Pet Adoption Getting Out of Hand

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by Hello6
That's cause they're beating the dog in the house, away from prying eyes.
"Gee Officer, he seemed like a normal guy. Always quiet and kept to himself" after they find 8 bodies in the crawlspace.

Now you're starting to lose it.

If it weren't prevalent, there would be no need for rescues or the pound itself.

That's like saying if crime weren't prevalent, there would be no need for jails. But the vast majority of us are neither criminals nor have we ever been a major crime victim, so how prevalent is crime, really?

Animal Planet show isolated cases of animal abuse, just like some crime show does isolated cases of rape and murder. It's not the norm, it's not prevalent. You see it more because you work with a rescue. That's like social workers who think that most children are beaten and starved, and most parents are on drugs, because that's what they see the most of.

[Hello6]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
Now you're starting to lose it.

Whatever. People suck, everyone is a criminal in one way or another.

[RoseRed (Premo)]

Originally posted by cariblue
I'm a criminal, baby! Be very scared!

I heard you tore the tag off your mattress. You rebel you.

[SxyPrincess]

Originally posted by cariblue
I must say, I remove Sushi from his tank daily and give him a good thrashing, whether he needs it or not. If he's particularly bad, I swallow him them puke him back up and toss him back in the tank. That will usually keep him in line for a few days.

[RoseRed (Premo)]

Originally posted by cariblue
...and the pillows, the iron, the blow-dryer...

That's four strikes, how ever did you manage to stay out of prison?

[RoseRed (Premo)]

Originally posted by cariblue
I'm in hiding. I had to change my name and get a facelift.

That was you on Nip & Tuck? :eek:

Originally posted by Bruzilla
Here's my perspective: I want a dog, of a specific breed. I'm not out to save the world; I'm not out to rectify wrongs; I'm not out to avenge poorly treated animals; and I'm not wanting to be super owner. I've had dogs all of my life, and I'm looking for a new one.

The point of my post was that I think that all efforts eventually reach a point of diminishing returns, and I think a lot of these rescue leagues have hit it.... passed it actually. I do realize how much it costs to run one of these leagues, but that's the price of doing business so to speak. If your goal is to get these dogs into a good home instead of a gas chamber, then you'd better plan on taking a big hit to your wallet or purse. It's going to be a money-losing enterprise. If they aren't prepared to sink a lot of personal money into the operation, they shouldn't be in it.

I think that a lot of these rescue leagues need to take a hard look at what they are offering compared to buying a puppy. I can get a Malamute puppy for the same cost of adopting one from the Malamute Rescue folks, so there's no real cost benefit. On top of that, I'm likely going to be getting someone else's problems that they had with the dog (lack of training, bad behavior, agressiveness, etc.) Also, since the dog must be altered there's no way they can be bred AND you can't get papers. And lastly, you have to deal with all of the time and trouble of the adoption process that these groups have in place. So... aside from bypassing the puppy stage, where's the benefit of adopting???

I think that if these rescue leagues want to stay around, without bankrupting the owners, they need a better business philosophy.

Well this is my first post on this board and I wanted to say that what I have seen in this thread is very disturbing to me. People like you Bruzilla shouldn't own animals. If you are out to get a specific breed and are not willing to pay for it that is an indication that you are not willing to invest the time it takes to make your initial INVESTMENT in the dog worth your while.

If you can get a puppy for the same price that the rescue is charging for an adult the by all means go do it, and then you can pay the $50 to get it nuetered $25 for the Rabies Shot, $20 for a distemper and Parvo Shot, another $10-15 for a dewormer ( because ALL puppies have worms), then after you shell out that money then you can go throught the pain of it pooping on your carpet so you have to house train it, the obedience training that it will need, oh almost forgot if it is a 50lb and up dog the $45-50 ever six months for heartworn treatment.

So go buy the puppy and maybe after you have shelled out all the money, time and effort, maybe you will have a good dog, or then again maybe you will be like the jerks that dumped thiers at the pound so they wound up dead or at a rescues group.

I work with a rescue group that rescues ALL breed and mixed Breeds and Cats, we charge $150 for the Adoption fees to cover the cost of the vet and medicines and most of all to make sure the people are taking it seriously. A person is a heck of a lot more likely to take a $25 dog that they adopted and not take care of it and or take it and drop it at the pound, than if they paid $150 for it. We do not give you the third digree or visit your home. We ask a few simple questions and take the $150 and you get a dog that is spayed/nuetered, and has had it's shots and is in good health and is not agressive. We do not adopt out any dogs that show agression.
Oh and one more thing before I end my rant. When you adopt a dog from a rescue group it isn't like buying a used car, you aren't getting someone elses problem's in 95.5% of the cases the problem that caused the dog to be at the rescue isn't the dogs problem or fault it is the jerk that owned the dog originally. Dogs act in response to the way they are treated so most of the time it is the owner(s) that screw the dogs up, not the fact that the dog was born that way or because of what breed it is.

(RANT OFF)

[Hello6]

[slackwater514]

Bravo, Hello. I've wanted to chime in a for a while, but I've kept my piece to myself, because I'd inevitably go off onto a ranting rage. But I agree with your defense of rescue groups, and want to add to that picture that there are two types of potential animal owners - those that want cheap animals, and will scour the breeders and whatnot, searching for just that, perpetuating the breeding of animals that should not be bred, and those that are willing to rescue an animal. They are two COMPLETELY different types of people, and rescues don't necessarily need to beat out the puppy breeders, because there will always be people who also make it their life's work to save the animals that they can save.

Thanks for the backup. I just think animals deserve a little better than the get most the time. I have 5 dogs a cat a 1/2 pygmy goat and had two ferrets all of the dogs but one was a rescue the cat was abandoned and we took it in the goat we did buy from the Amish and one of the ferrret I found on the side of Route 5 and I woulnd't take a million bucks for any of my animals.

Weeeellll maybe a million is naaah not even a mill heheheheee