The good and the bad of rescue
Darcie, would you tell us what Oliver’s first information was? I want to rescue a dog who is posted online and I’d like to know what to expect. How do I choose which rescue to adopt from? I’ve never rescued a dog before, I’m doing it because one: I want another dog. And two: you and Kent inspired me to save a dog. I can’t believe Oliver has grown so much, he looks really good. Can you share his original write up? And please keep us posted on him. It’s such a great story. PS We love Frankie, too. Susan
When you rescue, you get an “as is” dog. That includes all illness and temperament issues. The health issues are something you’ll deal with if they come up, just like you would with yourself or your own human child. There are no promises, no guarantees that life will be a bowl full of cherries. Know your pocket book, just in case. Temperament is another thing altogether.
I like working with rescues who temperament test. We request plenty of time to spend with the dogs before we make a choice to take them home, too. A few minutes won’t tell you much about a dog. If the rescue won’t let you spend the time you need with the dog, go to a different rescue. The longest we’ve spent with a rescue dog was three hours. The shortest time was thirty minutes.
If you have other dogs, it’s nice if your dogs can meet the rescue dog before you take him home. Talk to your rescue to see if they will arrange it. Do not do this if the rescue facility and area is dirty with feces or vomit and does not get cleaned up quickly. Yes, you’ll see that if you look at enough facilities. No matter how big their name is, how popular or how many “awards” they’ve received, if you drop by without calling and the place is a pig sty, leave and don’t go back. We don’t rescue from dirty rescues. If they don’t have the time and paid or volunteer staff to take good care of the dogs and their surroundings, we don’t support them. I personally consider it a crime of abuse.
There are tons of people who start rescue shelters for reasons of their own that have more to do with making money than with helping dogs. It’s the perfect “work from home business”. Yes, it’s sad, but some rescues are a money making business. “Non profit” doesn’t mean that they aren’t making money in salaries and tax write offs. I don’t care if they do make a profit but if they aren’t caring for the dogs, I won’t support them.
When you donate to rescue, you might consider donating the food and products they need instead of cash. That way, you’re pretty sure the donation you make goes to help the dogs.
Be cautious of people who have a mental illness called hoarding and call themselves a rescue. They are sick, God bless them. They can’t help themselves, they take in dogs or cats and more and more and more until their homes are filled with excrement and sick and dying animals. If you see this, report it to your authorities. That person needs some help. Some rescues are started this way. They can file for a non profit status and get it, too. It’s very, very sad to see.
There are many legitimate rescue organizations. They do care for the dogs with the donations they receive and they do a very, very good deed.
Most rescues will take a dog back if he doesn’t work out at your home, get that in writing. Usually you have 30 to 60 days, plenty of time to get to know him. Some of the rescues we visited tried to get us to take dogs that would not have been a good fit for us. Don’t let a cute doggie face, a sad story, and a pushy rescue worker make you make a bad decision. If a terrier doesn’t fit your quiet lifestyle, for Heaven’s sake don’t be swayed by that cute happy little fuzzy face.
Find out as much as you can about the dog. If it’s a young dog, research the suspected breeds in his mix. That will give you a good idea of what your dog will be as an adult. Remember that the rescue people have their heart in the right places. They want the dogs to find homes as quickly as they can. And they are only human. You will meet really nice rescue workers and those that aren’t so nice. Overlook the bad behavior of humans if you can. If you can’t, go to another rescue where you’ll be treated better. Better is really nice, by the way.
Most rescues try hard to find the story behind the dogs they rescue. The story may not be exactly right and they may be guessing about age. As in “Skinny’s” aka Oliver’s case, he was much older than they thought, there was a lot of he said, she said, and some guessing. I’ve talked to the man who says he found Oliver and his sister and his story isn’t exactly the same as below. I have not talked to the original woman who reported the planned drownings.
It doesn’t matter to us who was right about Oliver. We have him now and he’s getting well. When I picked him up he was past 6 months old, at least 20 pounds underweight for his suspected breeds, so skinny that his rib bones stuck out, he was infested with a massive number of fleas and worms, and he was tired. Our vet and I agree, if Oliver’s poor little body had continued with the flea infestation and the worms, he would have died. I don’t think he could have survived much longer on the cooked commercial foods that he was on, he needed medical attention and real nutrition to come out of the condition he was in.
Today Oliver is parasite free, all the fleas and worms he had when I picked him up are gone. He’s gained almost 20 pounds, a lovely svelte 53.5 pounds today. He’s growing like a weed, runs and swims, hikes, plays with toys and the other dogs, and snuggles. We have a hard time wearing him out. He’s just a lover. I credit his quick healing to raw food. We don’t know what his future will bring, he had a rocky start, but we’re doing everything we can to try and make his life long, healthy and happy.
Click on Oliver’s category at the left to read Oliver’s story the way we heard and experienced it.
“Skinny was found on the side of a dirt road with his sister Penny. We believe that these puppies, probably along with others, were dumped in the national reserve park nearby. We heard from a woman who believes that she has one of their litter mates, she said that these puppies were going to be drowned in the park by their owners. Somehow she got one of the puppies and these 2 survived by a miracle. They both had sarcoptic mange and tons of worms. We named him Skinny because it took him so long to gain weight back! He is definately a mastiff mix. Either mixed with Labrador or Great Dane. Now he is a healthy boy, no mange, no worms, and ready for a loving home! He is approximately 4 months old. He is GREAT with other dogs! Very laid back and docile. He has been introduced to cats and was just as scared of them as they were of him, he just went to sleep on the other side of the room! He is really gentle so we believe that he would do great with cats. He is not going to be a HUGE dog, we are guessing that his max weight will be around 50-60lb or so, maybe larger. He was so sick as a pup that he may not get very large. He is fully vaccinated and neutered. His adoption fee is $250. References required. We are a licensed rescue, NOT FOR PROFIT. We rescue animals because we are passionate about their well being and we want to see them go to loving homes. For more information about Skinny and how you can adopt him please contact (removed info). Skinny is being fostered by a member of our rescue (snip). He IS able to travel!”
