Adopting a dog from Ashtown Pound.

Discodog

I have two wonderful dogs. Everyone around here knows that they are very well looked after but I would fail a home check. I have a small unfenced garden but my dogs get two 40 minutes walks per day off lead & sleep on heated beds in my kitchen. I was only allowed one of my dogs because the rescue knew me. Strict home inspection rules are less important than assessing the potential owner.

In England the RSPCA relaxed some of it's homing policies as people felt that they were not wanted as rehomers.

Sigma Force

Now I can understand that there may be people with bad experiences of home checks or that there may be some people doing home checks who shouldn't be. It is up to the individual rescue to deceide wether they want to use a certain homechecker or not. I can also understand how some people would be wary allowing a stranger to come to their home if that is the case they should say this to the rescue and try and see if the rescue can somehow make time to do the homecheck themselves.
Some may say rescues are far too busy to homecheck themselves but I think this is the purpose of a rescue and if there is the potential for an excellent home for an animal who desperately needs one a rescue needs to make the effort as well. They can't go to every homecheck or they wouldn't have the time to actually take in animals in the first place however sometimes it has to work both ways as plenty of adoptees go out of their way for rescues.
A little give and take on both sides.

I have had a rescue in the past guineapigs not dogs, however I do not see them as any less important. I have put blood sweat and tears into the short time I had the GP rescue it cost me time, a lot of money and a lot of heartache and for me just to hand over animals just like that with sometimes having the animals for up to a year! Is ridiculous. I did not put all that time and effort in just to hand the animal over, what would be the point of it all then if I just gave them to anyone. I wanted to find proper homes for them, nothing fancy was not expecting much just a home to care for them properly.

Rescues put a lot of money, time, and effort into taking in animals they sacrifice their family time and social life and every spare minute to rescue so they should not be expected to just hand over an animal just like that. They deserve to be allowed to home check a home why should all their hard work go for nothing.

Perhaps now some may understand why home checks are done.

Do note folks that all pounds and rescues have their own way of operating so what one might do the other might not. For anyone in a rush to get a dog, don't be take the time, go back for a second visit, have the homecheck done if needs be, if you feel uncomfortable with one crowd there are zillions of rescues and pounds with thousands of animals looking for homes there's bound to be the right one that suits.

Doggymad

Smell The Glove ' they are missing out if they dont let you foster ' as i have only ever heard nice things about you and your home ' and your doggy xx:o

smelltheglove

Ah thanks Doggy, I have given up offering. Its a pity as there was one in particular that I bet would have been the perfect match for Dollie.

MissC

smelltheglove wrote: »

When you adopt from a rescue you get an idea of the dogs breed. I do know someone who adopted from did and the dog came straight from the pound and not neutered so would have been just aswell going through the pound.

When was this and how old was the dog?

Ulanzi

We adopted a dog recently from dogs in distress. I was a bit iffy about the home visit but it was quick and as unintrusive as it could be. The woman who came was dead nice and really only wanted to make sure that we had a secure garden.
We adopted a gorgeous 6 month old dog who is settling in really really well. It worked really well because he had been living with a foster family so they could tell us a lot about his personality. They were spot on and we're delighted with him. He's a real sweetheart. He came to us fully vaccinated, microchipped and neutered.
Also the whole process makes you think a bit about the different things that come up along the line, like kids, holidays all sorts of stuff. There's also a bit of a support network there if any problems arise.
I'd really really recommend the whole thing if you're getting a dog.

KevinObrien101

Thanks for all of this great insight, "The Stig" has been a member of our family now for the last several months and is doing great!

Ykellser

A dog adopted directly from Ashtown Pound will not be neutered or microchipped, in fact they will receive no veterinary care prior to you adopting him or her unless the dog is unwell, a vet check is not standard. We adopted a dog a year ago direct from the pound. He had been neutered by his previous owner. We brought him straight from the pound to our vet. He had kennel cough, the infection was very bad, bless him. He was put on a weeks course of anti-bi's. When this was complete, we had him chipped and vaccinated/treated for worms. My point being is EU32.50 covering adoption costs from the pound is not where the cost of the dog stops. The fee to a rescue covers so much. A rescue, in particular DID whom work rehoming dogs from Ashtown, neuters (age permitting 6 months plus) vaccinates, microchips, treats for fleas, worms etc. The dog has been assessed before rehoming. This aides the process of matching the right dog to the right home. A dog adopted directly from a pound has generally no history, the dogs suitability to living with children/other dogs has not been tested. Rescues put a lot of time and energy into rehoming dogs. I have carried out homechecks, I can appreciate the potential adopters point of view 100%, the homechecker has no input in passing or failing a homecheck. It really is an information grasping exercise. It does give an overview to the area the dog will live in, size, security of the back garden. It would be very easy for people to 'lie' about their situation on a form, in person it is far more difficult to 'hide' facts. There needs to be huge change in Ireland's attitude to animal care, especially dogs, both at grassroots level and Government policy. Yes pounds are awful places, staff work with limited funding and unsuitable buildings/facilities. However it is irresponsible owners that have the dogs their in the first place.

