I do not think the group with which you are working is interested in the animals welfare. Many are not---the local Humane Society will not even consider me for an adoptive source---due to where I live. The local pound will, in partial violation of rules---since two of the folks who work there know me and some of my history with taking care of animals.

One of the major things that should happen in an adoption where the adopter has another dog, is for the two dogs to meet on neutral ground, to see if they can get along at all.

It sounds as if the group with which you are working does not have much experience in fostering dogs properly. That alone would take them off my list.

handymac, I don't think that's the case. I can't even get to the point of getting a face to face meeting on neutral ground, because they haven't sent a picture. At this point, I'd just like to see the dog I may be interested in!

As far as the animal's welfare goes, I get the impression that the fosters are more important than finding a permanent home. Obviously they are, since they participate in training and healing of some of the dogs. I only wish as someone who may be interested in adoption, I could get a response for what I'm asking!

A friend of mine had a very similar problem. She found a dog on petfinder.com, and it was being kept at a foster home. The rescue organization in charge had her fill out an application, they sent a representative (not the foster parent) to the home for a visit and insisted on interviewing all members of the household and asked a lot of very detailed questions. When my friend asked to have a visit with the dog before making up her mind she was refused. It was a weeks long, exhausting process and she finally said "forget it!" to the rescue organization. I mean, how can they expect someone to adopt a dog without even meeting it??? The rescue organization claimed they didn't do things that way because they didn't want the dog to get too attached, in case she decided not to adopt him. Can you imagine?? She went to a shelter instead and found a lovable little puppy, and 3 years later, and he is truly her best friend, no regrets. In March I went to the same shelter looking to adopt an adult dog. This particular shelter has a reputation for only taking in "highly adoptable" animals, which is why I drove 4 hours each way to get there. I adopted a shepherd/beagle mix that day, and he has turned out to be the most perfect dog ever. I too, have no regrets.

It is true that most animals are in shelters because they had behavioral issues their owners could not deal with. However keep in mind there are many people have no business having pets to begin with. They decide they want a pet without knowing what a commitment it is, many never had pets before, and they can't handle the responsibility. Unfortunately there is no screening process good enough - many unscrupulous breeders will sell their pups to anyone who writes them a check and talks a good talk. On the flip side, there is a percentage of animals in shelters, albeit small, who are there because the owner died, or went through financial hardships or has become incapacitated, that can be wonderful pets. I advise you to go to as many shelters as possible, and go frequently as they get new animals in, for the best ones get adopted extremely quickly. Take your time to find the right match for you. If you could meet my Tucker you would be convinced in less than a minute, that a rescue adoption is the right thing to do. (I'd post a photo but I still haven't figured out how)

I have rescued four dogs in the past 16 years. My present three came from a rescue group. My first who is now in dog heaven, came from the humane society.

When I want a dog, I also want to save a life. I find the experience incredibly rewarding, watching their individual personalities develop etc. that goes along with having a good home, although it can be work. My most recent rescue came along after at least two months of looking. She would be the third large female in the house and I needed a perfect match. I went through the visit and question thing, which was fine. My vet was consulted and friends were called. I had what some thought a difficult situation for adding a third female to my mix, but I had that before I lost my old girl. I do work from home, so that made things easier.

Everything has always worked out as far as getting along etc. That said, you never really know what you are getting yourself in to when you rescue a dog. When I rescue a life it's for life, no matter what. I never give up. I don't have a problem with that, and it is something that I completely expect.

Personally, I find saving the life the most rewarding thing I could ever do. The dogs are so grateful and they show it. I would never dream of having a dog come into my home in any other way.

Lastly, I have discovered that when you put yourself in the situation of rescuing a dog, you are not looking for the dog, the dog is looking for you. When the match is right, you will both know it.

Good luck! Keep us posted!!!

SG

Rescue groups run the gamut.

You'll find some wonderful people...
& there are some out there that must be on ego or power trips or something.

