This got brought up again and I wanted to add two things onto it, two years later.
First: my point was never about âhard to adoptâ dogs- ie project dogs that can turn around with an appropriate amount of work and money put into them. Dogs with minor behavioral problems, some anxiety, even some lower levels of aggression can frequently be worked with and brought to a sustainable medium with a good management strategy in place. These are not the dogs Iâve referenced here, and theyâre not the dogs Iâm talking about either.
Iâm talking about the plethora of news results regarding newly adopted rescue dogs that have immediately killed their new owners or people residing in their neighborhoods. Almost every single one of these reports will either mention that the dog had shown warning signs within the rescue environment, or had not been properly temperament tested to begin with, two points that I brought up in the OP of being crucial to watch for. These dogs get euthanized, and a human family member to someone is now dead as well. This phenomenon does not help anyone, and endangers everyone who might come into contact with that dog later.
Iâm talking about the very real occurrence where unethical rescues take in dogs that have costly, rare, or chronic medical problems and raise thousands upon thousands of dollars for treatment, while allowing other dogs to languish or be put to sleep in the same hands. When unethical rescues go to shelters and only pick up newly born puppies but not the mother, then go on social media spinning some untrue story about how the mother was killed or the puppies were abandoned and the shelter that had them was just going to kill them all or something to that extent. When unethical rescues get caught purchasing- yes, purchasing- puppies and adult dogs alike from puppy mills to then lie about their origins and backgrounds in an effort to raise money and boost adoptions. A focus on The Most Suffering means that the dogs who also need a home and would honestly be a much better fit get left in the best of cases, and get killed in the worst.
If you want a harder to adopt dog- adopt a disabled dog! Thereâs so many tripods, deaf dogs, blind dogs, seizure dogs, and more that sit in shelters because no one wants them, but thatâll make amazing pets. Adopt a large breed adult! Theyâre past the cute puppy stage and already so big that itâs common for them to get skipped over. Adopt black dogs- people shun them for their coloring. Adopt a dog with scars, a dog that has a stereotypically âmeanâ appearance (scars on the face, cropped ears, big bulky head, etc), a dog with health problems you can feasibly manage on your personal budget. Adopt a senior dog! They get left behind in shelters all the time and frequently still have several more years of happy life left within them. Adopt a dog that needs obedience training or housebreaking, and then fix that problem with a professional on hand! Adopt a dog from a breed people are more likely to dislike- provided you have researched the breed and know you can handle the breed-specific traits that come along with it.
Or, you know, thereâs plenty of pretty good dogs that might need a refresher on leash walking or the basics but otherwise are just fine, that are healthy, that still need homes too. Adopt one of them- thereâs no shame in going with a âmore easily adoptableâ dog vs a âless easily adoptableâ one. If you want to adopt, this post is not to discourage you from adopting. Itâs to encourage you to adopt a dog you can feasibly manage, and understand that ethical rescue deems dogs âunadoptableâ for a reason, and thus you probably donât actually want an unadoptable dog.
The second thing I wanted to add is this:
When I first wrote this post and this reply, a car accident that rendered me unable to care for Creed was completely hypothetical. In July 2018, it became a reality. For several months I was unable to care for Creed by myself and had to heavily rely on my roommates not only to do things as easy as take him out to potty and feed him, but also to take care of me too. I am fortunate that I have surrounded myself with other disabled dog people and that they all jumped at the opportunity to help care for my needs (and Creedâs), but what if they hadnât? What if I lived alone?
I had said the answer would be that Creedâs breeder would drive down to Maryland, where I was living at the time, an 8-hour one way trip, and throw Creed in her car to care for him in my absence. The day after my accident, I called her to let her know what happened, because my symptoms were just getting worse and I had a feeling Iâd have to make a decision pretty soon. Without me even saying it, she offered to drive to me (now a 3-hour trip since I also live in New England currently) and collect him herself, even though she had an intact male that would have fought Creed (his full brother), Creedâs mother who has started the age-related decline of time, Creedâs full sister who just had a litter, a litter of puppies finishing up their early socialization, a big dog show she herself was organizing as president of her club in two weeks, and an IPO trial to prepare for the next month.
Thatâs a full plate. And she still offered to drop everything and come get this dog she produced because of an overnight change with his owner that left the question of his care up in the air. Knowing sheâd had to entirely rearrange her house for him, knowing sheâd have to put off or cancel her competition plans, knowing sheâd suddenly be paying for yet another dog AND his medical bills since he sustained a shoulder injury from the accident. Just to make sure I wouldnât have to rehome him or put him in rescue while I figured out how much of my injury was permanent and how much I could reasonably expect to heal.
Please do not respond to this by saying that breeders are compounding this problem of unadoptable dogs or the amount of dogs in shelters- ethical breeders like Creedâs breeder are actively working to prevent both problems, and are completely willing to drop everything to make sure a dog they produced doesnât end up as yet another statistic.