Rescuing a dog

[Youvegotafriendinme]

We are finally ready to rescue a dog and have started our search. Most of the big places like blue cross, Battersea and dogs trust won’t let us rescue as we have 2 cats and a toddler. I’ve tried a couple of local places but they don’t have a dog right for us either and a google search keeps bringing up gumtree and preloved
Can anyone recommend rescue centres for us? We are in Kent but willing to travel. We are ideally looking for a dog (not bitch) of medium size and the breed or age doesn’t matter

[Costacoffeeplease]

I think you will find it very difficult to rehome a dog with a toddler

[Youvegotafriendinme]

Costacoffeeplease Do you mean difficulty with a rescue centre that will rehome to me or personally?
I’m not having an issue with one or the other (cats or toddler) it’s with both.

[CMOTDibbler]

Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue take each family and dog as they come - some of my foster puppies have gone to families with very small children and many with cats

[OrchidInTheSun]

Have you tried dogsblog.com? They feature dogs from small rescues up for adoption from across the U.K.

Smaller rescues are often much better at being a bit more flexible (but sensible!)

[OldAndWornOut]

Rescueremedies.

They take time to match dogs to owners; have a list of rules and do home visits to ensure the right dog goes to the right place.

[mogtheexcellent]

We have just collected our rescue collie. We had to wait ages for the right dog that was family friendly and gentle, registering at several small collie shelters. Our DD4 is nearly 5. Our previous dog died when she was nearly 2 but we knew it would be difficult to get a rescue with a child that young and decided to wait until DD could understand dogs more.

Try small rescues, but make sure you fully understand what having a dog and toddler entails before you commit.

[Innernutshell]

If you can't find any in UK that will rehome to you there are a few English run dog charities in Cyprus that may help following a home check.

Some of the dogs there have terrible lives - puppies abandoned and older dogs left to starve to death once their owners no longer want them.

www.facebook.com/groups/1727164197495030/

[florentina1]

I would look at the Oldies website. Lots of these dogs are suitable for children and cats. Quite often they are in a Rescue because their owners are too ill to care for them or have died. Older dogs have a lot more tolerance but still enjoy walks and playing.

[florentina1]

Like this

[IncrediblySadToo]

Have you tried your local vets?

They sometimes have elderly clients who can’t cope with their dogs anymore but want them to go to a loving home, not via a rescue.

Good luck 🌷

[IncrediblySadToo]

Also look at breed specific rescues. They often say if the dog is a suitable match for children & cats and they tend to take adoptions case by case rather than have a blanket rule.

[bunnygeek]

You may be waiting a while until you find exactly the right dog for your situation.

Oldies is a good call, as is breed-specific rescues. Have the big rescues said a blanket "no" to you? Some are more flexible but it just depends on what dogs they have coming through their doors. If a rescue has a handover with no or unreliable back-history they're not going to rehome to someone with small children.

Have your cats and your toddler been around dogs? I know my mum's cat is terrified of dogs when relatives have brought them over for a visit. She leaves and won't come back in the house until the dogs are gone. And small children developing allergies is a big reason dogs get handed over to rescue in the first place. Managing a dog plus a toddler is really hard work. Is waiting until the child is older an option?

[bunnygeek]

I'd also caution about adopting from overseas, so many issues there and you definitely won't know if the dog is small-child friendly.

Also, adopting from a little OAP whose not able to keep their dog any more isn't always the best idea. Often those dogs have never seen a toddler and are more likely to have issues with tiny grabby humans, especially tiny humans clutching food. If an OAP has a supportive family with children, that family would have taken the dog in.

[florentina1]

In cases of adopting oldies, where the owner is unable to care for the dog, relatives are usually able to give a history. In my experience, very few relatives come forward to take a dog. My Rescue came to me because the owner had died in her 40s.

Older people don’t all live isolated lives. Many of these dogs will have been around child relatives. A lot depends on the breed of course. Some of the older working type dogs may not be suitable. Terriers, Beagles, Collies and the like are quite demanding at any age. There lots of dog breeds that would be suitable.