Don't let it discourage you;
if this rescue group isn't working for you, just go on down the list.

Keep moving til you find the right fit.

& bless you for your kind heart (& your practical mind).

I have a history of rescuing dogs, but in unusual ways. Often the dog has been abandoned---like the Lab/chow mix my eldest son found in a desert in New Mexico and brough home. Or the terrier/wire hair mix from the litter left on the door step of the vet clinic for which I worked while in high school. Or one of my current dogs---Max, a Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix, one so out of control, the family could not find anyone to take the dog.

I am considered a bad case for adoption by the local humane society---I live in a mobile home park. That is a huge nono---they will not even talk to me. I have lived here over 20 years---and had that Lab/chow mix here---he lived to be 15.

So, there are different ways to adopt and save a life---check with vet clinics, look in the paper, go to the local pound.

Uh oh, here we go again. If you search this forum you will see we have all voiced our opinions on this many times over. If I were you go to your local county shelter where the dogs are in dire need since there is a risk of being euthanized if not adopted. Leave those others to keep paying out of their own pocket and begging for donations to feed their private zoo.
Sorry but it is that bad with some "rescue groups". Then tell the "rescue group" why you are withdrawing your application. Maybe that will be a wakeup call but I doubt it.

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble. I understand wanting to find rescues a good home, but don't understand the militancy of some groups. They are shooting themselves in the foot, and it's really sad for the animals.

I had a great experience with my recent rescue, so they are not all bad. I found Daisy on Petfinders, and emailed them a bunch of questions, probably more than they asked me ;) I drove 1.5 hours to meet her and think about it, but ended up taking her that day. In fact, the foster mom is the one that assumed I wanted her right away.

I hope you find a group that is actually interested in placing their dogs. I would also send an email to the group you are having the problems with, calmly explaining why they have lost a chance to place a dog in a loving home. It might fall on deaf ears, but maybe not, and they will reevaluate their operation at least a little.

I have experienced the same thing with private rescue groups I've seen in my area. They take up an isle on weekends at the local PetSmart. They seem to have specific agendas for each dog and are more interested in collecting donations for the care and feeding than in actually moving the dogs into permanent homes. Seems they have homes already!

Exactly. I think some people get attached to these dogs and don't want to give them up but want people to donate so they have money to pay for it all.

Thanks everyone for validating my feelings about this experience so far. At least I know it's not just me!

Weed, Daisy looks like a real doll, and I'm glad to hear Maggie likes her. Does Daisy like to howl? (Most beagles I've met like to voice themselves loud and clear!) It's great to know she found a welcome home with you.

I still haven't heard anything after a week, so I'm giving up on this particular avenue. Who knows what else may happen?

Hi Claire!
We adopted Bina in February after trying for over a month to get a different rescue organization to give us a chance on a dog. We went to an adoption event to see dogs we had seen on Petfinder and barely got a chance to talk about the dogs with anybody. We decided on one dog and put in an application on line, but the application person did not check her email and we lost the dog. A few weeks later I found a dog at their shelter that seemed perfect for us. I put in an application for her and waited a week. I finally emailed the head lady asking about our application and got the answer back that she was going to one of their volunteers. It seems they get first choice!

I switched to a different rescue group and they really do mean to place the dogs - charge less, respond well, get you to meet the dog quickly. The volunteer came to our house for the home visit and brought Bina with her. We ended up keeping her that night. In less than a week, we were a three-dog family again!

So keep trying. You might find the right group. One of my enquiries was not answered for six months! She got my email from her internet provider 6 months late!

A lot of rescue groups are like that..Some get attached to the dogs they are fostering and give people the run around. One group in this area is very disorganized and has internal squabbles among them selves. This is troubling. I have a story about a friend of mine who saw an adorable cat at Petsmart put there by this foster group. Friend wrote out an application and was rejected..This person is extremely wealthy and lives in the middle of her 155 acre farm. She's a an older woman who has cats all her life and they live like kings. She also has a few dogs. This person finds strays along the road and takes them to the vet and pays all bills and finds homes for them. She just happened to fall in love with this cat who looked like one she used to have. The reason given was she checked she'd allow the cat to sun itself outside. I personally don't ever let my cats out but this woman has this huge amount of land with not a road in sight and her cats sit on her patio. They get excellent vet care and live to ripe old ages. I'd like to be one of her cats..

