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Original poster

For being fed up that some charities make it it impossible to adopt despite insisting that they are ‘inundated’ with dogs?

157 replies

GreekDogRescue · 06/08/2023 12:05

A well-established dog rescue charity I used to fund neutering programmes for and supported big time are desperate for fosterers and adopters. When I moved to a house with a big (fenced) garden, I offered to foster 5 times (they put up beseeching posts all the time in social media) but they completely ignored me. I’m at home all day, am middle aged, retired, no kids visiting, have help but now foster and adopt from other charities as presumably they think I’m ‘not up to it’.

Then out of the blue 2 weeks ago they messaged to ask if I will foster a specific
dog; I agreed and said when would it be arriving from Greece. No response.

Now I see the same dog advertised on Facebook with no interest. Charity says they are desperate for homes but nobody is applying. Nice sister in law applied but was ignored. Go figure! The trouble is people end up going to breeders which compounds the problem.

Needless to say I no longer send them any money which I suspect was the motive for their message anyway. I now support rescues who have a pragmatic approach to rehoming.

But seeing this rescue plus others constantly posting about how desperate they are for homes while ignoring genuine homes is really maddening.

OP posts:
DisquietintheRanks · 06/08/2023 21:19

GenieGenealogy · 06/08/2023 19:03

Personally I think that people who import stray animals from places like Greece or Romania are unhinged.

👏 👏 👏

Lilyjfree · 06/08/2023 21:16

FeedHedgehogsCatBiscuits · 06/08/2023 21:12

Are you able to name the rescue or does it have to remain a secret?
It is so helpful to hear about flexible rescues to save people the time and heartache of dealing with the computer says no variety.

Show quote history

The only reason I am not naming the one I volunteer at, is because it could be outing me, if I post anything else on here not connected to the rescue. I can say catchat.Org lists all your local rescues and is where I would suggest you start if you are looking to adopt.

Missingmyusername · 06/08/2023 21:13

Follow the money in some cases. They get donations, move dogs, euthanise, seize rehomed dogs. I almost donated to one as it copied the name of another, it was only when I asked who ran it that I got blocked!

FeedHedgehogsCatBiscuits · 06/08/2023 21:12

Lilyjfree · 06/08/2023 21:06

Reading all these stories is heartbreaking. I volunteer for a small local cat rescue and our waiting list is ever growing.
We don’t have ‘head office’ policies telling us who we can adopt to, we are totally led by the individual cats requirements. We match the cats we introduce with the home environment.
Yes there will always be homes we turn down, like very elderly people wanting kittens, houses on roads we know have high rta’s, single kitten homes etc.
If you are at work all day that’s fine we just won’t match you with a Velcro cat, have loud children then you need a cat used to kids…etc
The real issue we have, is we prioritise the cats other rescues won’t touch, so we end up with lots of older, poorly, timid, long term health condition, behaviour issues and feral cats. Many adopters won’t be looking for this sort of cat. But we still want people to apply as we never know sort of home the adopters will be able to provide, and it could be just perfect for one or more of our residents. We are fortunate in that we are also a sanctuary, so our cats won’t be caged or kept in small rooms if they can’t find homes, they can be released into our onsite family. Even if they end up living on site, it doesn’t mean they can’t be adopted if the right home comes along.
It’s really upsetting to hear other rescues being so stringent, which means there are less spaces overall to help other cats. All I can suggest for anyone wanting to adopt, is to try all your local rescues. Not all independent smaller rescues will be so picky, some of us really want to do the best for the cat being adopted and make more room for the next unfortunate sole who needs our help and sanctuary.

Are you able to name the rescue or does it have to remain a secret?
It is so helpful to hear about flexible rescues to save people the time and heartache of dealing with the computer says no variety.

Lilyjfree · 06/08/2023 21:06

Reading all these stories is heartbreaking. I volunteer for a small local cat rescue and our waiting list is ever growing.
We don’t have ‘head office’ policies telling us who we can adopt to, we are totally led by the individual cats requirements. We match the cats we introduce with the home environment.
Yes there will always be homes we turn down, like very elderly people wanting kittens, houses on roads we know have high rta’s, single kitten homes etc.
If you are at work all day that’s fine we just won’t match you with a Velcro cat, have loud children then you need a cat used to kids…etc
The real issue we have, is we prioritise the cats other rescues won’t touch, so we end up with lots of older, poorly, timid, long term health condition, behaviour issues and feral cats. Many adopters won’t be looking for this sort of cat. But we still want people to apply as we never know sort of home the adopters will be able to provide, and it could be just perfect for one or more of our residents. We are fortunate in that we are also a sanctuary, so our cats won’t be caged or kept in small rooms if they can’t find homes, they can be released into our onsite family. Even if they end up living on site, it doesn’t mean they can’t be adopted if the right home comes along.
It’s really upsetting to hear other rescues being so stringent, which means there are less spaces overall to help other cats. All I can suggest for anyone wanting to adopt, is to try all your local rescues. Not all independent smaller rescues will be so picky, some of us really want to do the best for the cat being adopted and make more room for the next unfortunate sole who needs our help and sanctuary.

