Well maybe there would be less homeless dogs if the damnn shelters would actually let them be adopted!!?

Question

Ok My family has tried to adopt a dog several times. We are basically the perfect family for a dog but they said NO because the dog would be alone while we are at school... for christs sake i have a 5lb yorkie that can hold it when im at school with no problem. Trust me, I WANT people to adopt dogs!! I HATE puppy mills but maybe if the rescuers would get their noses out of the sky maybe more would be adopted! How many dog across the USA and the world are alone when the kids are at work?!??!!? For christs sake these shelters are their own worst enemies when they make it nearly impossible to adopt a dog....

Answer 1

I hear you! I have found this to be true too many times. Many shelters make it so difficult to adopt that alot of people just give up, and I don't blame them. The reality is that most people work or go to school and pets will be left alone for some period of time at some point. I understand that the shelters want to be sure the animal gets a good home but they need to be real about it too. Maybe, just maybe, then more animals will be adopted.

Answer 2

Perhaps you should try a different shelter or rescue. While some rescues are unreasonable about their requirements, no two organizations have the same requirements. I find it hard to believe that they won't let your family adopt a dog simply because the dog will be home without human company for 6 hours during the day. There may be some other reason that you are being denied. It may even be a simple matter of your family being interested in dogs that would not be a good match due to your family make-up, the other dog, or behavioral issues the rescue dog has yet to work through.

In defense of the shelters, they do need to be a little picky about who can adopt a dog from them (or who can adopt a particular dog). If they didn't look carefully at their adoption applications they would be little better than the pet stores that support the puppy mills. My local GSD rescue has a pretty standard adoption application that requires references (both personal and veterinary), asks about current and previous pets, and asks where you plan to keep the dog at all times of the day, how you plan to discipline or train the dog, etc. A lot of people might think that they are making things difficult. But even with this screening process they still don't always find good or permenant homes. Just since this April, they have had FIVE dogs come back to them...and one of them was returned by county animal control after he was picked up as a stray, skinny and mangey. And that was a home that had wonderful references.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, you may need to look at this from the other side. Most shelter dogs are traumatized by being dumped by a family, or being abused or neglected. They may have already been in more than one home, and been returned. This is not a good environment for a dog, and stresses them further. Most shelters don't want to just push their dogs out to anybody who walks in, so they set up some rules for dog ownership to try their best to stabilize a poor dogs life. They tend to err on the side of caution, but you have to remember, the shelter is there to protect the animals, not be a convenience for us people. We all tend to forget that when we want something.
I foster dogs and do home visits for my rescue group. I am pretty picky about where my foster dogs go because I want first and foremost, for them to have good lives, and never have to be in a shelter again as long as they live. They have already been through enough.
Most shelters do not have the funds to keep getting dogs back and trying to get them adopted out again. There is no subsititute for a GOOD home.

I recently told a woman who had applied for one of my fosters that she needed to get a cat. She wanted to adopt a dog and admitted she would not be home for 12 hours a day five days a week. Pigs would fly before one of my fosters went into a home like that.

If you are truly interested in a rescue dog, I would certainly go back and ask the volunteers why they are denying your application. They will tell you what their objections are, and maybe you could find a way to work with the shelter. It does seem odd that you have been denied more than once, so you should definitely get to the bottom of it.

Answer 4

I understand your problem and do agree to an extent......if they do a home check and you have a fenced yard if this is a larger breed,your landlord(if you rent)agrees,everybody in your household is in agreement of the adoption and your dog now meets and they get along I wouldn't see a problem.....BUT! another question that would come to my mind is....how many animals have you owned in the past 5 years and where are they now?this would give me an idea as to whether I'd allow the adoption also,who is your vet and will they give you a good reference(your dog is up to date on shots etc.)we just dont want the dog to go thru any more trauma......my one other problem is the price some shelters and rescues charge!!!!!! I know people that can afford to feed,house and give proper vet care to an animal and would love to save a life but cant see spending $300 to $500 dollars on a shelter/rescue dog so they end up buying from somewhere else because they figure for that kind of money the might as well have a reg.dog.......I'm not saying rescue/shelter dogs aren't worth it but to someone without the mindset of a rescuer this seems outrageous.......rescues need money to cover costs and vet bills but they also need to realize their goal is to find QUALIFIED homes for these dogs

Answer 5

if you are trying to adopt a dog that is larger than your yorkie, there are other things to consider than just whether or not the dog can hold his pee while you are gone. You have to consider if the dogs will get along without you there to supervise, you have to consider that a larger dog needs more room to play and excercise. Having two dogs means spending twice as much time with them, not less, so I can totally understand why they are choosing not to allow you to adopt the dog.

I would suggest asking the shelter if you could work out a compromise: you could enroll the dogs in a doggy day care or hire a dogwalker that can come and walk them once or twice a day. That way they would have the socialization they need and someone to care for them while you are away at work or school. If you provide them with proof of your intentions to enroll the dogs in doggy daycare they may feel differently about the situation. Otherwise, you will have to respect that they know the dog's disposition better than you and they have the final say so as to what family gets him. Good luck!

Answer 6

They have to be careful, otherwise the dog will end right back at the shelter or worse. It's a dam tough job deciding who gets to adopt....
Stop and think: what if the dog you were trying to adopt had behavorial issues that would not work out in a home with people gone all day? would I let you adopt that type of dog? No.
Rescue dogs need MORE attention sometimes due to the situations they came from....and sometimes, some people don't have the lifestyle to be accomodating to that fact.
Try not to take it personal...

Answer 7

Shelters have numerous requirements for potential pet owners. Most of the dogs there have either been neglected or abused so they don't want someone who will leave the dog at home for 8 hours a day unattended. Maybe there was another reason they didn't see you fit for the dog.
You have to realize they want a home where the person will be there some during the day. Why put the dog through being neglected again?

Answer 8

I believe the logic is, ANY home is not better than a good home.. I think that the dogs deserve a good home, or they might as well stay where they are.. To go from shelter to a home where no one is home all day long.. Is that any better than what they have now?

The dogs in shelters have been thru a lot already, they deserve a home where someone is there to be with them, spend time with them, and love them. When you are getting a 2nd dog as companion to the first, and you are gone all day long.. Well it's not the best possible home for those dogs..

I think that it's a good idea.. I am sick of the shelters that will adopt out to anyone just to get the dogs into a home.. So many times that dog ends up back on the street or passed around or back into the shelter..
Error on the side of caution when it comes to rehoming dogs.. Why put them thru more crap..

Answer 9

I had the same problem with SICSA here in Ohio. They were first of all about the rudest people I have ever encountered. They were extremely difficult to deal with. I finally got approval to adopt (because I work from home a lot) and as I was going in to pick up my puppy they were giving her away to another family.

The process was difficult but would have been worth it. I could have dealt with the difficult and long process if it werent for the bitter old hags working there. :)

When you are actually qualified to adopt a puppy and then they give it away to someone else in front of your face after you left work early that day...well that is just a slap in the face.

Answer 10

There has to be a good middle line. My local shelter will adopt to anyone with $75 to give them- no questions asked. Try a county shelter ran by animal control- most are like that. In my opinion it's not good that they are, but that's just the way it is.