Rant... Pet Adoption...

So I have a new house, with a decent sized yard, so I want a dog. Not just any dog, a Great Dane, always loved them and decided to possibly look into adopting one. Well theres an adoption group in my area, I've called them a total of 3 times now and countless emails I get responses to the email but nothing seems to get things rolling. So I go to one of the so called "meet and greets" the lady I meet is the head of the group, she's blatantly rude to me, pretty much acts like she's doing me some kind of favor just to take the time to "explain" the long painful procedure of adoption. This is the kicker, to adopt a dane in need (there are about 100 available on the page all needing homes) you have to pay $350 bucks (fine I expected a fee), then the do a credit check (?? why??), then do a phone interview (am I looking for employment here?, but ok), then they do a house visit (ok I understand wanna make sure the dogs going to a good home), THEN... if all that checks out they send a letter to their president for review (this is starting to get silly), then if we're accepted they come with a dog back to my house (not the dog I'm going to get... just to make sure A dog will be OK), then they take the test dog back... pick out a dane that they feel "fits" with our family... all in all the process is a 3 month ordeal and pretty much stupid.

Now I'm all for being careful when placing dogs, but for me this process is stupid and unecessary. I'll be going to pick up my new Dane puppy tomorrow, registered with papers for 500 bucks. A little more then adopting but minus all the really lame hassles. What bothers me about this scenario is there are dogs in need and due to some stupid bureaucratic snob fest the dogs suffer. What the hell is up with that???

I'm not saying the way I got my cat is the best, but if it's good enough for the humane society, it's good enough for me.

My cat was adopted, but not with any of the procedures you mention. I'd like to think there aren't any sickos out there who enjoy hurting animals, but there are and I'd like to think there are ways of preventing that. Your process seems like it may be a bit much, though the part I'd be the most offended by is that you don't get to pick your own dog. That's ridiculous.

My mom took me to a humane society cat sale at our local library when I was little. Out of all the cats there, I'm willing to bet I got the sweetest one. She's never scratched a single person, she sits on any lap the instant it becomes available, and we've treated her very well. I'm also willing to bet she's the only cat who was in that room who is still alive 18 years later. I think she's about 19 now.

I wonder if the humane society regularly has sales like these in other places (are they in yours?). They're big in my area, possibly because their national headquarters are like 4 blocks away from where I work.

Anyway, enjoy your puppy!

ps- does anyone know what the deal is with Bob Barker and pets? What's with this crusade he's on?

Humane Society all the way.

http://www.petfinder.com/

well we have a few cats we got from the local pound. As a kid I grew up with a huge dog, I've always missed that. So if I could go grab a Dane or Mastiff from the humane society that'd be great. Unfortunately certain groups specialize in certain breeds, I think the Humane Society and local shelters even give the dogs to these groups being that they "specialize" in certain breeds. It's just annoying that the procedures they use are so invasive and difficult. We're actually thinking of getting a greyhound as well (I know we're asking for it), the greyhound group is awesome and really are very nice, a fee, a visit, an application and your good to go. It just bothers me, makes me wonder how many more animals would find homes if not for the overly complex "adoption process".

Almost all the Danes through petfinder in my area are associated with the offending group. Cool page though!

For the record, greyhounds are wonderful dogs. Their only drawback (if you call it that) is that they never bark. So if you're interested in a watchdog, forget it.

One thing to keep in mind is that when getting a dog/cat from the pound, tack on an extra $100 at least to cure it of the worms/ear mites/ticks/fleas/conjunctivitis/etc that it's BOUND to have caught from one of the other dozens of animals at the shelter. I once got a "free" cat from the pound that ended up costing me $175 on the first day I had him. Still, he was a wonderful cat.

Yeah I hear they have really thin skin too, thats going to be the signifigant others dog, I need a dog I can tackle and rough-house with...

I need a dog I can tackle and rough-house with...

Hehe, I can just picture you tackling that "test dog"

Yeah that probably wouldn't bode well with the Great Dane review board

I think the Humane Society and local shelters even give the dogs to these groups being that they "specialize" in certain breeds

I think that you should verify if this is the case, and if it is, point out that (for Great Danes anyway) the system isn't working, and perhaps the dogs' best interests aren't actually being served.

