# How to choose a rescue group?



## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Personally, I think many rescue groups are ridiculous. They have some INSANE rules... People with one intact show dog can't adopt, b/c they have a show dog (even if they don't breed, and even if they did, who cares? What does having a health tested champion show dog and responsibly breeding it as a reputable breeder have to do with adopting an altered rescue dog?) Many turn away homes that do not have a fence. Some even go so far as to say they'll take your dog away from you if you run it off leash in a safe area! I would never support a group like that. What a way to isolate and punish many GOOD homes. In fact having adopted out MANY dogs, I prefer homes without yards. Why? B/c the owner actually has to get off their butt and WALK the dog... spend TIME with it... not just shove it in the yard. With no yard, there's no risk of the dog living outside, either. Which I WOULD take a dog away from an adopter for that. 
I knew a wonderful home with a then four year old good child and a two story condo who was denied dog after dog from group after group b/c she had a child and no yard. I gave her a dog years ago, and wow... what a GREAT home. She has three of my rescues now. I dread to think how many dogs sit in rescue for ages b/c self righteous people run the group.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

PS I DO understand screening homes! Rescue dogs have been through enough and of COURSE need a stable home... but many DO have ridiculous rules. I would not support those groups.

I also would not support a group with any evidence of collecting or filthey conditions


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

You've hit on one of my biggest pet peeves: fences! Fences make it so easy for people to ignore their dogs, and yet so many rescue groups require them. I agree that it's a ridiculous rule. 

I think you just helped me make my decision. One of the groups actually states in its contract that if you don't keep their special tag on your dog once you adopt it, they can re-claim the dog. It's not a microchip tag, just one with their phone number on it.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Good lord, to me that's pyshcotic lol...  I am glad I didn't offend. I wasn't trying to. I can understand some level of paranoia by rescue groups. God knows I have placed rescues and worried about them. But... some go to extremes.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I feel fences has there pluses and minus... Alot of people with them do just leave there dogs out there all day and night. I myself have a dog door that leads into a fenced in back yard. Comes in handy when Im not home during the day, as Maggies hasnt been crated since she was 3 months old... She does go for 2 walks a day, 1 mile each time. The rescue here does require you to have a fence, or invisable fence....


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## goldencrazy (Dec 15, 2005)

With the greatest respect - I take a little offence that fences make lousy owners. We live on a major state highway - 55mph speed limit - and in the boonies with coyotes, raccoons, stray dog packs, etc. Our fence is to protect our dog as much as it is to prevent her from running away. We DO NOT shove our Tabitha out and ignor her. She is a major, major part of our indoor life - there is no igloo in our yard! But, I'll be darned if I am going to hook my dog up on a leash on a 10 degree, wind howling night and walk her through the woods to pee, when I can simply open the door and let her out to do her business without fear of a wild animal attack or her running away.

Just an opinion from the other side of the fence.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Oh I don't think fences automatically make a lousy owner- NO WAY! But to say as many rescue groups do that ONLY people with fences are qualified to own a dog is ridiculous.


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## goldencrazy (Dec 15, 2005)

Getting back to the thread. Tabitha came from a rescue group. We had to make application, pay the fee, etc.
No home visits, no follow up. mblonde emailed them and said she would like to be involved - used to be a vet tech. No reply. Have never heard another word from them! We could be abusing the heck out of Tabitha and they have no method of discovery. We were very surprised.

All that said - I would not hesitate to rescue again!!


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

I didn't mean to imply that fences make lousy owners!! Just that they can have a bad side as well as a good one, and rescue groups shouldn't assume that someone with a fence would be a better owner than someone without one. 

I would love to have a fenced yard where it's safe for ours to run and play, and we will with our next house. Right now, we do lots of walking and indoor play. 

BUT to deny a golden to someone simply because they don't have a fence is just wrong.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Agreed- with all of you! 

Tabby is beautiful... what a great find!