MAB83

I'm all for adopting from a rescue, some of them do brilliant work. However I will never ever again go near Dogs In Distress. They treated us terribly and we're not the only ones. I have heard from quite a few people (and also read posts on here) regarding DID who have been treated badly by them. For a start they never answer their phones or emails and half the time they seem to send the dogs to the UK which doesn't make any sense, surely it would be better to rehome them in Ireland first if possible? They seem to just want to foster dogs themselves and anyone looking to adopt a dog from them are rarely (I know there are exceptions!) treated well.

I would recommend Dogs Trust and A Dogs Life, both lovely and professional to deal with from our recent talks with them. Keep away from Dogs In Distress!

lorebringer

MAB83 wrote: »

I'm all for adopting from a rescue, some of them do brilliant work. However I will never ever again go near Dogs In Distress. They treated us terribly and we're not the only ones. I have heard from quite a few people (and also read posts on here) regarding DID who have been treated badly by them. For a start they never answer their phones or emails and half the time they seem to send the dogs to the UK which doesn't make any sense, surely it would be better to rehome them in Ireland first if possible? They seem to just want to foster dogs themselves and anyone looking to adopt a dog from them are rarely (I know there are exceptions!) treated well.

I would recommend Dogs Trust and A Dogs Life, both lovely and professional to deal with from our recent talks with them. Keep away from Dogs In Distress!

I have had the polar opposite experience with Dogs In Distress. They were easy to talk to and sort out thousands of dogs each year. It is very hard for them because everyone involved has a separate life to the charity (family, jobs etc.) and it is all done in their spare time. Phone are not answered because people are at work or doing something else but 99% of the time if you text or leave a voice message someone will eventually get back to you. The admin team work their asses off to save dogs, along with many other volunteers involved. The amount of money and effort that is pumped into getting dogs homed is massive and it is all done off their own (volunteers and donors) backs. I cannot applaud and praise the work DID do enough.

I adopted from Dogs In Distress nearly 2 years ago and am now involved in fostering for them, I was inspired by the amount of hard work they do and felt I could help. Anything is better than doing nothing. The amount of background work that has to be done (and is done!) to get dogs out of the pound, into foster care, treated by a vet etc. and finally homed is huge. Dogs are sent to the UK because charities is willing to accept them in the UK, quite a lot of dogs sent do not have perspective homes here and would have a better chance over there. Often, dogs that are sent over have been in foster care for quite a while and there are no suitable homes applying for them. More dogs are rehomed here than are sent to the UK.

Finally, since this thread is about Ashton Pound and not Dogs In Distress, the number of dogs that come through Ashton is disgraceful - all shapes, sizes, ages and conditions. The fee is minimal but the dog has no veterinary care and no past history. There are no home checks carried out. You are not aware of what type of personality the dog has or whether they have any serious medical conditions. Quite a lot of dogs that go into Ashton come out due to Dogs In Distress, contacting them directly (www.dogsindistress.org) or going to Ashton yourself are probably your best bets.

Inexile

I have done some Home visits for DID and had one done so I have been on both sides. The thing to remember about home checks is that the outcme of the experience is about a meeting of personalities yours and the home checker. I recall doing a home check and having a lovely conversation with a lady when she mentioned that she had once had a dog debarked :mad: I dont think any form could have picked this piece of info up.

I appreciate that some people have had bad experience of DID but they like alot of other rescues are volunteers and have limited time. In the age of email once we send an email we expect an almost instance response. However, the volunteers also other things going on in their lives - they have to pick up the kids, do the shopping, do a day job etc so their time is very precious. Also some volunteers, like in all other aspects of life are better than others. So sometimes the experience isnt perfect every time but the important thing to remember is that the majority of them are truly trying to help the dogs and prospective adoptees.

Also some rescues have different criteria for home checks - not a bad thing its just different strokes for different folks..

