Thinking about rehoming your pet? READ THIS.

[Vallhala]

I often tell people on here how ill-advised it is to rehome a pet privately and why they should only do so through a rescue which will homecheck the prospective new owner and guarantee to take the pet back at any stage in the animal's life if that owner cannot keep him. Sometimes I get the idea that people don't believe me despite me citing a recent case on MN where a lady took on a dog avertised by a stranger in her local paper which within the space of a weekend had bitten her neighbour's child and was put to sleep as a result.

Maybe this will change minds.

A few points if I may.

I agree that dogs should be rehomed responsibly, preferably though a centre.

I think all dogs and cats should be neutered so people who actually care very much about animals are not forced to PTS.

Many, many people who work for the RSPC are devoted to animals. You have to be to work for them because the pay is shit and the hours are crap, their H&S is non existant. WHen I worked for them they didnt even pay London weighting and I worked 45 hours a week with no shift allowance and bank holidays/christmas was paid at normal rate (becaue it was on the rota).

I have always had rescue dogs. However after my last experience of homeing from Battersea I couldnt face it again. The condecending way I was spoken to and the fact that the place is stuffed full of staffies and JRTs. Lovely dogs but I didnt want a JRT or a Staffie. I also knew that I had no chance of getting any dog because I had children!

Many rescue centres seem to think that people who have kids are far to stupid to also own a dog. We will obviously allow the children to kick them or we will lock them all up in a cupboard together and go down the pub.

So this time I got a cross breed from a private seller. I actually felt guilty for ages! But I wanted a puppy and I wanted a toy x. He is a fantastic dog and was so much easier to intergrate him into the family than a rescue dog.

I think that a lot of rescue centres need to evaluate how they treat prospective owners - i.e. stop being so bloody rude.

However I think the majority to splendid work trying to put right the wrongs of people who buy animals without giving it enough (or any) thought.

You make some good points.

I agree with you that rescues do make it hard, admittedly, i probably only got satan dog because the others rescues made it so damn difficult for me i went to a crappy, small rescue that didn't do any research.

The RSPCA however, are a joke!

DH found a stray on deaths door and RSPCA refused to even look at it, they refused to pick up a pack of abandoned dogs and when i told them of a puppy farm in operation they told me they could do nothing and it was for me to gain evidence!!!!

Big difference Spanky (I know a JRT called Spanky btw!) is that you knew the prospective owners of your kittens and you still check up on them. On the whole though to rehome privately is not recommended.

WRT rescues, I agree that there are good and bad. One bad one was "outed" by other rescues and rescuers only last week, sadly only after a dog had died due to their incompetence. We all try to remain vigilant to things not being as they should be.

It is a case sometimes too of 'caveat emptor' - potential new owners need to know the importance of finding a rescue which assesses, homechecks, vaccinates, neuters BEFORE the dog leaves the rescue, microchips, offers ongoing support and which will take the pet back at any time AT ALL if the owner cannot keep him.

The key is to do your research and 'shop around' so to speak. It's true that most large rescues like the RSPCA have blanket policies about homing to families with young children but many smaller ones go on a case by case basis and are far more flexible.

All very true.

I had some real issues with RSPCA when I worked for them. We didnt rehome where I worked but we would move animals on when they were well enough. Unfortunately if a stray comes in and needs thousands of pounds worth of medical treatment its going to get bumped. That was hard to deal with. All of the nurses were nuts about animals.

I am not making excuses for the wider organisation - when I worked there it was a patriarchal, hide bound bloodly nightmare. It was like working in a cross between the army and being in a girls boarding school. But most of the difficulties were down to members of the public dumping their badly treated, sick animals on us. What the hell were we supposed to do with a traumatized rottie with dermodectic mange? It was horrible, the bitches being brought in every few months so we could deliver their pups and the owners using us a free maternity unit.

We were swamped and the treatment the animals got was really very good. The vets were excellent and the nurses very kind and good at their jobs. We were always getting accused of horrible things. One woman said 'me mum said I had to stay while you put the cat to sleep cos otherwise you would take it and experiment on it' Needless to say she didnt offer any donation for the treatment her cat had received.

But I do think the RSPCA are up their own arse and get involved in the 'big' sexy things and are not so keen to get involved in the grass roots.

But remember its the organisation and not the poor saps doing the day to day stuff.

I very much have the impression, MrsDeVere, that there is a certain... how can I put this... animosity, perhaps, between the RSPCA branches and HQ, where the so-called inspectors are governed. I understand that branches have to pay RSPCA HQ annually for the right to do what they do under the organisation's banner.

Its been a long time since I worked there Vallhala. TBH the way it was, I wouldnt have dared post like this if I was still there.

I can believe what you say is true though. They think they are fecking Majors or something. Its all very hierarchical (sp).

They get so much money I am not suprised that other animal charities are at their antics.

I loved my work and thought I was doing good but I DIDNT like the organisation I worked for.

At the time I worked there we had to wear nurses dresses and white aprons etc. Bloody ridiculous when you are doing the sort of work we did. Wrestling with a manic GSD wearing a frock is not a good idea. If we looked scruffy (after wrestling with a dog) we would get hauled up to the office and given a dressing down. It was beyond farcical.

H we ahd one of the RSPCA bumped ones MrsDeVere; the RSPCA gave the vet surgery holding the kitten £50 (finder had dropped it there) and the vets paid for thousands of health care out of their own pocket- poor thing was 5 weeks old, had to have a leg emputated, tail partially removed, op on another leg...... had been badly injured by teens.

I took him and basically gave him kangaroo care for three months, carrying him insode my top. After a year he was a happy, cuddly thing that loved to cuddle up with us although it's true he wanted nothing to do with anyone outside the home. sadly then he had a ehart attack after an op for a kidney blovkage but in that eyar he had a life.

i think he was the twentieth animal either me or my dad had taken in at elast temporarily: often old farm cats that needed taming before they could move on.

The joke though is that when our current elderly cat (again rescued- friend of a friend boxed him and left him in a field but luckily boasted about it so friend went and got him) passes on we won;t be allowed to have an RSPCA cat becuase we have 2 disabled chidlren: chidlren that were here when tripod was about. Huh?

Sister's vets will keep an eye open for another animal that bobody else will take for us and we will enjoy turning another damaged animal into a happy and loving pet. but it seems so silly we can;t drive 2 miles across the road to the RSPCA unit and just help one from there.