fences they did inquire about and gates too.
which I can understand.
But then again, I also don't think it should be considered a negative on an application if you don't have a fence.

Again, i understand why, but I know a tonne of people who don't have a fence but are still responsible enough to own a dog.
They just don't have the option of opening up the back door and letting the dog go out but have to go out with the dog. No biggie.

I honestly think I'd be more relaxed about what's being fed now, if the home worked out in all other regards.

The vaccinations thing is generally a quick way for rescues to tell whether existing animals receive regular veterinary care, and to judge whether the animal they are adopting will receive it.

As a suggestion, how about just feeding Honest Kitchen when they come to your home?

I doubt they'd have a problem with that, and it wouldn't be lying.

 Quote: jennifer mullen

... The vaccinations thing is generally a quick way for rescues to tell whether existing animals receive regular veterinary care, and to judge whether the animal they are adopting will receive it.

Yes. Exactly.

I've run into a couple of kind of crazy-from-the-top breed rescues, but for the most part (like the overwhelming majority), the rules, however they may be interpreted and applied, were put in place so that more volunteers, without a ton of training and experience, can use a kind of checklist thing to give them an overall picture. If the decisions were all made case-by-case, then much more experienced and knowledgeable (and probably paid) people would have to be in place to make them.

For the most part, I've seen the logic behind most of the rules, even though on a personal level, I have felt that they "shouldn't really apply to me."

And that's the way it goes in the world of volunteerism, and folks trying to do good with little or no money and (often) not that much know-how.

Mostly, they succeed pretty amazingly, IME.

for what it is worth, most of the rescues don't follow up past you getting the dog.

when i adopted roxie, they did the home inspection, etc. no one asked what i fed. we talked about crate training. i didn't have a fence, but it was back when i went to the dog park.

so i got her. i got one single phone call, literally a year later. all they asked was how she was doing.


if they ask, just say-"i feed a natural diet with no fillers, and vaccinate in accordance with what my vet and i discuss."

 Quote: siaty mantak

Hello,

For those who run breed-specific rescues or have adopted from rescues, I was wondering if rescues tend to set guidelines insofar as what a prospect would feed the rescue. I have been doing some research on potentially adopting a new animal and noticed there is a premise inspection and interview process. In conversation with some folks who have adopted from rescues before, they indicated to me that they know of applicants who were interviewed but declined the adoption because they were raw feeders.

Is this common practice (setting up care guidelines as an indicator of applicant suitability) with rescues? I have absolutely zero experience with rescues or adoptions so everything is a brand new learning experience.

Thanks!

Yes, it is common practice. I volunteer with a rescue and from my knowledge of other (private) rescues, the rules can be pretty much arbitrary. We try to determine applicatant suitability as best we can. Are we wrong sometimes? Sure, people are fallible, but we try our best to match each dog to a suitable home that can handle the dog. So both dog and owner will be happy. In a private rescue it depends on the personal opinions of the person running it or sometimes a board of directors. Many times the rescue and the foster family agree on the terms as well, as far as what they will and won't accept.

So my questions that I ask adopters are designed to find out how they will keep the dog happy, healthy, and safe.

Vaccinations, fenced yards, daily exercise and training intentions, whether the dog is intended as a working dog, whether other pets in the home are spayed or neutered etc is pretty discretionary on the part of the individual rescue. Other issues are dog parks, suitable toys (like rawhides), obedience classes, training collars, kids in the home, cats, distance willing to adopt, etc. Each rescue will have different "right answers" that are somewhat subjective, and many times the "right answer" will depend on the personality and temperament of the dog as well.

Our dogs are neutered and vaccinated before they leave (even young puppies - to avoid the situation where people say they will neuter and then don't - we can't be responsible for adding more unwanted rescue dogs into this world). We have to vaccinate by law.

As far as food - We would rather see the dog in a great home where he is loved and if that means he has to eat Purina then ... there are worse things than that. I always give recommendations and also provide a small bag of food (Orijen) with the dog but basically the owner will feed whatever they feel is best (or most convenient). A loving and appropriate home is more important to me. The issue of raw feeding has never come up and I do not know what my board would say about it if it did, but I would be favourable of an owner that feeds fresh food.

If you are looking for a specific breed, and are turned down by a local rescue, keep looking. Many rescues will adopt a dog out of state to the right home. (We do!) Our rescue also lists and helps individuals adopt a dog of our breed directly from a shelter (pull & transport) out of state, if possible.

Thanks everybody for your advice, input, perspective and experience. I will update you when and if I advance to those stages of a home inspection and interview - I submitted a request for an application. Aside from the aforementioned processes, this rescue also requires three references, one of which from a veterinarian.

I have no issues with a rescue's process or policies. Like many people have mentioned in this thread, they are there to help organizations and individuals who may be ill-equipped to make such evaluations. I fully support rigorous screening processes, but as an applicant I am also interested in being prepared.

I do have another question for those who have gone through or was part of the inspection process: applicants who already own pets, was it an expectation that those pets be out of the crate? Whenever I have visitors, all animals are put away and not let out until the visitor is gone (I have yet to have any visitors that can follow my rules regarding my pets). Would it be "odd" to have my pets crated the whole time during the inspection? I suppose I could let them all out if they request it.

I do homechecks in England, same issues here different rules for each rescue.

There are optional questions I can ask - food is one I normally ask, I discuss nutrition etc.

I have never been on a homecheck where the dog has been crated when I arrive. Some rescues had an issue with the dog being crated when left alone, most didn't but were interested in the dimensions etc.

When looking at existing animals I check for condition, weight, temperment etc. Just tell the homechecker why they are crated, they may want to check the crates are a suitable size etc.

As far as crating your dogs. You can just explain when they come to the door that you have crated them because you do not allow your dog(s) to bother your guests. They are allowed to greet your guests if your guests desire it and only when they are calm. (I find that service people to the house especially appreciate this). After a few minutes ask the person if she/he would like to meet your other dogs.

(I did have an applicant come to my home and protest that my dogs were crated when she arrived. ???)

As an alternative you could have them out in the yard (if you normally allow them to be outside unsupervised - and of course, if you have a yard lol).

I hadn't heard of this before, but I very recently talked to a woman who ran a rescue in IL. She was very passionate about natural dog food (not necessarily raw food but she might have liked that as well, who knows) and if she found out an adopter was feeding "crap" (ie not natural dog food), she actually would request that they bring the dog back to her. She said she'd had people call with behavioral problems that she connected with the food the dogs were eating and "she knew right away they were feeding crap from the pet store".

I've never heard of people being anti raw, though. That always seems to be the hot topic at the natural pet food stores. Where I used to buy my food the woman was always trying to sell me raw, but actually it grosses me out, since I'm a vegetarian. Give me canned dog food or dry, but if someone else wants to feed raw who cares? At least they love their dog and keep it.