I have no clue if thats really the case, it seems to be that way, being that when I look there are no great Danes with the Humane Society and over 90 with the placement group, same with the greyhounds. I know the greyhound groups work with certain racetracks and shelters. Which in general works fair enough for them. It seems logical that the humane society or other groups would work with other non profit organisations. I do know however that the Dane group isn't the only group that has excessively strict placement policies. But the groups claim these policies ensure a 99% no return rate on dogs.

Is what their doing wrong? No... It probably does ensure a good home with no returns. But there is no doubt in my mind that they'd place a lot more dogs if they dropped the insane requirements. I'm sure the Dane group really has the dog's best interest at heart.

My cat was adopted, but not with any of the procedures you mention.

My cat just turned up one day when I was a kid and decided to stay. He lived to a ripe old age.

I got one of my two dogs from the Austin Pets Alive group that tries to keep the dogs from going to the shelters (this was before Austin's shelter went "no kill"). It was simple enough, they needed a volunteer to give Pepper a home and take her to Petsmart on Sunday afternoons for their adoption fair things they held. Well Pepper (aka Peckerdawg) was a great companion for Boomhauer (aka Boomerdawg) so I inquired about adopting her. They said I can just keep her if that's what I really want. Healthiest dog I've ever owned, but she gets really bad breath... She escapes from the yard too much, and isn't the most minding dog in the world, hence the Peckerdawg name. But she is a little sweetie... Most of the time.

It does sound like a lot to go through to adopt a Dane from them but with such a high rate of no returns they must be doing something right. The credit check may be to find out if you are going to be able to provide the dog with medical attention when it needs it. The house check is a good idea since they are a large breed and require some space and the phone interview would be to find out what kind of owners you would make. So many animals adopted from shelters end up on the streets or back at the shelters or abused or many other things can happen to them. Too many people don't realize that when you become an owner of an animal it is for the rest of the pets lives, or should be anyway.

All of my cats have either found me or I have found them, all of them living outside homeless. My newest kitten is about 3 months old now and would not have survived the winter since she was sick when I found her a month ago, a day after Christmas gift.

I don't think anyone was arguing those steps you mentioned (he seemed to pass on most of them in his post), but the things that I gathered had gotten to him were the "trial dog" and the fact that you can't pick your own dog in the end. At that point, you're leaving a lot up to that group. I know why they think these practices are a good idea, but I'm not sure who designates themselves the one with the best opinion of which dog matches which person. I know plenty of people who are terrible judges of character.

I really wish someone would take in the cats who have been living next door to my friends. They live in a townhouse complex, and for some reason about a dozen cats congregate on the stoop next to theirs. The people who live there don't own them or anything, they simply hang out there. They were kittens in the fall, and I'm hoping they all survived the winter.

I wonder if the humane society regularly has sales like these in other places (are they in yours?).

Around here in LA, it doesn't seem to be the humane society, but there are a number of other adoption agencies that have adoption fairs in local pet stores. That's where I got one of my cats.

I would just want to add to this thread, when you take on a rescue dog, you're often taking on someone else's problem that they've given up on. We took on a Boxer from boxer rescue, here, and we've given it the year that they recommended for him to settle down.
He is a really friendly, character dog - but he still wants to run away, attack dogs, sheep and horses, so that letting him off the lead to run around is not an option, which makes life less pleasant for both dog and owner.
Here, the price of the dog was whatever voluntary donation we cared to make, and the whole procedure was less onerous than the one outlined here. Since then, vets bills aside, he has cost a fortune in higher fences etc. etc., and now, we've paid out a small fortune for an animal behaviour expert, whch is fine, but adds to the cost - I can't help thinking that taking on a puppy, with all the papers, to train ourselves, would have been cheaper!

you're often taking on someone else's problem

I agree, we tried to adopt a dog last year, he was cute, playful and healthy. The woman assured us he was a great dog, and he seemed really nice, so we paid the fee, filled out the app and took him home. Once he came in contact with our 3 year old, things changed, he kinda looked at our kid as "prey", circled her about three times with a really shifty look then decided to have a taste, I intercepted him mid pounce (luckily the dog was unharmed as well as my child) but he immediately went back, I understand trying to work with character flaws but obviously we couldn't have that in the household.