Claire, Daisy is extremely lucky she is so cute. She loves my closet, so if I forget to close it, something gets chewed up. And the howling...OMG! It's more of a scream! I am trying to figure out how to curb that - it's really over the top.

Keep us updated, and let us know when your next dog finds you.

I think the system is bass ackwards. The person that is calling it quits with their pet needs to be paying the rescue groups for all costs associated with finding the dog a new home. Not charging the new owner as they are the ones making a great sacrifice to take these pets in.
Things like fosters and home-based rescue groups should be allowed to take only overflow from county shelters or those that were not adopted out "in time".
What it has become is that some of these groups snatch up the purebreeds or most in demand dogs thereby creating unfair competition. But the county shelters don't seem to mind since it all balances out when people don't want to pay more or jump through hoops.

"The person that is calling it quits with their pet needs to be paying the rescue groups for all costs associated with finding the dog a new home."

Shelters run by organizations such as SPCA, etc always demand a "donation" from people surrendering pets, & then they demand a "donation" from people adopting pets.

People who can't or won't make the donation take their pets to the city/county shelter (pound).

I'm always skeptical about where the money you "donate" to these places actually goes.

"rescue groups should be allowed to take only overflow from county shelters or those that were not adopted out "in time".
What it has become is that some of these groups snatch up the purebreeds"

I'm of 2 minds on this:

They often have volunteers who "walk the pound", who pick animals. At least these animals are out of the pound.

but I do think that organizational shelters & rescues cherry-pick;
the animals they offer for adoption are always the most photogenic, the cutest, etc.

What do you think the shelters do with the others?

One of the most brutal reality lessons I had when I moved to the big city was when a co-worker came in in tears one morning.

She had taken her dog's puppies to the SPCA, filled out the paperwork, & *made her donation*.

Halfway home, she said she realized she couldn't bear to think her puppies were to be adopted by strangers, so she turned around & went back.

Within that 20 minutes, the puppies had been euthanized.

When the intake people had told her that they couldn't guarantee that her puppies would find homes, they *knew* that they didn't have room & that they were going to kill them immediately;
they told her what they needed to say to get her to leave a donation.

Which spca is this so I know to never go there and so I never support that shelter?

I had some experience with rescue groups when I was looking for my second dog--I filled out numerous applications online and never heard from any of them. I finally got a call from one of them after I had already found a dog. I also had contact with a girl locally that was trying to place a rescued dog. She kept changing her appointments with me. I finally got so ticked off that I said forget it.

I found my dog through the local humane shelter. He was a rescue and was being fostered in someone's house. He has special needs (sight and hearing impaired) and they'd had a lot of trouble finding him a home. He has been an excellent pet.

Good luck in your search, don't give up!

SPCA of Texas in Dallas

So glad you are willing to rescue an animal, and sorry you're having such a bad experience right now. As others advised, keep moving on until you find the right fit. IMHO, the love you give and receive and the lessons rescue dogs teach you are worth the irritation of groups that don't have it together.

We've rescued many dogs and cats over the years. Some were abandoned and just wandered up the driveway. Others we found on city streets and were ready to give up and die from various causes. Others came to us through breed rescue groups. Others from the city pound or local SPCA.

Our best experiences (where we had the most control over the animal we chose to rescue) have been with reputable breed rescue groups. If you don't want to go that route, I'd recommend checking the no-kill shelters. Vets often have tips on available rescues as well, and you could check them out too.

Hang in there! In my experience, when it's meant to be, it will happen for you.

