Humans Are Not Our Client

To me it seems obvious that the pup is our client in dog rescue. For flippin' sake, it's called DOG RESCUE, not human rescue. Fortunately, we enjoy a solid relationship with a majority of people we adopt to. The only issues we have ever had are when people forget to place welfare of the pup first. However, over the years we run into many spoiled, lazy, self-centered people who demand that the dog is secondary to their petty needs.

Now, let me stop here. I am not 100% crazy...close, but not 100%. I realize we need humans in this fulfilling endeavor. We do strive to find sweet souls that want to sincerely help dogs. Our organization would not survive without our hardworking volunteers; willing to sacrifice, time and sweat in the name of helping the plight of neglected dogs. We also need amazing adopters who understand that adopting a dog is forever, and it is not a purse or a pair of shoes to be returned at a whim. However, we have no time to be a doggie emissary for the people, casually thinking about rescuing or adopting a pup. For example, individuals that demand that we find them a caramel colored, long haired, two year old, hypoallergenic dog that is good with cats, hamsters, small children, swims regularly, able to communicate with the blind and deceased, can easily run a 4 minute mile, but also super chill. For whatever reason, many people assume that the dogs must be perfect to fit into their family. TLRD does work hard to find the perfect fit for both the dogs and the family; however, the family must be willing to work at having a dog.

Of course we want the adoptive family to be happy. We want them to always feel that they have received a gift of a living animal and feel honored that they are now responsible for a loving, worthy spirit. However, our job, our one true job, is to guarantee the DOGS find a loving family where they will feel secure for the rest of their lives. We evaluate, train, and treat/deal with each dogs' needs and traits constantly while in our care. We are completely invested in them, they are part of the TLRD family. In turn, we look for a family that has the tools to deal and love all the dogs’ traits, good or bad. It cannot and will not work in reverse. For those people who get this, thank you. For those of you who don’t our dogs don’t need you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fostering Saves Lives

Image
Fostering saves lives, but it's not for the faint of heart. As much as we need good fosters, wimps need not apply. In fact, you must have a pretty high tolerance level—or what I like to call a grit level. For example a wimp with a grit level of one would be a family who gives up on a pup, when it decides to potty on their new carpet. Conversely, a grit level of 10 would be someone who just got bit in the face, but decides to carry on anyway. For our cause, we need you to be at grit level 4 or better. Now, I do not want discourage anyone who wants to step up and foster a pup. However, if you decide to throw your hat in the ring, don't do it to make yourself feel good—or to get a pat on the back. Do it because you realize the dog needs you for the period it will take to get adopted, no matter how long this might take. Yes, no matter how long. In fact, on average, it takes just over 4 months for these furry animals to find their forever home. You must endure barking, jumping, a...
Read more

Dog Behavior and How it Should Guide Adoptions

Image
Recently I have been scrutinized more than usual for being too difficult on potential adopters. I can always take the heat, but at the same time I attempt to keep an open mind, wondering if I could soften my tone or water down the scrutiny. But here is the issue. It's our organizations responsibility to ensure that once a dog is placed in a home that the environment is safe, secure and loving for both the pup and the family. In order to facilitate this decision, we focus on dog behavior. The more the potential family knows or is willing to learn, governs directly in how successful they will be with the chosen dog. In other words, if a family has only ridden a moped I am not going to let them have a Harley Davidson—especially if they are not wiling to learn how to ride it correctly. To me focusing on dog behavior is common sense and all rescue facilities should make it standard practice. However, the hard truth is, most do not. Also, city, county and state dog shelters are so ov...
Read more

Let Your Pup Decompress

Image
By Gary Newcomb Gary is a contributing editor and works closely with The Little Red Dog as a volunteer and trainer. His own company PawsRMade4Walkin.com works with families who currently have problems with their pups. You can also listen to Gary every other week on our Podcast, For The Love of Dog Please Welcome Fido To The Show! When you adopt a dog, there will be a transition period where the dog is settling in and you are getting to know each other. Those first days and weeks are going to be the foundation for your new life together. Imagine being taken by people you don't know, driven somewhere you've never been and told it's your new family and home. Many dogs experience the same nervousness you and I would in the situation. When you bring a dog home, they need time to decompress. Allowing them the time and space to get back to a calm state of mind, and comfortably get to know the new environment. During that time, try to keep everything calm and soothing f...
Read more