rescue v's shelter

[melanie]

during my time here i have heard alot about rescue and adopting out dogs that are not intact.

well here (where i live) we have a non kill shelter, they are non profit and house around 100 dogs and various other animals. they try to rehouse all animals and do not kill any of them, they are strictly non kill, if you cant be rehoused they will jsut keep you forever.

now this shelter has no money, the volunteers pay for the food and they are housed on a volunteers farm. it is all above board believe me, they just have no money and get few donations..

so here is the thing, they do not desex the animals that they rehouse, they have a deal with a vet who will do it cheap for the new owner but they cannot do every animal in the shelter, they have no money for such a thing (animals are given appropriate shots before leaving), they simply cannot afford such a service and are doing their best to feed everyone, let alone such expensive procedure for each animal, it is just impossible.

so can this be considered a rescue? they do rescue these animals from a fate worse that something, but they do not desex the animals. so is it only a shelter??

which defintion do you think applies??

either way they are nice and doing a good service and trying to help, just wondering about defintions is all.

[LL1]

Well you said it all - it's a non kill shelter - altho is it never kill or no kill - there is a difference - what shelter is it?

If they do not alter, I personally would call it a shelter. They do save animals but don't alter them. Rescues don't have any money either by the way and pay from their own pockets too - but rescues who are ethical - alter the dogs first.

Rescues generally have the dogs in real homes, foster homes, shelters usually house dogs and cats in cages in a shelter.

In the US they alter pups at 8 weeks regularly in shelters - it's too bad Canada is far behind in that regard as far as I am concerned - and in the US they also often have clinics with free altering or altering for $25 etc - Canada sadly is far behind with that too .

[melanie]

quote'what shelter is it?'

it is in australia in the state of New South Wales, it is in my area. the pound (where most ppl dump animals) just closed down and are refusing to take any animals (stupid council creating bigger problems as more ppl will now dump animals on the street and the bush) and the non kill shelter is all we have left. there is no dog rescue in my area, yeah in sydney and a few areas down the coast but that is it. oh and it is totally non kill, if they cant find you a home you just live with them on the farm or in a volunteers home, boy dedicated ppl. i try and give as much money as i can and they often have yard sales so i give them lots of thing for that to, but sadly they just dont get much support locally (it is a poor area too so that may contribute to the lack of donation)

a friend found a litter of cats recently, the local council said it was that persons problem and that animals are not their problem, so my friend was sort of stuck, he couldnt take them home it was impossible, so we had to take them to the shelter, which made me feel bad, they have so much on their plate, it is hard to give them another animal, you know it does not lighten their load, but in no way did they make me feel bad, they were happy to take them and assured me thay would handle it, i thought it nice of them to try and comfort me, they are the ones doing all the hard work, not me..

Quote'but rescues who are ethical - alter the dogs first'

oh dont get me wrong, they are a very ethical bunch of ppl and would love to desex all the animals, just no money in an area that does not treat dogs like the ppl on this board, so it is real hard for them to get money. and the vets here are not generous in any sense of the term.. maybe one day they could find a rich sponsor, that would solve all their problems .

but a big thank you for your reply, definitions always get me, they are never specific enough or over specific, and can be very confusing. again many thanks for your help sorting out my mind, (always need help in that dept )

[iRONKNiGHT]

Originally Posted by LL1

In the US they alter pups at 8 weeks regularly in shelters - it's too bad Canada is far behind in that regard as far as I am concerned - and in the US they also often have clinics with free altering or altering for $25 etc - Canada sadly is far behind with that too .

Where did you get that information? i cross boarder all the time..
and i know for a fact that they do neutered/spayed pets in the 7/8 week+ range here in Canada..

Are you in Canada?

[LL1]

I am in Canada and most regular vets will not do it here. Some shelter vets do but it's not the norm. My vet won't and most of my foster vets will not do it either - I have called many vets in my foster's areas too (all across the GTA) and not found one who would do 8 week olds.

[Lucky Rescue]

The vet that Lucky Rescue uses will not spay/neuter kittens until they are 3 months old.

Another vet will do them when they reach 2 lbs.

And of course, the Montreal SPCA doesn't s/n at ANY age.

