Re: Adopting from shelter verses rescue

[BarbaraMember]

You may find more dogs who have had problems in rescues but to say they have problem dogs is inaccurate. The problems have either been dealt with or they will let you know up front what the problem(s) is/are and exactly where the level of progress is. They will also be there (or at least the good ones will be) for you if problems arise for however long you want. A good rescue will be upfront and be available to support the adoption for as long as you want because they don’t want you or the dog to fail. In most cases these animals have been through enough and the rescue doesn’t want to see any more negatives happen.
Rescues usually use foster homes and can tell you the dog’s personality, issues and whether or not it will be a good fit for your family. I have a dog that came to me as a foster who had 5 potential adoptions fall through and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the dog. In one case the potential adopter lived in a very warm climate and wanted the dog to be an outdoor dog. This breed is bred to be a house dog and is very intollerent of extreme temperatures so the rescue said no. Another potential adopter for this same dog did not have a fenced yard (this particular dog LOVES to run!!), had some fairly unreasonable expectations for the breed type and most of the family was totally indifferent to the idea of having a dog so the rescue encouraged them to look at a different dog. I ended up adopting him myself and I can’t tell you how much he adds to my life!