MAB83

I wasn't expecting an instant response. Hearing back within a week might have been nice. Or return my phonecall would have also helped. We also posted on their forum and were dismissed. As for a homecheck? If only we got that far. DID missed out on some great dog owners with us. Funny how out of 5 people I know personally only one of them had a good experience with DID.

However we are having great communications with other rescues (who also have limited time and funds but at least have the decency to get back to us eventually) who have been brilliant so we will stick to one of those for our next new friend.

Boomtastic

We had a home check from DID, very thorough and gave loads of tips etc.

We were informed by email that we had passed the home visit so we emailed by return our first choice of dog. We were told that dog was gone so we emailed our second choice. Never heard back from them again.

Still, it is a thankless task these people do. Fair play to them....

Ykellser

I think pick a rescue you are happy with/have had a previous good experience with and use them. I think the ultimate goal is to rehome/rescue a dog. The likes of Dogs Trust, PAWS, ISPCA etc are registered charities, therefore have full time employees. The likes of DID (I only use Dogs in Distress as I am familiar with their set up) is that it is completely voluntary. All adminstrators work full time therefore they fit in DID work in their homelife/personal time. I know of a potential adoptee that received an email at 3.30 am in the morning from their Puppy Co-ordinator. That is dedication. We all have 'negative' customer service experiences no matter what the nature of the transaction (in this case adopting a dog) however the figures show for themselves. The number of dogs euthanized in Ashtown prior to and post DID involved have reduced by a staggering amount

namurt

I hate to say this because I don't want any poor dogs to suffer but unless you're prepared for a lot of hassle and heartache I would stay well clear of Ashton and DiD. We adopted our guy from Ashton but it took a hell of a lot of hassle. We had to phone them every day and made 3 trips over just to eventually get an answer from them. Then a few months later we decided we'd like a companion for him. We found a dog we really liked, we brought him to meet her and they got on pretty well. We went back the next day and filled in the adoption form for her. She had only arrived in the day before we saw her so we were told we were the first people to request her and would have to wait for her 5 days to be up. We phoned several times after that to see if a decision had been made. Eventually I was told that our application had been denied. So even though we had filled in the form the exact same way as our first application (other than to say that we now had a dog obviously) one application was fine but the second one wasn't. Then to make it even worse the day after she would have become available she had suddenly been fostered by someone from DiD!!!!!

MAB83

Ykellser wrote: »

I think pick a rescue you are happy with/have had a previous good experience with and use them. I think the ultimate goal is to rehome/rescue a dog. The likes of Dogs Trust, PAWS, ISPCA etc are registered charities, therefore have full time employees. The likes of DID (I only use Dogs in Distress as I am familiar with their set up) is that it is completely voluntary. All adminstrators work full time therefore they fit in DID work in their homelife/personal time. I know of a potential adoptee that received an email at 3.30 am in the morning from their Puppy Co-ordinator. That is dedication. We all have 'negative' customer service experiences no matter what the nature of the transaction (in this case adopting a dog) however the figures show for themselves. The number of dogs euthanized in Ashtown prior to and post DID involved have reduced by a staggering amount

And that's great that because of DID less dogs are put to sleep, brilliant. But not so brilliant that most of those dogs DID take are either fostered or sent to England instead of homing with good homes here. Do they get money out of sending the dogs to England or something? There must be something, it only makes sense to home as many dogs as possible to homes in Ireland but it doesn't happen.

suziwalsh

I am the pup adoption co-ordinator for Dogs in Distress. Firstly all of our dogs go into foster care before they are homed to be assessed and medically treated as we don't have kennels. We RARELY send dogs to the UK and if we do they are usually pups and dogs from other pounds and rescues in the country who I travel to collect myself with other volunteers and the approval of the rescues/pounds involved. We organise for them to be vaccinated/chipped and neutered (if old enough) before they go. Occassionally we will send one or two of our own who we know will fair better in the UK due to the high numbers of agility homes etc. We only ever send dogs to Dogs Trust in the UK and get no money for this and use transport from Dogs Trust. We are a non-profit organisation with no paid members our vets bills are in excess of €35,000.00 yearly not including our neutering or food bills and always ensure all of our dogs are vaccinated, micro-chipped and neutered to the best of our ability. I have assisted in rehoming over 1,200 dogs and pups in the past year and fingers crossed they have found the right homes for them.