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## mainegirl (May 2, 2005)

I live on a side of a 3 story sloping hill that ends at the entrance (all grass & trees) of a golf course. I could not put a fence around the front of my house which is the only area that is semi level and around the back it would be useless because of the hill. I have 2 goldens, sandy 14 and moose 18 months. They are both trained to go, play in the acre of woods and come back. Sandy taught Moose to not run off. I cannot apply for a rescue from one of the organizations because of no fence. 
So I will have to do what i did with sandy - WE rescued her from the local SPCA for 25.00.
I guess it's their loss???????
moose, sandy and beth


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## LauraEyes2 (Sep 16, 2005)

I live in an apartment complex. Sure Vinny gets several walks per day, as well as frequent trips to the local Dog park. I know I provide my dog with a great life and lots of attention but would probably not qualify for adoption from most rescue organizations. Guess that's the way it goes.

I think we've gotten off track from the original post though. Perhaps you could contact the local golden retriever club or check with your new veterinarian after you move to the area. I know my old clinic used to keep a binder of different breeders/rescues we'd recommend to people, since we had interaction with a lot of different rescue organizations and knew who to recommend and who to steer clear of. I personally would meet with either of them and see what your "gut" feeling was from teh situation. If they seem to be a little off the wall, then maybe that's not who you want fostering your dog before you adopt him/her.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Yup! And there are always GRs in the paper free to good home and private situations like how I got Clara. Sadly, there is no shortage of precious Goldens in need. If rescue groups aren't fitting your needs, you just have to dig a little deeper.

I WILL say I know several wonderful groups, and even the groups I most disagree with STILL do WONDERFUL work and save these dogs. So they ALL have my respect. I just think a solution to the screen, but not to the point of ridiculousness problem needs to be found.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Thanks everyone for your input. Since I plan to spend quite a bit of time volunteering, it makes sense to interact with each group first. 

The one I'm leaning toward is not listed on the GRCA site. Does that mean that they could not be endorsed for some reason? They are a registered charitable organization.


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## LauraEyes2 (Sep 16, 2005)

They may just not have posted their group on the site. There should be a local contact name for the local branch GRCA, maybe shoot them an email and see what they have to say about the groups.

Laura


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Thanks!!!


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## goldencrazy (Dec 15, 2005)

Brandy's mom - Check out petfinders.com That is where we found Tabitha and she was in a rescue. Doesn't it just blow you away how people can just throw away an animal just like a piece of trash (especially a GR, the world's greatest dog)?


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

I've got the names of both groups that work in the Houston area. Just need to decide which one to volunteer for. (Agree Petfinder is a great site!)


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## mblondetoo (Jan 9, 2006)

goldencrazy said:


> Getting back to the thread. Tabitha came from a rescue group. We had to make application, pay the fee, etc.
> No home visits, no follow up. mblonde emailed them and said she would like to be involved - used to be a vet tech. No reply. Have never heard another word from them! We could be abusing the heck out of Tabitha and they have no method of discovery. We were very surprised.
> All that said - I would not hesitate to rescue again!!


We had wanted to rescue but some groups we were intersted in wanted to choose the dog for you and also had no central place to meet your prospect. You had to coordinate through all the fosters. The application process took a long time because they needed to check out your house and your references. This is all good but very time consuming.The rescue we ended up with was because of two things: Our vets office told us about them and the dog I found on Petfinder, was at that rescue. We did go through the process but it only took a week. The rescue itself just needs to be fine tuned to make it more user friendly. They never contacted us to see how everything was going. I offered to volunteer but was blown off. Maybe they were busy or didn't hear me, who knows. The end result though is a great dog Tabitha.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

These are all good things for me to keep in mind as I evaluate both groups. Response time is important when people have decided to rescue. 

Some things that bother me about the one group. In their contract, the adopter must agree to notify them whenever they move or even if their e-mail address changes. Must agree to allow them on their premises to examine the dog at any time, and other very strong provisions. If you don't comply, the contract says they can take the dog back.


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## mblondetoo (Jan 9, 2006)

You can check many of the different rescue contracts by downloading them from their sites. As for the contract with all the stipulations about email changes and being able to take the dog back for those reasons, that would make me think twice about going to them. I know it's CYA but what would happen if the family wanted to move?


