AIBU to not understand why some people breed/buy animals when so many need homes?

[luvlemoncheesecake]

And what happens to those that are not sold say dogs for eg....

[expatinscotland]

We can't ever use rescue centres because we live in a flat with no garden or outdoor space.

We got our two cats through mates - one had a brother whose son had learning difficulties and was abusing the cat; the other's sister had found a cat cowering under a car, surrounded by parking dogs. But as both she and the sister had dogs, they couldn't keep him. Couldn't find a no-kill shelter for him in all Yorkshire at the time.

So we took him.

They get on with each other and seem fine being indoors only. We could leave the front door wide open and they don't go out.

Better than death, IMO.

[Ishani]

Midoori I own both the parents so I'm 99% as sure as you can be what we are getting but of course there are no guaratees and the odd White paw dies pop up, if two heads or 5 legs were ever to present themselves I might rethink my strategy but as things are people are delighted with their animals and we provide a service and buy treats for the family with the proceeds.
I do feel sorry for the rescue centres and we do donate to local charities as well as directing people who want an animal but can't afford one of ours. The people to get cross with are those like our neighbors who's cat keeps getting pregnant. I don't ask what happens to those kittens but they shouldn't be allowed to be made in the first place. Licensing breeding is the way forward I would suggest.

[Abra1d]

Have bought three of our four pedigree Scotties from breeders. We were very happy with all three of them. The fourth came from my FIL's dog. We like this breed and there are never any in rescues. Frankly, we give our dogs a good home and they have healthy and happy lives with us. I don't feel any guilt at all.

[Vallhala]

YANBU. As ever DooinMeCleaning speaks incredible sense with her post at 17.56.

A stray in a UK dog pound will have only 7 days to live before the pound can kill him - and very often pounds will. A dog handed in by his owner doesn't even get that... he may be killed immediately. :(



A couple of points (from one of "the rescue people") :o:

1. Not all rescues have a no child etc etc policy. Many make individual descisions according to the dog and family in question. You may have to cast your net a little further and you'll find that the smaller, independent rescues (as opposed to Dogs Trust, RSPCA etc) are more accommodating. I know several which have no set in stone poliy of this kind.
   

2. This is a bit of a bugbear of mine as rescue and pounds are often confused by the public, much to the detriment of rescue's reputation and to the dogs in their care. There's a huge difference between a pound and a rescue. When in doubt ask if they have the council's contract to take in stray dogs. If they do, BEWARE. Very few, barring the big pounds such as Battersea "Dogs Home" and Wood Green "Animal Shelter" will homecheck a prospective owner or assess their dogs. If they agree to take a dog back once they have taken your money please be very mindful that 99% - quite literally - will NOT have a no kill policy and they may well kill your dog if you return him.

Again and again I implore that those seeking a dog seek out reputable rescue for a neutered, vaccinated, health checked, assessed dog who will be rehomed following a homecheck to benefit EVERYONE, for whom the rescue will offer lifelong support and who, if you EVER cannot keep him, will be taken back by the rescue with a guarantee that he will not be "put to sleep".

Don't be foolled by places like Manchester "Dogs Home" - they, last I heard, do no homecheck and they DEFINITELY kill dogs, despite publicly claiming not to. I have personal experience of that. These places are largely profit making organisations which have neither human nor dog welfare at heart.

3. A dog from a reputable rescue is not only assessed before rehoming, regardless of where he comes from. Many are (contrary to the opinion of many) FAR from strays without history. Many come from family homes as a result of, for example, divorce, illness or unemployment.

That said, a professionally assessed former stray should pose the averaage family no more problem than the assessed dog from a family background.

I'm passionate about dog rescue, abhor breeding because I and my fellow rescuers are working our arses off and breaking our hearts to save the dogs we already have, there is no moral justification on this earth for breeding more. We sadly see so many healthy dogs die for want of homes we can't save them all... and it's soul-destroying.

[NettoSuperstar]

When I was growing up my family bought three dogs from breeders.
We wanted a specific breed (English Setter, followed by two CKC), and we wanted them as puppies.

They were all very well looked after (third is still alive, and still is), and they had a great home with us and many happy years for both dogs and humans.

[Vallhala]

"My friend was not able to adopt a cat since she lived near a main road, we live in a city, so does everyone! When she said she could keep the cat in they said that only lame or blind cats should be kept in."

