[knightrider]

Where do the rescues locate all these dogs that need homes? Seems like a stupid question, but how do you hear about all these cases that need help? Do they keep in constant contact with the shelters or what?

Not to start the whole rescue debate, buy my friend tried to adopt a kitten from a rescue after her old indoor kitty died and was essentially denied because she was wearing riding britches and boots...and they told her they couldn't trust her to keep the kitty indoors...it would have been an excellent home and she encountered other things with other rescues who didn't even check her stellar references...

At any rate, now that she's looking for a puppy, she does not want to go to a rescue and has been stalking the shelters for the right dog... but in doing so she will miss a dog she wants to go see...which brought up my question.

How do they find all their dogs? Besides the obvious surrenders

[LauraKY]

Well, first of all I work with a sane collie rescue. We have volunteers who are always looking. Craigslist, petfinder, checking in with shelters, facebook. Sometimes we have owner surrenders because they can no longer keep them (foreclosure, nursing home, finances) and they contact us directly.

We do adopt to horse homes...LOL.

Our rules are pretty simple. Vet references check out, home visit looks OK, and, for many dogs, a fenced yard. Not all dogs, but many rescues are traumatized and may attempt to escape. A very careful home without a fence is fine too.

Now if you tell us you don't believe in poisoning your dog with heartworm meds, well then no. If you're going to keep your dogs outside 24/7, well then we're not the rescue for you.

[msj]

There are no kill shelters and they often get dogs from other shelters if the dogs have 'overstayed' their welcome.

I went down the Animal Care Sanctuary(ACS) in East Smithfield PA(north central PA) to find a barn dog and ended up coming home with a house dog. When I say barn dog, I should clarify that I wanted a dog about 50 lbs or more preferably, a good thick coat to withstand our western NY winters but not live outside at all. A dog to come with me to the barn actually (barn in my back yard ) and then come back to the house.

My heart won out over my head and I ended up coming home with a barely 35 lb terrier mix with no coat whatsoever! Bare belly and hair about 1/4 inch where she did have hair. She is just the sweetest little girl and had been at the shelter for 6 yrs and other than having a few warts I cannot understand why she was never adopted before. She may be 11 yrs old but is exceptionally spry, agile and dam_ed fast. Yes, she comes down with me to the barn, curls up in the heated tack room and already has a turnout blanket like a horse blanket, a lovely sweater, and a toasty warm fleece blanket as well that covers a good part of her bare belly. Uh, can you tell she's pretty spoiled already.

I don't know where you're located but ACS has had people come from as far as MD to adopts. Look them up online:
www.animalcaresactuary.org.

[knightrider]

In the area we are in, the really nice pups get snatched up quickly which is why she was thinking of going to a shelter. Seems down south the dogs have less chance of being adopted?

[wendy]

if she definitely wants an 8-12 week old puppy and is in the NE, she's probably going to have to deal with the rescues or buy from a breeder- very few actual young puppies get taken to shelters in the NE. Most shelter surrenders in the NE are adolescents.
there are a number of rescues that collect puppies from kill shelters in the south and ship them up; many of these are a bit "saner" in their requirements for adoption. Best plan is to find one of these, fill out the form and get pre-approved, and they'll get her a puppy. I did that, and although filling out the application was a pain (took me four hours) and they actually called all my references and inspected my house, a week after being approved they delivered an 8-week-old puppy that precisely met my listed criteria on the application. Easier than visiting shelters for weeks and weeks in hopes a puppy of the proper type happened to be there.

When I worked at a shelter, the shelter staff would call the rescues- if an obvious purebred came in, they'd call the local rescue for that breed, and someone would come and collect the dog. On the rare occasions someone would dump a litter of young puppies, they'd usually call a rescue to come and take the pups so they could be put into a foster situation rather than kept in the shelter. Volunteers for various rescues would often come strolling through the shelter just looking at the dogs to see if any fit the criteria for their rescue.