We get the occasional cat hiding under our cars that bolt away, but to this point we've never had one just show up?

Once he came in contact with our 3 year old, things changed

I would agree, wholeheartedly, ours now being 21(The offspring, not the dog) we've got more leeway, but I would have done the same as you, you just can't risk it.
This is how our animal behaviour expert put it:
Your adopted dog is joining a pack and looking for a leader, it's at this point that most behavioural problems occur: In your case, seeking attention because he/she cannot find a natural leader would appear to be the right scenario, but I'm not the expert. How you train is often as important as how you feed, an agressive dog is often so because it has changed to a "designer diet". In the wild, 85% of its diet is chewing bones/carcases, take that away, and you re-introduce the hunter instinct in an unstable/weak personality dog.
When the experts came to us, they spent a whole morning just watching our dogs and our behaviour with them, amongst other things, what they identified was that, the problem was not the rescue dog, but our middle aged bitch (not the wife, lovely women!) not showing leadership.
The moment we started the training regime, the older dog started barking at us and getting very agitated, because, although she was too lazy to do it, she didn't like her leadership role taken away from her.
It's early days yet, but they actually changed behaviour in the day that they were with us, we've got to sustain it.
They recommended a diet, which we've found on the net, composed mainly of crushed bone, and it has, within days, altered the agressiveness on walks.

They recommended a diet, which we've found on the net, composed mainly of crushed bone

Looking to catch some Creutzfeldt-Jacob, huh?

Looking to catch some Creutzfeldt-Jacob, huh?

I thought that was only catchable by eating neural material., not skeletal matter.

It's already a mad dog, I don't think it can get any madder!

Supposedly, there's a lot of neural material in crushed bone. I don't know if that's because all bones have a significant amount of neural material or because they use vertebrae a lot, but there's apparently significant evidence that people around bone meal a lot contract C-J more than the average person.

With some hesitation, I think you should give the rescue centre another chance. I don't mean you any disrespect by the 'hesitation' remark, what I'm getting at here is the rescue centres are putting the dog's welfare way (way) above yours and they (I hope) are testing your commitment well beyond mere words.You might think that your impeccable intentions qualify you to adopt, and perhaps they do, but this is not a buyer's market and you should treat it this way.

Its already been mentioned here what the credit checks and means-testing are for; if these people are doing their jobs correctly, they will throw everything possible at you to discourage you from taking on a dog and unless you can persuade them you are the 'right' owner, note that the onus is on YOU to prove that, then you should expect to be unsuccessful.

I've nothing to doubt that you could provide a suitable and caring environment for a Dane but you have to understand that, if the centre is doing its job properly, they will want to be 100% certain of that. Taking on a rescue dog, like Boxer said, means you are taking on a whole lot more than you would if you were buying a new puppy. Again, expect to spend some time convincing a responsible breeder you can provide a suitable home - if they are not bothered then you can bet that it's their dogs that are probably ending up needing re-homing and you should avoid them if at all possible.

Taking on rescue dogs, again as Boxer more-or-less said, is not usually a cheap route to ownership, especially with pedigree breeds for some reasons. Again, I'm not doubting your good intentions but if you're looking to save money owning a Dane then rescue is probably not your best option. Insurance for example, is often cheaper if you can insure with the same company for the life of the dog; it's unlikely you can do this with a rescue animal. You would probably need a pre-insurance examination by an independent vet and any pre-existing conditions would almost certainly be excluded from coverage. Well, that's how it works on the UK at least!

My partner has been approached a good number of times by our regional Weimaraner rescue centre to pre-check homes/owners and you just wouldn't believe the unsuitability of most applicants. It's this track record that, I suspect, you're up against where you live too!

Ah, interesting. I did not know that. Of course, a moment or two of thought would have made me realize that where there's vertebrae, there's neural material.

Just an update, I decided to look around and try to find some people that had dealt with the rescue organization in question. I ended up finding two different couples, one couple were refused a dog because they wouldn't move their bedroom to the first level of the house. The other couple got a dane, however it took over 6 months and 10 house visits, having to re-organize everything in their house to suit the adoption people. Both couples knew other people that had similar ordeals. The people that run this particular organization are obviously finatics and hinder the ability to place a dog. So, I took a little road trip to WV and got a 5 month old puppy, I guess at 80 lbs he's not such a puppy compared to other pups. He's great, very gentle with the kid, house trained and has probably the best temperment of any dog I've ever seen, much less owned.

So we love the dog, we get him home, and we notice his hind legs are very weak, it's difficult for him to get up in the morning, and the other day I was trying to get him to sit I put my hand on his rear, and gave a gentle push, he yelped and his butt hit the floor. I called up the breeder and asked her if she noticed anything this is when she says that the lady that owned him before us (he was briefly owned for about 3 months and returned) might have beaten him for crapping in the house, she says that or he might have been hit by a car.... Uh, hello??? you could have told me that before driving 6 hours to get and 6 hours back, not to mention we're all so damn attached to the dog now we wouldn't want to give him back. So we're off to the vet today to make sure his hips are going to be ok. So basically we got a rescue dog in the end anyway, overall we're happy with the dog, I just hope he's ok.

edit....
Just got back from the vet, ruled out being hit by a car, pretty sure it's not hip displasia. He's probably just sore from something, so he should be just fine. Now finding some food he will actually eat, thats next.

And another update , sorry to keep bringing this post back from the dead... But our family still felt like helping a homeless animal, so we decided to get a retired greyhound. After reading a little bit about the way these animals are treated it would leave you with an upset stomach. Surprisingly these animals are very gentle and tend to want to do nothing but sleep...

Here is Lacie our new 2 year old greyhound.


And Hamlet, weighing in a 86 lbs at 6 months of age, our great dane.


Just out of curiosity, does anyone know a good way to deal with food aggression? The dane is OK, but the greyhound gets kind of crazy about her food, snarls alot and started a fight with the dane. The dane is managable now, but I want to get the greyhound under control so I don't have to pull a 200 lb dog off of her in another year.

Beautiful dogs! Sounds like it worked out for you. Treat'em well!

I guess that the greyhound is snarly about food because for most of her life she's been kept hungry and desparate for the stuff. What you need her to understand is that she will be fed and that food isn't going to be a problem anymore. I'd suggest keeping the two dogs separate during feeding, at least until she calms down a bit. It might even help if you left the room whilst she was feeding.
Another thing that might help could be to give regular (healthy) snacks with a happy positive vibe, "Here you go! Have a biscuit!". The point here is to associate eating with a positive vibe, whilst at the same time not giving enough 'food' for her to get defensive about.

Just thought I would throw in my adoption story, when I was in 5th grade we got out first dog. It is a Cocker Spaniel from Cocker Rescue in Atlanta, GA. He is probably the best medium dog I have ever seen super super calm (which for a cocker is a rariety). When we got him we were told he had been abused but when we took him to the vet we found out he had buckshot in his thigh and previously had a broken hip. He does have one issue he is extremely racist.....extremely, but Im sure this is because of who abused him.

You have beautiful dogs there. It almost makes me want to own a dog, if I didn't prefer cats

I guess that the greyhound is snarly about food because for most of her life she's been kept hungry and desparate for the stuff.

From what I've read what they were fed is appauling as well. What really sucks is that she was sick the first few days, the vet said no food for 24 hours which I'm sure hasn't helped her get positive about food. But all good points and will definately give those a shot. Thanks

He does have one issue he is extremely racist.....

That sucks, you have to keep a very keen eye on him I bet. The dane (hamlet) appears to be EXTREMELY protective of our family which is good and bad, definately need to get something better then just chain link up in the backyard as everytime he sees the neighbors he goes crazy...

You have beautiful dogs there. It almost makes me want to own a dog, if I didn't prefer cats

Thanks. We have two cats as well, the dogs are pretty good with them. The greyhound does have a tendency to chase if the cats run from her (then again thats what she was trained to do at the tracks). But no serious maulings yet, they just have to clean themselves much more due to all the dog spit

A friend of mine used to have a Border Collie and a bunch of cats. The dog was always herding the cats. To nowhere in particular. It was really funny.

Thats pretty damn funny..

You have beautiful dogs there. It almost makes me want to own a dog, if I didn't prefer cats

I'm lucky -- I get the best of both worlds without having to take care of both cats and dogs. My company allows dogs at work, and my cube mate has a really cool dog that he brings in a few times a week. I tend not to get as much done on those days.