Awkwardness

[mummummum]

I've always felt awkard talking about Declan on here (there's almost litle way anyone would know Ceili or Bridie) because I feel as if I am complaining about the way he may have been fed or treated at his shelter. I wonder if that has stopped other people who have adopted rescues also feel.

As far as I am concerned Declan is a prize. Did he come with health problems ? Yes. Are they anything that isn't unsurmountable ? Or anything serious that wasn't disclosed ? No.

Nonetheless, I feel that when I talk about Dec and his health (or anything else) I am somehow betraying the shelter/ rescue from which he came and that is not my intent. I am grateful every day that they chose to keep him alive so that I could adopt him but all the same I feel anything I say about Dec's health and his behaviour reflects upon rescues in general.

I'm probably not expressing myself very well ~ but do the rest of you who have adopted rescued animals know what I mean ? I'm not sure how to get around this weirdness.

[Frenchy]

I think I understand. My goldens are all senior rescues , I can tell you that they don't look like dogs who had the best care in the world before. Daisy was 8 yr old and unspayed . Sam was overweight (still is) and matted , Bailey was velcro and scared of people raising their voices...I am often at the vets too , but I could have the same problems with goldens from breeders , you never know. I think all the love that rescue dogs gives you back is all worth while

[coppperbelle]

I think I understand what you are trying to say.

Dogs that come from shelters are usually treated differently than dogs that come from rescues. In a shelter they live in a cage with minimal human contact. It is not as if the workers don't care, they just have too many animals to care for and don't have the time. I can't speak for all rescue groups but the ones I know of in the area place the dogs in foster homes where they live in a home environment and are taught manners, are house trained etc... This is not possible for dogs in a shelter. On the other hand many of the dogs that are in the shelter may already be house trained, know their manners etc...

While it is true that some dogs come with baggage they are usually able to overcome this in a few weeks once they learn the routines and to trust.

Everyone from the shelter worker to the foster home is doing their best with the resources they have for the animal and shouldn't take negative comments personally. We all want to do more but with limited resources/time sometimes it is not possible. In the end the dog or cat has been saved from euthanasia or a life of abuse or neglect and is now living in a new forever home. That is our goal.

[CyberKitten]

I think all rescue groups would know what you mean. I know with Siamese rescue, we always tell the adopter everything we know about the cat and his or her history and explain that there may very well be issues. In cases of kitties with special needs, again, we try to help and offer to be available should they have questions or need help. (We are all volunteers of course but we just all love meezers too much! It is an addiction )

So, it is only natural to express concern over a cat or dog from a rescue. And yes, sometimes, you will get animals from a breeder with as many problems. I have seen so many rescued cats flourish in new homes - even kittens my grandmother found in her barn went on to lead lives of grandeur!! It took time and patience but they overcame it - and that what makes it all so much worth while!

[Jim Hall]

I agree with cyberkitten I have worked with a few rescue orgs in the past both cat a dog and they always do thier best to tell potiential owners all they can about issues of a particilar animal
unfortunaly even the most consciences rescues can sometimes miss something due to the overwhelming work they have
Also on the case of strys and abandoned animals thier health problems dont become apparnat till later in life
I know in my case with down under that due to mal nourishment (not from the rescue org but before they rescued her} she will probably have problems later on in her senior years .

[Mushka]

I also have a rescued dog. We knew that they're may be problems when getting him, but in the end, he's been a great joy to have around, even with his few quirks. He's more than grateful to have a good home and owners that love him.

[SableCollie]

Honestly, as a shelter worker, I don't see any problem with people discussing any health/behaviour problems of any dogs adopted from us or any other shelter. As long as people aren't trying to bad-mouth us and blame things on us when we are doing our best. But when we adopt out an animal with issues, we understand it will be frustrating to the owner at times, and if they want to talk about with their friends/family/internet message boards/whoever, we don't care. We do appreciate it when people call us with any updates on the animals, and are always willing to discuss issues with new owners.

What we have had problems with are certain rescue groups, one incidence in particular comes to mind. The animal control officer caught a dog that had been abandoned in the woods (and it took days to catch him.) The dog was starving, and covered with cuts and scrapes. By the time the rescue took him, he had fattened up considerably (although still very thin) and his cuts were all healing. We explained to the woman how bad he had been, and gave her all his charts etc. Only to see on her website a few weeks later the dog's picture and a description that said "I rescued this dog from an animal shelter, he was starving and covered with wounds when I rescued him!" So yeah, that I have a problem with, since her description implied that we neglected the dog. But saying "gee I adopted this dog, and he has some issues..." My dog had tons of issues when I adopted her, and it took years for her to get to where she is right now, which was her stupid first owner's fault. But now I can say to people "Look, my dog came from a shelter, and she had some issues when I adopted her, but I just had to work with her, and look what an amazing dog she is now!", and I hope inspire some people to adopt.

I'm sorry, that was a long post.