animal rescues.....

[SHATOUSHKA]

yanno those select breed animal 'rescue'
places? you know, it's basically a group of
people that have banded together to 'save'
a particular breed of dog or cat from local
animal shelters, etc. and most of the time
the 'saved' animals are kept in the peoples
homes and you can 'adopt' them through some
ridiculous adoption application etc.

i think those rescue people are stuck up as all hell.

i've wanted a sheltie for i dunno how long,
and every once in a while, i get a hankerin'
to visit the rescue sites in my local area.

so i do a search and get the sites and
browse the lucious offerings of young and
old shelties... get teary-eyed at the
overwhelming stories... become savagely
motivated in getting one....(though i know
i won't)...

and then wander to the 'adopt' links to
read some absurd jargon about these tightassed
morons and THEIR dogs.

anyways... it's at this point that i remember
my one and only run-in with these types of
places before....

many years ago i was petless *gasp* and i
wanted a new dog. though i do have a lust
for particular breeds, i'm more of the
type that prefers a good pound dog to any
fancy-shmancy breeder. so i found a local
'rescue' society that didn't exactly
specialize in a certain breed... but boy
were they stuck up!!!!

i called them and went to view their goods.
they were all excited and shit that someone
was interested in their dogs... telling me
what a saint i was yadda yadda. i was also
informed that these 'rescued' dogs live
with their 'foster owners' and they they
have particular 'rules' for the homes that
the dogs go to.


fine... i thought. i was ok with that
because hell, they didn't know me but i
figured i was pretty good with dogs etc.

then they started to give me the 3rd degree
about my life, my home, my lifestyles, etc.
at first it was harmless questions that
seemed legitimate... but then the more
unusual (and absurd) questions began to
pop up... like how many times in a month
i would leave my house or if i had planned
on taking the dog with me to the store...

just weird shit like that.

i became uncomfortable after a bit and
realized that i was wasting my time. i mean,
why in the fuck are these foster owners
so fucking anal anyway?!?! are they keeping
the dogs????

it seems to me that if a foster owner is
going to be obsessed that much over a
potential adopters life, they should just
keep the damn dog and stop feeling so fucking
righteous about it.

after all, isn't this type of 'foster owner'
really just a 'conditional master'???

let's turn the tables...

do these foster owners give the dog the
best possible life/home... but remain
emotionally detached because they realize
that someone may take the dog? or is it
merely that they DO become attached but
are screwed into this whole foster owner
thing that they have decided that being a
complete jerk about the adoption process
secures their position as dog owner for one
more day.

W.... T.... F....?!?!?!

do they want the dog?! do they want to give the dog away?!

i wish they'd make up their fucking minds.


anyways... to close off that story, i never
got the mutt i was looking at. guess i was
just too 'loose' of a human to own such a
prime dog. ultimately i went to the local
pound and nabbed a fine dog that same day.

at any rate, yeah... i was lookin' at the
shelties and gosh... i sure wish these
dogs weren't apart of that rescue thing....



i'd take him home in a heartbeat.... [img]graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[GravyTrain]

pound dogs rule!!!!

[SHATOUSHKA]

yeah they do!!!!!

[Blazey]

For once Ali..Im going to have to disagree with you. I think rescue groups are fantastic places(the majority of them anyway) They spend alot of time and effort into rehabilitating these poor animals who were otherwise neglected, abused,starved ect. They re-train them, work hard to make them healthy, spend lots of money on care and food. They cant give the animals away for nothing after doing all that. Plus the money and things they ask for only prove your willing and able to give the animals the life they deserve.If they didnt charge a dime imagine how many people would be beating down their doors to get a free registered dog to use for various reasons. There are people out there who will go to a rescue to fund say a puppy mill, or backyard breeding farm or even..yes..to gain a fighting dog. These people only want to make certain you or me are the type of people who know about dogs, who will provide the utmost care and the best food ect for the animal they have spent time in saving. Most times these dogs need an extensive vet work-up and lots of training to get them ready for a new home and a new heart. I have worked with rescue groups before and will continue to do so. Im my heart the rescuers are just that.......rescuers..who save a poor animal from a horrible life and thats to be commended.

I will say tho i have seen some places go to the extreme but most questions have a logical reasoning behind them and if thought about on a dogs level might make more sense. The idea of how often you leave your dog alone to go out is important in that most rescue dogs will suffer from bouts of seperation anxiety in a new home. The group would want to know your not going out all the time and leaving the dog alone. The idea of how many times will you take the dog with you is to see if your really looking for a companion or not. My dog goes with me 95% of the time in the blazer if i know im not going to leave him in the car for more than a few minutes at a time. These are tools these folks use to determine how you will treat the dog. Might be invasive but they have a right and they owe the dog a chance at the perfect home. I know alot of people dont treat their dogs like i treat mine and thats their choice. But if I were to be "giving" a dog to someone i'd still make certain i knew quite lot about the person before i entrusted a soul to them. More parents ought to be as cautious shouldnt they... [img]confused.gif[/img]

Now I hope i didnt offend you. Im not trying to be rude or condecending at all. Maybe they were rude to you and they dang sure should have explained their postiton better. Anyhow thats my buck fifty on the subject and its pretty funny cuz i rarely comment on too many things. This is just something dear to my heart..and also on another note...Pound puppies do rule!!! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

[SHATOUSHKA]

nah... no worries. your post wasn't taken rude
at all. i agree with what you are saying, i guess
my point is that the questioning is arbitrary
especially when the sole purpose (it seems) is
to just guilt you over a few times.

while i agree that dogs (and pets) should be
treated with as much dignity and care as humans,
i think that all the questioning and evaluation
(of you as a person) is a bit ridiculous when,
in all actuality, this foster owner relinquishes
any control the moment the dog is adopted
(hense the attempt at guilt).

somehow i feel as if i have misrepresented my
thoughts in the above paragraph... but i'm too
lazy to fix it and will just deal with it if
there seems to be a problem.

