Rescuer People, Are We Winning the War

Rescues are in a constant state of triage. The things would be nice to do just aren't the priority when it comes down to making a choice between saving, vetting, fostering and placing a dog. There is NEVER enough money and the time spend by volunteers is never enough.

I'm appalled that someone can even THINK of complaining about what a rescue can't do. What's the point? There are many things rescue can't do but would like to do. But, the realities of time, money, resources etc don't make it possible for ANY rescue to do it all. Even Best Friends - one of the best known rescue organizations around - can't do it all.

As for combing Craig's list for animals to save - you're always going to find what you are looking for. Sometimes you just have to let it go. The people that post on Craig's List don't want to be responsible for something they initially CHOSE to take responsibility for. Maybe the proper thing to do would be to give these Craig's list dog dumpers a piece of reality of what happens to shelter dogs.

The process of education is a slow one. We've seen examples recently of people thinking that more breeding is a good thing. Personally, I have a ZERO tolerance for 99% of breeding and am always willing to be the mean bitch about it. I see no reason to mince words about breeding when the other side of the coin is a shelter full of euthanized animals.

My answer is to do what you can for rescue and speak out about irresponsible breeding. I wish I could do more for rescue. The only thing I can personally contribute is miniscule - I have my own house-full of rescue animals that need my care. But, I wouldn't waste my time complaining about rescues when there are so many other things that that energy could be used on.

I'm a little late on this but would like to add my 2 cents for what it's worth. Right now Michigan is just horrible!! Our rescue is full, packed is a better word. We've got a waiting list two miles long with no end in sight. I've got Pugs that have been with us YEARS. They have medical issues or are seniors and they'll be with us as long as they need too. Adoption applications are WAY down as are donations. We've taken in more shelter Pugs in the last two weeks than we have in years. We have few foster homes and three homes have the majority of Pugs in rescue, mine being one of them. I have no life, none. There are days I find myself feeing resentful, not of the Pugs I help, but of people. I work a fulltime job, have two children one being special needs, and because I did'nt immediately return their calls I get nastiness. Gee excuse me I had to have a biopsy done and did'nt feel good afterwards. I know your excited about your new Pug but I did'nt feel good and did'nt want to talk to anyone about anything.
Just trying to make time to get my hair cut is a huge deal. I took the day off Monday as a sick day just to clean my house and get stuff done because I was gone all day both days this weekend doing rescue. We kill ourselves fundraising literally every weekend we're doing Meet & Greets getting the rescues out for people to meet. I'm tired.....I'm tired of reading email after email of Pugs in shelters here in MI. We can't save them all, we can't. The shelters have our rescue information they'll call us if they need us.

I will never give up educating our youth, they are our future. I have slowly built up our youth base and receive several requests a year to visit & speak at schools. I've never turned one down yet. We just had a local bust here with many many Pugs involved, I'm scared that we're going to be receiving a call here in the future and we won't be able to help because we're full.

When we formed PRN the "Network" was important. We wanted to work with the other rescues out there, we need each other. To us it was'nt politics or which rescue is better, etc it was about working with each other in order to get Pugs in need to safety. Jerry & I have sacrificed our lives for the rescue, our life is rescue, would I change this, no. I just wish people would understand and be a bit more patient.

I've been debating on what I wanted to say on here or what, but here goes. I'm not saying rescue is perfect, it's not. We are only human, and we have 1000000 things to do in a 24 hour day and yet as Blanche said, all you get for it is bitched at. We're too slow at responding, we didn't adopt to a person with an unfixed dog, we can't leave our paying jobs and go get a pug RIGHT THAT SECOND, we didn't pick the right pug as a winner for the Curliest Tail contest (this is a true one), the list goes on and on. It's hard not to get resentful at rescue in general when it affects your personal lives, and the amount of time you spend with your own pugs and family. There is no clocking out from rescue. As that other thread said, if you get an email, it's all on you. You can't just decide to deal with it later and take a nap.

We are so busy that I can't take the time to hand hold everyone. The intakes and finding fosters take priority because when people contact you, they want the pug gone yesterday. I have a giant list of things that I want to do, but I just can't get to it. We have a lot of people who say they want to help, but like Brenda said, it rarely materializes. One of the most amazing things is when we get people who just step up and do things or help us out, we have had a lot of previous adopters do that. They just ask "do you need x?" and then figure it out from there. It's a godsend for us.