Original poster
GreekDogRescue · 06/08/2023 20:34

Mousehoel · 06/08/2023 20:17

I’ve contacted a few local charities over the last year looking for feral cats, most have ignored me (whilst still having posts up on SM about the need for good homes for feral cats), the one that did get back said we weren’t eligible as we don’t live on our plot of land, even though we have animals there and visit twice a day every single day.

Can’t believe no one’s posted this yet…

Haha 🤣

OP posts:
Mousehoel · 06/08/2023 20:17

I’ve contacted a few local charities over the last year looking for feral cats, most have ignored me (whilst still having posts up on SM about the need for good homes for feral cats), the one that did get back said we weren’t eligible as we don’t live on our plot of land, even though we have animals there and visit twice a day every single day.

Can’t believe no one’s posted this yet…

For being fed up that some charities make it it impossible to adopt despite insisting that they are ‘inundated’ with dogs?
wheatfield6 · 06/08/2023 20:03

Oh my gosh some of the criteria for adopting pets are absurd. I love animals - but at the end of the day, they are animals, not humans, and even foster children are often not assigned such unbelievably rigorous criteria. For example, being the only pet in the home, in an area with not too many other animals of the same kind, requiring owners who know the breed's "body language", in a house where there are never any children.

Isn't a slightly imperfect home better for these animals than staying in a shelter forever?

Whyohwhyohwhy123 · 06/08/2023 19:59

GreekDogRescue · 06/08/2023 16:34

I wonder if that’s the ‘charity’ I had to kick off my farm because they were misappropriating funds, bullying people and keeping dogs locked up most of the day.
I let them use my land and property for free and gave them donations and then they began telling people that I was charging them 6k a month! They offered to rehome another charity’s dogs, refused to provide updates and even now nobody knows what happened to those dogs, we suspect some were put down.
finally got them to move out but not without a struggle.

Show quote history

It was a breed specific one

Original poster
GreekDogRescue · 06/08/2023 19:50

GenieGenealogy · 06/08/2023 19:24

Countries like Romania need all the help they can get in sorting out their stray animal problems.

That's as maybe, with a rehoming or neutering or whatever programme IN ROMANIA. Importing the problem to the UK is crazy.

And dogs/cats aren't people so your immigration comment is equally unhinged.

You are coming across as a bit Little Britain. Many people including myself are funding spey and neuter campaigns in Romania and many animal lovers in the UK and Germany and other wealthier countries adopt from Eastern European countries where pets are very unlikely to find a home.
Ireland has a big stray problem, do you wish to ban English people from adopting from there?
If you’re that anti dogs coming from abroad perhaps focus your anger on the European puppy farmers who flood the UK market with unhealthy inbred puppies.
They would not be so popular if rescues adopted a less intransigent approach, which is the purpose of this thread.

OP posts:
Original poster
GreekDogRescue · 06/08/2023 19:43

matchamate · 06/08/2023 19:32

I don't know anything about it - why do they have so many stray animals? Do vets go out there to neuter them?

Show quote history

Yes rescues and charities organise spey and neuter programmes, I fund some
myself, but it’s a huge problem. These are vast countries with very different attitudes to animal welfare than the UK. I honestly don’t think people here understand the magnitude of what they are up against.

OP posts:
matchamate · 06/08/2023 19:32

GreekDogRescue · 06/08/2023 19:21

Have you visited any of these countries and do you have any idea of the problems they are facing?
Are you anti human immigration as well?
Countries like Romania need all the help they can get in sorting out their stray animal problems.

Show quote history

I don't know anything about it - why do they have so many stray animals? Do vets go out there to neuter them?

Original poster
GreekDogRescue · 06/08/2023 19:29

WiddlinDiddlin · 06/08/2023 19:07

So many rescues still run on the idea that they're doing pet owners a favour by allowing them to take on one of their dogs, and that because they're all volunteers, it is fine to run the thing poorly.

So you get poor organisation, poor communication, offers of help, fostering, adoptions etc ignored, people not thanked for donations etc etc.
Unfortunately, they won't learn until all the old committee die of old age and the new, forward thinking and sensible people take over. Or they just wither away and everyone gives up.

Not all rescues are like this, but its an absolute pain in the bum that so many still are.

