Fostering a dog named Patches and noone seems to want her.........?

Question

Hello,Back in November I went to the pound to adopt our second dog and while i was there my heart broke at the sight of all those homeless animals so I decided that once our new pet got settled we would look into fostering another dog. We did that and now have had her for about 2 months. Over the past two months the rescue and I have placed ad after ad for this sweet dog and not one response. The funny thing is we don't even state a price or anything in the ads. She is an adorable dog, obidence trained, fully housebroken, good with kids, and other animals. She is only 3 years old and I can't figure out why we have not had even one inquiry about her. Does anyone have any experience with this or any advice? She is currently listed on craigslist.org in louisville under pets catahoula leopard dog named Patches. She is just so great I can't understand why noone is even curious about her.

She is listed with pictures on craigslist.org under louisville ky pets. under the Wednesday March 28th heading if anbyone wants to view her.

I have had 1 inquirery since placing an ad in a local forum but then the lady said she was sorry because she was from Illinois, but the rescue transpotrs nationally.

her on petfinder http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=8043637 and i personally do not handle the adoption that is the rescue that does that all i do is love her, feed her, and walk her.

Answer 1

probably because you dont put a price in the ad.

unless it said "free", if it didnt have a price, I wouldnt bother enquiring. those type of things are usually a waste of a phonecall when theres ten million other dog ads with prices (or "free") on them.

the other thing is, she is 3 years old. people generally want puppies.

also, people like to know what they are getting - why should the chose her over the millions of other dogs, when she isnt even a puppy? describe in the ad why she is such a great dog.
.

Answer 2

Listing on Petfinder is a good idea, but I am not certain what the response rate is. The fact that the dog is a Catahoula Leopard dog would probably merit a listing on that site, as anyone looking for that particular breed may very well look there. The very best thing you can do, though, is hook up with a rescue league that is active in sponsoring weekend adoption events. This means that on weekends, they go to the local pet supply chain, such as Petco, PetSmart, etc, and bring along the dogs who are being fostered. This way, people who are looking for a dog to adopt have the opportunity to see what dogs are available, and interact with the dogs. The dogs really do the selling, in this case, as their temperment, size, personality, etc., will be more apparant. And lots of people do like larger dogs. Perhaps someone who has never heard of that breed will see the dog and decide that is the dog/breed for them. Ads are simply words, and for an animal, words do not sell - the eyes, the wagging tail, the DOG will be more convincing. The only thing to ad regarding this, is that you may need to be there with the dog, at least some of the time during the adoption event, if the league is short-handed. Occasionally, they will have people who can be with the dog, if you leave it there, but of course you know the most about the dog, and can do the hard sell, if you see someone who may really be interested in her. You can then tell them all of the good things about her, and you can sense if they may not be the best fit for this particular dog. The best way to find rescue leagues who participate in these adoption events, is to contact your local supply store and inquire. If they hold adoptions, then ask who you would need to get in touch with, if you would like to work with them. Also, rescue league groups and volunteers are notoriously busy, and may not return your phone call in a timely manner. One way to handle that situation, would be to simply show up at the next adoption day with the dog, and speak in person with the league people. An added bonus to mention, is that you are still willing to foster her.

Answer 3

I too foster dogs for our local shelter and I sometimes have some of these animals for onths and other times only for a few days. I have found that walking the dogs and taking them to parks and pet stores and other places that are high traffic people tend to come and pet the dogs and ask questions. I always let them know that the animal is a foster and is up for adoption and it tends to let people see the animal and gets more response. Let them know who to contact about adopting the dog and it wil find a good loving home. Also here we do what is called pet of the week, each week in the paper 3-5 animals available for adoption are featured in the papers with info on how to adopt them. Each monday one pet is featured on the news as pet of the week and these usually get a high response as well. Consider trying something like that. Good luck and I hope Patches finds herself a forever family very soon.

Answer 4

Don't be discouraged, Patches or Poppet (as on PF.com), is a very large dog and large dogs take quite a while to adopt out. Also if I am looking at the correct picture (and we come from Catahoula land in Louisiana) the dog looks like a German Short-haired Pointer mix more than a Cat. Perhaps if you gave the mix Catahoula/German Pointer mix you would get more response.
Also we have found that Catahoulas are much more desirable in areas where they cannot be found, i.e. California, Oregon, Wash. State, and Canada.
Try posting on craigslist in San Francisco and Los Angeles and see if you get any takers.
Our organization adopts out of state all the time, and we use out of state partners to do the home visits and we check the vet and personal references. We prefer to use Continental to ship the dog to its destination, if at all possible, and through the Houston hub. Continental in Houston has a great pet facility, and any pets waiting for connections are taken to the pet facility and walked and cared for and loved on...
A big dog like Patches would cost about $300 to ship on Continental...they go by weight in the carrier.
All our adoptees have been glad to pay the fare and for the carrier to get their new pet to them.
hope this helps,
Charlotte
www.animalrescueneworleans.org

Answer 5

I am involved as a foster in Basset Rescue. In order to find a good home, how you present the dog is everything. An ad by itself does not work. Place a picture in the public eye and explain why she is the ideal pet.

Catahoula Leopard Dogs are not common and the very name could be a shocker to the average suburbanite. Search the web and see how rescues who are successful publicize their animals. Check out ABC Basset Rescue, Guardian Angel Basset Rescue and Bluegrass Basset Rescue for starters.

Answer 6

Why don't you try listing her on www.petfinder.com - I'm sure you will get a lot of responses. It's even OK if you don't know what her mix is. The good points that you describe : being good with kids, and already trained - these are both excellent and make her even more desirable as an adoptable pet!
Post a picture, too. You should charge a small fee so that she isn't "adopted" by irresponsible or dishonest people. Screen potential adopters carefully - here's more info about that:
http://www.petfinder.com/journalindex.cgi?path=/public/adoption/1.1.3.txt

Answer 7

In the region I live we have never even heard of that breed. I bet that a lot of others don't have any idea either. A Catahoula Leopard dog. What do they look like. Maybe leave out the breed and just list her good qualities. If she is spayed that is a plus also. I would like to have her myself. I already have a yellow lab and a fenced in yard.

Don't understand why no one is even a little bit curious. I know that I sure am. Would like to see one.

Answer 8

I'm a foster carer also and usually allow 3 months to re-home a dog.

If the dog isn't re-homing quickly you need to consider that perhaps your profile is turning people off, the photo isn't very good or the breed type could be turning people off.

I would suggest amending the profile and the photo.

I never suggest advertising a dog as simply a cross breed, you'll aways be able to pick at least one breed in the cross to run with.

Answer 9

I rescue and foster dogs and that is a large problem . I have 3 dogs that were terribly treated, broken bones etc, that I have adopted I have had to contact rescue groups for specific breeds. I get a lot of leads with pet finder. com. There is a rescue organization for almost any breed. Contact one for your rescue and they will help place the dogs.

Answer 10

Sometimes it takes a while. And in your area I bet 'houlas and 'houla mixes are pretty common. It's hard to find a good home for a large, active adult dog. I've had fosters for far longer than that.

Edit: Are you working with an all-breed rescue or a Catahoula rescue? You might have better luck with a breed-specific rescue.