small world, different perspectives

there was a discussion on the rescue message board about rescue being too strict and unbending in their adoption policies and were at fault for pet overpopulation and the backlog of animals in rescue. and we should stop looking for the perfect home and settle for a "good enough" home instead.

gee, that got our attention.

interestingly enough i have a nursing friend at my work who i have known for more than 10 years...she just lost their beloved yellow lab after 14 yrs of being part of their family. i saw that dog in the van with her at work, i even saw him in the office too. i saw all his lumps and bumps and tumours and i knew the size of his vet bills too. i saw how she struggled when the time was drawing near and how she pushed herself to do everything right for him. he was as much a member of her family as her children and husband too. they were all devastated when he died.

edison was old when the kids were young and all of them want to have a puppy. and i spoke with her about not buying a BYB or pet store pup and looking for a dog in rescue.

and OMG, she is a rescuers nightmare. she doesn't have a fence and doesn't want to fence their acre. the dog is with the family 24/7, every moment of the day. and she is applying to rescues with yellow lab puppies and she doesn't meet their criteria without a fence, plus she is up against sometimes 150 other applicants, some as good a home as she, but they do have a fence.

she is frustrated because she knows she is a great home and that dog will be cared for and protected as well as her children. and she says all the wrong things because she is frustrated with the whole rescue application process. and she wants me to fix it and find her a pup and intercede on her behalf.

i think she is truly a very great home and i really hope that one day soon they find a friend to help fill the hole that edison left in their hearts. but i told her that rescues have a right to decide what kind of home they want their dogs to go into. and if a fence or not is a deal breaker, then that is just the way it is.

i truly believe that no one has the right to tell a rescue how or where they should place their dogs. try telling me and i will tell you where to go. i am the one who does this here for these guys every hour of the day and i pick the homes that i choose because that is where i want my dogs to live out their lives.

anyway, there is a lovely 10 month old goldie at one of the local pounds...maybe she would be a good match for this home but that would be for the pound staff to decide. all i can do is give her a reference where ever she applies next, but my rules are my rules and their rules are theirs and i will not argue with that.

it is weird with that discussion on the rescue board, seeing this personally from the applicants side. but frankly my mind about this hasn't changed, rescues are responsible to do adoptions with the standards that they believe in. the argument that frustrated applicants may very well end up purchasing a puppy from a byb breeder is not the rescues or my responsibility, that would be the person who chose that route's choice. and certainly we are not responsible for pet over population and back logs happen because while there may be 150 applications for one yellow pup, there sure as hell ain't even one application for dog's like clyde and it is the clyde's and the bills and the "deeogees" out there who build up and remain homeless in shelters because they are not a cute and sweet yellow puppy. (you guys should go out to chilliwack pound and meet deeogee, whoever adopts and tames that beast is going to have a champion at whatever sport they choose...he is amazing!)

anyway, i do hope they find the dog of their dreams and i do hope it is a rescue too who finds a great home and we shall wait and see what the future brings....whatever is meant to be will be.