We do what we feel is in the best interest of every pup and again these trips are occassional. There are too many dogs and pups in Ireland and too few suitable homes. Most rescues send dogs to the UK including the larger organisations as well as to Sweden and Italy. Please do not go up posting what you do not know about and do some research before coming up with your own ideas. I sincerely apologise for anyone who has had a bad experience with Dogs in Distress....I know I myself have bad days with them too. But unfortunately you cannot please everyone. It is incredibly hard work and unless youre involved with animal welfare and rescue in Ireland, I am sorry you have no clue. A home in Ireland will always get perference over a UK home if it is right for that individual dog and there are many dogs I would not send to the UK as I know they might have difficulty homing them. Rather than go up on a website to complain, please get involved. There is always so much to do, and like I did if you don't get a response the first time...keep at it until you do. Rescuing an animal is not a service, its an honour and if you really want to do it you will find a way. I am not going to go on about how many emails/phone calls I get a day....but I most definately miss out on people, not by intention...just there are not enough hours in the day and it should be up to you to follow through if you really want a dog. With so many applications and dogs to look after I can only apologise to anyone who feels they were treated unfairly or rudely. We are always trying to improve so any advice is welcome. Anyone who wishes to speak to me can call me on 0863304333 I always have it to hand but unfortunately am usually on it, so email me at pups@dogsindistress.org or suziwalsh@dogsindistress.org ....alsosometimes emails get spammed so unless you get a reply presume we have not received your email. Again I can only apologise on behalf of DID and encourage you to give us another chance. We are not Ashton pound and cannot be responisble for any dog not homed directly from there. Thanks to everyone for all your comments good and bad, it can only help us improve and hopefully help more dogs.

Boomtastic....I really don't know what happened with your second choice....I am sorry!!! Have no idea how that happened.

MY APOLOGIES TO ALL AGAIN! and even if you don't feel like going to Dogs in Distress please do try and rescue there are so so many dogs looking for homes..... here are some more places to look

www.dogstrust.ie
www.irishanimals.ie
www.madra.ie
www.lasthope.ie
www.dogsaid.ie
www.paws.ie
www.dawg.ie
www.homewardbound.ie
www.fordogsake.org
www.adogslife.ie
www.friendsofbendogrescue.com
www.dspca.ie
www.ispca.ie

the list goes on!!!!

brfcireland

Why would you recommend dogs trust over dogs i n distress, one thing you should know is that dogs in distress is voulenteer based the work they do is unpaid, its the time they take out of their day to help dogs and people, its easy to put a bad name on something when they don't have a multi million rehomeing centre to walk into. People have to start realising that sometimes they can be very busy they don't have staff they can pay to get back to every second of the day did you try ring anybody or email them again. Or was it that you failed your home visit and are just trying for some bad press. I am not against dogs trust in any way i have been up there a few times the staff are amazing the centre is too but stopo trying to bad name an organisation because they NEVER GOT BACK TO YOU

MAB83

brfcireland wrote: »

Why would you recommend dogs trust over dogs i n distress, one thing you should know is that dogs in distress is voulenteer based the work they do is unpaid, its the time they take out of their day to help dogs and people, its easy to put a bad name on something when they don't have a multi million rehomeing centre to walk into. People have to start realising that sometimes they can be very busy they don't have staff they can pay to get back to every second of the day did you try ring anybody or email them again. Or was it that you failed your home visit and are just trying for some bad press. I am not against dogs trust in any way i have been up there a few times the staff are amazing the centre is too but stopo trying to bad name an organisation because they NEVER GOT BACK TO YOU

Failed a homecheck? If only we even got that far to actually get a homecheck! Called them MULTIPLE times, all times of day and night, emailed a few times too so yes we did try hard but how can you blame anyone for giving up on them after that?

DID do great work I know and fair play to them but they are not for us.

cosnochta

Vel wrote: »

Do pounds ever refuse to give a dog to someone? For example, if they got a bad feeling about a situation or the reasons someone might be wanting to adopt a dog?

Yes. My friend applied to adopt a dog from Ashtown Pound and was refused because both her and her husband both work 9-5.

janvrin

Dominik Breezy Pillowcase wrote: »

I'll just add to the discussion..

If you adopt through a foster (DiD volunteers for example) you save more than one dog because it free's up a place in the fosterer's home, they can then move another dog out of the pound and so the cycle continues.

Although DiD took a bashing here recently I'd still recommend adopting/fostering through these guys in order to save dogs lives.

I didn't think you could advertise/promote business here? I would always look for a charity no wherever you rescue from as it means the premises where the animals are kept are to a certain standard and also ensures that animals are receiving proper care.

