This blog post is dedicated to the companion animals that have no voice, they are at our mercy when it comes to rescue from high kill shelters.....
So what IMO defines a "rescue"
A rescue to me means abiding by the rules. Rescues need to heed state licenses and requirements, no group is above the law. Even if they have the word "National" "United States" or "Humane Society" in their name...ask for them to provide their credentials...licenses, 501c3, are their fosters inspected? Are they inspected by their state inspectors annually? How do they actually help the animals?
A rescue must have the funds in hand to provide medical care before committing to an animal/animals.
A rescue should be able to provide the very best in care, not allow the dog to languish in an outdoor kennel for months on end....especially when relinquished by a family that has had the poor dog indoors their entire lives on a big puffy dog bed.
A rescue must be willing to provide services that will benefit the animal and make them more adoptable, spay/neuter, medical tests, microchipping, leash training, crate training, obedience work. The rescue must do their very best to provide a healthy pet to their adopters, and disclose any potential problems with solutions and volunteer intervention if needed if a problem does arise.
A rescue must think with their head, and not their heart....as this is difficult at times, many times I have seen the "road to hell was paved with good intentions."
A rescue must not work within a panic mode, but a logic mode.
A rescue MUST always be responsible for their dogs/cats, taking them back into rescue when an unforeseen event may happen in the adopter's life. Stay in touch with their adopters, check up on the dog/cat, and always save a foster space for any event when a dog/cat must come back into rescue.
What I have seen going into 16 years of companion animal rescue, is that the problems are this:
Shelters not willing to work with licensed 501c3 rescues, people calling themselves a rescue with no credentials, zealots as I call them...not in a bad way, but filling up in boxes with "This Baby dies at 1:pm today" "SAVE this Furbaby!!!!" "OH GOD...I am begging!!!" Don't they realize these posts will be deleted by seasoned rescuers?
I also love it when a dog of our breed is cross posted bcc'd to multiple rescues, especially those of us that do not talk to each other...or it has been blind copied, thus leading to duplicated efforts.
Which leads me to Facebook....
I have seen some incredible legitimate rescues work together to move animals, egos left aside, providing adequate care, training, dog parks with photos...socializing animals at events, and volunteerism that is to behold.
There have been some incredible people working behind the scenes, coordinating medical care with no other intention but to provide the animal a chance to be adopted if a surgery is needed for example....or coordinate a transport to another legitimate rescue (with licenses and 501c3).
There have been many, many good saves and dogs put into good homes.
Then there are the ones that I question....those that do not ask questions of the organization willing to help. Do they have proper licenses to work within those states? How will the dog/cat be housed and cared for? What is their protocol, are they a no kill rescue? Or do they only give the animal minimal medical care, and if the animal proves to need more, euthanize. Just because they have the word "National" in their name, does not mean they work within the laws of such states...nor does it mean they will provide an indoor home to teach the dog (using dog here) house training, crate training, manners so they may go into an adopters home. Do the dogs receive basic obedience or any type of training? What are their credentials? Are they legitimate with the IRS to run a business?
Why am I so adamant on working within the laws, rules and regs? Because there are those of us licensing yearly in states we do business, we keep accurate records as the state agencies coming in for yearly inspections want to see them, because we do it right, and if it means we cannot save them all due to space then this is what happens. We do what we can, but we will do it right. We work hard to provide complete medical care, working within the law, work only with legitimate 501c3 organizations with a good standing within the rescue community. Ask for references, do home visits, vet references and do background checks on adopters. Carry liability insurance we pay for dearly each year to protect ourselves and the public. Do not adopt out animals we feel are not completely ready or rehabilitated. List any and all incidents after rehabilitation and document in their files. Do what is best for the dog, always.
When visiting a local Petsmart yesterday, I spoke to a group that was there doing an adoption event. They had a lovely 9 month old pup there that had been returned....why? Because the couple that had adopted her the week before were in their mid seventies, the energy level of the dog was not matched with the family, and because she had issues with food?
When I asked "what type of issues?" "Oh she is food aggressive....." "Nothing that cannot be worked on."
Now ask yourself, is a dog with food aggression with no rehab being adopted to a seventy year old couple fair?
Now there are many dogs in the shelters that have no issues at all...divorce, loss of job, and the list goes on...the owners cannot provide care...or in our case "the dog cannot hunt." I would say out of close to 300 dogs we have had within our system, we have had very few with issues that could post any threat to the general public. Within the right environment, food aggression can be rehabbed....by experienced handlers/trainers. But not in a shelter environment.
Shelters should be made accountable when a purebred dog comes within their system, to have lists of purebred rescues to come in to help...thus making room for another mixed breed dog. Not only is the dog placed properly, but with some rescues such as ours, not returned to the rescue as we have gone the distance to insure proper placement with experienced individuals.
I guess my beef with the entire situation is this:
While we all want to save a dog's life....sometimes being turned over to "some" rescue situations is worse than death. Asking questions, be responsible, do some investigation before throwing a dog to the wolves.
Off my soap box now....I hope this post will give some guidelines to those needing it.
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