"I'm considering a three year old female, thinking by this time there'd be some evidence of allergies or chronic health problems by now."
---
"I've jumped through every hoop, and am ready to let this go. I mean, what IS it with Rescue groups?"

I'm assuming you're trying to adopt another Golden...? In a breed that is very overbred and prone to health problems, I could understand the rescues being worried about people returning the dogs when they develop chronic health problems like allergies. Let's face it. The best dogs aren't ending up in rescues. Most responsible breeders have clauses in their contracts and even microchip their dogs to ensure they don't end up (or at least stay) in shelters and rescues. Goldens are notorious for allergies and other issues. If you rescued a dog that ended up with chronic problems a few years down the road, will you deal with it? I'm certainly not saying you won't, but many rescue organizations have to deal with "devoted" pet owners who can't deal with Sparky's allergies or arthritis and then dump them wherever they can.

Now, on the flip side, I'm in the process of adopting a cat, and I have to have a home visit. I'm a very private person, so this bugs me a lot, especially when I can go just about anywhere and get a free kitten. I like the cat, so I'll deal. To be quite honest, it sounds like the rescue organization you're dealing with is either really overloaded or very unprofessional. If you think it is the former, it's your call whether or not you want to deal with it. If you think it's the latter, you need to cut ties and move on.

Sylvia's right - rescue groups run the gamut. I'd say forget about the group you've been dealing with and move on to another one. Do you have any shelters in your area you can go to and visit with their dogs rather than dealing with rescues and foster homes?

Please don't give up - there's a great dog out there somewhere waiting for a great home.
Sher

I've worked with a couple of great rescue groups. They are thorough with the application and home visit. One was our Rottweiler group and I ended up getting one out of the pound instead and made a donation for helping me. Next was a Dalmatian group that I've corresponded with for years. I took in a foster without a home visit and ended up keeping the dog. I'ms sure some are more organized and practiced.

Well, I just thought I was going to vent a bit, and find myself getting an education in the process.

Hi Nancy! I'm glad to hear you had a good experience; that's what keeps me thinking about this, since I know there are people that do. I also have some friends who recently adopted a rescue dog, so I know it can happen. Sadly, it's the human beans that create clogging and prevent some deserving animals a permanent home.

Weed, I know what you mean about Daisy being cute. It's what I think about when I realize at times like this that it's so much easier to adopt (and train) a puppy. Good luck with tempering the vocal cacophony! If you figure out how to do it would you let us know? My dog likes to bark at the window sometimes and for the life of me I can't get her to stop. If I knew what it was about, I might feel better about it! It sounds like you're training each other right now. My dog has a little foot fetish, although I'm lucky she doesn't chew shoes. It's easy to close the closet door!

anita, we are dealing with a breed rescue group, although at this point I'm not sure how reputable it is. They've spent plenty of time ''lecturing and advising''. I'm truly ready to be done with them.

jenc511, you asked if I would deal with a dog that developed a chronic problem down the road? Of course. (I've already been asked the question by two different people from the rescue group and lectured on this point, so forgive me!) I would think that providing care for my beloved golden who lived to 11 with so many health problems would be proof of that. (Of course that means someone would have to be listening.) She had allergies from the time she was 8 weeks old. I also don't think anyone could blame me if I don't want to ''rescue'' a dog with known problems at this time. When a dog comes home with me however, it's for life and we'll deal with whatever comes up.

You know, I'm dealing with my own ''aging'' and frankly, my eyes and hips aren't looking so good here either. In the last six weeks, there's some serious evidence of osteo-ar-thur-itis in my hands and fingers, so I've become rather high maintenance myself.

I'm already tired of answering questions for people who want to evaluate me. Good grief! I'm confused and disgusted. I've had a home visit where my dog was crated until everyone was seated. I've taught her to stand up and move to another spot when I say, ''Excuse me''. She has become the perfect dog for us at this time, and maybe I don't need another one right now. I think many of you are right when you say the right dog will come to us, so I'm not to going to push it for now. What this experiences has done for me is allow me to instead, enjoy what we already have at this moment in time. You know...it's easy to travel with one dog, she's very bonded to us, and is extremely well behaved with no...uh...sibling rivalry.

