Question by LeeLee22: What do you hate about pet adoption procedures?
Is it the steps involved to get an adoptable pet? The cost? I am creating a service to help pet adoption agencies get more potential parents and I’m trying to pinpoint the main reasons people don’t adopt or are discouraged away from it. Any feedback would be great?
Best answer:
Answer by Midwest
I’ve adopted 2 of my 3 dogs.
Every rescue has a different adoption application. I can understand that they all have different criteria but it would be nice to fill out one and submit it to the different rescues instead of submitting several different ones.
Also, I know the rescues are busy but I contacted over 10 rescues and I think I heard back from only 3 or 4. You wait and wait, and then you decide to move on. We wanted to adopt a dog around 50-60 lbs that was okay with small dogs. We had no other requirements. There were several dogs available that would have fit well with us but no one got back to us. We waited, and waited.. it took us over 2 months to adopt the dog we got. Most people want a quick turn around. I can understand 2-3 weeks to contact but 2 months seems a bit much.
We have a very good application. I’m home for 2 months in the summer and have march break, christmas off. My husband works 2 mins from home so he comes home at lunch and lets the dogs out. We have a huge privacy fenced yard. Excellent references. Only use positive training methods, and feed our dogs all natural food and treats. It should not have taken us over 2 months to adopt a dog. I think many people get fed up and turn to buying a dog from a breeder because of that.
What do you think? Answer below!
The only thing I hate about them is that irresponsible people are allowed to take dogs that have no idea how to care for them or anything else. The RSPCA are too strict. The downside is that the rescue centres are only open for a couple of hours each day & sometimes you have to wait a couple of weeks for the dog wardens to do their home checks. The best Rescue Centre I ‘ve visited was Babbington Kennels in Nottingham. Each dog has it’s own bed & kennel, the staff are very friendly/helpful & willing to push the boat out just that little bit further to give you peace of mind. Once you have taken your dog home you can phone for advice & they check up on the dogs progress in their new home. They are very thorough with their adoption processes & match the right dog to new owner. They also have a dog show once a year to raise funds for their shelter & you can take your dog/mutt along. I had a Pedigree Whippet from there who had been ill treated & they spent a couple of hours explaining her problems & how to get around them. That was 4 years ago. She will be 8 in March & has a life of luxury she deserves. I also have another rescued Whippet but she didn’t come from a shelter.
I think many good owners are discouraged by the long, intensive application. Some rescue organizations, for instance, ask as many as 50 detailed, personal questions, and even require a home inspection. Now I certainly understand why they do this. However, I feel that it keeps people away. Perhaps they could try a 2 or even 3 stage approach. Start with a more basic, simple application with just a couple of questions that are more personal or detailed, and that will probably weed out some of them. Those who ‘pass’ the first app would then proceed to the next stage which would involve more questions that will help an agency determine who would provide a good home. Etc. I think this would bring in a larger pool of potential families. It would also possibly lead to the discovery of more foster families which are always sorely needed…those persons/families who for whatever reason can’t or won’t be good ‘forever homes’ but who would be excellent choices to foster.
I remember the first time I went to adopt a dog I was turned down on the basis that I had never adopted before. I went to 6 different shelters/rescues before being approved. And I was not allowed to adopt a large breed dog because I didn’t have a ‘large’ yard but I take my dogs hiking, running, swimming, frisbee all kinds of different things but was told ‘ you don’t have a large enough yard’ .
I dont think there should be anything to hate as Lots of the pet adoption companies work over time as a way to discover a constructive resolution for the uspet population issue. They work laborious find adoptable pets and provide them caring and loving family homes.