WHAT A RESCUE LIKE THIS IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT WHAT RESCUE IS NOT
I am called almost daily by people wanting to relinquish their pet. There are many reasons why I get these calls, but few of the callers truly understand what a rescue does or how it works. When you have a pet you want to relinquish, it’s important to understand what a rescue can and cannot do. Rescues are not rehabilitators. We can’t take an animal you have either ruined by not training it or socializing it, or if the animal is mentally deficient, aggressive, dangerous or otherwise out of control, and miraculously fix it. We are a foster based operation, where regular dedicated families hold on to these pets for a few weeks prior to getting them in a forever home. The foster will typically have a dog already and help reorient the new dog to a new home and prepare him or her to be adopted. They are not trainers or behavioralists. We cannot ever put them, or their pets or family, in harms way with a dangerous dog. We can’t change adversarial behaviors like food aggression, leash lunging, animal to animal aggression or any other form of adverse behavior. We can always address medical issues such as wounds, heartworm, coughing or vomiting. We can, at times help, with potty training, cage/crate training, some degrees of socialization and basic obedience; but that is given if that the dog can learn and will bond with the foster and is social enough to accept direction. Rescues cannot be expected to correct the ills of bad dog owners. We understand that there are many reasons to relinquish a pet and that each case is different. We understand compassion more than you can realize, but also the fact that we cannot, no matter how hard we try or desire to help, change the fact that we cannot save them all. Sometimes dogs cannot adapt to changes in anything, especially the home, environment or to new people, primarily because they were totally sequestered and ignored for their lifetime. People who cannot care for a GSD should not have one. People who have no time for the dog to play and bond, should not have one. People who can’t afford medical care for the dog or a quality food should not have one. People who say, I am having a baby and no longer want the dog around, should not ever be allowed to get a pet again. People unwilling to train or socialize the dog from the moment they take possession should not have one. People whose lives are too busy for a GSD should not have one, and those who enjoy a peripatetic life style should not have one. Now we have covered most of the relinquishing reasons. I have no time, I rent and can’t take the dog with me, I got transferred to another city and have no time for the dog nor a place to live that will take him. There are always the legit reasons such as a person’s passing, where the family wants to see to it that the dogs find a great new home. A family who has fallen on hard times and cannot afford to keep the dog. A family who loves their pet but that just doesn’t have the time for the dog is also a reasonable reason for relinquishment. When these pets come to us they are scared, nervous, fearful, confused and depressed. It is our job to bring their spirits up, give them a safe and secure transitional home and love to help them adjust to these changes. If we can provide the animal with a secure situation, they typically come around and because they are so pragmatic, adapt to the change and accept the transition and rehoming well. Rescue is a beautiful thing when it works they way it is supposed to. With the understanding that rescue is not all things to all people, will help you understand how we operate and why we do what we do.