The rescue are 100% right. They aren't there to please the public but to save lives and prevent cruelty - neither of which would they be doing by irresponsibly rehoming a cat near a main road or keeping a cat used to going out within a house 24/7. I have 2 cats with me looking for homes here - and this rescuer would turn you down too, I'm afraid.

I have a saying to explain where I'm "coming from", which I pinched off a no-kill rescue's owner:

"I work for the dog or cat, not for the owner, not for the prospective owner and not for myself."

IMHO that's the way any responsible rescue should view it.

[luvlemoncheesecake]

It is all very sad. Thankyou all for replies.

[HeidiKat]

The local rescue places round here are ridiculously picky, they wouldn't even come out to do a home visit when we were looking for a cat last year as me and DH were both working full time then. I was looking to rehome a pair of cats if possible, we had just had to have our old girl put to sleep due to failing health and I wanted two cats that were used to each other to keep each other company all day. In the end we got our gorgeous half persian girl from gumtree, free to a good home due to allergies of the previous owner. She has the run of the house apart from the bedrooms, 2 cat beds and a cat flap so that she had access to our decent size garden whenever she wants, there is surely nothing else a cat needs for a happy life?

[expatinscotland]

I have no idea if our cats used to go outside or not. Our elder cat used to go out when we lived in a rental house, which was in a rural area and had a huge, stone-walled garden.

Yet my cats are happy and well-adjusted here.

Maybe we should have just ditched them as obviously getting killed is better than having no garden .

Hence, why we'll never use rescue centres. Don't have a garden, you're not a good pet owner, apparently.

[Vallhala]

And for all the bloody idiot on Gumtree knows you could have drowned that cat 2 days after taking her home, or used her for bait in a fighting ring.

When will these stupid fuckers with their private re-homes learn?

[expatinscotland]

'In the end we got our gorgeous half persian girl from gumtree, free to a good home due to allergies of the previous owner.'

Yep, I've not had a problem getting 'free to a good home' cats. The people just want their animal to go to people who love cats, IME.

And believe me, we love cats. :)

When I met DH he had a full-Persian. This cat had been found as a stray and belonged to his mate's ignorant girlfriend, who thought if you got pregnant you couldn't have cats. 'Smokey' was with us for 5 years before he died of cancer .

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

Agree with you, expatinscotland, it's a ridiculous stance and I would say that some of the smaller, independent shelters and sanctuaries would be very happy for somebody - even without a garden/road outside - to offer to rehome one of their animals.

It's time for the policy to change... Do the shelters think that everyone passing through their doors is so feckless and/or stupid that they wouldn't take reasonable care of any animal they'd come in to adopt? Honestly?

[coccyx]

Never, they have got rid of the animal so who cares what happens???

[StellaSays]

That was kinda my point expatinscotland. When I got my cat it was because a family member who owned her had died, no one else could take her and ALL the rescues nearby were full (believe me the family had been looking for 3 weeks before I came for a visit, learned about the situation and took her in).

I think shes happy here, lack of a garden is better than putting down a healthy cat.

[expatinscotland]

The thing is, too, more and more people will have to rent their home. IME, rescue centres don't want people in rented accommodation, either (we rent from an HA so are allowed two 'domestic' animals and two 'small domestic' pets (such as hamsters or fish).

[rockinhippy]

YANBU

I've had experience of just how ridiculous SOME animal sanctuaries can be when it come to rehoming rescue pets -

We were turned down by EVERY local one & a few more on top when looking for a Cat, after our 20 yr old epileptic hypothyroid one finally died :( - I've kept cats all my life, grew up with them too, as has DD & DH, various breeds & various ailments along the way, so in theory a good bet for any sanctuary to re home to - yet you'd think we were convicted cat killers from the reaction we often got - oh you've DCs - we don't home with DCs - oh you live near a road FFS its a CITY & more Cats die on country roads - FACT -

I did almost give up, as it was just so bloody frustrating - more so because our old Cats were rescue Cats, but they couldn't check records - I started looking into buying from local gum tree etc - but that was a real eye opener too & realised I was buying into kitten factories :( - which I just couldn't bring myself to do & felt really strongly about offering a home to some poor homeless Mog or 2

Thankfully after been turned down by our local CPL branch by a VERY snotty woman who actually had the brass nerve to give me a lecture on how to keep Rabbits - despite never owning one herself, or meeting us - we were recommended the larger branch at the National Cat Centre - we went along as a Day out, not wanting to get ours or DDs hopes up - they were brilliant - MUCH more sensible, matching Cats to types of homes, rather than just ruling everyone near a road, or with DDs out, as did the RSPCA & others -

