Elderly dogs are about the last to be adopted from shelters and many
rescues.... and are often the very best buddies for the months or few
years they have left. We have placed dogs up to 16 years old! I kept a
12 1/2 yo fellow I just adored.... lived another 3 years. And I placed
a 13 yo in a home with a 12 yo of the same breed. The 12 yo died before
the one I placed.... and that old feller was THRILLED when they brought
home a puppy!!!!! He was still alive and active at 17!!!!!!!!

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia, USA

Oh, and yeh, the euthanasia rate in many Southern animal control
shelters is ABOVE 90%. For this reason, our rescues are always at
110% fill. Not because they are slow to adopt, but because they are
quick to pull and save dogs. AND we have as many, percentage wise, pits
and pit mixes as other regions. Perhaps more.

Why is it like this? The reasons run deep in history and sociology.
We're struggling to change it, but change comes slowly and with a lot of
heartbreak and burn-out.

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia, USA

I'm always open to new ideas and information. I've had a few brief
contacts, going back more than twenty years, with an elderly woman who
had devoted her life to saving dogs. She heads a rescue that has run
into financial problems and has had to stop taking dogs for the present.
On her group page she wrote that she had to stop pulling from the high
kill shelter in my city. I'd been there several times, always only about
ten dogs there, eight being pits or rotties, the others easily
adoptable, so I've never taken a dog from there.
After reading the news about the financially troubled rescue I went to
that same shelter expecting to find who knows what...and to my amazement
all the dogs had been taken by another rescue run by a friend of the
elderly woman.
I was given the name of the group by someone at the shelter and
contacted them by email. I've sent three very lenghty mails to the woman
in charge. Since her organization takes in many hard to place dogs and
she's local I thought to run several ideas/concerns, same as I've done
here, by her to see what she can add. Several days have passed and only
the first mail was answered. Since I'm in a position to possibly help
I'd appreciate the benefit of her years of experience.
My only hands on contact with a rescue was decidely negative, turned out
the woman ( who pulls from a Southern high kill shelter ) misrepresented
nearly everything about a pair of dogs . Ironically if I were to have a
good experience with an organization I could help out more than they
could imagine.
In the world of what has actually been accomplished I recently took in a
twelve year old nealy blind Corgi/Shepherd mix from Petfinder. She fits
in well but I am definately a caretaker, I don't think she even missed
her former family ( split up, moved to apartments ), certainly did not
seem upset when the husband dropped her off.
I don't want to do things that I wind up regreting ( as so often has
happened ), but I'm trying to gather information that can be of use in
my attempt to help animals. It's tough enough to live in a world in
which animals get the worst of everything and all of my closest best
friends are gone. SD

THe lady who recently pulled several dogs from the shelter is BUSY.
While she likely does a fair amount of rescue work via email, she
probably doesn't have the time and energy to engage in philosophical
discussions that way. There are also lots of folks who just don't enjoy
writing.... and she might be one of those.....

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia, USA

in any event matters quickly hit a dead end with her. I'll sort this out
on my own.

From looking at various local group home pages, apparently to vets. If
you have fosters the other expenses would be miminal. I would choose not
to leave $ to places like Best Friends since, among other problems,
their paid staff are actually the ones getting the donations. Leaving,
or giving, money to make vets richer is not to my taste , not by a long
chalk.
Still waiting for Petfinder to approve my registration, sent follup up
mail, still not a thing. maybe they're BUSY too.

On Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:11:24 -0500, (SSS DDD) wrote:

From looking at various local group home pages, apparently to vets. If
you have fosters the other expenses would be miminal. I would choose not
to leave $ to places like Best Friends since, among other problems,
their paid staff are actually the ones getting the donations. Leaving,
or giving, money to make vets richer is not to my taste , not by a long
chalk.

How then would you suggest providing the dogs with the medical care
they need? I've been involved in several large Borzoi rescue
situations and in each of them, the dogs were in very bad shape,
needing, for example (besides spay/neuter) dentals, surgery for tumor
removal, long-term antibiotics for chronic and long-standing ear
infections, etc., etc. These weren't unusual situations.

Still waiting for Petfinder to approve my registration, sent follup up
mail, still not a thing. maybe they're BUSY too.

How long have you been waiting? Many rescue groups have warnings on
their web sites that the people responsible for responding to email
are volunteers and have paying jobs, so please be patient.

Each situation is unique and every rescue head has the right to
determine the groups goals, but if going bankrupt or dormant is the
price for heavy vet contact, maybe policies need to be reviewed.
Best Friends can pour big money into individual cases and it looks good
on TV, but is that really the Best Way to help as many dogs as possible
?
My Petfinder registration was made on Saturday, sent an email to the
administration yesterday.

On Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:36:14 -0500, (SSS DDD) wrote:

Each situation is unique and every rescue head has the right to
determine the groups goals, but if going bankrupt or dormant is the
price for heavy vet contact, maybe policies need to be reviewed.
Best Friends can pour big money into individual cases and it looks good
on TV, but is that really the Best Way to help as many dogs as possible
?

I'm not talking about Best Friends or groups that go on TV. How long
do you think a group would last if it adoptable, salvageable animals
because they don't want "heavy vet contact" ? People wouldn't donate
money to them, and then they'd go bankrupt. Of course vet care is the
biggest expense rescue groups have.

I can see why you're not getting much in the way of responses from
rescue groups and the like. You have plenty of opinions and
criticism, but not much idea of what's involved in rescue.

Among other direct expenses besides vet care are the state license for a
rescue (many states, annual), bowls, bedding, crates, collars, leashes,
toys, food, treats, cleaning supplies and disinfectants, brushes, combs,
nail clippers, TOWELS, laundry supplies, shampoos. Copying of forms,
office supplies, which are minimal but necessary expenses, costs related
to a bank account. May need to have professional help preparing the
501.c.3 paperwork for the IRS, and annual IRS forms. LIABILITY
INSURANCE to protect the board of directors.

To expect a response from petfinder in less than a week is idiocy. They
do check you out to a certain extent and you have NO RESCUE HISTORY.

You really are quite naive..... and uninformed. Sadly, it is people
like you who charge into rescue and fail within the year. All it will
take to sink a ship is to make 2 or 3 unwise placements. Word gets
around fast. In my county, you can't pull dogs from the pound as a
rescue until you meet their requirements.... copies of "Everything".....
policies, procedures, application forms, adoption contracts, records of
foster care, IRS letter of exemption, insurance papers, by-laws, vet
statement of service.... If dogs they turned over to a rescue bounce
back into the county system..... black marks against you.

It takes a goodly amount of knowledge of canine behavior and
temperament, and what will fit how well into which households to make
good placements. How to evaluate a home prior to adoption.... Even
what questions on an application tell you the most. How to spot lies.
Just because Jane Doe wants to adopt Fluffy does NOT mean that that is
the right home for Fluffy.

A good rescue PREPARES dogs for adoption. It takes a good 2 weeks to
just evaluate a dog, get it recovered from neuter/spay, treat minor
medical problems. More time to tune up housetraining if not "clean and
dry", deal with other minor behavior issues, teach it to walk politely
on leash, know how it reacts to cats, to kids of what ages and genders,
to other dogs. I've had fosters it's taken me 7-9 MONTHS to prepare for
a new home, but I knew these dogs were Good Adoption Prospects when we
pulled them.

But then, I've been a dog trainer and obedience instructor for over 20
years.... and had good mentors when I started working with rescue. I
have studied canine behavior and spent 30 years as a professional nurse,
teaching and evaluating people. I didn't just decide to rescue dogs and
start doing it.

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia, USA