Also these charities more often than not work closely with the authorities so if animals are cruelty case it is reported to the guards and animals not just removed but the owner will be known to the authorities.

janvrin

I had an appalling experience with DID also. Would not recommend them. They need to come clean with what they are doing as they are taking pups from very dodgy situations and are not reporting it to the authorities. Perhaps the pups would end up in the DSPCA and they wont get their 150 euro per pup? There is nothing stopping the owners going and getting more of these pups. How do we know they are not paying money for these pups? If it were a charity the authorities would be able to investigate some of their dealings. These guys make a lot of money selling pups please do not be fooled.

MAB83

If it wasn't for Boards I would be none the wiser about DID and just think it was myself and a few friends that had bad experiences. I'm glad now that I know we're not alone. I would urge anyone here that wants to adopt a dog to please go to Dogs Trust, they're a pleasure to deal with and the set up is fantastic.

janvrin

brfcireland wrote: »

. People have to start realising that sometimes they can be very busy they don't have staff they can pay to get back to every second of the day

How do you know they are not being paid? If it was a charity this might be a fair statement but neither of us can say now can we!

i71jskz5xu42pb

janvrin wrote: »

I would always look for a charity no wherever you rescue from as it means the premises where the animals are kept are to a certain standard and also ensures that animals are receiving proper care.

Charity numbers are assigned by the Revenue Commissioner. I highly doubt that the Revenue have officials coming out to check the standards of dog homes. If you know better please enlighten us.

Our man in Havana

They don't. So long as the paperwork is correct they will issue a charity number.

ISDW

janvrin wrote: »

I didn't think you could advertise/promote business here? I would always look for a charity no wherever you rescue from as it means the premises where the animals are kept are to a certain standard and also ensures that animals are receiving proper care.

Also these charities more often than not work closely with the authorities so if animals are cruelty case it is reported to the guards and animals not just removed but the owner will be known to the authorities.

How on earth does having a charity number have a bearing on how the animals are cared for?

Also, which business are you talking about? You are surely not suggesting that DiD is a profit making business are you? I believe, but I could be wrong, I'm not part of DiD, although I do take dogs from them, that they are applying for a charity number. So once they get that, all of a sudden they'll be a totally different organisation will they?

Maybe you should read some of the other posts in this forum to see how effective the 'authorities' are in removing animals and prosecuting people.

I don't have a charity number as I thought I'd probably only have a few dogs through the doors, it is something that I'm going to have to consider as the number of unwanted dogs continues to increase. However, I have just come in from the kennel block at midnight, (I started work this morning at 8am) having put the rescues to bed in warm beds with heat lamps on, soft music playing to them. They have all been out for walks today, and have spent a minimal amount of time in their indoor pens. Because there are now so many of them, I have to rotate them, but every 3rd night they get to sleep in my house. I pay for all of their food and vet treatment myself, the donation I get when I rehome doesn't go anywhere near covering the neutering/microchipping/vaccinating that every dog receives. But hey, I don't have a charity number, I'm obviously doing it all wrong.

ISDW

janvrin wrote: »

How do you know they are not being paid? If it was a charity this might be a fair statement but neither of us can say now can we!

No, their volunteers don't get paid, unlike some of the registered charities that you're so fond of. I have no bone to pick with the DSPCA, but, in keeping with your argument, how much of their annual budget goes on wages?

star-pants

janvrin wrote: »

I didn't think you could advertise/promote business here?

I didn't see him advertising?

janvrin wrote: »

I had an appalling experience with DID also. Would not recommend them. They need to come clean with what they are doing as they are taking pups from very dodgy situations and are not reporting it to the authorities. Perhaps the pups would end up in the DSPCA and they wont get their 150 euro per pup? There is nothing stopping the owners going and getting more of these pups. How do we know they are not paying money for these pups? If it were a charity the authorities would be able to investigate some of their dealings. These guys make a lot of money selling pups please do not be fooled.

Have you proof of them taking pups from dodgy situations? And are you insinuating that DID or DSPCA are 'selling pups' ?

Coppernlucy

Great to see i wasnt the only one who was turned off this 'non' registered charity, can i ask exactly how long DID have been going ? and why have they been refused a registered charity number it must be years now ?
and if so many of you have such bad experiences WHY not report it all somewere or go to the Joe duffy show and all stand together with your worries or concerns ? sounds like there are some genuine good people like you Suzi but all these people with bad experiences cannot be makeing it up, surely? can i ask an innocent question out of curiosty, how much would you get for one pup going to the UK ? now i have spoken to a lot of people both in Ireland and the UK so please answer honestly if you are allowed ?