From: Mike D
Date: 8/20/2004 1:40 AM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

What exactly is the difference between a rescue society dedicated
to a specific breed of canine and me who adopts from shelters?


A rescue is (generally) a group of people, sometimes one person, who pulls dogs
of a breed or type (or some do it all!) and vets them, socializes and trains
them and places them for adoption.

What is it that makes adopters of purebreds "rescuers" ?

For some people "rescuer" is a title preserved for those actually in the
trenches, "adopter" for those that benefit from their work in the obtaining of
a vetted and evaluated dog from a foster home (in most cases, most of the
legwork done for them). In the case of a shelter dog, you are both rescuer and
adopter, so I would certainly catagorize yours as "rescued"

My (3) dogs come EXCLUSIVELY from shelters. Are my dogs
not "rescued" ?

IMO, they are. It's a gray area, but "rescue" (generally term meaning any dog
saved from considerable risk) is "in" right now, so you find abuses of the term
everywhere.

For instance, if you bought your dog from a petstore, you did not "rescue" it
from a pet store. If you got your dog out of the paper, you didn't "rescue" it
from a breeder, and if your friend gives you a puppy, it's not a "rescue", etc.
and so on.

Or is it just snobbery about purebreds?

Where have you gotten that rescue is just about purebreds? Some of the
"official" breed rescues only take purebreds (generally because they are
supported by the breed club and they can't take everything that might possibly
have some of that breed in it) but most offer referrals services or rescue
mixes on the side, resources allowing. Then there are the all breed rescues,
mixed breed rescues, hairy dog rescues, small dog rescues, herding dog rescues,
giant dog rescues, deaf dog rescue, we even have hyper dog rescue here locally,
they train for agility and frisbee competitors.

(Not a troll, but this one invites flames.. I wanna know..)


I don't think it necessarily invites flames, it just sounds as if you perhaps
have a rather narrow view of "rescue".

Robin

The difference is in funding and organization. There's considerable
overlap in the two. In general (meaning subject to disagreement and
fuzziness of definition), a shelter gets public funds and maintains a
building. So the county might use public tax dollars to maintain a
kennel and pay a civil servant to act as animal control officer. This
organization picks up strays, takes in animals relinquished by owners
and operates under laws made by the county commission to care for
animals until their owners can be found or until they can be adopted out
or until they're put down (killed). The shelter might also accept
private donations. (Similarly, the city library might be essentially
funded by tax dollars but also take private donations for a particular
purpose.)


A rescue organization typically is privately funded and run entirely by
volunteers. They might choose to limit their focus to one breed. The
volunteers might foster animals in their homes until they're adopted
out. They probably have different guidelines from the county shelter as
far which animals they choose to accept, how healthy the animals are,
how long they keep them for adoption, what sort of veterinary care they
pay for, what their rules are for putting animals down.


There is overlap in the definitions. There are shelters that maintain a
building that are run entirely on private donations. There are rescue
organizations that might get public tax dollars.


From the adopters point of view, the 2 are similar. If you adopt an
otherwise unwanted dog, you may think of yourself as a rescuer.


--Lia

The difference is in funding and organization. There's considerable
overlap in the two. In general (meaning subject to disagreement and
fuzziness of definition), a shelter gets public funds and maintains a
building. So the county might use public tax dollars to maintain a
kennel and pay a civil servant to act as animal control officer. This
organization picks up strays, takes in animals relinquished by owners
and operates under laws made by the county commission to care for
animals until their owners can be found or until they can be adopted out
or until they're put down (killed). The shelter might also accept
private donations. (Similarly, the city library might be essentially
funded by tax dollars but also take private donations for a particular
purpose.)


A rescue organization typically is privately funded and run entirely by
volunteers. They might choose to limit their focus to one breed. The
volunteers might foster animals in their homes until they're adopted
out. They probably have different guidelines from the county shelter as
far which animals they choose to accept, how healthy the animals are,
how long they keep them for adoption, what sort of veterinary care they
pay for, what their rules are for putting animals down.


There is overlap in the definitions. There are shelters that maintain a
building that are run entirely on private donations. There are rescue
organizations that might get public tax dollars.


From the adopters point of view, the 2 are similar. If you adopt an
otherwise unwanted dog, you may think of yourself as a rescuer.


--Lia

The difference is in funding and organization. There's considerable
overlap in the two. In general (meaning subject to disagreement and
fuzziness of definition), a shelter gets public funds and maintains a
building. So the county might use public tax dollars to maintain a
kennel and pay a civil servant to act as animal control officer. This
organization picks up strays, takes in animals relinquished by owners
and operates under laws made by the county commission to care for
animals until their owners can be found or until they can be adopted out
or until they're put down (killed). The shelter might also accept
private donations. (Similarly, the city library might be essentially
funded by tax dollars but also take private donations for a particular
purpose.)