And you are always the bad guy. When we had to take one of our pugs back from a home that wasn't treating it well, I got to watch us get bashed online by people who had no personal knowledge of the situation. So no, I never feel we are winning the war. It's one battle at a time, and it wears you down a little more each day.

There are bright spots of course. I LOVE seeing how happy a new pug is in their new home, I appreciate our adopters who are patient with us and go through the process and get their little pug and give us great updates on them. That's what keeps me slogging at it one day at a time.

And our rescue has always worked with others-we have pulled numerous dogs from CA, UT, and beyond. Whether they are old, sick, or whatever, if we have room, we try to make it work, and I think that's a pretty unfair criticism and one more thing that just wears us down. There are many threads on the various rescues here that do amazing stuff and pull together.

Bless you Carol - and bless everyone else in rescue.

Being in rescue has been quite the learning experience. I cannot imagine being involved in rescue down in the states. We aren't so bad in Alaska as it is down there. But, I'm grateful to be involved in the rescue where I can, and doing whatever I can do.

I would love to organize a speaking at my kids school. I wonder if they would be interested? Do you have a format Carol?

Yes, I absolutely do not want to forget the bright spots! Thanks Saira!

Nothing has made me feel better than seeing a happy pug in a new home, and a new family that is completely in love with that pug.

And, if not for rescue, my life would not have been touched by so many special pugs. I will always and forever be grateful for the pugs I have known.

Having had a decent night's sleep, I am less utterly defeated than I was, but I'm also more positive that I need to step back and take a less "in the thick of it" role in rescue. I agree that we have made progress overall in terms of dog care, but I also feel that we seem to be in a "turn back the hands of time" phase. I see this in a couple of ways. First, the incredible willingness people have to embrace the dominance/compulsion based training techniques of Cesar Millan and others. I had thought we were making real inroads on eliminating dominance training as a methodology of wide acceptance, but apparently, not so. Secondly, the rise of the dog as a status symbol, a sign of being hip to the trends and as a fashion accessory. I thought that had died down, but it has risen to the fore again with the likes of Paris Hilton, etc and the growth of our celebrity worship culture. Third, the ease with which people dispose of their dogs. I think in the past, people have always been willing to dump their dogs, but I think that we've made it much easier for them to do this without a second thought. And it's the rescue dilemma. It's great that dogs come to rescue rather than be released into the woods or shot, but it also makes the "purchase and dump" cycle that much easier. I don't have an answer here--I just see it and wonder what to do. Fourth, I see many more intact dogs now than I did 10/20 or even 30 years ago.

There is also a greater culture of entitlement than I've seen before. My shih tzu, Theo, came to me as a foster dog. 11 years old, deaf, one eyed and losing sight in the other eye, grade 4 heart murmur and loads of food/seasonal allergies. He was on the all breed rescues website for months and we only ever got one application. This application was from a woman on a disability pension and she asked if we'd waive his adoption fee ($150) as she couldn't afford it. We turned her down feeling that if his adoption fee was a financial hardship, then so was his ongoing care. She became completely outraged and said that she would give him a great home, feed what she could afford (Ol' Roy) and when his heart started to shows symptoms, then she'd let him die, but she'd love him while he was asymptomic. And we still turned her down. Months later, I got hauled before a Human Rights tribunal on a charge of discriminating against this woman based on income. Ultimately, we won, but I'm out of pocket quite a bit of money to defend myself and the all breed rescue and it was really utterly needless. And I had to sit in a tribunal and explain rescue, Theo's needs, why her proposed home wasn't sufficient, etc. I wish I could tell you that this is a unique circumstance, but up here, rescues often have to deal with useless court actions or threats of such. Discouraging to say the least.

For me, the constant bombardment of negativity in the rescue world has hit critical mass. It's hard to remember you're there to drain the swamp when you're up to your ass in alligators. I know that I have become a significantly more negative person because of the rescue work. Over time, you just end up jaded and in order to protect yourself from the almost constant demands, I have developed a guilty until proven innocent mind set. And it makes makes me somewhat resistant to suggestions about ways to improve our rescue as those suggestions often come to me as more work with no extra personnel or time. I'm not against new ideas and fundraising opportunities, but I can't take on any more work and neither can any of our other volunteers.

Good ideas are great, but they are a burden if the idea is just left on my lap without anyone willing to do the actual footwork.

...It really burns my biscuits when we adopt out over 50 dogs in a year....and yet, I could count on one hand the number of donations that have come in from people that adopted from us. Maybe I'm expecting too much?

