http://www.gsroc.org/urgent_help_detail.asp?ID=190

I came across this poor Mal in need of urgent help at the local rescue and I felt the need to help so I donated money towards his cause. I filled out the adoption forms and had hoped to adopt him but no such luck.
I have been informed there was quite a bit of interest from a local police department and Andy will go to them assigned as a working dog.

Reading this aroused some curiosity, and I have a couple of questions( and a couple of observations):

Would (or wouldn't) a dog that had had a resection have his physical activity restricted?

If so, what interest would a law enforcement agency have in said dog?

If a law enforcement agency is interested in adopting such a dog, why wouldn't said agency, which receives at least partial (if not full) public funding not step in and pay the remainder of the medical expenses? Has this dog even been evaluated for servicability, enforcement functionality, and temperament?


When I read this and saw that there was $295 remaining to reach the rescue's goal, my first instinct was to go to Paypal and seal the deal. If Andy were going to a private foster, there would have been no hesitation, but if a police dept is going to use him as a working dog, I feel that it is their duty to spare the rescue any further expense. Actually, the honorable thing for them to do would be to make a donation of $3000 to the rescue.

I find it odd that a rescue organization would allow any dog, let alone one recovering from major surgery, to go to a police dept, if for no other reason than the fact that most rescues have questionable temperament.

I too am curious as to how they could evaluate the working temperment on a dog that is lethargic and very ill.
I'm also echoing Duane's concern that there may be physical limitations for this boy after removing part of his (colon/intestine- don't remember which it said)

Joe, if I were you, I'd be sure that both the rescue and the PD that is taking him have your contact info. In this situation (unknown drive and healthy temperment, unknown physical ability etc) I'd say there is still some probability that this could fall through. I wish Andy the best of luck either way and kudos to you for stepping up to help!

Duane Hull says: "I find it odd that a rescue organization would allow any dog, let alone one recovering from major surgery, to go to a police dept, if for no other reason than the fact that most rescues have questionable temperament.

Why would a rescue organization oppose an adoption by law enforcement? As a trainer for a large law enforcement agency and relatively large (40 dogs) LE K9 Unit, I've adopted many dogs over the years from pounds, rescues, and animal control facilities and entered them into service. Adoption happens only after extensive testing. If a dog passes the tests, their temperament would be acceptable otherwise the dog wouldn't be selected.
RE, the dog in question. We don't know if LE tested this dog at any point, we don't know that LE didn't pick up the rest of the medical bill or pay an adoption fee.

DFrost

David, my confusion stems from the fact that this dog arrived "lethargic, distressed and unable to hold himself up" How do you test a dog like this for working? I would think it impossible.

David;
Hence my confusion about this... I'm new to working dogs, and I'M CURIOUS. I've only been to a few rescue websites. I know that the rescue that I linked to in this thread (see below), and one local GS rescue that i applied to will not consider law enforcement for the reason stated.

If you visit the story that Joe linked, there is a stated contribution goal, and a tally-to-date. The reason for soliciting contributions is stated in the write-up.

Would your agency adopt a dog in Andy's condition? Do they pick up the tab for what the rescue invested?


http://www.malinoisrescue.org/index.html

I don't get it either...its like they want him just because he is a Mal. Don't dogs with part of their bowel taken out need special diet and don't necessarily stay in the condition they should be in for work? Surely this will fall through soon.

"Would your agency adopt a dog in Andy's condition? Do they pick up the tab for what the rescue invested?"

We don't know if LE evaluated this dog when it was in good condition. I did read the story and it doesn't say. I would not pick any dog that I couldn't evaluate whether it was from a wheeler dealer vendor or a rescue. Being turned down by a rescue is not my experience over many years. I have rescue agencies contact me frequently along with the shelters in a 5 county area. I have adopted dogs for service and paid the going adoption fee plus outstanding medical bills. More often than not, the agency is willing to waive the adoption fee, we pay it anyway as a lot of the funding for our canine unit comes from asset forfeiture money. In short, IF a dog passes our physical and behavior tests, I don't care where if comes from.

DFrost

 Quote: Amy VandeWeerd

David, my confusion stems from the fact that this dog arrived "lethargic, distressed and unable to hold himself up" How do you test a dog like this for working? I would think it impossible.

Of course it couldn't be evaluated. From the information available, we don't know if they had other opportunities.

DFrost

Thanks, David!!
Your position satisfies most of my curiosity, and I'm glad you guys handle the situation honorably. Hat's off.
I certainly understand LE rescuing a dog from a shelter if it's a functioning dog facing a death sentence, as with Angola's adoption of Chief. My experience trying to adopt from a rescue organization seemed to indicate otherwise.
I researched the rescue that Andy is in, and found no such clause procluding LE from adopting.
Thanks, again.

Joe, I echo the other posters' advice to keep tabs on this situation.