What about adopting from pet stores?

ORIGINAL: houndlove

I've actually found as a volunteer doing these events that they are really crappy places to do adoptions. People that go to these stores already have pets and aren't looking for more. Everyone knows that these stores don't sell puppies and no one goes to them looking to get a dog. People just go to pick up their 40 lb. bag of dog food for the three dogs they already have. I get a lot of "Oh wow your dogs are so cute, I wish we could adopt one but we already have 2 dogs and 5 cats." I've never actually witnessed one of our dogs being adopted at one of these events. Way better places to go are more "unexpected" locations where all kinds of people, not just people who already have pets, go. We had a really successful event at the food co-op I'm involved with. We couldn't adopt out from there, but several people drove down to the shelter (it's only a couple miles away from the co-op) to look at dogs and inquire about the ones we had at the event.

I have a different experience where doing the dog showing at Petsmart has lead to many adoptions.  It is a perfect neutral place for many people to meet and greet a dog they saw on Petfinders.  We change the Petfinders profile to announce that a particular dog will be available for viewing  at such a place at such a time.  We also find Petsmart to be a perfect place to finalize adoptions where the adopters have gone thru the process and are now ready to take possession.  It has taken time for the public to know we are there and it helps alot to have a professional dancer in a dog suit advertising on the corner.  We also do pretty good with collecting donations.  Plus with every adoption Petsmart does make a donation to the organization. 

I don't think our shelter automatically chips, unless they've started doing it since I got Max there a couple of years ago.  They do insist on spay/neuter before the dog goes home with his new family but I had Max chipped by our regular vet when I took him in for the last of his shots. I have heard that the shelter in Sacramento chips.
 
Joyce

Yolo County SPCA does chip according to their site...at least, so that's a good thing []

Freddy was adopted through a rescue group at Petsmart.  They
just took my application the first day so they could check my vet records and references.   I was a little nervous about his breed mix because his mom had been put down for aggression.  The delay gave me time to have the new dog breakdown and to decide if he was the right dog.
I picked him up at Petmart a few days later and his foster mom & grandma came to say goodbye.  They fostered him from three weeks to five months so they were retty attached.  He is on a return contact, and is microchipped to the rescue.    
I think it depends on the group. You can always check the adoption schedule and research the group to make sure you are comfortrable with their policies before you go look at their dogs.  Overall I have been really happy with my adoption experience.
  

Our shelter doesn't chip.  They do have a reader though - so they scan.  Unfortunately it doesn't read all chips.  I had Tux re-chipped so that his chip can be read by the scanners carried in shelters in Ontario.  He was chipped through the rescue, but the encrypted chips are only readable by certain readers.
 
The rescue I volunteer with also does the "Meet & Greet" weekends.  They don't adopt out that day, they just have some dogs that have been through rescue (and usually have their CGC/CGN certificates) who can be representatives for the breed so they can educate the public.

I don't think anyone should have the option of just taking a dog because it seems like a good idea that day.  I think sleeping on it is more than a reasonable idea.

We got Max from an adoption day at the store, and I volunteered at one once. I guess I would say it's not the best, but it's not the worst. They do what they can. They called and checked  with our vet before we could take him, and when I volunteered at one, they did get on the phone and check that the people would be able to keep the dog at their apartment. They used to do microchips, although it's not like the county shelter where we live (and in which the petsmart they hold adoptions in is located) has the same type of chips and would be able to read them. So, Max's chip is probably just about useless since it isn't Avid.  The chip is registered to me, not the shelter, and they've stopped doing it since we got him.
Millie came from the county SPCA, and they do use Avid chips. They also register the chips to the shelter, and then within the shelter they list the owners of that specific dog so that they can be returned to their owners.

Chipping is getting cheaper and cheaper to do- I think the wholesale cost of the chips (I researched this last year for the tiny county shelter in MO) is less than $10. Even beyond the value of giving the individual animal a ticket back to their originating rescue group or family if they end up in a shelter, think what a valuable tool it would be for statistics if EVERY breeder, rescue, and adopter microchipped (or tattoo'd- just some form of permanant ID) so that we could get a more accurate picture of where the dogs in pounds are coming from originally. I'm not normally in favor of big government (and NAIS makes me REALLY cranky) but it could be REALLY useful.

two notes on this issue.

#1 someone said sick cats at a shelter a a dime a dozen...that statement couldnt be nearer to the truth! the number of times ive explained "a URI is a cat cold...minor but could get worse, will likely get better"

I cant speak for every shelter in the US, but most Ive encountered would NEVER do an on-the-spot adoption.

i remember feeling that the national pet chain adoption center were ALOT of effort and the results were difficult to gauge (the distance being part of the issue) We had better results with the vet office (for VERY socialized cats), farmers market, local pet and feed stores. and of course the strategic walk with a volunteer wearing the I NEED A HOME jacket.