Thanks for helping me get through this. I'm so grateful to hear about any good experience and am glad to know so many of you have had them, so Thank You!

"In a breed that is very overbred and prone to health problems, I could understand the rescues being worried about people returning the dogs when they develop chronic health problems like allergies."

I don't understand this comment ↑ ↑ ↑

Are you saying that these practices are all just a test of the potential adoptor's patience level to screen out the ones that will have the patience to deal with chronic health problems?

I've had good and bad experiences with rescue groups, been waiting on one since spring currently....

Adopted my 1st dog, Brandi, at the local SPCA. That was easy and painless.

Adopted another dog (Lily) from a rescue group through Petfinder.com .. that worked out fine ..

Adopted my big fat Bailey .. see pics on "Silly Pet Pics" post, he arrived ill ... and even though he was separarted he passed his illness on to my other cats .. upper respiratory. He was worth it in the end, but it took a lot of time and money to get everyone well.

Currently, well since spring, I told a resuce group that was looking to place feral cats in barns, that I would take a barn cat. My barn cat was a "tossed cat", not a feral cat, and ended up coming in the house to join my other spoiled kids. Now I miss having a barn cat, to keep the mice down .. every other month they call and ask if I'm still interested ... and I say yes ... and don't hear from them again for a while. Last time, in mid-July, a woman told me she had 2 nice tortie girls, if I would take both. I said sure. Haven't heard from them since ...

It's frustarating ...

You could try a Golden mix to reduce the likelihood of those "purebred" health problems.

My 5 year old Lab/Golden is the world's most perfect dog;

You might try to find one like her, snork!

(hint: look in the pounds, in the newspaper "Free" ads, at the bulletin boards in vet offices, on Petfinder, on craigslist...those are the places where the perfect dogs hang out!)

Quirky,

I'm just saying, without communicating with these people myself, I'm hesitant to decide if they're overbearing, paranoid rescue workers, simply burned out rescue workers, incredibly thorough rescue workers, very busy/overloaded rescue workers, etc. That's why I suggested the original poster decide for herself if they are simply overloaded or unprofessional. I'm willing to cut people some slack if I think they're doing the best they can with what they have, but I have no patience for the "rescues" that hoard animals and/or have impossible requirements and make potential adopters feel like felons who have to explain themselves at every turn.

On the flip side, having worked in a shelter, I've seen that people from all walks of life, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, races, cultures, etc. can vary quite a bit in their views on animal care, but they can be difficult to weed out. Not to mention, the (seemingly) most devoted pet owners will need to rehome their pets because of a new significant other, a pregnancy, etc. Princess might come to the shelter with an $80 boutique rhinestone collar and hundreds of dollars of accessories, but she ends up in the same cages as the alley stray with nothing but a cardboard litter box and a towel.

You may or may not be surprised by the number of cats whose families suddenly become allergic when they, coincidentally, develop any sort of health/behavior issues. You may or may not be surprised by the number of dogs surrendered to shelters because their owners suddenly don't have time for them when they're, coincidentally, now full grown, adolescent dogs with no training.

Honestly, I don't think any rescue worth its salt needs to be adopting out an animal without microchipping it and making it clear that the animal can ALWAYS come back to the rescue. Even at my shelter, with no municipal funds, we gave priority to our prior adoptees, took them back, and adopted them out, barring any *serious* issues. They were always microchipped, so any time they might show up at another shelter, vet's office, etc., we were always in the contact info.

I think there are a lot of rescues doing the best they can with the resources they have. I also know of plenty of "rescues" that are just horrible. I can understand *why* some people might get burned out, and I also think they need to back off and take some time until they are better able to deal with people who are honestly just trying to "do the right thing" and adopt a dog/cat from rescue. If you offend potential adopters, they get a bad feeling about your rescue and every other rescue. No one gets interrogated buying a pet store puppy or picking up a Wal-Mart parking lot kitten.

