog that caught my eye and tugged at my heart strings, or be forever blacklisted because they wanted me to buy a dog from them that I did NOT want, because they decided this dog was the dog for me and I didn't agree.
Example, I am looking at buying land. This is a done deal, the only question is where and when. I'd like a large breed that is historically known to be good with livestock. One of the breeds I was thinking of was something like a great pyrenese or anatolian or related breed, which are live stock guardian breeds. I figure when I get some goats and chickens, the dog would feel right at home.
Except... The one rescue I looked at (first on the search) there is a fenced yard requirement... Ummm.. I plan on having at least 10 acres, looking for 25, and you want me to FENCE that? I'm not going to bother continuing to look, there are plenty of LSG breeders that I can buy a puppy from with no hassle.
Even were I not interested in a dog that would be happy with 10-25 acres to run in, a LOT of rescues have a NEVER off leash policy.
Well, I am a member of a members only dog park. It's lovely, double gated, agility equipment, pools, toys.. Perfect place for a dog to get off leash and stretch it's legs. But so many say NEVER off leash when out of your home. Letting one of these dogs off leash in the double gated dog park, would be breaking those rescues rules.
That ALSO means I couldn't do things like agility or rally or earth dogging. Add to that that MOST rescues have a clause in their contract that means you do not actually own your dog, and they can repossess said dog should you be found to be in violation of their rules.
That means if I adopted a yorkie from a rescue that said no small children and I decide to have one more kid before the baby factory closes, they could TAKE my dog back for being in violation of their rules (if one of the rules was no children under X age), no matter how long I actually had the dog, because they NEVER gave up LEGAL ownership of said dog.
That means if I adopted a papillon from a rescue that had those rules and the dog was THAT good to make it to top agility trials, and someone from that rescue happened to see us on TV (it could happen), it's possible that they could (and would have a legal right to) repossess my dog.
Thank you, no. I'm not going to go through that. I am not going to jump through hoops to give someone MY money, so that we can both feel better about ourselves for rescuing.
And now for the link, which is more interesting than anything I may have to say...
Good Homes Need Not Apply : Nathan J Winograd
I also find this post interesting
The Lie at the Heart of the Killing : Nathan J Winograd
I'm not saying rescue is a bad thing. Of course not. And there are some rescuers that are saints in my books. But there are a number of people with severe control issues, and I'm just not going to do it. More power to those who do and will, and have the patience. I feel people like that are blessed with a fortitude I do not have.
I WILL foster, though, just not for a rescue that thinks that after 9 years a cat that has been in rescue since it was a kitten finally finding his forever home is a good thing. (in the first blog post somewhere, it's a long one and a good read, I think).
We had Fatty for a couple weeks. Long enough to get to know her, her quirks, temperament, level of training and housebreaking, get her prettied up, cause a matted pee stained maltese is NOT nice to look at. The first family was NOT a fit, the second family fell through, the third family was perfect. If I had had Fatty longer than a month, I would wonder why, since this was a dog with VERY few faults as a pet goes. (perfect temperament, except she wanted to be fun police when the puppies got a but wild), calm, great with older kids, (don't have any smaller kids to test her with), great with cats, great with other small dogs, except for the fun police thing, never saw her in action with a big dog, but she was so laid back, I doubt if it was going to be a problem and I was right, since her new family lives next to Rotties, and she plays with them every day...
Her only faults was HORRIBLE breath, (that's how I found out she likes tums as a treat, her breath was that bad and I gave her a mint one as a joke and she took it and begged for more), and being a bit gimpy, since her claws were so long that we could not trim them back as far as they needed to be trimmed which would take time, trimming bit by bit as the quick receded, and that she was lazy, in part from her hurting feet (now fixed) and in part cause she was just sooooo FAT (now fixed).. Plus she is an older lady (no time machine, she's just going to get older)... She has a right to be a bit lazy.
Had she been there much longer than she was, I WOULD have kept her, because after a while, the dog starts to think that they ARE home. You foster a dog for more than 2 months (not including puppies and kittens), you may as well keep the dog, because the dog has bonded to you, and it hurts the dog to be ripped away from yet another home and family. The dog can get depressed, be standoffish, and possibly not bond, because it's afraid to get close in case they lose that family too, and a dog can take years to get over it.
I often wonder if that's the reason that Sabre is as aloof as he is, that at almost 14 weeks, he had bonded to the breeders family and is afraid to get close to us.