Want a rescue dog, offer a lovely home but ready to give up!

[Chimcha]

We have a lovely 9 yr old dog, DH and I have both had dogs all our lives and very experienced with animals. We want to get another dog so started looking at rescues. We offer a wonderful family home, where dog is walked twice a day and have a small farm and woodland which we visited every day with our dog. So far, before even meeting us, I have been declined by four rescue charities, because of the following reasons 1) we have children under 14, 2) we don't have a 5 ft fence going round our garden, 3) we don't have a 6ft fence going round our garden, 4) we don't have someone at home all the time (though we've never out for more than 4 hours anyway because of our current dog, and if we on the rare occasion are MiL pops over!!). Our garden is very secure with a big hedge and stream and then backs on to farmland, we re not on a road (at end of a track), have a big garden, have our own small farm where we take the dog every day as well, and MiL pops in whenever we are out. Not one of these charities have met us, we just didn't fulfil the checklist. It's frustrating. We rescued our current dog when she was a puppy, and would offer a wonderful home to a second dog. I completely get the need to have criteria, please don't think I'm disputing that, but I feel it is so tight that they turn away potentially good people because they didn't tick a box, rather than having any flexibility. I wonder if we keep looking at rescue charities or instead get a puppy instead.

Just get a puppy. They need nice homes too. I know what you mean though. I’ve had loads of grief getting cats in the past. It’s for a reason but they take it too far and it’s the dogs that suffer.

You might be better off getting this moved to The Dog House OP, there might be posters on there that can offer ideas about rescues that are willing be more flexible than those you've spoken to so far.

Chimha are you contacting the bigger rescues?

Put a post in Doghouse (Pets) someone will know some smaller rescues, maybe Breed Specific that might be more flexible.

Your fence would rule you out from greyhounds but there must be somewhere that has 'your' dog. It is infuriating when so many are waiting, some very stressed in Rescue.

Can i ask what rescues you've tried? I've found that smaller rescues tend to take adopters on case by case rather than blanket rules. I was refused as a foster for larger rescues because of having an under 5, living in a flat, no garden & working on & off. Fostered successfully for just over 5 years for smaller rescues & never had an issue.

Please don't buy a puppy unless you go to a very good breeder. Far too many people making a fast buck nowadays off of their pets

70isaLimitNotaTarget I think this is part of the problem, we are after a lurcher type - our current dog is a lurcher and she is just wonderful!

Could you rescue from a council pound?
Both of mine are rescues in that one was abandoned and the other relinquished but both were at risk of being put to sleep if not rehomed within 7 days. Rehomed separately at 4 yrs and 1 yrs, 18 months apart as we were specifically looking for sighthounds. You would still be saving a dog IMO. Rescues can notoriously fussy but surely a good home is better than no home?
Your set up sounds amazing.
Would you like to adopt me, lol

I agree with PP. Bigger rescues can afford to write people off without even meeting them. Usually smaller rescues are much more lenient, and will actually consider case by case. Have a search for local rescues in your area.

Where are you (roughly)?

Hi OP please don't give up!
Have you searched on DOGSBLOG?They have dogs and puppies from many pet charities who would love to hear from you.
Also the Greyhound rescue are much more relaxed than other rescue centres.
Keep going,there are so many desperate innocent dogs waiting day by day for a home of their own.
Good luck💜🐕

Lurchers & greyhounds are high numbers in rescue too atm 😔 i have a friend who pound pulls & she is astounded by the sighthound increased numbers

Squeaky we're in Kent

YANBU

We had similar problems and so ended up buying a puppy instead of a rescue. It's a shame when people are offering to rescue but cant but round here they are really strict on their criteria.

Have you tried Many Tears Animal Rescue? They treat dogs and humans/families as individuals. Also, as pp said, try council pounds.

Have you tried Foal Farm?

I know what you mean. I've been looking online with regards to potentially rehoming a dog when I retire later this year. Ideally I'd like a gazehound (whippet or lurcher - years ago I had a whippet-collie cross) but the thing about the 6-foot fences must be a non-starter for many would-be rehomers.

Please be careful direct homing from a pound, it terrifies me that they allow it 🙈

There are lots of rescues who network via FB who take each dog & each family at their own merit. Team Paw, Last Hope, Many Tears....a friend runs Hound from the Pound, they pull & place dogs with rescues but always have links on their page

Have a look at Clarke's Farm too, they're here in Essex. Brilliant rescue, greyhounds primarily as they do ex racers but they sometimes have lurchers in

It's bloody ridiculous! They'd rather have dogs sat in kennels than in a home just because the people can't be home all day every day. Total madness!

I've heard of places who reject people who want a cat because they work part time !!

My cats sleep all bloody day anyway so wouldn't know of care if I was here or not!

A lot of rescue dogs do try to escape in first few days, so I do understand rescue centres being concerned over fences. A lurcher could scale a low fence presumably? How high are your fences. We had 5 and 6 foot fences, but in an area of hedging a four foot fence. Our rescue dog scaled this in the first few weeks - and showed our existing 3 yr old dog (who’d never done this before) how to do it too. We had to spend £100s on new higher fencing.

Try breed or type specialist rescues. Also look at at smaller rescues.

Be aware that Many Tears re-homes breeding stock from the many Welsh puppy farms, all a bit convenient, imo. The dogs are unlikely to be housetrained and probably won’t have many sight hounds/lurches in.

It’s a bit bonkers, all the requirements the big rescues have, basically you have to be retired, at home all day.

What a lovely thing you are trying to do. It's so frustrating, isn't it?! A friend of mine has rehomed 2 dogs from Battersea. She certainly doesn't have 6 or 5 foot fence round the entire garden, and has a toddler. Might be worth taking a look? Good luck!

Try the breed specific rescues. Most would be more than happy to have you.

Have a look for Desperate Greekies - small dog rescue with a lovely lady running it. Dogs are a complete mix of breeds but sounds like a setter type may work for you.

Regarding the “children under 14 rule”, it’s more to cover the rescue as they never get the full story from previous owners and if one of the dogs was to attack a child it’d be devastating for the rescue.

And just because you have a hedge/stream, I’ve seen dogs go through hedges to get out, it’s about your garden being secure.

Don’t give up hope though, you may just need to try different rescues.