You know jenc511, I don't feel like I have to decide anything, since at this point, I don't think I care any more about working with these people.

I did send a (non-judgmental) letter to all the volunteers explaining my position. For some reason, I don't expect any of them to follow up, since I wrote everyone. They've made excuses for each other, and put me in a place where ''I have to understand...'' I'll keep you posted if I hear anything, but I wouldn't expect it to be anytime soon. Apparently, their checks and balances don't apply to themselves...only to others.

"I'm just saying, without communicating with these people myself, I'm hesitant to decide if they're overbearing, paranoid rescue workers, simply burned out rescue workers, incredibly thorough rescue workers, very busy/overloaded rescue workers, etc.

Yes it's called being patient. And you have to be patient even with the county pound. But this is nuts. What started out as a good thing has kind of turned into a business and I don't think it's that hard to tell which ones are doing this for the good of the animals and which ones maybe have other plans.

Communications are sometimes harder than they should be! Apparently the foster family was on vacation. I received a picture, and will try to meet the dog. If anyone's interested, I'll let you know how it all works out.

claire de luna,

Hopefully, that's all it was, and they'll be on the ball throughout the rest of the process. Good luck in your search for a new dog!

Of COURSE we are interested! Let us know all about it!

Glad this is taking a better turn. I refrained from comment intially because I am both an adopter and a volunteer with rescue groups.

Yep, we all have serious jobs and lives and fit this fostering and home visiting stuff into our evenings and week-ends. I don't think three weeks is excessive considering that in that time the application was reviewed, your references were likely checked, a home visit appt was scheduled and completed, and the application was approved. Two weeks would be ideal given that most of the visits happen on week-ends, but during busy times when volunteers are on vacation, three weeks doesn't sound like 'forever.'

"It seems that in their eagerness to remind me that rescue dogs come with ''baggage'' and that I may want to adopt from a breeder if I'm concerned about health issues, they are less concerned about finding good homes for the dogs than their own agenda."

I suspect that their 'agenda' is a permanent placement for the dog.

Although you say that you would work with any dog with problems, your requests do raise red flags that would trigger any responsible volunteer to have the 'dogs change, dogs have issues' discussion with you or any applicant. It isn't 'personal'. What you probably ran into were experienced volunteers testing a bit (given your requests) to make sure that the dog wouldn't bounce again. Obviously, they found you sincere and a good potential home, so please forgive them for treating you like any other applicant. Many applicants are not experienced and many really do have unrealistic expectations that no dog can meet and see nothing wrong with returning animals if they don't magically and perfectly fit into the household.

What strikes me oddly here is that they don't have photos of the dogs on a website. Maybe you could 'give back' (whether you do or do not adopt the pup you're interested in) by volunteering with the group and taking photos of the dogs for display on the groups website. By doing that you'd be helping many other dogs and many other applicants.

Good luck, and do deep us posted.

Cynthia, Thanks for your opinion on the matter. I appreciate that you see both sides of the issue.

Although you say that you would work with any dog with problems, your requests do raise red flags that would trigger any responsible volunteer to have the 'dogs change, dogs have issues' discussion with you or any applicant. It isn't 'personal'.

I realize that, and even appreciate it to a point. Actually though, I didn't actually say I'd work with any dog, which is why those red flags were waving around I suppose. At this point I know what's harder for me handle and thought I was being fair. I don't actually take things personally, but was more frustrated by the lack of communication. I didn't write about any of that until there hadn't been any for a while. (Just telling me how long they would be out of touch would have helped, since I assume the vacation was planned.) The picture thing bugged me too, although in a way I can almost see why they don't want to post pictures. The dog I'm interested in is beautiful and quite changed from when they took her to now. They obviously think you should find out about the dog first, before you fall in love with their picture. I know several of them I inquired about were not yet ''adoptable'' in their eyes, and not the best fit for our family.