I had Meagan (Vickie's daughter, I am never sure how to spell her name) make me up a list of emails from Polar Pug alumni (adopters). She made it up, and now can't find it. *LOL* When I go down there on Thursday, I'll go help her look for it, or I'll make another list.

I want to send out a general email to all of them asking how things are going, are they happy, and then ask for help. I have the email all nicely lined out. I just need the list.

I think a lot of adopters never look back once they have their pug. But now that we've made the commitment to help other small dogs, we need to go back to these people and ask for help.

We're a small rescue, but we're always scrambling to pay the vet bills too. I think it is the nature of the beast.

Maryjo wrote:

...It really burns my biscuits when we adopt out over 50 dogs in a year....and yet, I could count on one hand the number of donations that have come in from people that adopted from us. Maybe I'm expecting too much?

I had Meagan (Vickie's daughter, I am never sure how to spell her name) make me up a list of emails from Polar Pug alumni (adopters). She made it up, and now can't find it. *LOL* When I go down there on Thursday, I'll go help her look for it, or I'll make another list.

I want to send out a general email to all of them asking how things are going, are they happy, and then ask for help. I have the email all nicely lined out. I just need the list.

I think a lot of adopters never look back once they have their pug. But now that we've made the commitment to help other small dogs, we need to go back to these people and ask for help.

We're a small rescue, but we're always scrambling to pay the vet bills too. I think it is the nature of the beast.

MJ, we've found that our fb page has really kept us in touch with adopters. People feel more a part of the group and can post updates. I know you guys have one, it might be a good thing to add in the email-"we now have a facebook page and would love for you to post an update!"

I always post pictures of Kimchi on her rescue organizations FB page. It's fun to see all of the happy dogs (mostly pugs) that have ended up in great homes.

Saira wrote:

Maryjo wrote:

...It really burns my biscuits when we adopt out over 50 dogs in a year....and yet, I could count on one hand the number of donations that have come in from people that adopted from us. Maybe I'm expecting too much?

I had Meagan (Vickie's daughter, I am never sure how to spell her name) make me up a list of emails from Polar Pug alumni (adopters). She made it up, and now can't find it. *LOL* When I go down there on Thursday, I'll go help her look for it, or I'll make another list.

I want to send out a general email to all of them asking how things are going, are they happy, and then ask for help. I have the email all nicely lined out. I just need the list.

I think a lot of adopters never look back once they have their pug. But now that we've made the commitment to help other small dogs, we need to go back to these people and ask for help.

We're a small rescue, but we're always scrambling to pay the vet bills too. I think it is the nature of the beast.

MJ, we've found that our fb page has really kept us in touch with adopters. People feel more a part of the group and can post updates. I know you guys have one, it might be a good thing to add in the email-"we now have a facebook page and would love for you to post an update!"

Yep, that is exactly why I set up the FB page. I hope that all new adopters find out about it, sign up to "like" us, and in that way can be kept informed on what is happening in our rescue.

Like I said, some of the problem I see (for us) is lack of education to the people adopting from us.

Saira wrote:....MJ, we've found that our fb page has really kept us in touch with adopters. People feel more a part of the group and can post updates. I know you guys have one, it might be a good thing to add in the email-"we now have a facebook page and would love for you to post an update!"

Great idea! I'll add that to the email.

In my tirade earlier (lol) I forgot to touch on the adopting/fostering for seniors who want to adopt a Pug. First the one thing I've found is alot of seniors want younger Pugs. Not a chance.
I had a lady who was 84 years old and wanted to adopt a one year old. They don't want the Pug to die on them. When I try and make them understand the issues with a younger Pug, they get ill with me and threaten to go to a breeder, so be it.

We allowed an 82 year old to foster for us. The rescue Pug was with her less than 24 hours and shot out the door and was missing for 22 days in the dead of winter. Thank God she was found but I have never been so scared in all my years of rescue. I have no problem adopting an older Pug or Senior to a Senior but so many times the senior or the family insist on a younger Pug and I just won't do it.

Blanche, I think no one can fault you for stepping away for awhile.

I hadn't realized how burnt out I was until I totally quit working at Petsmart. Dealing with the public day in and day out was really making me hate people and feel sorry for their dogs.

Most of the people in my classes were fabulous and I miss them, but I don't miss the rest. The doomed pitbulls and the dogs sick with parvo because the owners were too stupid to get them shots.

It's been about 3 months since I've had to deal with the unwashed masses and already my attitude is improving.