Adoption Requirements?

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#1
A few weeks ago, I posted looking for opinions about breeds, and I've narrowed them down. As much as I had previously been set against not going the rescue route, I just didn't have it in me. I really, honestly tried to do the breeder thing - can't bring myself to do it. So I looked into breed rescue.

Bear in mind, it's been a few years since I've done this whole adoption process thing, so maybe it's just me - but what is with the ridiculous adoption requirements?

I found a beautiful boy. Local, housebroken, seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. However, this is taken directly from the website:

"Our adoption process begins with a telephone call, then an in-person interview at our office. Following these steps, a home visit is conducted, and if your premises is sufficient, you may adopt the dog. Please keep in mind **** reserves the right to conduct an unexpected home visit at any time following the adoption."

I don't know about you guys, but those seem really outrageous to me. I understand the phone call, and the in-person interview. I did that for my Chihuahua/Corgi mix that I adopted. But I certainly didn't have any home visits, and I never would have agreed to a random visit out of the blue. I understand you want a good home for your dog, but am I the only one thinking it's a bit over the top?

The reference thing gets me too. I never had to do this with my old boy. I mean, maybe I'm a special case - but I can truthfully say I don't have a single friend in my city (and I'm fine with this). I don't hang out with people - I'm just a bit introverted that way. I go to school, do my thing, come home and chill out. I just don't have five people I can rack up for a reference. As for a veterinarian's reference, I could provide it, but I don't think my vet knows too much about me. Sees me once a year for vaccinations and that's about it (unless the pets get sick or something).

I don't know. I just felt shocked. Is this just a breed rescue thing? My family got our Cresteds from the shelter downtown, and my boy I picked up from the city pound. I've never dealt with breed-specific rescues so far, but I'm really not liking the invasive adoption procedures. Is it just me who finds them over-the-top?
 

Xandra

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#2
I find it over the top! The home visit and some references are pretty average and are tolerable IMO if the dog is good enough. Random checks, no way. They can keep the dog.

Really, it's not uncommon in rescue and it just comes down to what you'll put up with to get the dog. Most breeders are a lot more lax and shelters are often just pick a dog and pay for it.
 

Fran101

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#3
This is usually pretty common for private rescues, especially those which are breed specific.
Home visit, references (from vet and other DOG RELATED people), phone interview etc... I understand. I hate to deal with it and grumble at the idea but I get it...many of these rescues have been burned before, the dogs are safe in foster homes (so they can afford to be picky) and they are looking for not just any home but the RIGHT home

Random surprise visits? Forget it. There's a line for me and that's it.

End of the day, there is a price to pay for getting a rescue dog where you know it's behavior, training, health, temperament, quirks (vs a shelter dog)...and that means dealing with foster parents. Who are understandably overbearing.
 

Fran101

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#4
I also kind of take issue with "Premises is sufficient"
Usually rescues phrase it as what it is...a check for overall safety of the potential home for the dog.
This makes it sound like something else..
 
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#5
@ Xandra: That's what I'm used to, the shelter/pound system. Mine was pretty fair when I went to get my boy - I saw him, interacted with him in a private room, and a worker went with me to walk him in the enclosure outside to get a feel for him. Sat down, filled out the application, had a chat with the adoption officer, they called my landlord to confirm pets were allowed and they said I could take him the next day. Called in the morning to confirm I still wanted him, went back and picked him up. I liked the way that worked. It was simple. The random checks were what really did it for me - I just find it so outrageous.

@ Fran101: The reference problem - along with not having a fenced yard - seem to be doing me in with most of these rescues. I've called a few and tried to explain the only references I have are family (which they don't accept) and the vet because I just don't know many people, but they don't seem willing to work with me there. I live in an apartment, and even though the breeds I'm trying to adopt are sub-10lbs, apparently an apartment isn't good enough. :/ It's getting to be incredibly frustrating.

I really do understand they want the right person, and I support that. But I don't want to have to feel like every week somebody's going to be randomly knocking on my door. Another rescue insisted that if you move they want to show up to inspect the new house. Like seriously? That's just getting silly. I know you want updates and to know the dog is safe, but I almost feel like these rescues are going to become a Big Brother-type thing and I'm really not into it.