A rescue organization typically is privately funded and run entirely by
volunteers. They might choose to limit their focus to one breed. The
volunteers might foster animals in their homes until they're adopted
out. They probably have different guidelines from the county shelter as
far which animals they choose to accept, how healthy the animals are,
how long they keep them for adoption, what sort of veterinary care they
pay for, what their rules are for putting animals down.


There is overlap in the definitions. There are shelters that maintain a
building that are run entirely on private donations. There are rescue
organizations that might get public tax dollars.


From the adopters point of view, the 2 are similar. If you adopt an
otherwise unwanted dog, you may think of yourself as a rescuer.


--Lia

The difference is in funding and organization. There's considerable
overlap in the two. In general (meaning subject to disagreement and
fuzziness of definition), a shelter gets public funds and maintains a
building. So the county might use public tax dollars to maintain a
kennel and pay a civil servant to act as animal control officer. This
organization picks up strays, takes in animals relinquished by owners
and operates under laws made by the county commission to care for
animals until their owners can be found or until they can be adopted out
or until they're put down (killed). The shelter might also accept
private donations. (Similarly, the city library might be essentially
funded by tax dollars but also take private donations for a particular
purpose.)


A rescue organization typically is privately funded and run entirely by
volunteers. They might choose to limit their focus to one breed. The
volunteers might foster animals in their homes until they're adopted
out. They probably have different guidelines from the county shelter as
far which animals they choose to accept, how healthy the animals are,
how long they keep them for adoption, what sort of veterinary care they
pay for, what their rules are for putting animals down.


There is overlap in the definitions. There are shelters that maintain a
building that are run entirely on private donations. There are rescue
organizations that might get public tax dollars.


From the adopters point of view, the 2 are similar. If you adopt an
otherwise unwanted dog, you may think of yourself as a rescuer.


--Lia

The difference is in funding and organization. There's considerable
overlap in the two. In general (meaning subject to disagreement and
fuzziness of definition), a shelter gets public funds and maintains a
building. So the county might use public tax dollars to maintain a
kennel and pay a civil servant to act as animal control officer. This
organization picks up strays, takes in animals relinquished by owners
and operates under laws made by the county commission to care for
animals until their owners can be found or until they can be adopted out
or until they're put down (killed). The shelter might also accept
private donations. (Similarly, the city library might be essentially
funded by tax dollars but also take private donations for a particular
purpose.)


A rescue organization typically is privately funded and run entirely by
volunteers. They might choose to limit their focus to one breed. The
volunteers might foster animals in their homes until they're adopted
out. They probably have different guidelines from the county shelter as
far which animals they choose to accept, how healthy the animals are,
how long they keep them for adoption, what sort of veterinary care they
pay for, what their rules are for putting animals down.


There is overlap in the definitions. There are shelters that maintain a
building that are run entirely on private donations. There are rescue
organizations that might get public tax dollars.


From the adopters point of view, the 2 are similar. If you adopt an
otherwise unwanted dog, you may think of yourself as a rescuer.


--Lia

Mike D wrote:
What exactly is the difference between a rescue society dedicated
to a specific breed of canine and me who adopts from shelters?

A typical rescuer is bombarded by requests to take unwanted dogs on a daily
basis. He has to pick and choose to try to determine which dogs have the best
chances of getting a home, and which dogs he cannot help. And he has to foster
the dogs in his own home, training them and dealing with their issues, so that
they can become more adoptable. And then he has to let them go, so he can take
in more needy dogs.

You may be saving a dog's life by adopting him from a shelter. Especially a
big, older dog. But a rescue organization must use triage to save as many dogs
as they can, and still be functional. I couldn't be a good rescuer - the
emotional drain would be too much for me.

What is it that makes adopters of purebreds "rescuers" ?

They're not, really. Rescuers intervene for the lives of many dogs, whether
they're purebred or not. Adopters adopt them after the rescuers have prepared
them.

My (3) dogs come EXCLUSIVELY from shelters. Are my dogs
not "rescued" ?

IMHO, yes. We're getting into semantics here. Literally, if the dog would
have been put to sleep if you hadn't adopted him, you've rescued him. But
that's not how a "rescue group" is defined.

I know of a local rescue group that gets their dogs exclusively from a very
overcrowded kill shelter, where even young, cuddly puppies end up put to sleep.
They go once a week to this shelter and pick out as many dogs as they can
handle, then go sit outside of PetsMarts with them all week-end.

Or is it just snobbery about purebreds?

Has nothing to do with whether or not a dog is a purebred. There are breed
rescues, there are any-dog rescues, and there are breed rescues who take in
mixes with their breed in them.

Canine Action Dog Trainer
http://www.canineaction.com
My Kids, My Students, My Life:
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html

Mike D wrote:
What exactly is the difference between a rescue society dedicated
to a specific breed of canine and me who adopts from shelters?