To get the right dog, you do have to put in a lot of work. Get yourself known to the Rescues, build up a relationship with them and you will be the first to know when a Suitable dog becomes available.

[Doggydoggydoggy]

Wait until your toddler is older.

I quite agree with the rescues, dogs of unknown history should not be placed with toddlers imo.

As others have said, I wouldn’t go with an overseas ‘rescue’.
A quick scan of threads on here will reveal many of these dogs have very serious behavioural problems and the ‘rescues’ suddenly aren’t willing to help once the dog has been placed.

[Innernutshell]

I'd also caution about adopting from overseas, so many issues there and you definitely won't know if the dog is small-child friendly.

In reply to the sweeping statement about dog rescues above. There are some legitimate dog rescues aboard who do check whether dogs are child friendly and many of them have puppies already placed in foster homes with children.

[RubySlippers77]

OP, would you consider volunteering to train up a puppy? Lots of charities would consider you with pets and DC, you'd get plenty of help with training it (and the costs of dog ownership), and once it's gone to be an assistance dog your DC would be a bit older so you'd find it easier to adopt?

https://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/volunteer/

https://www.guidedogs.org.uk/how-you-can-help/volunteering-for-guide-dogs/

Or if you have a Dogs Trust or similar charity nearby, they usually welcome help with dog walking

[Cherrypies]

Have you tried Last Chance in Edenbridge, Kent
Many years ago we got a dog that originally came from Wales, gsd/collie cross.
Fantastic loyal loving dog, very loved, very missed still.

[Iltavilli]

Agree with @innernutshell don’t rule out overseas adoption. We didn’t adopt from their due to any children, but our foreign rescue is incredible with children. Weirdly lots of random strangers more than happy to let their toddlers approach and stroke him and he acts beautifully (as long as they like their faces licked).

[DogInATent]

Most of the big places ... won’t let us rescue as we have 2 cats and a toddler
You do understand why they have concerns about placing a rescue dog into a house under those circumstances? For your own benefit and to make it easier when discussing this with rescues that you may approach it may be useful to think about the potential problems and how you would propose addressing them.

Avoid gumtree, avoid preloved, and avoid imports. You need to find a rescue organisation that's going to stand by you if thing don't work out.

[BloodsportForAll]

I can wholeheartedly recommend greyhound rescues. Grey's are a docile, two to three 20min walks a day, gentle and loving family breed. There are always one or two which are better suited to no children or other pets/ cats, but on the whole they're fab family dogs. We didn't qualify for one because our flat isn't big enough. We now have a geriatric chihuahua cross yorkie from a local rescue. I'd give you their details but they mostly get big, powerful and problematic dogs in which would just not be suitable for a toddler.

[Purplecatshopaholic]

Try smaller charities.I got knocked back by Dogs Trust for having cats (I wanted a sighthound and apparently they cant live with cats - this is nonsense). Personally I think adopting from abroad is fab - Spain, Cyprus, Romania, all have charities that do this. I adopted from Spain - Spanish Podenco - and he is amazing with cats, children, everyone. I dont have small children in the house though so obviously thats a huge consideration for you. Good luck - you will get the dog you are meant to get

[Doggydoggydoggy]

I got knocked back by Dogs Trust for having cats (I wanted a sighthound and apparently they cant live with cats - this is nonsense)

I’m really glad your pleased with your rescue but to be fair to Dogs Trust, sighthounds are usually very highly prey driven and utterly unsuitable for cat containing homes.
A fair proportion of the ones in rescue will be dumped coursers!

It would be different if Dogs Trust was foster only but it’s not, I don’t think you can reliably access cat tolerance in a kennel environment so playing it safe and not housing a generally high prey drive breed in a house with cats makes perfect sense to me.

[fleshmarketclose]

Would recommend subscribing to dogsblog newsletter as well. I adopted Bella from a reasonably local and small rescue who assess each dog individually and so some are rehomed to people with cats and young children. I don't have either but Bella was considered suitable to home with young children although not with cats.

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

The other issue with Dogs Trust is that because they don't do cats, they can't take a dog for a trip to the cattery to see how they get on.