Starting to wonder if I'd be better off just going the way I've done in the past and dropping by the shelter. lol
 
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#6
You are not the only one, honestly I have even written off being able to adopt from my spca. They have crazy requirements. Neither of the breeders I got my pure reds from even did a home check, and none of the breeders I'm talking to now ask for a joke check. But some rescues have some strict rules, and few are willing to bend the rules. One I was looking at a couple years ago who specialize in small dogs refused me simply because I have a dog who is 170lbs, and might hurt a small dog...he has lived only with dogs under 25lbs, I already had Bristol and she is smaller then the dog I was inquiring about. Moving on I found another poodle mix in another rescue and was turned down because I already had 2 dogs...at that point my dogs came to my office with me, so they are with me almost 24/7. After that I stuck to kijiji and found a dog who someone was re-homing, he was free, he was neutered and up to date on his shots and was a poodle mix like I wanted for agility.
 

Ozfozz

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#7
The ridiculous adoption requirements have become quite the topic for discussion on several boards that I frequent.

On one hand, I get that they want to make sure that the dogs don't go back "into the system." But how effective is that really if they never leave?
Is it really so bad if a dog goes to a less-than-perfect home (by their opinion), to make space for a new dog in their program? Perhaps save a dog from being PTS?
Even the shelters around here are getting bad. Rigby was very close to her euth date, adopted out 3 times before I found her, and they still gave me a difficult time because I was "out of their range", Oz wasn't there (3 strange dogs in a Cavalier on the highway for an hour just wouldn't be safe), and Cobain was less than thrilled with his first experience in the city..

Anyways....

I understand the interview and home visit. I would absolutely NOT be okay with "random" check-ins after the dog is adopted. Sorry, but once I sign those papers, the dog is MINE.
It's things like "random visits" that keep people from adopting. That keep people going to pet stores and bad breeders for their puppies.
 
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#8
Basically what it boils down to these days is everybody sucks at human relationships :) I'm half joking, half serious. we depend on judging situations rather than people. It's part of it. That's it, a part. People genuinely suck at seeing a bigger picture. It's like that with everything. Our entire society uses situations and some specific data points to make sweeping judgements about individuals.

For some things, that is perfectly fine, for others, it's a completely ridiculous way to perform your daily operations. I've met all kids of dog owners, and whether they have a fence, another dog, a cat, 3 cats, a husband or a wife, kids or not, apartment or home, high rise or country sprawl with 40 acres, none of that meant a **** when regarding what type of owner they were.

They need to spend less time judging situations and get better at judging people. You know how good HR people hire good employees? they get to know the person. The list of "requirements" is just a part. Companies with high turnover often have HR that hires based on "requirements" They suck at reading and knowing people.

People depend on so many lists and charts and other agencies to tell them what is "OK" or what is safe, many don't know how to read a person for themselves. They let someone else do it.

It's everywhere though, not just in employment and dog adoptions. Parents are judged on if their kid wears a bike helmet or not. Their whole lives based on one decision. The vaccination debate for animals or people, nobody knows the individual story, they just judge based on one fact. who feeds what to what animals, that tells you exactly what kind of owner they are :)

not that those don't give people some idea of "who" someone is, but they are just parts. That's it. Just like the answers to those "requirements" for adoptions are just parts. The answers might all come together and show you are really not going to be a good dog owner. But because you have 3 dogs and no fence doesn't mean you're horrible either. But that's how so many operate these days. just do what the list tells you or what some "expert" says you should do.
 
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#9
Eh, I have found my rescues will relax some of the rules if one is willing to work with them. I have no issues with rescues being as particular as they want, its their blood, sweat, and tears going into these dogs. Do I think some may be shooting themselves in the foot, yep.

Random home visits, I would bet most arent actually planning on EVER doing it but its more of a in case of emergency plan. Back when my dad was a BYB (yeah, disappointing for sure, we were ignorant) we sold one of our pups to what seemed to be a fabulous home. Did a lengthy interview, sent the puppy home mostly housetrained with some basic commands etc. It just so happened my step mom was in the neighborhood one day so she drove by....and saw the dog chained in the back yard and filthy. We got a hold of the people and got the dog back. Pretty much once it got a bit bigger (saint bernard) they tossed him in the backyard and every once in awhile threw him food and water. He was a scared unsocialized mess that took quite awhile to fix. My point with that story is this sometimes happens even when all else checks out. Likely they are writing that in so if there are complaints coming in or weird things happen, they can have some sort of possible access to check.

Home checks are very important. Most shelters/pounds cant do them because they lack the man power usually and some rescues have the same issue but I would NEVER begrudge a rescue for doing those. Way too many people lie their butts off on apps....its scary really. Once you see the stuff people try to pull over, yeah, I dont blame rescues for being over cautious.

SOME do get stuck on no one can do it better and make it crazy hard....most however are just trying their best to make sure these dogs have a good forever home and since its done by individuals, that looks different for every rescue.
 