We now have 2 of their Cats & DD now often raises money for them too & I feel much happier that I stuck to my Guns on wanting to rescue a homeless Moggy, rather than line some unscrupulous uncaring oiks pockets -

though having donated to the RSPCA all my life - I won't be doing that again - they turned us dow for rehoming a Rabbit too - yet DDs Rabbit has better living conditions than their own

So no YADNBU to wonder how the hell they manage to run these places & what REALLY happens to all those poor unwanted pets :( - but thankfully not all are the same & its worth persevering :)

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

Valhalla... I take your point but if the main rehoming centres really want to do what's best for the animals in their temporary care then perhaps a degree of commonsense would work wonders. How is it better for an animal to be killed by the vet because there weren't enough people willing to rehome him who had managed to pass a 500 point checklist?

I don't know that there are 500 points, but there certainly seem to be some jobsworths that are actually doing a great disservice to the animals, whilst bemoaning that their shelters are bursting at the the seams.

[PiaThreeTimes]

YADEFINITELYNBU!

Pet shops and many, many breeders are a horrible concept.

I cannot understand why anyone would rather buy a dog, cat, rabbit etc, when there are millions of animals in desperate need of homes, who've been health-checked, their behaviour has been fully assessed.

[expatinscotland]

Yy, Stella, that was the situation with George, our ginger cat we got last October. In fact, he had to stay in one bedroom for a month while the sister tried desperately to find a no-kill shelter place for him (she had 3 dogs and believe me, he hates dogs - he's missing half an ear and has a nick in the other one, too, but he was being attacked by dogs when she found him). She had him checked by the vet, de-worming course, anti-flea course. He'd been neutered but no chip, and no response to all her posters with photos of him and ads online.

When we got him, he had scabs all over his coat and was very skittish.

Now, he's a wonderful addition to the family. He plays with Pepsi, our elder cat (we've had her for nearly 9 years and she was about 2 when we got her), and is a lovely lap cat.

I hate to think he might not have had a chance just because we don't have a garden .

[weimy]

I have weimaraners and got them as pups from the same breeder who looks after them when we go on holiday and is now a good friend. I will always stick to weimys and love bringing them up from pups.

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

Surely there's a way for shelters to make ongoing 'checks' if necessary? That could be, checking with the vet the new owner has registered with, getting updates from the owner... there are ways and means and if the shelters have the time to do house visits and so on, they have time for aftercare of less desirable homes too.

[fluffygal]

Expat- the rescue place I got my greyhound and lurcher from home to people in flats.

In fact the only thing they seemed to be checking on when I had my homecheck was that I had 6 foot fences in the garden, it was honestly so easy to rescue a greyhound- possibly too easy.

[DooinMeCleanin]

The rescue my family are working with will also consider people in flats, providing they have a dog/cat who would be happy living in a flat.

[EggyAllenPoe]

i think most people could rehome dogs from rescue instead of buying a pup and get everything they wanted by doing so (esp as there are puppies in rescue too, and pedigree dogs, in fact breed rescue is a good way to get a dog...). There is a minority of people who want more from their pet (either they wish to compete, or have very specific requirements) who have good reasons to buy a pedigree puppy.

Genuinely reputable breeders quite often lose money on litters - if you do the sums you quickly realise it is impossbile to make money as an ethical breeder. Therefore commercial breeders - licensed or otherwise - are inherently neglectful in their practice. I don't know why breeding on any commercial basis is legal, but as it is - i recommend no-one on here buys from any such business. I am not sure how best the law could prevent commercial breeding whilst allowing people like midori to continue their interest in their breeds - just banning breeding probably would not work.

i very much doubt that i will ever buy a dog from now, as rehoming adults is so easy and much more relaxing than bringing a puppy into your house.

[Tigerbomb]

We are currently seriously thinking about having a dog and would prefer a rescue dog. I currently have two rescue cats, both of whom were kittens when we had them.

I have been trawling the various rescue centres on the internet in the hopes of finding an addition to our family but can only find staffies/staffy crosses. No offense meant but I don't like the breed. I am sure they are fabulous dogs but they are not for me.

I am sure though that we will have problems as we both work even though the dog would be left for a maximum of two hours a day.