[Blazey]

[img]cool.gif[/img]

something else...most rescues do retain some control after you take the animal. I know with the horse rescue places, you can never sale or otherwise dispose of the horse..ever! And alot of dog rescues have the same clause when adopting from them. Which to me can or cannot be a good thing. Its kinda like saying here pay me for this dog but if you dont do what I think you oughta then i will take him back. Indian givers!!! hehe.....we will get you a sheltie.. [img]wink.gif[/img] Im on it girl! [img]rolleyes.gif[/img]

[SHATOUSHKA]

several years ago when i worked at truempers
flower shop, some guy came in to speak with
woody (the owner). evidently they were friends
and he was asking woody if he knew anyone that
wanted a dog cuz his dogs just had puppies.

well i had heard this from the other room, and
(right on cue) i ran in there like a madman...
and low and behold... that dude had the daddy
on a lead... and i'll be damned if it wasn't
a farkin sheltie!!!!!!! it looked very similar
to the one in my earlier post.


i was so damned excited. it was like, so unbelievable!

i quickly asked the guy if the pups were from
the male he was walking and how much they were.
he said that the pups were fathered by the
male and that they were free. i about flipped.
i was just so cool. i said i wanted one and
that i'd come by and get one in the next day or
so. he gave me his addy and it was all set.

a day or two later i drove clear out BFE for
about 30 miles to this guys house. as i pulled
up, i noticed that he had this HUGE front yard
and all these sheltie pups runnin around...
and i saw the mommy dog... and it was all so
cool.

so i went to the door and he took me around
to show me the pup that was mine....

which..... sadly, wasn't a sheltie at all....
in fact, it didn't even really look like a
sheltie other than its height and somewhat in
the face. it was short haired... almost solid
red... it ran around the yard barking like a
freakish hound.... my heart just sank...


but at the same time... my heart went out to it.
because i knew the sensation i was feeling
when i saw it... almost deceived by the shelties
in the front... and how my first reaction was
to turn my nose up at it. and i took him home
anyway...

and that... was montag....

daddy to my wonderful pookie-boo... boogie....


i don't regret my decision, montag was montag
and he was a good dog. boogie is a GREAT dog
and i love her as if there were no other dogs...

but yeah... one day... i will have a real sheltie

[The Reverend Dark Angel]

I just feed the strays to make them stay.

[GravyTrain]

i completely agree with shatzy about the "snobby" nature of the animal shelters taht she speaks of. There is a Great Dane shelter group that apparently is predominantly here in conway. they have their meetings or whatever at petsmart, and although i found it a bit "rude" one day when i was coming into the store with my dog, and not a single one of them got out of their little circle to even acknowledge that my dog was sniffing at every single one of their dogs. in fact, even the dogs seemed snobby.

anyways, two weeks ago, petssmart had a "spring fling" type thing where they inivted a bunch of pets and their owners to show up, have a couple of competitions, snacks, etc.....

anyways, they grouped the dogs into two sections, small breeds, and large/medium breeds. raider is now 30 pounds, so he no longer fits in small breeds.....so here we are standing amongst about 10 great danes and their owners. it's hard to explain the feeling in the air, but for example, one of the ladies kept going on and on and on and on about hwo there were more great danes than any other dog, and they should all get a prize for that. another lady came in with two of her great danes both in dresses (there was a costume contest), now of course, these dresses would fit an average size 12 year old girl, and oh my goodness, they were the ugliest things you've ever seen....when she came in, as soon as she saw the Master of ceremonies for this deal, she made sure everyone heard her say "I TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO DRESS UP MY DANES...I TOLD YOU I WOULD DO IT, AND HERE THEY ARE...LOOK AT THEM". i'm thinking...lady....i don't care if you dressed up your danes or not, so did every other person in this building, and guess what, everyone else's dog's are dressed in something that looks kind of cute.

anyways....after the competitions were over and people were just around talking....all the great dane owners congregated to one spot, and then all the other breeds were just kind of hanging around thoughout the store....it just kind of ticked me off a little.

anyways....there was a dog there, that i have always loved, but don't think i will ever have one because of the maintenance involved. but Huskies are probably the most gorgeous dog ever (except of course for Raider) what was funny about the huskie is that is looked IDENTICAL to it's owner. anyways....i love huskies...

[SHATOUSHKA]

i've never really noticed many great danes in
conway... that is surprising information to learn.
in fact, i don't recall EVER seeing a great dane
for the extent i've lived here. very strange.

guess they all go to some elite park or something
to walk their elite dogs.

just feel good that your dog is better than their
pos snooty dogs by a mile. i'd rather have one
raider than 20 of those bogus danes any day.