Rescue going too far?

Sarah

I wanted to get others opinions on a local rescue in my area. I am actually considering doing fostering for them as they are a great rescue. There's only ONE thing that I wasn't so sure I agreed on.

There have been reports of them actually buying dogs off of people that either bred their dogs or had accidental litters because they didn't want the pups to end up in the wrong hands and they wanted to make sure they were spayed/neutered. While I think the idea of this is great, they still paid these irresponsible people money for these puppies and then turn around and call them rescues and adopt them out. Most of their rescue pets are not obtained this way, but it is something that happens on occasion. I was wondering what other people thought about this issue, and should this rescue organization be going this far to "rescue" animals?

Mikey

WOW That's weird...Umn... Honestly I think you have something there-that they gave money to people wanting to breed their dogs. So I really don't see that as a solution-they've just learned it's easy to sell their dogs! I would agree with that policy more if they followed those people and showed that they did not simply obtain more dogs and breed anyways. Which I think they probably did get another dog and breed it. Education is key and if they are buying the dogs under false pretenses then they are accomplishing nothing-I believe. Maybe they are educating?

However with all the different kind of rescues and shelters out there-and all the different programs and ideologies-if that's your only 'bone' with them-they sound alright

Criosphynx

som' rescues will even pay millers for their old used up breeders (not much, but they do compensate them occasionally)

personally its not som'thing I'd be comfortable supporting.

Sarah

On the specific instance that I know about. I saw the ad on craigslist of an "accidental litter" it was a litter of pit bulls and by the picture you could tell they lived in awful conditions. They were laying in a dirt yard and looked filthy. In a way it makes me glad that the rescue intervened and got those dogs out of a bad situation but at the same time I have a hard time agreeing with giving the "breeder" any money.

Anyways, they are one of the biggest rescues in my area and save many pets every year. I don't have many other options as far as fostering for a rescue in my area. I could foster for the humane society but they don't provide any food, just vet care, shots, and spay/neuter. Many of the other rescues in the area I just don't care for at all. Hmmm, and right now I'm still trying to decide if fostering is even for me or not. I work mon-fri from 7am-3:30pm, and while my boyfriend is normally around until 10am he isn't really supporting me on the foster thing. My mom is also annoyed that I would even think about fostering and went on how I would ruin my house. It sucks when no one else agrees with something I would love to do, especially when it is doing a good deed for an animal that needs a place to stay until they find their forever home.

2Greys

i have read of an individual rescuing/buying pregnant bitches up for sale in order to save them from falling to the wrong hands and i can understand why, but unless they get the dog cheaply or are able to get evidence to report the owners i'd be concerned they would simply encourage them to do it again.

Could they not of reported the owner to the relevant authorities over the conditions or would they not be interested? It does seem dodgy ground and i don't think many would agree if their donations to a rescue were being used in that manner, however if its just a one off and only a nominal amount was paid to the breeders i don't think its terrible. By volunteering with them you'll no doubt get to know more about them so could reserve judgement for a while.

I think you really need your boyfriend on side if he's sharing your place as it will probably cause a lot of tension between you both and you may need him to let the dog out and follow your training methods. Perhaps find out more about fostering with that group so that you can convince him, such as
How will you be matched with the foster dog? It may come from another short term foster home while being assessed so the risk of problems is less.
How much support is on offer if you do run into problems
What happens if it doesn't work?
Is there someone that will board the foster dog if you need to have a weekend away or holiday?
Are you emotionally able to let the dog go if you end up looking after it for months?

I don't think your house will be wreaked if you take sensible precautions, but when taking on any dog you have to accept maybe damage and accidents. I'd also like to foster another greyhound but my partner isn't so keen, with our current situation i know he's probably right but i hope he'll change his mind in the future.

huskies4ever

wow i think thats great that they would do that for the dogs

Mischief

It's a tough situation for the puppies but I think rather than paying the people who had an opps litter for their pups, maybe they could offer to take the mothers of these "accidental" litters in to be spayed and then return them to the owners. Then they wouldn't have to worry about having to purchase puppies from the same female again, sometime in the future.

Then they could at least say that they didn't actually "pay" for the puppies but that, they did cover the cost of having the mother dog spayed. It just seems more responsible.

Criosphynx

thats my first thought, even if they have to bluff...som'thing like "we need to take them for FREE or we'll have to call animal control and AC will TAKE them".

if your fostering, your fostering, you know? You are helping that animal. I wouldn't give the rescue any money tho...like for example, I wouldn't adopt from them knowing they pay for puppies. BUT I see nothing wrong with helping foster if the animal is truely needy.

aren't there any breed specific rescues in Az? Maybe they have a program

Sarah

I need to find out more information about the rescue before I judge I suppose, as I don't know all the details. It is a possibility that they helped the owner get the dog spayed, I don't know. All I know is I saw the ad on craigslist I think they were selling the pups for $25 each, and then a "friend" of the irreponsible dog breeder posted a message saying how the rescue sells dogs and bought all of them off of her friend, and the rescue responded back saying how they wanted to get the dogs out of the awful conditions and make sure they didn't fall in the wrong hands. I later saw these pups on petfinder up for adoption by the rescue.

As for breed specific rescues, I would love to rescue Papillons but there aren't many around in the area that need rescuing. I was interested in teaming up with Arizona Beagle Rescue, but they are based out of Phoenix which is an hour and a half away. I've noticed many of the breed specific rescues are based in the larger cities, and I live in a smaller city farther away from them. I would like to find something closer to home I guess. Especially this being my first time fostering, I will feel more comfortable with other members of the rescue living near by.

Also, do you guys think it is even worth it if I can only take in 1 dog at a time, or should I not even bother? My house isn't big enough to take in a ton of rescues but I would like to help as much as I can. Even if it's just a little bit.

fawkese1

it would be worth it to that one dog

i think the rescue paying $$ to get the dogs is weird/bad as well, tho from the sounds of it, you aren't sure that is what happened??? definitely understand your hesitancy with them...