You are so right.
I used to donate to Greek Animal Rescue but the rehoming is completely controlled by control-freak power-mad elderly ladies who turn down homes for spurious reasons. It gives them a feeling of power and control they don’t have in other areas of their life. No homes in London, near a road, railway line, large body of water 😳 and NO SHARP-EDGED COFFEE TABLES. Dog must be able to sleep on the bed. Fences must be at least 6 ft high even if the dog only has 3 legs.
And this is only page 1 of the home check manual 🤣

OP posts:
GenieGenealogy · 06/08/2023 19:24

Countries like Romania need all the help they can get in sorting out their stray animal problems.

That's as maybe, with a rehoming or neutering or whatever programme IN ROMANIA. Importing the problem to the UK is crazy.

And dogs/cats aren't people so your immigration comment is equally unhinged.

Original poster
GreekDogRescue · 06/08/2023 19:21

GenieGenealogy · 06/08/2023 19:03

Personally I think that people who import stray animals from places like Greece or Romania are unhinged.

Have you visited any of these countries and do you have any idea of the problems they are facing?
Are you anti human immigration as well?
Countries like Romania need all the help they can get in sorting out their stray animal problems.

OP posts:
matchamate · 06/08/2023 19:19

With these overseas rescue operations how do they work? Do they go and buy a load of dogs/cats then come here and sell them on again?

matchamate · 06/08/2023 19:14

JusthereforXmas · 06/08/2023 17:56

We fell in love with a cat... she had been listed for adoption for EIGHT YEARS. We applied and went to see her, the 'charity' was a woman's house, very clean but bursting with animals.

She introduced us to the cat, then dropped a previously unmentioned bombshell that we had to take her kittens too. Her kittens where adult half maine coons but there was only 2 so we agreed. She then said she actually was planning to give the cat we had gone to see to her friend but we should look around the others 🤔.

We did and they had a beautiful 'just rescued' cat that instantly took to us and was all over us. I recognized her skin condition because I had previously had a dog with the exact same one. I seemed to surprise them by knowing the name and treatment regiment. They told us she was 'unadoptable' due to her skin needing 'specialist treatment' (even though they knew I had experience, I'm also an ex-vet assistant).

They then rushed us out because someone else was looking to adopt the original cat and apparently on his way and she would 'let us know' (although it was very clear she was not going to adopt out any of these cats, she was acting like they where all her 'pets').

We tried chasing it for WEEKS but they just kept putting excuse after excuse as to why we couldn't have any of them. We ended up giving up and getting 2 cats that where being re-homed on Gumtree.

FIVE YEARS later they text out of the blue asking if we still wanted the original cat who was now 14 and still unadopted.

How ridiculous

Atethehalloweenchocs · 06/08/2023 19:11

Big local scandal regarding a local rescue place. Rehoming interviewers had been around for ever and were clearly enjoying the power and being able to refuse people - hardly any animals were actually adopted because of this. Poor animals were left languishing when homes were available.

WiddlinDiddlin · 06/08/2023 19:07

So many rescues still run on the idea that they're doing pet owners a favour by allowing them to take on one of their dogs, and that because they're all volunteers, it is fine to run the thing poorly.

So you get poor organisation, poor communication, offers of help, fostering, adoptions etc ignored, people not thanked for donations etc etc.
Unfortunately, they won't learn until all the old committee die of old age and the new, forward thinking and sensible people take over. Or they just wither away and everyone gives up.

Not all rescues are like this, but its an absolute pain in the bum that so many still are.

GenieGenealogy · 06/08/2023 19:03

Personally I think that people who import stray animals from places like Greece or Romania are unhinged.

Dottiespotty · 06/08/2023 19:00

Also look at Niall.harbison on social media. His aim is to halve the number of stray street dogs. Really heart warming but also sad stories .

Dottiespotty · 06/08/2023 18:58

If anyone is interested in rescuing please look at high hopes dog rescue in Kidderminster . They offer lifetime support and have dogs that can be rehomed with children and cats etc . They are happy to home to first time dog owners .

thebellagio · 06/08/2023 18:44

I do get cross when people are so judgey saying you shouldn’t buy puppies, you should adopt not shop. Yet while also saying you should research the breed carefully first… and also refusing to acknowledge that many people have to buy puppies because rescues are so strict and would prefer a dog to remain in their kennels than with a loving family

thebellagio · 06/08/2023 18:42

It did make me think though that I need to update my will so I can determine who will take care of my dog if something happened to me.

thebellagio · 06/08/2023 18:41

I won’t name and shame simply because I think it would put me if anyone recognised me on here. But it was the local branch of a national charity.

my family member would have been utterly heartbroken if he’d known what had happened to his dog. She was his utter life.

luckily she’s now living a very happy life in a loving home.