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#10
Thanks for all of the input, everyone! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one out there raising a brow at some of these things. :) I actually had a friend link me a couple really interesting articles on the subject, if anyone is interested:

http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/2014/06/open-adoptions.html

http://blogs.bestfriends.org/index.php/2014/07/17/scaring-people-away-from-rescue-adoptions/

Still not sure at this point if I'm going to keep pursuing the breed rescue option, as I've now run out of rescues in my area and am getting stonewalled by, "sorry, we don't adopt to people out of xyz area" but we'll see what happens. I'm in no rush to adopt, so maybe something will come up in the interim. :)
 

Oko

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#11
It's strict, but I get it up to the random home visit. That is just so out of line and over the top.
 

JessLough

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#12
Eh, I have found my rescues will relax some of the rules if one is willing to work with them. I have no issues with rescues being as particular as they want, its their blood, sweat, and tears going into these dogs. Do I think some may be shooting themselves in the foot, yep.

Random home visits, I would bet most arent actually planning on EVER doing it but its more of a in case of emergency plan. Back when my dad was a BYB (yeah, disappointing for sure, we were ignorant) we sold one of our pups to what seemed to be a fabulous home. Did a lengthy interview, sent the puppy home mostly housetrained with some basic commands etc. It just so happened my step mom was in the neighborhood one day so she drove by....and saw the dog chained in the back yard and filthy. We got a hold of the people and got the dog back. Pretty much once it got a bit bigger (saint bernard) they tossed him in the backyard and every once in awhile threw him food and water. He was a scared unsocialized mess that took quite awhile to fix. My point with that story is this sometimes happens even when all else checks out. Likely they are writing that in so if there are complaints coming in or weird things happen, they can have some sort of possible access to check.

Home checks are very important. Most shelters/pounds cant do them because they lack the man power usually and some rescues have the same issue but I would NEVER begrudge a rescue for doing those. Way too many people lie their butts off on apps....its scary really. Once you see the stuff people try to pull over, yeah, I dont blame rescues for being over cautious.

SOME do get stuck on no one can do it better and make it crazy hard....most however are just trying their best to make sure these dogs have a good forever home and since its done by individuals, that looks different for every rescue.
Basically, this.

Yah, having set rules isn't how to go about it, you need to talk to the person and get to know the person... but the interview and home study and everything is how rescues have a chance to get to know the person! We don't have the great opportunity many breeders have to talk to somebody for at least several months getting to know them before we hand over our pet. Nobody would stick with us that long, and that's just prolonging the rescue's time and money on this animal that potentially has a great home waiting. So we go through these things to buy ourselves time, let the potential adopter know we're working on it (because just continuing to talk to them, without them seeing progress? They won't stick around!) whilst getting to know them. People want to see progress, so getting them from application to setting up a time for a home visit? That's progress, and we're still chatting with you, learning about you, teaching you about the animal in question, and educating you about the welfare and husbandry of the animal if needed.

As far as the statement that they can do visits at any time... many breeders have a part in their contract saying that they can take the animal back at any time. No, it's not just to steal your pet, it's so that if things go sour, they have an easier time working to get that animal back.

It's really strange to me the amount of people (in general, not in this thread or even here) that are okay with a breeder being picky on owners, but a rescue? That rescue better give every Jack, Sue and Sally a pet! Yet, if word gets out that they adopted a pet out to Jack, who then abused the animal and left it for dead, that rescue must not care! They must be all about the money! (That they aren't making) Doesn't that rescue has any requirements, or do they just give the animal to the first person that comes along? And so on.

Don't like the requirements of the rescue? My advice, move on :) They don't have to adopt to you, and you don't have to give them your business if you don't agree with them.
 

JessLough

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#13
This is a direct part of the adoption contract for my rescue. Anybody adopting a ferret from us must agree and sign. I have also signed the application for Ella.

It is agreed that the Ferret Rescue Society of Ottawa and Area retains superior title to said ferret: limited to and for
the express purpose of assuring the well-being of the ferret. The Ferret Rescue Society of Ottawa and Area will only
exercise its superior claim in the event that it appears to the Ferret Rescue Society of Ottawa and Area that the
proper and humane care as specified above is not being afforded to said ferret. In this case, the ferret may be taken
through a claim and delivery proceeding. In the event legal action is necessary because of a violation of the adoption
agreement and expenses and/or court costs and attorney fees are incurred, the adoptive parent agrees to pay those
costs occasioned by the Ferret Rescue Society of Ottawa and Area.
Basically states that we retain rights to the ferret, and can take back said ferret if we believe you are not caring for said ferret properly.

