12-29-2010, 05:07 AM
I agree that way too many perfectly wonderful dogs end up at animal shelters, or killed, for a lack of homes, but I have very mixed feelings about the methods of some dog rescue people.
We have a rescue dog who is the last rescue dog I will ever take. She is in many ways a wonderful dog, very loving and devoted to us and our other dogs, but she has some real psychological damage that stems from the abuse she received before she was rescued. Some of the resulting problems are just funny, like being terrified of ceiling fans, but one of those problems means we cannot ever use a house or pet sitter, put her in a kennel overnight, or have her around any male except my husband. This means we cannot travel, or even go to the Kona side for the night, and having any male house guests is a real hassle. We did not plan to have our lives so limited by adopting this animal, and should have been given the chance to make a conscious choice about what we were doing.
Looking back, the rescue person who had her for months knew about this issue, and chose not to tell us in hopes we would be committed to the dog before we found out, which is what happened. Rescue operations are often so intent on finding a home for the dog that they do not always share important information with the adopting family, which is unfair to everyone involved. We made a lifelong commitment to this dog, but did so without being given the information we needed to make an educated decision, which was unfair to both the dog and us.
My point here is use real caution when you adopt a rescue dog who was abused, there are lasting effects which can make an otherwise wonderful dog a very difficult member of the family to have. Do not assume the rescue people will share with you all the information they have, their priority is to place the dog, not make you happy.
Carol
ed. to fix a typo
We have a rescue dog who is the last rescue dog I will ever take. She is in many ways a wonderful dog, very loving and devoted to us and our other dogs, but she has some real psychological damage that stems from the abuse she received before she was rescued. Some of the resulting problems are just funny, like being terrified of ceiling fans, but one of those problems means we cannot ever use a house or pet sitter, put her in a kennel overnight, or have her around any male except my husband. This means we cannot travel, or even go to the Kona side for the night, and having any male house guests is a real hassle. We did not plan to have our lives so limited by adopting this animal, and should have been given the chance to make a conscious choice about what we were doing.
Looking back, the rescue person who had her for months knew about this issue, and chose not to tell us in hopes we would be committed to the dog before we found out, which is what happened. Rescue operations are often so intent on finding a home for the dog that they do not always share important information with the adopting family, which is unfair to everyone involved. We made a lifelong commitment to this dog, but did so without being given the information we needed to make an educated decision, which was unfair to both the dog and us.
My point here is use real caution when you adopt a rescue dog who was abused, there are lasting effects which can make an otherwise wonderful dog a very difficult member of the family to have. Do not assume the rescue people will share with you all the information they have, their priority is to place the dog, not make you happy.
Carol
ed. to fix a typo
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb