Hope you all don't get sick of my ?s!

Depends what you mean by bad...lol!
 
I've had shelters not adopt to me or my family for various reasons...small kids in the home, multiple dogs, etc. At the time I was mad...but looking back, they made the right call! [] Truth hurts sometimes.

While I've never had any problem adopting (we don't have kids, and while we do rent our leases always clearly state we are permitted pets) I have pretty much taken a break from volunteering with my local shelter because of the way it was being run.
 
Honestly though, I've been concerned with animal welfare and sheltering for long enough that I have a pretty good understanding of what shelters and rescues are up against and I forgive a lot. Basically what we've got in this country right now is a completely untenable situation, and while different shelters and rescues deal with that situation in different ways, it's still pretty  much untenable. Way too many animals, way too few dollars.

I have had many horrible times. The first was with the local pound, see I was looking for a golden re. and to my luck there was two in the pound. I ran across to the lot to tell my parents. They figured they were brothers so they even said I could get both so they would not be separated, but first they had to come look at them..well my mom said it stunk and the pound keeper heard and got mad. He told me that the dogs were just taken by someone else and would not let me back in.And suggested a basset hound that was someone else's dog b/c it had tags.
The 2nd time was when my little brother wanted to look at the animals in that same pound and to my horror I opened the door to a dead cat and I quickly shut it and said we can't go in there today. Later there was a sound in the dumpster and one of the workers dug through the dead, yes dead animals to find a newborn pup, and he took it home and bottle feed it. I have [color=#000066]one last time that was my worse heartbreaking experiance, and truth be known that was when I had to give up my two pets to move out. I gave them to the Human Society thinking they would find homes for the well kept dogs that was up to date in their shots...but just after giving them up 3 weeks later I called and they said they had to put them down....I am always going to have a open wound on that. I let them down.[][/color]

The shelter I got both Axl and Ogre from is understaffed, the workers are completely ignorant to everything dog related (it's a city pound, so these are city workers..not many of them seem to be animal lovers) they have zero money, and the place is just pretty awful in general. They label every single medium sized short haired mix they see a pit mix and call it agressive. (Because all pits are aggressive, dontcha know. [8|]) Pretty much every single large dog they see they consider aggressive. Any dog that barks for any reason ever is aggressive. They basically just automatically label all of the animals there  vicious...but they still adopt them out.

And if you want to look at any of the "aggressive" dogs (again, basically anything that isn't small and fluffy they consider "mean) they won't let you. If you want to adopt one, you have to do so without interacting with the dog on shelter property at all. They'll just open the kennel and drag the dog to your car on a noose pole.

Things have gotten much better there over the years, but they all still seem to be pretty prejudiced in some way against pretty much everything except labs or small mixes. They're all incredibly overworked and hassled and underpaid, so I really can't blame them for their overall rudeness...but I know that they shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to adoptions since they do their best to scare everyone away from adoption pretty much every dog there. If you're not informed enough about dog behavior to make a call on a given dog yourself, they'll convince you every dog there is unadoptable...and I imagine that many, probably the majority, of people who go there just take their word for it and got to the Humane Society instead.

Eclipse, that's a really sad story. You must have been heart broken. I'm sure that you will never truly get over that sadness...
 
I haven't had any awful experiences but I was shocked at the state of one of the foster homes we visited. There were 7 dogs being fostered, all locked in crates for most of the day. The house stank, she was letting them pee on the kitchen floor, and it was just really unhygienic looking. I guess I had a fantasy idea that foster homes were "just like living with a real family", where the dog interacts with people like they normally would. I know she was only trying to help as many as she could.

Max is actually the first dog that I adopted myself from a shelter and it was a great experience.  They asked me a few questions ... did we have a fenced yard, a pool, who would be responsible for the dog, would he be allowed in the house, on the furniture, would any rooms be off-limits, etc. I filled out the adoption papers, wrote them a check for $40 and left.  The next day I picked him up at a local vets, all freshly washed and newly snipped. The vet only charged $60 for the neuter since he was a shelter rescue. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. []
 
Joyce

Oh boy... When we adopted Pirate, we decided to be honest and tell them that neither BF or I were 21 (the min. age), so BF's mom would be signing the papers, and that we lived in Orlando, and went to UCF. Right then and there, they decided that we were not a good home, and that we couldn't have him. Keep in mind that I, BF, and BF's mom have all volunteered here before, and had adopted animals from here. We wern't strangers. After much explaining (BF and I have separate school schedules, we have a HOUSE with a FENCED yard, and I worked at a dog day care where he could go) they let us have him. She said she "assumed we lived in an apartment" Well, you know what happens when you assume.