ORIGINAL: sooner

Is microchipping really that common in rescue? The two big ones here that I'm really familiar with don't microchip.

all the rescues that i know of in this area microchip. so do both humane societies that are near us.

the lady we adopted amelia from takes dogs to petsmart sometimes. that is how we met amelia. but she only takes applications and lets you meet dogs at the store. you still have to go through the regular screening process and home visit. from the time we met amelia until she was living with us was about 3 weeks.

also, amelia had just finished treatment for a UTI when we adopted her. the lady thought she was still sick though and paid for us to visit her vet to make sure all was well. and was going to pay for any additional medicine that amelia needed at that point.

however, i know that the humane society has dog showings at petsmart and i am pretty sure that they adopt out on the spot. i agree that there maybe some people who are adopting dogs on impulse just like people who buy puppies from pet stores on impulse. i think they would be better off to take applications and let people put holds on dogs they are interested in rather than adopt out on the spot.

We found Mia on Petfinder, but the adoption event we met her at was facilitated by a Petco.  The rescue org has been in existence for 54 years in this area - we checked out their creds while we were in the process of looking and also knew an adoptee from dog park and his happy owners. 
 
Mia is chipped, as all their animals were, and it was ideal for us to see her around people, hubub and our dog and then to take them out to a quieter area outside.  We were a little surprised, but pleased to be able to take her home with us (they do not require home visits and we had submitted our app via fax earlier so I think they had checked vet ref). They did follow up calls with us to check on our progress and Mia was featured as a success story in the next newsletter.
 
It was not inexpensive - as much or more then adopting from our HS ($310).  Foster mom was there to meet us and approve us and give us details.  She was really pleased that Mia was less "skittish" around us then she had been with other new people and liked how Pofi was with her.
 
Overall, a good experience for us and it makes me like the chain stores a bit more.

The rescue that comes to our Petsmart normally doesn't adopt on the spot.  If it's a dog from the shelter, they might though since those dogs have limited time.  The cats that they keep all the time at my Petsmart came from a local shelter.  We went to get dog food and came home with information to pick up our new cat the next week at the vets.  I don't think they did much of an interview, it was just like it is if you adopt at the shelter, fill out some papers and pay for the animal.  I think that at places like Petsmart and Petco, it can be great to do adoption days, since most of the people that go there already love their animals and know what it takes to have one.

I can't speak for all rescues, but I can for the one I volunteer with.  We show at a local Petco every Saturday so maybe this will give a little insight.
 
We have the cages set up in a glassed in room.  Families can come in, look at the cats, or sometimes a dog or two (most of our dogs are in foster homes, and have higher adoption numbers, so we usually bring cats only as they are housed in our facility.) and if they like a specific animal, they may fill out an application.  We don't do much in the way of pre-screening at the event since we don't have the time.  If there are any huge red flags, we might mark it on the sheet after they leave, but not for the most part.
 
After the event, we sit down and look through the apps.  As long as everything is filled out, we'll call them for a phone interview.  That is where we do the pre-screening.  If they make it through the phone interview without saying anything that puts up a major red flag such as "My last four cats have been splattered on the road (and yes, we have had this)" then we'll set up a home visit or ask them to come in to our facility to speak to us in person. 
 
The thing to keep in mind with pet store adoptions is, just like anything else, there are good rescue groups and bad ones.  The best thing to do is ask questions about the group.  Be informed. 

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

BUT...these "impulse buys" are backed with "must return" contracts, microchipping, and the animals are spayed and neutered. IMO that's plenty good and not a lot bad. 
 

 
Ahh, you don't seem to know the humane society behind our local PetSmart's adoptions.  We get many cats and dogs that people adopted from them and couldn't care for.  They seem to think that once the dog is out of their shelter, it's not their problem.  They don't even require that the animals are neutered, much less where they are left when the people don't want them anymore.  I went there to show a cat and a dog that are up for adoption (we don't do off-site adoptions and anyone who wants to adopt an animal they've seen has to come to the shelter before they can take it home) and no one would look at the cat because the humane society had around twenty kittens in the back of the store.  I watched people walk out, telling their young kids that they'd come back for the kittens, they just had to run to the bank for the money.  All it took to get a cat was to leave your name, number, address, and 40 bucks.  I can understand advertising that you've got kittens, but giving them to the first person who wants one, not a good thing.  It's not PetSmart's fault, but it happens. 

Our local Petsmart hosts adoption cats from the local shelter.  Volunteers are always there 'manning' the cat room and watching the tables full of home made items many people have made themselves and donated to raise money for the shelter and their cats.

I think the exposure is wonderful, because many people live too far away from the Humane Society to easily visit, or don't know where it is, or just 'forget' about the homeless animals.

Despite that, I try not to go near that area of the store, especially during holidays.  Last year I went in during the Christmas season to buy a hooded shelter for some feral kittens I was trying to trap...the beautiful homeless cats in their cages during Christmas broke my heart.  I emptied my wallet on the spot because it was all I could do.  You can't take them all home....  [sm=sad.gif]

There are animals to be adopted every day of the week at the PetSmart here.  The local humane society and Animal Rescue Families both use the animal room there at different times.  It is VERY great.  They do screen who they adopt to and you don't take the animal home on the spot.  I went there many, many times during the three years I was on my search for an affordable small dog.  I also adopted a cat from there about 10 years ago.  I had gone there for the sole reason of finding a cat to adopt.  Other people around here go there as well to look for animals to adopt.  When I finally got Tasha I took her in to show the volunteers that I finally found my dog.  They were so happy for me.
 
The humane society here does not automatically chip every animal they adopt, but you do have the option to have it done there.  I think they charge $25 for the service.
 
Both organizations are also at the Petco on weekends.