Refused to rehome a dog ...aibu to think it's a ridiculous decision?

[brettsndsal]

We are a massive dog family.
Over the years we have had a lurcher,a border collie and a poodle all lived a happy long life.
They are part of the family and spoilt rotten.
Birthday ,Christmas presents,taken to the park daily and walks etc etc
We love them like a child basically.
Our last dog Lucy passed away aged 16 six weeks ago.
She was a rescue dog and had a bad start to life.
Anyway I've applied to rehome a dog through two rehoming places.
Both Declined us because we don't have a garden.

We have never had a Garden but that hasn't affected the dog in anyway.
We love opposite a huge park and 5 mins away from the beach.
They've refused to even do a home check because it's not suitable home for a dog.

We applied for a Jack Russell and another poodle.
Even if we had a garden I wouldn't let the dog out alone.

I'm really upset and I don't understand how a garden makes any difference.
They have lots of dogs in at the minute crying out for a new life.
We couldn't love them anymore if we tried

Aibu to think it's a bit shit?

Years ago we went to a national animal rescue centre for a cat. They did a home visit and were nearly not going to let us have one. I live in Devon, Farmers daughter. Animals and pets my entire life - I have a lovely house, in a nice area with a front and back garden, which backs on to a field. Their reason was there was a road in front. The road is a country lane. Who desert have a road somewhere near their house !!!
The woman insisted the cat flap had to be put in the back door - so only access to the back garden..... obviously never seen a cat before.

A few years later, my husbands mate started seeing a woman who had just started working for the same charity. She was awful - we all still refer to her as the witch.

No kids. Never had a pet (thought they were dirty and inconvenient). Within weeks, she was a supervisor for the rehoming / home visits and decided who was allowed to re home the animals. She took great delight in never allowing a family with kids under 12 having an animal on 'her watch'.

We were not approved of by UK rescues because of working full time (both wfh various days so most of each week (precovid) and my elderly mum lives here too and is around all the time anyhow.

Have a look at Happier Days for Strays Sunderland. They always have so many dogs for rehoming and the criteria appears to be a happy loving home for their rescues, as it should be.

Please don’t assume all rescues are the same, particularly regarding children and full time working. There are loads of rescues out there, many of which are far more pragmatic than some of the ones quoted on here. Please don’t give up on rescues and buy a puppy. There are so many rescues out there.

I agree it's ridiculous and I'd fail for the same reasons yet so many of my neighbours have dogs that all seem to be more than happy and well exercise (we have a big grassy area down the road and a park and beach not far away), and there's also been a noticeable increase in the number of local puppies recently.
Have you looked into the charities that rehome from eastern europe? I'm not sure where they stand on gardens but some are more flexible if you have children.

If you are in the North East try Tendercare Rescue. We have a yard but Ddog we got from them refuses to use it. They are after a secure home for their dogs as some are flight risks so no garden and only going outside when on a lead is about as secure as it gets.

Not sure where you live but I am sure Battersea rehomed a dog to my friend years ago when she lived in an inner city flat with no garden.

Dog's Trust (I think) wouldn't rehome to my neighbour because her garden was down (her own single flight) stairs and 6 paces away from her front door rather than absolutely immediately adjoining her door! She tried elsewhere and has a very happy rescue dog who is out in the forest at the end of our road lots of times a day (as well as the offending garden).

I am desperate for a dog. I have a large, walled garden and my job is working on my small holding so my dog would be with me at all times, getting loads of exercise and fresh air. I’ve phoned every charity within a couple of hours drive and no one will even consider me or do a home visit because I have a 9yo and a 5yo.

I’d never adopt from abroad, I think that’s even worse than buying a puppy but it’s infuriating that these dogs are left alone in cages all day when people want to give them homes.

I can't rehome a dog because I have 1 cat, and 2 children.

I also have a house, with a secure garden, olive rural abd have several acres just along the road which are also fully fenced with post and rail and stock fencing. Miles of river Bank walks and a secure dog walking field an easy walk away.

Just looked at your link @VeryLongBeeeeep , was quite excited as an experienced spaniel owner (springers mostly). Ruled out once again by my 4 abd 6 yr old children..

This is going to be a very unpopular opinion, but I tend to agree with the rescue place. I think you do need a garden for a dog to use on a daily basis.

It has honestly never been the slightest problem for us, even when ddog was a puppy. It might sometimes be helpful (if you get one that will toilet there) but why would you NEED one?

@brettsndsal have a look in to Deliverance based in Bishop Auckland. lovely lady runs the charity and rehomes all manner of animals, many dogs. She's always looking for foster families too.
There is a facebook page.

Please try this trust OP
www.oldies.org.uk/

Don't give up!

I think so many rehoming/rescue centres are reluctant to consider people on any number of grounds, but people who've already own/have owned dogs previously who can provide a reference from a previous rehoming centre or some sort of testimonial and have, as you've done, also provided photos etc shouldn't be prevented from rehoming again.

These centres are going to end themselves finding it harder and harder to rehome animals if they continue to narrow their remits, as people will (as others have said) simply buy puppies/kittens etc from breeders or obtain them by other means fair or foul if they're that desperate for a pet.