[Tommy's Girl]

I've adopted 7 dogs and 5 cats from rescues over the last - 20 years or so. Some rescues are more stringent than others in their demands - most will not let a cat be indoor/outdoor unless it is being adopted as a barn cat. Also, just about every dog rescue requires a fence.

While your friend's experience was unfortunate, I would suggest she try again at another rescue - they know the animals they are adopting out and can tell you about their idiosyncrasies. Of course, if she goes to the ASPCA or the Humane Society, their vetting system will be less stringent.

A good resource for rescue animals is www.petfinder.com they will also have the humane society listings in her area.

[Tommy's Girl]

Double posted.

[TKR]

I'm in Alabama and work with several. I think someone who offers a good home would be great -- there are so many here that desperately need a home. I have emails today about a 10 month old Lab who is gorgeous, a short haired really cute brown and white female about 30 lbs that looks like some sort of terrior mix, 2 4-5 month old puppies, that could be a GSD mix and a blue pittie that is super sweet living on a chain. Any of those work for you? Maybe we could arrange transport? Best of luck -- so many out there that desperately need help.
PennyG

[OTV]

Rescues up here get numerous stray dogs and cats from Native reserves outside the city or dogs that are scavenging/living in dumps. Some rescues pick up their dogs from Latin America or Mexico from high kill shelters and bring them up here. The shelters and very few rescues take owner-surrendered animals.

[Arrows Endure]

I work for a no-kill shelter in Florida. We get owner surrenders, we pull off the kill floors of our local shelters when we have room, we have dogs and cats (and once a turkey vulture) dumped on the property, and some we find on the road and bring them in. Every once in awhile another shelter or rescue contacts us to take one.

I can tell you I won't bother to adopt through a rescue any more. I do competitive obedience and agility, my dogs are very well cared for, healthy as heck, well trained, and get appropriate veterinary care, but I have had issues adopting. I talked to border collie rescue once because I wanted a border collie or herding breed. They wouldn't adopt to me because I didn't have a fence and I lived too close to a busy road. Now, my dogs were not let out in the yard without leashes because of that (ok, discounting my 11 year old end stage cancer dog who walked out, peed, and came in-always under supervision even though he wasn't on a leash). The younger dogs were always leashed. They were taken to parks and the barn for off leash time. They were trained and competed and if you meet them are obviously well adjusted and happy.

I ended up getting a border collie/cattle dog mix from a high kill shelter in another state. BC rescue lost a great home for one of their dogs.

When I rescued a 10 year old boxer from a person who was going to take him to a kill shelter because he was "Too Old", boxer rescue wouldn't help at all with finding him a home. The dog was aggressive to cats, and I have six of those, so he could not stay with me permanently. Thankfully the no kill I work for agreed to take him, and he's there now waiting on a home. However, he's a great dog, and I was hoping to spare him the stress of shelter life. I don't care how well we work to give them decent lives, shelter life is stressful to a dog, and no 10 year old needs that.

So, when I'm ready for another pet, I'll go to a shelter, or find one another way. I won't go to a rescue, nor will I support one.

[Hunter Mom]

There are good and bad rescues, even within a given breed. I used to volunteer with an area weimaraner rescue, and still refer people to them when they're looking for a gray baby.

We used to get calls from owners, people who had a change in circumstances, dogs who ended up in shelters, etc. We even took one in one time who was a stray at the airport running on the runways.

[bits619]

Where do the rescues locate all these dogs that need homes? Seems like a stupid question, but how do you hear about all these cases that need help? Do they keep in constant contact with the shelters or what?

Not to start the whole rescue debate, buy my friend tried to adopt a kitten from a rescue after her old indoor kitty died and was essentially denied because she was wearing riding britches and boots...and they told her they couldn't trust her to keep the kitty indoors...it would have been an excellent home and she encountered other things with other rescues who didn't even check her stellar references...

At any rate, now that she's looking for a puppy, she does not want to go to a rescue and has been stalking the shelters for the right dog... but in doing so she will miss a dog she wants to go see...which brought up my question.

