Strange rehoming policies??

missloulou

Hi,

A friend of mine recently applied to adopt a certain female dog, home check etc was done and all ok. My friend already has a young dog (female) who is walked daily and is very well cared for.

Oddly enough, she was refused the dog as her existing dog isn't spayed, which I thought was rather odd, given that both dogs were female what impact could that have????

Anybody have any ideas???

Thanks,

Lou

The H

Hi, I think it might be the fact that she may want to breed the dog she has or something? I know most shelters are insistent on spaying as they see too many unwanted pups needing new homes. Its a shame because I'm sure your friend would give the dog a good home. A neighbour of mine was turned down because she wanted a dog that would be inside during the day (she's a stay at home mother) but sleep outside in a kennel at night. I think in the current climate, they should lower relax the rules a little.

star-pants

True, they might have wondered about breeding.
Was the female dog she was going to adopt neutered?

TooManyDogs

I agree the rules some homing centres have are very rigid. One girl I know was refused a dog as she works 4 hours a day, but when she's home she spends training her current dog in agility and competes most weekends! Surely it'd be better for the dog to spend 4 hours a day with the company of another dog but no human and then get really good quality time than have someone in the house constantly that may not put any effort into the dog? It's not necessarily good for dogs to never be on their own either. I think rescue places should make decisions on an individual basis, depending on the dog and prospective new owner rather than sticking to rigid policies.

The only reason I can see that OP's friend was refused is sometimes having one bitch go into heat can create upset/aggression in other dogs in the house, be they male or female, but I don't think it's all that common. Doesn't make sense to refuse a good home because of it.

Discodog

There are lots of individual rescues & some are more flexible than others. Being turned down by one does not mean that others will turn you down. You may find that it is the big "household names" that tend to be the most inflexible.

Out of interest did they ask your friend why the other dog was not neutered or if they would have the dog neutered ?.

These rigid policies are always the result of adoptions having gone wrong in the past. Because most people working with rescues are volunteers & often not that experienced, it is easier to give them rigid rules to work to rather than using personal discretion. Most of us, with experience, can tell if someone is right in about 30 seconds.

Magenta

OP to be fair to the rescues, they get so many puppies handed in because "my female dog escaped and got pregnant" so they may prefer people who neuter their pets as they feel it makes them more responsible owners?

boomerang

Also, there could be conflict between the two bitches when the dog who is not spayed comes in season.

Really unless your friend is seriously into dog showing there's no good reason not to spay her dog - it's the responsible thing to do to prevent unwanted litters of pups coming into the world, and to promote the dog's health. Certainly that's how the rescue would feel.

EGAR

Most of us, with experience, can tell if someone is right in about 30 seconds.

I don't agree, you may see if they are doggy peeps what you don't see is the level of commitment they are willing to give. After many many years in rescue NOTHING humans can throw at me surprises me anymore.

On the topic, I rarely do same gender rehoming but that is more due to the fact that most dogs here at EGAR are Bull Breeds. I have rehomed to existiing entire dogs BUT those dogs were show dogs.