I actually had a wonderful experience searching for a Great Dane puppy.  After a 3 month search I select sisters and have been very happy with the dogs.  Sorry to say but the pups came from a BYB and now thanks to the Red Poster I have been educated to know the difference between BYB and Reputable Breeders.
 
I have not had good experience with GD purebred rescue organizations.  I find them very arrogant and to be preacher types.  I have decades experience living with Great Danes and the groups seem to want to continually lecture me.  One GD organization required stomach stapling upon adoption.  In GD, bloating occurs in about 10% of the dogs.  My vet also does not recommend this.  For my next pup I am going to go through a Reputable Breeder.

I rescued both my cats from outside the HS or shelters, I am happy with them both. I did have lots of respect for the HS and the mission they have taken on, I even signed Kord up for OB classes there. Then this week I found out that the HS was one of the supporters of a BSL law on the docket here in Louisville, I was so upset with this that I decided that I will NOT take Kord there for the continuing OB classes. I instead contacted and joined a new forum for a herding, ob, tracking and agility club here in central Kentucky.
 
As for rescues, we called and talked to alot, several of them outside of 4 hours away, it was the same each time, you rent and you do not have a fenced in yard, they are so so SO stringent on some issues, the fact that I have had GSD's most of my life, my last being with me over 11 years meant very little. I bought from a breeder who was referred to me after I posted a plea on the GSD green board.
 
Dawn

ORIGINAL: DPU

I actually had a wonderful experience searching for a Great Dane puppy.  After a 3 month search I select sisters and have been very happy with the dogs.  Sorry to say but the pups came from a BYB and now thanks to the Red Poster I have been educated to know the difference between BYB and Reputable Breeders.

I have not had good experience with GD purebred rescue organizations.  I find them very arrogant and to be preacher types.  I have decades experience living with Great Danes and the groups seem to want to continually lecture me.  One GD organization required stomach stapling upon adoption.  In GD, bloating occurs in about 10% of the dogs.  My vet also does not recommend this.  For my next pup I am going to go through a Reputable Breeder.

DPU Newdog looks good! His name is Newt then? How's he doing?

Paula

Jeez Eclipse, it sounds as if you live in dog-hating China.

DPU Newdog looks good! His name is Newt then? How's he doing?

Paula

Newt, formerly Newdog is a great dog.  Since he came to live with me harmony has been restored to the pack.  He is a benevolent leader where he is strong when strength is needed, equal to others when needed, and submissive when needed.  The other dogs did not see it coming that he was taking over, especially Marvin who was a mean and selfish leader.  Now all dogs play together and all share toys.  I look forward to coming home every day because he gives me such a special greeting that reminds of his loyalty, dedication, and love.  In the past few weeks, Newt has been exposed to different situation so I can better understand his personality and behaviors.  At the dog showing at Petco another Lab mix attacked and bit Newt on the lip leaving a very noticeable scar and some blood.  Newt backed up, stood his ground but did not attack back. After seeing a couple of vets to fix his eye entropion condition, he is scheduled this Friday to get it fixed.  Poor guy has had this irritating and uncomfortable condition for years.  The vet is also going to do a temperament test and expose Newt to tiny dogs and cats.  Newt is not a resource guarder so I know he will pass with flying colors.  Later this week he will be put on Petfinders and made available for adoption. 

thank you all for your relpys.. nocturnal76 - yes I wish more people treat their pets more kindly around here. I know there are people out there who do with the dogfancy mag.s and Animal Planet[]

Both of our dogs are rescue dogs but neither one of them was in the shelter, or rescue group for long.
Mocha ws 5 months old when we got her and she had been found wandering around a school in the winter.
So she spent about two weeks in the shelter.

BooBoo had been hit by a car, taken to a animal hospital to fix the broken leg, then fostered, then back to the
hospital when he had a reaction to the medicine, I think, and then back to the foster family.   I think all together he
probably spent a good month or more in hosptials and fosters but he's a happy happy puppy now! Still kind of
clinging, if her's only one of us home he follows us from room to room but I expect he'll grow outof it, Mocha
did.
The group we got both of them from was Lifeline for Pound Buddies (if I can say that) who took dogs that they
thought had a chance to be adopted from the shelters. I think that was how it works.

Pam