How do they find all their dogs? Besides the obvious surrenders

(I'm using 'dogs' because that's what I foster... just add 'and cats' whenever I do)
Honestly, i can't escape the dogs that are needing rescue. They're everywhere. Animal control facilities all over the state are loaded with dogs, every day. The best facilities (as far as trying to get their dogs out alive) have them listed online. Petfinder, adoptapet, petango, petharbor, and their own websites. I check those regularly, but more often when we actually have room to take some in. And thanks to the relentless, incessant 'networkers' (eye roll), our rescue group is flooded with emails of "HELP SAVE ME, LAST DAY TO LIVE" emails about seven times a day. I hate those click-tivists that only spam every rescue group within three hundred miles, all day long. With rare exceptions if we have room, we're saving something from animal control.... trust me. (Sorry, end rant)
Unfortunately it can be hard to get a really specific type of dog, particularly puppy, from many animal controls. You have to be very attentive and patient, checking animal control facilities several times a week (can't imagine why an animal control DOESN'T put their dogs online). Send an email to the area rescues saying what you're looking for, what kind of housing setup/pet experience and what you're looking for (as in, i love to have the companionship/family member) in the ownership experience, and understanding that they may not have what fits immediately, but that you'd love to know when they get something that fits. Check in on them regularly to stay in their minds.
Some of those websites (petfinder, adoptapet, petango) have alert systems when dogs of the desired breed are listed online.
You can also haunt Craigslist, tack/pet shop bulletin boards....
In all of these you just have to be willing to compromise somewhere- it may take more time, energy, travel, or money than originally expected. But it's possible!

[bits619]

Another addition- if the rescues have adoption events, go meet them. It really helps to put a face with the name, and the rescue group volunteers may get the impression that you really are serious, and also easy to work with.
You may get some people that try to set you up with dogs that don't fit what you're looking for, but politely declining should be fine!
(Oh and halfway through my first post I realized it wasn't you, op, that was looking but your friend... the text box is so hard to work with on my phone that it was too much of a hassle to change all that!

[laskiblue]

I have been an active volunteer with a national breed rescue for around 10 years. In fact, my latest foster is curled up by my feet as I type this.

Some volunteers regularly scan their local shelter websites, Craigslist, and other similar ads for possible rescue candidates. They then touch base with the coordinator for their region and either visit the dog themselves or have the coordinator find someone to visit the dog for an initial evaluation. If the dog is suitable and available to be sprung to a rescue group or adopted, the dog is then taken into the system through a pre-qualified foster home for further evaluation, TLC, and vet care.

Other dogs come into the rescue by way of owner turn-ins. The rescue has been around since the early 1990s and is well-known by the local and national breed clubs, breeders, and other rescue folks. One of my dear boys came to me as a foster when he outlived everyone else in his animal and human family and was turned in by a family member of the elderly man who had him from a pup. Can you say "failed foster mom" with a smile, LOL? It became crystal clear to me that this sweet older dog needed to stay with me forever, and he's curled up on the other side of my feet right now.

When the dog has been thoroughly assessed by the foster home, they assist the coordinator in writing up information so the dog can be placed on the website. Applications are then taken and screened for the dog, and other volunteers conduct home visits with potential adopters who seem suitable. When a suitable home is found, the dog is transferred, and the rescue makes itself available to provide lifetime follow-up assistance if needed.

We try to find the best fit between individual dog and adoptive family, but I don't think our criteria for a suitable home are outrageous. Most of the dogs we offer on the website get many applications, so sometimes very good homes may not get a dog they are interested in simply because there was a better fitting home available. We generally try to have the dog adopted within a reasonable driving distance of the foster home, though we do sometimes conduct cross-country drives in legs and very rarely will arrange for a dog to be flown.

Whether someone chooses to go to a shelter or go through a rescue, there are so many wonderful dogs out there deserving of a good and loving home.