[badger]

Gee, I'm confused, I just finished telling a guy that his 3-month old male kitten was too young to snip, that it was better to wait until he is six months.

[Lucky Rescue]

Gee, I'm confused, I just finished telling a guy that his 3-month old male kitten was too young to snip, that it was better to wait until he is six months.

You told him the right thing! I would NEVER neuter my own personal cats at 3 months. The youngest I ever neutered a male was 7 months.

But for kittens who are being adopted out from shelters, getting them s/n before adoption is the only way to be sure it's done.

[mastifflover]

You know every pet is different giant breed males should not be neutered before 18 months and giant breed females should be at least a year old. Small breeds can be s/n much earlier. As far as the shelter not being able to afford it maybe you could set up a box at the vets and ask for donations that could be put in a account with the vet for spay and neuters. Also maybe the vet could donate a few dollars from each s/n that he preforms.

[LL1]

Hamilton SPCA will do at 8 weeks, Toronto Humane doesn't alter everything before adoption unfortunately so can't say an age they use, Oakville Humane will do males at 4 months females at around 6 months. These are for the shelter animals - not for the public. The Toronto Animal Services discount spay/neuter clinic will not do it till 6 months, the discount spay/neuter clinic at Masonville Animal Hospital in London will not do till 6 months.

[tyr]

All three of my cats are rescues. I got Jesse and Fidel at the same time from the Ottawa Humane Society a couple of years ago. Jesse was a special needs cat at the time and since he was 12 he came to me neutered. Fidel came with a voucher that was applicable at any vets office and it was included in his cost. I was able to go to any vet I pleased and they would have to honour it. I had a reputable vet all set up before I even picked them up - so this was great to hear.

I just recently added a new addition to our fur family. He is two months old and I got him at a No Kill shelter like the one Melanie mentioned in her original post. It is the Westminster Pet Sanctuary. The woman who runs the shelter does not believe in keeping animals in cages or kennels so she searches far and wide for foster homes everytime she brings in an animal. She live in a huge farm house with 06 dogs of her own and other animals. She will always bring an animal into her home and find foster homes for them if she already has too many in her current foster care. Although if she has a hard tie finding a foster home she will keep them in her own. She also will drive the animal to you if you are unable to pick them up yourself. You will not have to answer many questions this way as she will ask you when she comes to your home and inspects the premises. My new baby boy has also come with a s/n voucher (included in the cost) though this time it is not valid at any veterinarian clinic. She only trusts her Vet as she knows his practice well - he is an official part of their Sanctuary due to how great he is. He is close enough by but because I do not have a car it may prove to be difficult to get out to where he is. She cares so much about her animals that if you are unable to get your pet out there to s/n she will come and pick him/her up and take them there herself and bring them back. She is a great advocate on spaying/neutering your animals.

I found this shelter/rescue in thanks to LR who gave me a link (www.petfinder.org). I must thank you LR - he is a wonderful baby full of love

I live in Canada by the way....

[chico2]

My vet will not s/n before 6-8 months longer if possible.
She believes it somehow stunts their growth,especially the head and looking at some of the HUGE Humane Society cats,it's hard not to believe her,but it might be an old wives-tale

[goldenblaze]

I am in small town west of Ottawa and my Vet will not neuter before 6 months. It is funny how so many Vet's have so many opinion's, good thing we have others to ask advice from.

[Lucky Rescue]

My vet will not s/n before 6-8 months longer if possible.

Won't spay female cats? They could have a litter by then!

[wAggie]

ya, to my knowledge, when Choco was younger and I had the two cats, I was calling around for all sorts of quotes and treatment procedures across GTA to find out... and most, if not all, wouldn't s/n until the animal was 6months. 5 was exceptional...

i'm shocked at the WKS part..



and I dont think melanie's question was successfully answered.

here's what I think:

shelter = "pubic" housing for stray/abandoned animals where the public can come in and view the animal. procedure's somewhat impersonal, there's no background checks, more data based environment, etc.

rescue = individuals "rescue" stray/abandoned animal(s) from shelter, previous owner, neighbourhood, etc. they house the animal(s) as their own, foster style.


how far off am I, peeps?

[melanie]

that sounds good to me. they od love the animals and care for them adequatly though which is important to mention also.
thanks lovelies