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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Why is it so hard to adopt a freaking dog?
I mean I get it, but damn. Almost all of the dogs we are interested in are placed with rescues that have stipulations such as being homeowners, no AD mil & full fenced yard. It's getting frustrating and now I see why people quit & go the breeder route.
Re: Why is it so hard to adopt a freaking dog?
Not assy. We knew exactly the breed we wanted and looked and looked for our dog. Happy as can be with the outcome. We do not feel bad about our breed exclusivity. Except I still want a weinmeraner (sp) but there's plenty of life ahead of us.
ETA: Our dog is almost 9. He's old. So that statement makes ME assy.
I have somewhat of a preference but just keep checking local shelter websites for the dog you want. Petfinder is also really great. I see nothing wrong with a breeder as long as they are reputable (not backyard breeders). They test, limit litters, have a contract, usually a long waiting list since they limit litters, and you know they are doing it for for the love of the breed over money.
I get that shelters and rescues want to make sure their dogs are going to good, loving, forever home. But they are also turning away a lot of good potential adoptive rescuers with their stipulations. My friend that I moved here with wants to get a dog from shelter but they won't do it if you have an out of state license. I feel like that's part of their way of excluding military.
Clearly though you never know how people are going to turn out or what they will do with the dog. The people we got our newer dog from passed all the qualifications from the rescue agency they got her from, and then they got rid of her like 8 months later.
I'm not sure. She lives on the peninsula so I think she was more looking at places around there. Then her H kinda put the kibosh on getting a dog for a while. She still talks about it though, so we'll see.
I would also suggest a breed specific rescue org as their dogs will most likely be in foster homes and the foster parents will be able to share what they've learned about the dog.
I can understand, on one hand, why shelters won't work with a specific population. Sadly, there are a few bad apples out there who have set a bad precedent. If you are willing to drive a bit, have you considered looking in areas that are farther from your immediate area, where they may not have the same issues with military folks?
Beat of luck with your search! I hope that you are able to find just the right dog for your family.
Keep looking around for the right rescue. Our rescue does not require you to be a home owner. We also do not require a fenced yard as long as you have a plan for the dog to get exercise. We will adopt out to AD Mil as long as you are married and have a plan for deployments. We will not adopt out to single service members.
Our rescue will also find you a dog if you are looking for something in particular. For instance, right now, we don't have any beagles. Beagles are a popular breed here. If we have someone looking for that breed, we will let them know as soon as we find one we can pull.
The great thing about foster rescues over shelters is they live in a home and are socialized. All of my fosters are in my home with my 4 kids so you know they will be good with kids.
Keep looking until you find a rescue you like. Talk to them and tell them what you are looking for. They'll keep an eye out for what you want.
Also, a lot of rescues won't adopt out to service members because most of the owner surrenders in our area are surrendered by soldiers who are deploying, busy training or don't have time for their dog. It's ridiculous. The shelter at Ft Stewart has one of the highest kill rates in the state because so many soldiers either drop their dog off their or they just let them loose on the base.
It pisses me off more than anything when I get a call from a SM wanting to sign over a dog to us because they are PCSing. It happens at least every other month. That's just for our small rescue. A friend at the HS here says it's almost every day there.
I'm still getting used to how TN does replies, so I hope this works.
My FI and I went through a good bit of that last summer/early fall trying to adopt a pup. I really wanted a specific breed within a specific age range and filled out probably 6 different applications with 6 different groups, including the breed rescue that I have some connections with. There simply weren't any near where FI and I were living, and it would have been too hard to get one of them from UT (where I had connections with the local chapter of the rescue) to FL (where we lived at the time). I had gotten in contact with one rescue that had a dog we really wanted, but he was adopted before we had all of our living situation set. I ended up "liking" that rescue group on Facebook, and lo and behold, about a month later the puppy that became ours showed up in my feed one day. He's not the breed we originally wanted (Cavalier) but he just had such a wonderful personality.
I guess what I'm saying is, just keep looking, Keep contacting people. And a lot of times things end up on FB faster than people update an official website or Petfinder. And, as txrgr said, if you develop a good a relationship with a rescue you like but doesn't have exactly what you're looking for right now, they may let you know when they get what you want. Even though we didn't end up with the breed we were hoping for (soon, soon, I hope), I don't think anything's wrong with knowing what you want.
I actually heard a really good story about this whole thing on NPR last week, I don't remember the program, but it was at lunchtime, and they were interviewing Emily Yoffe (Dear Prudence) about a piece she wrote. Here's the link:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/heavy_petting/2012/01/animal_rescue_want_to_adopt_a_dog_or_cat_prepare_for_an_inquisition_.html
Sorry, wanted to add that I was totally not trying to minimize your experience with rescues. It wasn't cheap or spectacularly easy to get our pup once we found him, either. We drove about 7 hours each way and paid $450 to adopt him (puppies are generally more expensive to adopt than adults). Add to that all the normal puppy stuff, and that he got pretty seriously ill (parvo, which the rescue assured us over and over he could not have, but that's what the vet said) right after we got him, and it adds up. It's cheaper than a breeder, but barely. We do know that our money went to a great cause, though.
We also had a pretty intensive interview and application process (there were essays involved), as well as e-mails sent to the people we had indicated that would be the caregivers for the puppy if we were no longer able to have him. It was serious business.
Agreed. Pet store dogs should never be an option, reputable breeders never sell their dogs to pet stores. Most pet store dogs have lots of health issues as they get older. And it is just funding a terrible practice.
Props to you for searching rescues, but I know it can be frustrating. We also experienced the "anti-military" discrimination when looking for our dog. It was really discouraging and upsetting. The rescue we finally adopted our dog from was a little hesitant because we were military, but thankfully they gave us the ok. They kept telling us 90% of the dogs returned to them are from military families, so I get their concern, but it was still obnoxious. We ran into the fence issue as well, we have a fenced-in yard but for some rescues 5-ft just wasn't tall enough. Ummmm, ok.
Anyway, stick with it. Keep searching rescues and shelters and hopefully you come across a rescue who is willing to give you a guys a chance. It's frustrating when you know you can give a dog a loving forever home, but someone else doesn't believe that you can.