SO many of my friends, too, just simply wouldn't have considered a rescue animal because they 'don't know their history'. The irony being that virtually all of them who spent hundreds and hundreds of pounds on puppies have ended up with enormous vet and insurance bills because of unforeseen illnesses and genetic diseases as well as some fairly serious behavioural issues (in a few cases as much down to the owner's uselessness at training and re-inforcement of that training).

Could you try writing directly to the Trustee Board of this particular rehoming centre (assuming it's a charity of some sort)? Laying out your case, and re-iterating the reasons why previously successful stories of you re-homing unwanted dogs would be helpful in enabling them to re-evaluate your application.

Rehoming centres are so quick to tell the personal stories of the animals they're seeking to re-home - treating them all as very distinct and separate individual personalities.... it's a huge shame they don't do the same with prospective owners because a lot of animals are missing out on what could be their perfect forever home.

All those cute puppies we have seen during lockdown.. all those inappropriate looking families with a new puppy..

Wait for one of those. The rescue centres will be inundated soon. This is what I am doing.. waiting to rescue one of them.

@Anordinarymum

All those cute puppies we have seen during lockdown.. all those inappropriate looking families with a new puppy..

Wait for one of those. The rescue centres will be inundated soon. This is what I am doing.. waiting to rescue one of them.

Will you be allowed though. Have you checked you meet all the criteria?

Have seen refusals to excellent homes based on gardens and children even when I've seen those same families with happy canine members and the children have grown up since babies with dogs. The smaller charities tend to be run by enthusiasts and can apply whatever discriminatory criteria they choose if legal. It must be very frustrating, OP, and I judge those charities when I'm aware of the practices and donations are sought.

Probably in the massive park right opposite her house which the OP mentioned?

Yes it's ridiculous. We adopted from abroad (but we're not in the uk anyway) at a time when we were living in a flat and had a dog and a 7yo child. We had a home visit, lots of questions, felt that they really did assess the situation properly.
Ddog2 came along and slotted right into family life.

Loads and loads of dogs the world over live in flats. You take them outside for walks, it's not exactly hard.

After we moved to a house (still no garden, but we're out in the countryside), we wanted to adopt a cat. Didn't meet any of the criteria, apparently. So we bought two kittens, who are now supremely happy, satisfied cats that get on marvellously with the dog and the kids, and love exploring the surrounding fields.

It does make me wonder who exactly they want these animals to go to.

Check fb.. we have an animal lovers page local to our area and people sometimes need to rehome their dogs so wouldn't be an issue with no garden etc. I agree it's so unfair! We have a toy poodle and a 100ft garden but she's so tiny she barely uses it!

I volunteered at Dogs Trust and not all dogs needed a garden - it depended on the dog. They might if they were nervous and needed a safe private place to play.

Dont give up keep trying with the various dog rescues - i do appreciate it can be frustrating but they are all doing their best to find the right home for the dogs.

Yes, some of their rules are crazy, most won’t homes that have kids under 5, I don’t really understand this one either, someone who has a baby/toddler is more likely to be home more to look after and train a dog? I know not all dogs can be homes with kids but some can (puppies can). The garden rule is a bit crazy too, I understand that some breeds may not be great to live in a house without a garden but there are many breeds that do fine without one as long as walked twice a day, breeds like greyhounds are pretty good for people without gardens, they happily sleep on the sofa most the day but enjoy a walk.

OP, hopefully you can find a rescue that doesn’t have the garden rule, I’m sure there are some. Getting a puppy in a flat would be much harder than getting a older dog.

Has similar issues when DH and I lived in a flat many years ago and wanted a dog. Eventually Dogs Trust gave us a chance and we took home a gorgeous GSD boy. That was 9 years ago now, not sure if they've changed their policies. I agree it's ridiculous. There are people with gardens who mistreat dogs and people in flats who give them the best lives ever. It certainly doesn't help the rehoming rates vetoing most of the population. Some dogs will need a private garden but others will cope fine having daily walks in the park. Poor digs are wasting away in kennels when they could be living in loving homes :(

You do sound like a lovely home for a dog OP and I agree that common sense should prevail in the majority of cases.
However, I have done homechecks for both dog and cat charities and some people who think they are an “ideal” home really arent.
The thing I really used to consider was will we get this animal back because it will all go wrong?
Despite what some people think animal charities (with a few exceptions) don’t want to keep the animals for any long than is necessary and they really want the adoption to work for everyone.
Due to experience it is often possible to see how an adoption can go wrong and the things highlighted are often based on incidents that HAVE happened
Having said that I do think that as long as everyone knows how to mitigate potential problems then it’s no reason for a blanket NO

Rescues are just trying to ensure that the rehoming is a success. Believe me, if you’d seen something of the things I have, you wouldn’t think the rules were too strict.

Not all places insist on a garden. Have you tried Bluecross? They look at each case individually and you won’t necessarily need a garden. Please don’t buy a puppy.

Many years ago I was declined for adopting a kitten because I gave a mobile phone number, which made me look ‘transient’, which I’m not, it was simply the best number to get me on.

A friend was also turned down by the same organisation, because her husband was in the forces. He had no plans to take the kitten to Afghanistan though.

I was finally accepted by the RSPCA, who did a home visit and recommended I got a ramp leading to/from the back door, which surprised me as I wasn’t looking for a kitten that used a wheelchair, but they explained it was ‘quite a long drop’ for a small animal. I’m guessing this person had never owned a cat.