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## for_my_golden (Oct 20, 2005)

*Rescue Contracts*

I know we have had to be very careful to not be over restrictive on who we adopt to as far as policies and procedures go but we also have to be very careful and make sure the contract says exactally what it needs to say. We live in a military community so we know a lot of our rescued dogs will be leaving the area. I can't image having a stipulation that you have to notify them if and when you move...that is just crazy...but we have an all breed organization here that does the exact same thing.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

I've decided to go with the more lenient group. I'm one to try harder for the ones who need it the most -- and that group seems to think the same way. 

Now if only I could get moved to Houston so that I could get started!!! I'm so anxious I can hardly stand it.


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

After your move to Houston, it really is a great idea to work for both groups. Sometimes, those policies (such a a fence requirement) are in place as a pre-screening type of thing. For example, we adopted two dogs from a group that had an absolute fence requirement, but we made it clear that we had no intention of getting a fence. The key was getting to know the people involved with the placements; as we learned more about each other, the directors had no problem with our lack of a fence. Plus, when one of the directors came out for a home visit, everything was just as we'd described.

Later, when I was doing home evaluations for the group on behalf of my foster dogs, I took a similar approach. Each family is different, and the group from whom you adopt should treat people accordingly. You can't just throw a blanket over everyone and insist, for example, that no adopted dog will ever be allowed on the furniture. That is a ridiculous example, but so is any insistence on a hardline written policy.

One very important thing for you to evaluate as you are deciding between those groups is how they stand behind their placements. One person has mentioned a group that didn't do any followup; this is probably not the kind of group with whom you'd want to associate. The director who worked with us on our first adoption told us that if we ever have a question, even at 2 am, we should not hesitate to call her. She meant it six years ago, and she still does, and she still comes to visit Barrington two or three times a year. She was his foster mom.

So, it's as much about the personalities in the group and their philosophies toward the dogs as it is their written policies. After spending some time with each group, you will make the right decision.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

You make a lot of sense, Jeffrey. You may not know all of Jenna's story, but the original group involved with her rescue basically washed their hands of her the minute they heard she was dog-aggressive. In fact, they suggested she be put down. 

I'll keep an open mind. You never know what the future holds, and who will be running either group by the time I get there.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Although it sounds harsh, a lot of groups will "wash their hands" of an aggressive dog. And with good reason. Although I personally would never foster or own a TRULY dog aggressive dog, I am surprised that alone would cause them to reject her. I would only euthanize a dog aggressive dog if his aggression was absolutely insantely uncontrollable. I have never seen one like that. I have taken in a number of "supposedly" dog aggressive dogs with the understanding that if they really were, they would not be able to stay with me- and all were fine in my pack, but I have experience and even the most brazen dog will rarely attack when suddenly in the midst of a large pack of dogs that know eachother. Most of these dogs turned out to be just barkers and lungers on leash with nervous, novice owners. Living with my pack and some good old fashioned corrections on leash during walks and socialization were all they needed.
Human aggression, however, is another story. A rescue group would be extremely foolish to place or have anything to do with a man-biter. The liability is too great. There is no room in society for people aggressive dogs, and why put efforts into a potential disaster dog when millions of NICE dogs die every day in shelters? 
A dog that snaps when you try to take a toy or food I would work with, however if dramatic improvement wasn't seen quickly, there is no way I would EVER place this dog with a "regular" family. Even if it did improve, the dog would go only to a childless couple or single with a LOT of dog experience. 
If a dog was people aggressive, I would never even CONSIDER passing it on to another home, or even another rescue person. I would rule out medical causes, and if it wasn't that (ie some dogs are aggressive and it turns out they had an absessed tooth or something) I would euthanize. It's a hard lesson that has to be learned when you rescue a lot of dogs. There are always safer, nicer, more stable dogs in need that are NOT a danger to people, to the breed's reputation as a whole, and to themselves. And there are worse things (being passed from home to home, being tied outside for life) than a humane death.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Darn, darn and drat!! After almost a year of begging to do something to help, I just had a rescue group ask if I could do a home visit around here. 

We're leaving on vacation so I had to turn them down. How frustrating!


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