Do I agree with random home visits? No, but I honestly think that it was just worded oddly, and was the same idea as we have.
 
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#14
Many rescues do go "over the top" to make sure that their dogs are placed in the absolute best home. And they usually have the time and resources to do so. And I agree wholeheartedly with that. I have no problem with home visits, reference/vet checks, etc. However...I feel that if a rescue is taking that much time and effort to get a feel for the potential adopter and their situation...then they should be taking each dog and each adopter as a case-by-case basis, not making blanket statements or policies about who can adopt their dogs.
 
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#15
@ JessLough: I would truthfully have a problem if a breeder were this invasive too, honestly. I'm just an extremely private, introverted person, and I'm distinctly uncomfortable with the idea of someone coming into my house and judging me for the way I keep things. My house isn't spotlessly clean but it's neat, and my furnishings are sparse because I don't really need more (for instance, I don't have couches, chairs, or a dining room table, even, because I never have company over so didn't see any need). I guess I feel like if somebody came over they'd think maybe I couldn't afford furniture (not the case), or that I live like a slob because I clean my house and do laundry only once a week. The idea of being judged because I want to adopt a dog is just a bit too much for me, and I'd feel that way whether it was a breeder or a rescue. In the little time I did look at breeders though, none of them asked for references or home checks or anything like that. The reason I opted to try breed rescue is because all I've ever known since I was a kid was getting a dog at a shelter or a pound, so it just seemed right to continue that sort of thing.

Not to mention I find the idea of signing a contract that says they can take my pet away really unnerving. I don't agree with vaccinating a senior animal, so does that mean if the rescue hears about it they'll take my dog away thinking I'm neglecting it (that's actually an honest concern of mine)? In all likelihood I will probably just avoid breed rescues given these kinds of requirements and just drop by the pound/shelter which I'm used to, but as I was really aiming to try for a purebred this time around (instead of an unknown) it's a bit of a disappointment for me.
 
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#16
a home visit prior to adopting isn't a big deal to me either. random visits after??? sure thing, lol, good luck getting past the front door. and I understand people wanting to be responsible for a pet forever, and if that's the case, keep it. I don't get this notion that because breeders and rescues alike keep using language that they somehow still retain rights to someone else's property, it is actually legal.

I know they do it with human babies, which I think is still over reaching, but humans aren't property. Dogs are, if you don't like what I'm feeding, you don't get to just come and take it back. If you don't like that I put the dog on a chain to go to the bathroom You can try and charge me with animal neglect and be named the caretaker if you'd like, but that's about it. If you're going to be in the job of adopting things out, be good at your job. Just because one adopts an animal, shouldn't preclude them from all other rights and process of a "normal" owner or parent. Foster situation? sure. adoption? hardly, it's not "your's" anymore.
 

Oko

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#17
I wouldn't buy a puppy from a breeder who wanted to reserve the right to random home visits or taking the dog back at any time either.
 
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#18
Yeah, I'm really not ok with those. I mean, they can do whatever they want but I won't ever be adopting from a rescue that thinks they can do random home visits. Nor would I sign a contract from a breeder that said anything similar.

I also get the idea of a scheduled home visit before you adopt but I'm not willing to do it. I don't begrudge them it but it's skeeves me out.

All that being said, I don't even really bother looking at rescues anymore. When we were looking for Fergus I ended up contacting a good number of rescues about their policies about already owned dogs having to be altered and never heard back from any of them except for the one I had contacted when we were looking at getting a cat that told me under no uncertain terms they don't adopt cats out to houses with intact dogs.

I'm pretty set on breeders and/or craigslist rehomes.
 

Ozfozz

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#19
I wouldn't buy a puppy from a breeder who wanted to reserve the right to random home visits or taking the dog back at any time either.
The farthest I'm willing to go is to sign a contract that says the dog will never end up in the shelter, and that I must notify them with details before I rehome the dog.
 
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#20
I also get the idea of a scheduled home visit before you adopt but I'm not willing to do it. I don't begrudge them it but it's skeeves me out.
This is me too. >.< Like I said, maybe it's just because I'm extremely private, but the idea of a stranger up in my business like that just isn't sitting right with me. The rescues I've looked up all have this as a requirement, so at this point I'm basically resigned to the fact that maybe breed-specific rescue isn't quite for me.

Which may be just as well. I dropped by the local shelter today and they had a beautiful intake who I totally fell for, but won't be adoptable for another month or two at least due to some heartworm complications. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled on her recovery and if it's meant to be, maybe she'll have a home with me. :)
 

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