A typical rescuer is bombarded by requests to take unwanted dogs on a daily
basis. He has to pick and choose to try to determine which dogs have the best
chances of getting a home, and which dogs he cannot help. And he has to foster
the dogs in his own home, training them and dealing with their issues, so that
they can become more adoptable. And then he has to let them go, so he can take
in more needy dogs.

You may be saving a dog's life by adopting him from a shelter. Especially a
big, older dog. But a rescue organization must use triage to save as many dogs
as they can, and still be functional. I couldn't be a good rescuer - the
emotional drain would be too much for me.

What is it that makes adopters of purebreds "rescuers" ?

They're not, really. Rescuers intervene for the lives of many dogs, whether
they're purebred or not. Adopters adopt them after the rescuers have prepared
them.

My (3) dogs come EXCLUSIVELY from shelters. Are my dogs
not "rescued" ?

IMHO, yes. We're getting into semantics here. Literally, if the dog would
have been put to sleep if you hadn't adopted him, you've rescued him. But
that's not how a "rescue group" is defined.

I know of a local rescue group that gets their dogs exclusively from a very
overcrowded kill shelter, where even young, cuddly puppies end up put to sleep.
They go once a week to this shelter and pick out as many dogs as they can
handle, then go sit outside of PetsMarts with them all week-end.

Or is it just snobbery about purebreds?

Has nothing to do with whether or not a dog is a purebred. There are breed
rescues, there are any-dog rescues, and there are breed rescues who take in
mixes with their breed in them.

Canine Action Dog Trainer
http://www.canineaction.com
My Kids, My Students, My Life:
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html

Mike D wrote:
What exactly is the difference between a rescue society dedicated
to a specific breed of canine and me who adopts from shelters?

A typical rescuer is bombarded by requests to take unwanted dogs on a daily
basis. He has to pick and choose to try to determine which dogs have the best
chances of getting a home, and which dogs he cannot help. And he has to foster
the dogs in his own home, training them and dealing with their issues, so that
they can become more adoptable. And then he has to let them go, so he can take
in more needy dogs.

You may be saving a dog's life by adopting him from a shelter. Especially a
big, older dog. But a rescue organization must use triage to save as many dogs
as they can, and still be functional. I couldn't be a good rescuer - the
emotional drain would be too much for me.

What is it that makes adopters of purebreds "rescuers" ?

They're not, really. Rescuers intervene for the lives of many dogs, whether
they're purebred or not. Adopters adopt them after the rescuers have prepared
them.

My (3) dogs come EXCLUSIVELY from shelters. Are my dogs
not "rescued" ?

IMHO, yes. We're getting into semantics here. Literally, if the dog would
have been put to sleep if you hadn't adopted him, you've rescued him. But
that's not how a "rescue group" is defined.

I know of a local rescue group that gets their dogs exclusively from a very
overcrowded kill shelter, where even young, cuddly puppies end up put to sleep.
They go once a week to this shelter and pick out as many dogs as they can
handle, then go sit outside of PetsMarts with them all week-end.

Or is it just snobbery about purebreds?

Has nothing to do with whether or not a dog is a purebred. There are breed
rescues, there are any-dog rescues, and there are breed rescues who take in
mixes with their breed in them.

Canine Action Dog Trainer
http://www.canineaction.com
My Kids, My Students, My Life:
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html

Mike D wrote:
What exactly is the difference between a rescue society dedicated
to a specific breed of canine and me who adopts from shelters?

A typical rescuer is bombarded by requests to take unwanted dogs on a daily
basis. He has to pick and choose to try to determine which dogs have the best
chances of getting a home, and which dogs he cannot help. And he has to foster
the dogs in his own home, training them and dealing with their issues, so that
they can become more adoptable. And then he has to let them go, so he can take
in more needy dogs.

You may be saving a dog's life by adopting him from a shelter. Especially a
big, older dog. But a rescue organization must use triage to save as many dogs
as they can, and still be functional. I couldn't be a good rescuer - the
emotional drain would be too much for me.

What is it that makes adopters of purebreds "rescuers" ?

They're not, really. Rescuers intervene for the lives of many dogs, whether
they're purebred or not. Adopters adopt them after the rescuers have prepared
them.

My (3) dogs come EXCLUSIVELY from shelters. Are my dogs
not "rescued" ?

IMHO, yes. We're getting into semantics here. Literally, if the dog would
have been put to sleep if you hadn't adopted him, you've rescued him. But
that's not how a "rescue group" is defined.

I know of a local rescue group that gets their dogs exclusively from a very
overcrowded kill shelter, where even young, cuddly puppies end up put to sleep.
They go once a week to this shelter and pick out as many dogs as they can
handle, then go sit outside of PetsMarts with them all week-end.

Or is it just snobbery about purebreds?

Has nothing to do with whether or not a dog is a purebred. There are breed
rescues, there are any-dog rescues, and there are breed rescues who take in
mixes with their breed in them.

Canine Action Dog Trainer
http://www.canineaction.com
My Kids, My Students, My Life:
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html