Dog Recue Centre Manager - AMA

[FuglyLurker]

I’m a manager of a not for profit dog rescue organisation, any questions?

I’d want to take them all home with me. Are there any dogs you fall in love with that you just have to keep?

Thousands of dogs come through our doors every year, if I kept every one I fell in love with I’d need a very big house! We encourage our volunteers to not get too attached as sadly there is always another dog needing a place of safety.

Some rescue centres seem to set such strict guidelines for adoptors nowadays. How do you feel about that?

Personally I do feel that some centres have gone too far with their adoption restrictions, which can lead to animals languishing in kennels instead of a new home. We try to be as flexible as possible and take each individual animals needs into consideration rather than having hard and fast rules, although we do have a few.

I think that's a great approach.

Another question- what advice would you give to first time rescuers?

what do you think of Staffies?

Every time a dog is adopted I always reassure their new family not to rush them into settling down and not to panic if they don’t think things are going to plan. The majority of rescue dogs just need time to recover from their ordeal, a safe place and basic training.

Ah staffies, the bane of many rescue centres, as are the majority of the bully breeds. The most abundant breed in pounds and kennels throughout the country and the hardest to rehome. I have a massive soft spot for Staffies and most volunteers groan when yet another Bullie comes in.

What’s the most ludicrous reasons you’ve had for dogs being relinquished?

People lie all the time to get their dogs into rescue, they come up with heartbreaking stories about why they need to rehome their dogs, and how much it is hurting them to do so and then once the dog is brought in to us they walk off indifferently without a backwards glance.

Once you’ve been doing it long enough you can normally pick up who is being truthful.

One of the most ludicrous ones I’ve dealt with was a family who had had a dog for 9 years since he was a pup without any problems what so ever. Then one day they decided to do an over the counter DNA test on him and it came back with something like 17% Staffordshire Bull... they instantly wanted to ‘Get rid’ of their dog.

@FuglyLurker

Great idea for a thread. You guys do a great job. I’d love to work with animals but I think I’d be sobbing all day!

Why do so many Staffies end up in rescues do you think? Personally I think they’re lovely too - a dog that smiles!

It is heartbreaking at times but unfortunately I have become hardened to it after doing it for so long, but there are still situations that make me want to scream in frustration.

Staffies and other bully breeds really are going through a tough time at the moment, we see many reasons why they are abandoned. Owners frightened by the media, their ‘Status Dog’ reputation which attracts the wrong kind of owner, overbreeding and they just seem to be treated as more disposable than other breeds.

It goes through cycles, huskies and lurchers are also a common breed to find in rescue. I dread when a new husky movie is released.

What has your career looked like leading up to this? Do you have animal care qualifications? What advice would you give to someone who wanted to move from an office job to working with rescued animals - do volunteers get 'first dibs' on paid roles?

I started as an unpaid volunteer doing whatever I could in my spare time, mainly fund raising and fostering dogs in my own home. As I became more known to the organisation and other roles became available I applied for them, I suppose I worked my way up the ladder. Although in dog rescue I have found that our volunteers are of much greater value than ‘higher’ positions.

I don’t have any professional qualifications, everything I have learnt has been through hands on experience and being taught by others in the charity.

In some ways yes volunteers do get first dibs on paid roles, but that’s only if they have the necessary skills required. We certainly don’t hire people just because they volunteer with us, roles are always advertised and the most suitable applicant is chosen.

I can’t comment on going down the education route as I didn’t do that but I would say to start in whatever capacity you can, there are so many animal organisations around, call one up and offer whatever services you can, fostering, fundraising, transporting, home checking, admin... all these positions are essential and it is a great way to get your foot in the door. The trouble with working in rescue is once you start it can be hard to stop taking on more and more responsibilities but I love it

Thanks for your work.

I've done a lot of rescuing and rehoming in the capacity you describe before you did it as employment, people know me and ask me if they need help rehoming. I've currently got a dog I was to raise 'for 8 weeks' who was rejected at 10 days old. (She's 2 now).

I also took on a 10 year old spaniel who was disowned once his owner got pregnant :( she was his third home. She now has another dog which infuriates me. And I have just found a home for a dog with my ex, rejected when her owner 'went mad' as their family put it and moved abroad for two weeks because she believed the world would end if she didnt. That dog was left with a neighbour but they didn't want her permanently. It's all so bizarre and so sad.

With husky type dogs, you've mentioned when a film featuring them comes out you see a connection with them being brought for rescue, how does that pattern emerge? Is there an average length of time someone will keep them?

When celebrities began the 'handbag dog' craze, did a lot of tiny breeds go into rescue?

Have you noticed any other patterns?

Are there many Russian Ovcharkas in rescue?

Sorry more questions than I originally planned.

