I can/do understand both sides of this issue. When I first wanted a yorkie 25+ years ago, no good breeder OR rescue would let me have a pup because I had small children (2 under 8yrs). I was extremely frustrated because I really wanted a yorkie. I knew the pup would be well supervised & my children would be taught to be very gentle and to NEVER pick up the pup. Looking back, I now realize that the breeders & rescues who turned me down didn't know me, and had no way of knowing how well my children and pups would be supervised. I finally adopted a pair of "teapot" yorkies from a local shelter, and it worked out wonderfully well.
Since that time, I've fostered & transported pups for 3 different rescues. I know firsthand the time, effort, money, and love that goes into caring for and saving these pups. I've been astounded by people who have applied to adopt a rescue. It's amazing when someone says they plan on letting the 5# yorkie they want to adopt be an "outside" dog. Or when they tell you that their last dog couldn't be trained to stay in their unfenced yard & so got hit by a car.
These things make me wholeheartedly agree with rescues being so "picky" about who gets to adopt their babies. On the other hand, some of the rules can be a little too tight. For example, my home in florida is a townhouse, and does not have a fenced in yard. That disqualifies me as an adopter to many rescues. I think many rescues are unwilling/unable to look at adopters on a case by case basis. Most rescues are fully staffed by volunteers, and unfortunately there aren't enough volunteers to do all that needs to be done. One poster stated that potential adopters should be offered the ability of fostering etc.. That sounds wonderful, but all volunteers need to be screened/approved. It would be crazy to hand over a rescue pup to someone with no screening just because they said they wanted to volunteer.
I know that many people complain about the high cost of adopting some rescue pups compaired to what a shelter charges. What these people don't understand is that most rescues FULLY vet each dog including dentals before adopting them out. There is NO WAY a rescue will get the $1000.00 back that they spent on a 13 yr old yorkie. They may charge a $100 adoption fee for a 15 yr old, but charge $700 for the cute healthy 1 yr pup. If they didn't do this, they couldn't help the sicker, older dogs.
Sorry this post is sooo long. This is something near to my heart! |