Rescue groups so picky!

QUESTION: Why does it seem harder to get a dog from a shelter or rescue group than from a breeder?

ANSWER: It's true, adopting from a shelter or rescue group can seem more rigorous than filling out a college application. Breeders are less picky--they generally look for the basics when evaluating a potential dog guardian: Are you able to pay for the dog and any future medical care? Do you have a roof over your head? Usually, that's where the breeder's involvement ends.

But rescue groups and shelters are all too familiar with stories of dogs who have been abandoned or surrendered. Many of the dogs that end up in their care were once purchased from a breeder or pet store. In fact, some experts say there are more bred and pet-store dogs left at shelters each year than stray mutts.

So, foster parents and rescue groups are careful to go that extra step (or two or three) to ensure a safe and permanent family for the dogs in their care. Many spend great amounts of time and money on their dogs, working to train and rehabilitate them. Some even take care of costly medical issues. For those reasons, it's much more common for shelters and rescue groups to carry out comprehensive assessments of potential adopters; they simply want to increase the number of dogs who wind up happy and healthy in "forever" homes.

Jamie Wolf, a lifelong animal advocate, is the founder of PetLover Central, a high-end, dog day care center in Boca Raton, Florida.

Read more about Jamie Wolf in the DogTime expert center...

Comments

“I hear you, Luna. I certainly agree with screening adopters, but it can get kind of ridiculous.

You might want to check out your local Animal Care & Control, they tend to be less picky. ” — PuppyPants, Apr 02 2008

“We tried adopting a rabbit from a shelter, we really tried but all places we tried denied us the opportunity because my son was 3 at the time (young kids are cruel to animal, they said). Now my kids are 7 and 9, so we were OK for adopting a dog from a shelter but no, we could not adopt a dog because I work part time and the dog would be alone too much. I'm sorry, but the reason why shelters are so crowded is because they don't give families a chance to own one of their dogs unless they are "perfect" dog owners (I have yet to meet one).” — Luna, Apr 02 2008

“I agree with Hattrick on this one. Our breeder has a very extensive screening process and it is not easy to get one of her puppies. I intend to be just as picky when we breed our conformation future champion girl. I only intend to breed her once and the families who are lucky enough to have one of her pups will live close enough for me to keep an eye on them. Most reputable breeders feel the same way, we take great care in placing the puppies and make sure that if for some unforseen reason the puppy should need to be rehomed we have it returned to us so that we can go through that same screening process with the next family. Unfortunately most people do not wish to pay the costs for a quality puppy that it takes from a reputable breeder so they choose to go with a lesser quality and lower priced puppy from a not so reputable breeder and therein lies the problem. Going with a reputable breeder may also mean they have to wait for an available puppy, and since reputable breeders do not just breed unless they have a specific purpose for the breeding most are not willing to wait. We have become too much of a "I need it now" society that they just go with the first pup they can find. ” — smitte21, Feb 05 2008

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Rescue groups so picky!

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