Thanks to everyone who read, and commented on, my previous posts, which told of our experiences with dog re-homing. Before I continue the adventures of the Mad dog woman for 2013, I wanted to have one last say on the matter.
Through our interaction with two rescue centres (Boxer Rescue Service (Southern) and The Dog's Trust) and several comments on my blog and on Twitter, it seems that re-homing a dog is not an easy thing to do. Whilst we completely understand the need for rescue centres to properly 'vet' prospective dog guardians, we do feel that the system is unnecessarily long-winded, time-consuming and frankly a pain the neck. Sadly, I don't think we will ever go to a rescue centre again.
In the case of Boxer Rescue, we never even got near the kennels, so we don't know how many dogs are waiting to be re-homed. We do know that they only re-homed 28 dogs in the year to the end of March 2011. They have over £50,000 in the bank, and they claim that it costs £1,100 to re-home a Boxer dog (from their accounts submitted to The Charities Commission). Boxer Rescue Service (Southern) are a breed rescue service, recommended by The Kennel Club. I have written to The Kennel Club expressing our concerns about the organisation. From the documents submitted to The Charities Commission, one can see that the organisation received funding from The Kennel Club, for the kennelling of rescue dogs. That is, much of their income comes from the number of dogs housed, and NOT from the number of dogs re-homed. Certainly, this service appears to be motivated to kennel dogs and not find suitable homes for them, in direct contradiction of their stated manifesto.
And from what we saw at The Dog's Trust, we believe this is true of that organisation too. The kennels in Shoreham are really lovely. Bright and warm, with arm chairs and blankets. Perfectly designed for tugging at the heart strings for more donations. For here's the rub. They are centrally funded, from public donations, based on the number of dogs they can house at any one time (approximately 60 at Shoreham). If they are not maximally occupied, they take vans of dogs from the Republic of Ireland. I don't agree with this practice.
I don't doubt that the people and organisations discussed here are committed to the animals in their care. We met some lovely people who clearly had a close bond with the dogs. What they lacked was a common-sense approach to re-homing, to making it a streamlined process for dogs and families.
I heard a radio debate this week which added another side to this debate. That of breeder-bashing. I do not support puppy farming. I do advocate neutering. But I cannot join in with pedigree breeder-bashing. We have been interviewed each time we reserved a puppy, to ensure our suitability. We have met both parents in the home, and seen all the puppies in the litter.
Getting a new furry friend is a wonderful addition to every family. Having a dog brings many benefits; companionship, exercise and unconditional love. Rescue centres would do well to remember that they are there to bring dogs and families together.
Happy new-dog-year!
Some valid points raised here ref rehoming, have you considered telling your story to Dogs Today Magazine? I'm sure they would be very interested..
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear the radio interview so can't comment on that, but there are a lot of irresponsible people out there breeding pedigree dogs without health testing and selling for high prices because of KC registration papers. Some are so closely inbred they have serious health issues and the breeder is just interested in the money.
There are also responsible breeders who have concern for the lifelong welfare of the dogs they breed, those people are the ones to buy the dogs from. By the time you work out all the cost of health testing and stud fees for a male that has also had the tests they don't make a profit, they are lucky if they can break even.
Puppy farmers come in many shapes and forms and are very clever with their deceptions.
What is needed is education not legislation so buyers can beware the irresponsible breeder, and find a responsible breeder so can find the perfect pup to share their life with..
Families need dogs and dogs need families...
DeleteYes, thanks Dawn. Your point on education is very well made. And of course you are quite correct that there are still welfare issues to be considered in pedigree breeds. As dog-lovers, we must continue to work at this.
DeleteI am gobsmacked at how complicated it all is... I cannot believe either that it is really necessary. Sorry about what a bad experience you have had, with no dog at the end of it. xx
ReplyDeleteWe have learnt a lot from our experience. I know we aren't the only ones to be disappointed, and what about those dogs who miss out on new homes?
DeleteThanks for your comment, you have helped to spread the message x.
These rescue organisations need to take a serious look at themselves and their objectives Lesley. It's so sad to think of all those dogs living in kennels for months or years instead of being placed in a loving home.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Thanks for your comment x.
DeleteIt's good that you've raised awareness of some of the problems. It's a sorry state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteThank you. It really does need looking into. Not just for our disappointment, but an in-depth consideration of the funding of animal rescue x.
Deleteah Lesley I am just catching up over here, I am sorry to hear of the troubles you have had, I also agree it seems a minefield to beable to rehome a dog, into a loveing home, I have rescued a dog once, our first dog Dennis,he was a little black mongrel and a truly fantastic dog, but blimey they made it hard work and seemed to be looking for ways to prevent homing than encourage it! anyway at the time we had no other dogs and no other children so there really was no excuses, and we got Dennis, who lived many happy years with us through all three childrens births and was just amazing... however as much as rescuin would have been fine by me again we didn't when we lost Dennis due to the hurdles they wanted us to jump, and so we got Jackson. I hope you manage to find a perfect addition to your family Lesley no matter how you come across each other I know you will be giving the dog you bring home the most lovely life and that is all that matters x
ReplyDeleteThank you! Your story seems to echo ours and others. How lovely for you and Dennis to have had precious time together x.
DeleteJust catching up on some blog reading.
ReplyDeleteAs I may have said before, Alfie our Border Terrier was a rescue dog. He had been returned to the breeder. We heard about him through the Border Terrier rescue, who in turn got our details from a local vet.
So, we went to see Alfie, who was called something different. The story we were told that he had bitten someone and had been in a family with young children. So, we pondered that did not seem to be the whole story.
Once at the breeder he was in a cage, outside in a barn. He was frightened and didn't know what was happening. We felt, regardless of any bites we could not leave him there and bought him home.
We got him settled in and took him to the vet, who advised that he needed a procedure, not urgently, but it would need to be done before he was 5. At this point he was 2. The procedure would mean no breeding, but would avoid some cancers.
Alfie settled in slowly - he for example was always wary of sudden movements, shouting (loud TV scenes), his ears being rubbed.
Over the next 6 months he settled in well, he ate and drank OK, never pinned for his previous owners and settled into life with us. We changed his name and he had no problem coping with it. He, now aged 5 has had his procedure over a year ago (we waited following the vets advise) and he is as loving and caring as ever. He eats, walks, sleeps and plays happily. He is partial to cuddles on the settee and snoozing on our bed.
I seriously do not believe he bit anyone, I simply think he was purchased to breed from and then became a problem for the family and the breeder. I was horrified at how Alf was treated at the breeder and certainly would not buy from them again.
For us, we gained a loving and happy dog and that is all that matters.
Thanks Julie. So important to get all sides the story into the debate. Really pleased that you and Alfie are so happy together x.
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