Private 'rescue'

[Viewofhedges]

My mum lost her Ddog last year and has finally got ready for a new one. She's been visiting rescue centres etc for about 3 months - so far, no joy.

A few weeks ago she registered on a site specific to a breed she likes and put out a note that she was looking to rescue. She was contacted by a woman who was thinking about giving her dog up as she works full time and can't give him the attention he needs. They spoke on the phone, mum asked a lot of questions and they are meeting up at the weekend. It was just going to be meet and greet but as it's 200miles the woman has suggested it could be a handover.

It all seems fine and the woman has been clear that she does not want any money for the dog.

Does anyone know of any specific things mum should consider? Does this sound ok? Dodgy? I assume that mum will have already seen vet records etc. The (lovely) dog was bought by the woman as a pup. Either this is great - saving the poor dog a stint in a rescue home - or this is weird for a reason we've not considered.

Any advice gratefully revived. Top priority is dog's wellbeing.

Umm, it sounds a little informal to me. Has your mum had a home check? Has the dog been assessed independently? Normally even with a rescue some money changes hands for expenses. It's not a good idea to ever give a dog away for free, even to the perfect home.

I would be wary. What is the dogs temperament like? Has it any underlying health issues? I don't think it's a good idea to do a handover when she first meets them.
I would take longer to decide and maybe keep,going to rescue centres until something comes up

I'm heavily involved in rescue and I would strongly counsel against this. Using a rescue organisation especially a reputable one gives you long term back up. What happens if this dog turns out to have terrible separation anxiety, or is not housetrained or has severe health issues? People do lie, and anyone who is truly responsible would be working with the breed rescue to ensure a proper homecheck was done and that the adopter was also checked out. For me this raises a big red flag that for some reason this woman wants to get rid of the dog PDQ. If she is determined to go ahead anyway, make sure she has a copy of things like pedigree, vaccination certificates, chip details and if possible something in writing to confirm change of ownership. And be careful if the dog is a potential Banned Breed.

The issue with privately rehoming rather than going through a reputable rescue is that there's not likely to be much in the way of ongoing support once the dog has arrived or back up in the event that things don't work out.

The distance further complicates things as obviously it makes anything like a trial period much more difficult.

If the dog was bought as a puppy I'd be querying why the current owner isn't seeking the help of the their breeder if they can no longer keep the dog. Decent breeders will make it very clear to new owners that they will either take one of their puppies back at any point in the future if they can no longer keep them or, at the very least, assist in finding them an appropriate new home.

What breed is your mum looking for? There are loads of breed/type specific rescues around, plus the vast majority of breed clubs also run their own welfare schemes which are well worth looking into.

Thanks for the responses, I'll pass it all on. It does make me nervous so these are all really useful things to raise.

For anyone saying 'go through a normal rescue' - honestly, she's trying. Down here however most rescues seem to be either dangerous breeds or snapped up before they arrive. Mum's a brilliant owner - she and her last dog did PAT at the local hospital and her life couldn't be more dog focused - I'm really surprised she's found it so hard to find the right dog. Anyhow I'll ring her now with the points raised above.

Where are you?
local rescue to us has nice dogs looking for a homes
SNDogs - google them