How to know if this rescue centre is genuine?

[JustlookingNotbuying]

I’ve recently lost my beloved dog and although not yet sure if I’m ready to get another dog yet as I miss mine so very much, do I know that I want to rescue a dog when the time comes.
Made the ‘mistake’ of just looking and am taken aback at just how many rescue centres the U.K. have and they are so very choc-a-block and obviously that is just going to get worse.
I have found a lovely little dog on a rescue centre called On The Way Home Rescue and can’t stop thinking about her. But I can not find a base address for the centre anywhere (not sure if that’s normal or not?). The website has lots of dogs in need of a new home but every one seems to be with foster carers and each carer is in completely different parts of the U.K.
I don’t know how rescue centres work but many of the others I’ve seen online seem to have a base centre with kennels, some have foster carers but many are crying out for foster help.
I have contacted the lady at the rescue centre (via email) and have asked lots of questions. She takes a while to get back to me (obviously waiting for info from the foster carer) and gives the info. I’ve asked for more photos and if possible a little video clip but haven’t had these yet.
How do I know how genuine the centre is? The foster carer is a long way from us, I’d hate to drive 3+ hours away to find it’s a scam?

Not sure how you know if they are genuine but the one we used is well known and doesn't have kennels. It uses fosterers or does home to home adoption.

PritiPatelsMaker that’s good to know. Hopefully they are genuine and there shouldn’t be any reason why they aren’t but I suppose you never know.

One where we got ours from is like that. No funding to have a base, they are all volunteer fosters, so dotted about. So short on fosters at the mo, they will take whoever offers.

Had a look and appears OK, some of my fb animal rescue friends follow the page too. They carry out homechecks too, so appear genuine

It’s fairly usual for smaller rescues to use fosters (as the dogs have a more relaxed experience and it’s cheaper than kennels).

Try having a look on their Instagram or Facebook and whether you can find any adopters who have used them to reach out and chat about their experiences?

some ideas to help you get comfortable:

• Make sure you get to visit before you pay any money.
• can they send you a photo of the dog with a newspaper or with something you ask (like something random that everyone has, but you wouldn’t take a photo with a dog?)
• Confirm that the dogs are spayed/neutered
• Ask about microchip, injections etc
• ask what behavioural support they offer, and what happens in case any issues (I.e. reactivity - will they help you through it? Charities should offer on-going behavioural support)
• do they have an adoption contact they can share with you? Normally this gives some guidance (I.e. if the dog isn’t spayed as they’re too young, they need to be spayed within 12 months, or if the dog needs to be rehomed, you can rehome it to the charity). If they don’t have a standard one, that’d be a red flag for me!

if it’s a charity it should technically be registered with companies house, or try and find out who the lead coordinators are and do a detailed google & social media search on them.

good luck! I rescue from international charities which has no UK kennels, but I met people on walks who had dogs from them previously, which was a bit different as knew they were real!

They do have a Facebook page which was last updated yesterday evening. A lot of breed specific rehoming rescues I follow on FB do use fosterers, which often fail as they then take on the dog, and they tend to be all over the place.

Thanks everyone, that’s put my mind at ease.
FFitz10 Thank you for the information.

Lots of smaller rescues run like that tbh, no premises and not registered charities, just people volunteering their time.

As an unrelated warning though and it’s not a criticism, looking through their website they seem to specialise in harder to rehome dogs and most of the ones listed have some pretty major behavioural issues.

If you’re up for that, fab, but things like guarding issues, issues with other dogs and separation anxiety are not quick issues to resolve.

tabulahrasa thank you. Tbh, the little dog we are looking at does have issues. She has been rehomed 3 times via another rescue and they seem to have pushed her onto this rescue as they did not want to rehome a forth time.
The contact I am emailing is unable to offer any info as to why she has been returned several times but believes it is due to unsuitable families taking her on? The little dog is currently with a foster carer and has been for two weeks so far. The foster carer says she is a lovely little dog but has major issues with stealing household items and looking for a chase or if not she will chew everything. Apart from that she seems a good dog but this seems a bit bit of a contradiction to a dog who has been rehomed and returned three times. The original post about her says she has food aggression and a nipping history but the foster carer says she has seen none of these issues.
We have no young children and as a previous dog owner and a dog walker, I do have experience with dogs.
But I honestly don’t know what to do. She looks like such a sweet little girl and I do have lots of time on my hands and really miss the routine I had with my precious dog I lost a month ago.
I have never rescued in this way before and not sure what support etc we should have/expect should we need it.
I don’t know if I am mad taking on a dog like this? We feel that we could turn her around with lots of love and patience but my worry is what happens if it’s doesn’t happen? I would absolutely hate to return a dog and it would be an absolute last resort if we do.

To be honest, she sounds like a typical terrier who has been allowed (or been forced, through boredom) to make her own entertainment. With decent exercise, some structure to her day and ongoing training, she'll probably turn out just fine.

Rescues will very rarely take in or attempt to rehome genuinely aggressive dogs.

Reading between the lines I would say her 'bite history' likely refers to snapping at the kids, which could be for any number of reasons but many tend not to be the fault of the dog. Terriers are tenacious but not necessarily patient! By nature, also, they are quick and 'grabby'.

She does look very sweet and perhaps that has been her downfall with homing; that cute-as-a-button face is attached to a dog with inherently strong prey and chase drives, combined with a big capacity for exercise. She's not a 'lap dog' or a child's pet by any means.

She looks great fun. Not easy, but fun. I'd be seriously tempted!

Disclaimer: I've never met the dog and could be talking complete rubbish about her, but I do work with a foster-based rescue and a training club and this is the impression I get of her.

Shambolical1 I am seriously tempted and everything you’ve written is just what I’ve been thinking. My dear dog who I’ve just lost was a Norfolk Terrier, gorgeous to look at, like butter wouldn’t melt. However, was a right little toad when he was younger but with my time and patience he settled in to become a perfect little boy. I am pretty sure she has just been given to the wrong families and they have had little time to give her. We have no little children in our house to plague her and I am sure we can work with her to get her to a better place. She deserves that 4th chance at stability!

@JustlookingNotbuying I think, often, the dogs who need a bit more work and understanding at first are the ones who give back the most.

You're going to be busy 🙂

If you have the time and the patience to train her - do! Also maybe see if you have any r+ trainers in your area as a back up in case any other issues are identified, but it sounds like you’ve got a perfect set up - and won’t expect her to be perfect, so are already at a good starting point!
good luck! ❤

@JustlookingNotbuying sounds as if you are perfect for each other ?

Hmmm it’s a bit odd, no address and only a mobile phone number?
It says sponsoring and fostering- where do the sponsored dogs live? Or are they all fostered….

So you turn up and they just hand the dog over OP? Just like that? No home check nothing? How much is the dog?

It looks a bit fishy to me!

JustlookingNotbuying, looks like you've found your new fur baby.
Let us know what happens 🙂

I offer no opinion on the dog, I’m terrible at picking dogs - I’m on my second in a row that should have been straightforward and turned out to have major issues 😂

It could be that she’s just a full on young untrained terrier who has been unlucky with homes and one has justified giving her U.K. by saying she’s bitten, that happens.

But equally she could have a real bite history isn’t displaying that behaviour yet so the rescue is assuming it’s not an issue so minimising it, , which also happens.

It’s worth considering for a bit that if you take her and it’s the second - do you have the resources to work with her, financially and mentally?

If it’s a yes then great.

But if not (and there’s no judgement on wanting a pet not a rehab project) then you definitely don’t want to take her on if returning her is likely. It wouldn’t be fair on her.