I have to drive a distance to meet the dog, and wasn't that excited to do that while the temperatures were so hot. Now that it's cooled off, I do believe the timing is better. If this is supposed to work out it will...

Please don't give up on rescue groups! I foster dogs for a small rescue group. We have the dog's photos on petfinder and on our own website. We do have a long application but it's primarily there so the rescue can be sure people have thought everything through and it's not an impulse purchase. It's hard because as with anything along these lines, you hear and see so many horror stories that sometimes you stop believing in humanity, and I think that unfortunately happens to some people who do rescue - they get to the point they don't trust anyone. I've had a lot of sad stories come through here, but I have also had a lot of the dogs I've fostered find wonderful, caring homes. Please remember not all rescues or shelters are alike---please don't give up because of a bad experience with one. There are so many dogs out there that need homes - thank you so much for trying to do your part to help out.

blueiris, I haven't given up. In fact, we're meeting the dog tomorrow, so I'll let you all know how it worked out. I hope I'm not being unrealistic, because I'm hopeful it will. Our dog has never paid much attention to other dogs, so I have no idea what to expect with her.

I'm spraying our jeans with Comfort Zone, and hope that will make a better impression! I have a beach towel to spray with it as well, along with a bandana in case we get to bring her home.

You know, I had a very strong feeling about this dog when I first heard about her...unusually so. I'm trying to listen to my instincts, which I hope are leading me in the right direction. Tomorrow's light of day will be most revealing!

Crossing fingers and paws here :)

I haven't read all of the posts in this thread so forgive me if I digress but I have been involved with Shiba Inu rescue for the last 5 years and volunteered for others before that. To be fair to the rescue groups, yes there are some that may seem better than others, there may be shelters that are better than others but one thing they have on common is they are overworked and understaffed. By the sheer numbers of dogs that come into rescue and shelters there are far less volunteers and staff members to handle each case in a timely manner. In the groups I hae been involved in and especially the last 5 with Shiba Inu's... btw I have my own Shiba and also 2 rescue Shibas... these organizations really work to have the dogs best interest in the forefront over that of a potential adopter. The people working in these organizations have seen far to many times where a potential owner hasn't done their homework or research only to see a dog come back time and again. They do work hard to place dogs in a forever home. I have helped many people keep their patience during the examination process and have also talked people into seeking a different breed or dog they seem to be fixated on. It's easier to make these judgment calls with the eyes of being an outsider. Give these rescue groups a chance, when you think how disappointed you become with the process, just think how much more disappointed the dog is when it doesn't work.

Bob

Well, we met the dog yesterday, and I know why I had such a strong feeling about her. She turned out to be exactly like the last rescue dog we adopted in almost every way. We learned to live together in harmony, but it was a struggle for quite a few years. My first thought when I met her was, ''Do I want to keep this dog to the end of her life?'' Since I have already ''been there, done that'' with this personality type of dog, I didn't feel like I wanted to repeat my last experience. (You know, you only go around once, and I feel like I already learned what I needed to from that particular episode, which lasted ten years.) That isn't to say there aren't other rescue dogs we might be better suited to, so I'll keep my options open.

There's a certain amount of guilt that goes along with this, but I'm calm in the knowledge it wasn't a good fit. One thing I know for sure now, is how dedicated the foster family is to caring for these dogs. What had been frustrating for me was merely a lack of communication. They had done wonders with the dog, and I hope she can find a wonderful home. Although I'm not the right person for this, I can make a donation, which I intend to do to help support families who do such charitable work. God bless them!

I was hoping you would post soon. Sorry it didn't work out, but I'm so glad you knew that in advance and didn't let the "guilt" get to you - sometimes it's hard to be realistic about it all, especially when there is a needy pooch in front of you. I'm glad things with the foster family went well too. Best of luck finding that perfect match!

Thanks blueiris for your support about all of this. It's a lifetime commitment, and one I couldn't consider lightly. I'm open to it, and not in any hurry which is good.