Do all Humane Societies do this???

Question

I'm looking to get a dog from a Humane Society but they first have to come to my house and see if it's suitable. It's like I'm adopting a child not a dog. I understand why they do it but do they all do it? This is the first time I've ever heard of anything like it.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not one bit annoyed that they do it. I was only wondering how many other people have heard of something like this. The Humane Society branch I'm getting him from only takes rescue dogs. I know the dog I'm looking at was a rescue from a puppy mill. I want to give him the best life possible but I'm just so afraid someone will sneek in and get him before I do. They will let him see and play with him before I adopt so that's a good thing. I've been calling and calling and even e-mail to get him but I'm not good at the waiting game. He really can't even be seen to the public til Saturday because they just got him a week ago.

Answer 1

You should not be offended or surprised at a shelter doing something like this.
First of all, a puppy mill rescue could take months, and I mean months, to rehabilitate, so viewing the dog and interacting is usually out of the question. This dog could be starved, injured, or worse right now. Do you want to see that, or do you want the shelter to take care of the animal?
Second, I love the idea of a home visit. Anyone who doesn't like that idea is suspect in my book.
I volunteer for a rescue group, and I do home visits. We also require personal references and vet references. If you missed one rabies shot or heartworm test, you are out of luck with us. We take this seriously, as these poor animals need stable homes that will be there for their lifetimes.
Dog ownership is a responsibility, and is not for the fickle or the impatient.
If you really want this dog, you will be patient and do whatever the shelter asks of you.
If more shelters were this picky, there would probably be a few less dogs in rescue, and more dogs in happy homes.

John P. You haven't a clue! You need to do some volunteer work yourself and get an education about shelters and adoption!

Answer 2

the one where I live doesn't but then again tehy don't use a vet the animals wether sick or not ar just put together they are constantly fighting parvo and FIV they still gas the dogs. when I went tehre 5 years ago with my then 6 year old daughter we could only look at teh dogs we couldn't put our fingers in or touch tehm until we I would sign the papers for adoption then they would have put the dog in my car and only then i would have been able to see how the dog reacted to me and my daugher.
hate to say but left the dogs there and got one from an ad in the paper. Sorry but i know that most of the dogs at this shelter is put to sleep. but can't blame people for not wanting to take chances.
i now live in Virginia but also found this in upstate NY before I moved to VA.
This is why i don't support the idea of getting from shelters where they often don't know the temperment and I would rather go with a backyard breeder who has the parents and knows more about the temperment also there are laws in most states that the animals have to have shots and wormed and at least some kind of guarantee. Teh shelters I know of don't do any of this.

Answer 3

No, they don't all do that. You can look on petfinder.com also. I found my dog through a rescue group this way. The rescue groups often have the dogs living in home situations, so they get to know the dog's personality and can really hook you up with one that's good for you. I needed a dog that was good with small children and other dogs and had good luck this way. My rescue group was in another state, so they didn't do a home visit, but they did want my landlord's phone number to make sure I had a fenced yard and was allowed to keep dogs. They don't want the dog ending up back in the animal shelter, of course.

Answer 4

It's very common now. The problem is that adoption fees are much cheaper than buying a dog, and a lot of people who shouldn't own dogs use it as a cheap pet source. Everyone's seen those filthy trashy people who tie dogs up in the back yard on a chain and ignore them, or put them in a junkyard, or just don't take good care of them at all. Shelters are there to save animals, they can't risk adopting them out to a home that wants a cheap dog, not a rescued pet. It's time consuming, but it's for the welfare of the animal. And isn't a little inconvenience worth it when you know that dogs from that shelter won't suffer at the hands of a cruel owner ever again?

Answer 5

That is odd. I would check up on them thoroughly before you allow them to send a stranger into your home. There is a point beyond which it is thoroughly intrusive and would actually discourage people from giving perfectly good homes to pets. What are the qualifications of whomever they would send?

There is a difference between someone who wants to find a good home for a pet and someone who uses a pet to bully prospective owners. I know some breeders who reserve the right to inspect your home at any time during the lifetime of the pet and take the pet away. That is absurd and ridiculous. I would run, not walk away from people like that.

If you do not feel 100% right about that organization's request to 'inspect' your home, I would tell them that you are declining their request and will go elsewhere to adopt. A pet does not give someone the right to intrude upon the privacy of an individual or snoop around someone else's home passing judgment.

Breeding pets and adopting pets from a shelter entail risk and those unwilling to accept that risk should be in another line of work.

I also think that it is ridiculous to require someone to have a fenced in yard in order to adopt a dog. All the best dog owners that I know do not leave their dog in the yard, they walk their dogs and they take them to the park to be with other dogs. Having a yard is convenient but is never necessary.

Humane societies need to update their thinking.

Answer 6

When I adopted my dog they told made me sign an agreement stateing they could show up anytime (within the dogs 1 year of being adopted)to make sure the dog was in a suitable home

Answer 7

Almost all rescues do this, as well as humane societies and ASPCA. They usually bring a dog with them, and part of the reason is to see how you react to the dog doing dog stuff, like sometimes peeing on the floor. They're just trying to make sure that you can provide a forever home for your new dog. They're not going to go through your stuff or be extra nosy. They might not look around at all, unless you told them something they have to verify, such as that you have a fenced in yard. The reason they do this is because some people adopt dogs and then hoard them, abuse them, or even sell them to labs for testing. A lot of times, if all goes well, they'll leave your new dog at your house with you.

Answer 8

They don't all do it. Each humane society adopts its own policies regarding home visits. Ours does not. It really depends on the community and what will work in that particular location. We would have a tough time doing adoptions in our area if we did because no other shelters do home visits in our area. It is more common with rescue organizations.

Answer 9

Not all of them do, but really - why is it a bad thing? Imagine if someone came in to adopt a dog and where they were taking the dog was filthy, or a dog fighting ring. You should be grateful your humane society is so responsible and so caring about the welfare and locations of their animals. If you have a great home, you have nothing to fear. Perhaps your humane society has had problems with abuse, neglect, or dig fighting and thus have added this to the adoption requirement.

Answer 10

If not, they should. When I got my cats from the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society, they called my landlord to be sure cats were okay. But because Chicago is so big, they never actually visited. When I adopted my Pit bull, I had a person come out and check the house and yard, as well as several phone conversations and e-mails. If you care about animals, the check is acceptable. Think if they didn't check, the trouble a pet could get into, even a laboratory.