Yes it’s difficult when you become known as working in animal rescue, people regularly turn up at my door with animals expecting me to be able to just take them in. Good on you for standing up when these dogs needed someone, too often they are just seen as some items to be discarded when no longer convenient.

When a husky movie comes out we typically see a rise in young huskies in the pound and being relinquished approx 5/6 months afterwards. Typically once the novelty of owning a stunning ‘wolf dog’ has worn off and the reality of training what can typically be a stubborn breed has set in. Then there are just the people who realised they made a mistake with impulse buying a puppy.

No we do not typically see a lot of ‘handbag dogs’ in rescue (there are always some of course). I think it’s because a lot of people forgive behaviours displayed in tiny breeds through lack of training/commitment that would be condemned in larger dogs. I find that people laugh a lot if their chihuahua is growling, snapping, jumping up, guarding, pulling on their leads, aggressive with other dogs... a mastiff? Not so much. Then instead of putting the effort in now that they should have in puppyood... dump them.

There are many many patterns, for example you can expect an influx of older dogs in November to make way for the Christmas present puppies, then expect many unwanted puppies in January from breeders unable to see their litters for Christmas Day. Then in April there will be an increase in 6/7 month old untrained dogs who have been impulse bought for Christmas and are no longer wanted.

I can honestly say we have never had a Russian Ovcharkas

Firstly, thank you for all that you do!

Do you ever work with breed specific rescues to find the most appropriate homes for dogs and/or relinquish dogs to breed rescues?

Being very involved with a breed that has declined in popularity over the years, and does not do well in kennels, it can be a huge frustration when more general rescues are finding it difficult to home dogs but won't work with our breed rescue (who have homes waiting that have lived with this breed all their lives).

We certainly do! Specific breed rescues have come to our aid many times when it comes to dog breeds that can be difficult to rehome. We’ve found that Dobermans, huskies, bull breeds, lurchers, rotties etc rehome a lot faster at specific rescues.

I volunteer with a specialist rescue, thanks for starting this thread.

Does your rescue take from pounds Alpaca? Or relinquished dogs?

I won't put my own views (but I think you'll guess)

People who adopt dogs from places like Romania . What is the rational behind it?

People who own dogs that work their socks off then discarded. I'm talking about racing greyhounds that are very young, if they're 'lucky' they'll end up in Rescue and be rehomed. Not so 'lucky' they can end up being dispatched.
Ex-breeding bitched "this lady deserves a lovely retirement home to be spoiled in" .......ah yes , having squeezed every last ounce from her, we are the breeders not giving the lovely retirement home?

Do you ever say to people "Man the fuck up and take responsibility. You knew that tiny puppy would grow and you knew your kids would get bored. You signed up for it, as the Adult , you owe that animal the responsibilty of a home" (or words to that effect)

Older dogs going before Xmas?????? Oh my god. That's enough for me to give in and let my idiot dog sleep on my bed tonight.

When you say bullie breeds do you mean bull terriers? Or others?

Are you seeing many pugs or french bull dogs?

In our local recuse there are very rarely spaniels which is what we have. Any thoughts?

“Are you seeing many pugs or french bull dogs?”

They get resold... because they’re expensive you often see adverts for that type of dog saying things like, cost x so looking for at least y - like they’re second hand x boxes or something

@tabulahrasa ohhhhhhh. That's worse

Great news OP that you work with rescues. They are often very well placed to help, although clearly the husky and bull breed rescues so inundated that I guess you're on your own there.

People who adopt dogs from places like Romania . What is the rational behind it?

Don't even start me on this one! Do you often see overseas rescues coming in to UK rescue because owners can't cope, OP?

I have no idea why people chose to import dogs from other countries when there are so many suffering and dying every day in the uk. Whitney, no I have never had an overseas rescue offer any aid to us, quite the opposite in fact, we are stigmatised because we prioritise the dogs of the UK.

The state that greyhounds and breeding bitches come in to us is horrifying, I won’t go in to it here but it’s enough to keep you awake for days. The thing that really chaps my ass too is that it can be the same people over and over and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it other than take the dogs for a better life.

There have been times when I have failed to bite my tongue with people, but for the most part the priority is getting the dogs to safety. We try not to risk the owners getting the hump and whisking the dog elsewhere.

Yeah the number of old, deaf, blind greying dogs increases towards Christmas. Yeah bully breeds Staffordshire bull terriers, American bull terriers, bull lurchers etc, the piglet looking bullies rehome quite well, but once you get into large leggy territory it’s a nightmare.

As Tabula said you don’t see many pugs or french bulldogs in rescue, people want their money back on them. The most abundant breed of spaniel we have are working springer spaniels, normally because they have been ignored by their owners and have turned into little horrors through no fault of their own.