"i Consider Him A Rescue"

[Bjelkier]

I agree 100% with the OP, well said ...

The OP didn't actually say anything - just copied a piece from a USA website and added the link if anyone wanted to look at it. There was no comment.

Poodle, I take your point - I was a bit annoyed at being shouted at whilst absorbing a lesson in what a word should mean via another country (albeit English-speaking).

My three dogs are from the RSPCA, but I don't consider them any more "rescued" than some poor little bugger out of a glass case at EastWestSouthLands. (So I did not take the "You" personally). I do understand the implications: maybe we need another word - I don't like hijacking the language for special circumstances, but then gay still means bright and happy to me.

Lavendergirl said "Tourists from other (developed) countries are often appalled when they visit our shopping centres to see pups for sale in glass cages" - what countries are these?? (thinks of immigrating).

I am aware of that.

Dosn't change the fact that it was well said by whoever wrote it ;)

[PossumCorner]

.... she said that dogs could only be bought from breeders in England. I believe many American states are the same - maybe not all.

"Not all", - well no, I'd say not. The whole purpose of the OP's link was re the situation and attitudes in the USA, not Australia. Which I believe is far worse than here in many regards.

[mita]

Many years ago, I came across a pet store (in a shopping mall) that had some little kittens squashed into a box, that was none too clean, in the window. I let the mall manager know that I thought this was inhumane & didn't represent the centre very well.

I also let my local state member know that I thought there should be laws about puppies and kittens up for sale.

I took one of those kittens home myself....& told the shop keeper that this was not a good situation for young companion animals.

I didn't call that kitten a 'rescue'. I called her Katie the Cat. She went down with cat flu' in the first days (no surprise), but pulled thro' with vet help. She lived to be 17 years of age.

I still believe there ought be laws about sale of puppies & kittens.

[FHRP]

Lots of breeders will take back dogs they've bred and rehome them...and this IS rescue as otherwise those dogs would end up in pounds.

Do you mean breeders forcibly taking back a dog they've bred from a bad situation? Or breeders taking back dogs that the owners can no longer keep or care for?? The former may be considered a rescue, but hopefully with carefully vetted pupy homes this is uncommon. The latter I certainly do not see as rescue, these dogs are breeder rehomes. Any breeder worth their salt will take back a dog they've bred and rehome it appropriately if the owners can no longer care for the dog. In fact many breeders stipulate that they must be given the first option of taking back the dog should an owner want/need to get rid of the dog they bred. There's a good chance a lot of the dogs would never end up in pounds, but be sold or given to other people by the first owner. Many come from loving homes where circumstances have changed and the dogs aren't being 'rescued' from a bad situation. I know I would hate to have a dog I bred that I needed to rehome referred to as a rescue, unless it was genuinely rescued from a poor situation.

[Guest lavendergirl]

.... she said that dogs could only be bought from breeders in England. I believe many American states are the same - maybe not all.

"Not all", - well no, I'd say not. The whole purpose of the OP's link was re the situation and attitudes in the USA, not Australia. Which I believe is far worse than here in many regards.

Yes but still relevant to Australia I would have thought.

[megan_]

Pet shop puppies would also stop being produced if people stopped buying them - no law change required (and I do actually want the law change). The power is in the hands of the consumer, we tend to forget that.

I'm sure some kind-hearted soul thought they were saving a dog when they bought my Lucy's pups. But they were giving money to a monster who kept on breeding her while people bought the pups. Only when he stopped making money on mini schnauzers and the margins weren't there for him did he give up.

I don't think there is much value in debating semantics of what "rescue" is, but to think that you've done a good thing by buying a dog from a pet shop (and giving $ to a puppy farmer) then it isn't "rescue" under any definition of the word.

[Maddy]

2psinapod, while i agree with what you said, i think you said it in the wrong spot lol. i am certain most the people on this forum know about puppy mills etc...i think it is the people NOT on this forum that need to be made aware.

In my opinion, a forum like Dol is exactly the place for something like this to be posted. Dol is a huge, popular forum- in the past 15 minutes, 190 guests have been here- that's 190 people who may have been Googling puppies or considering "rescuing" a puppy from a pet shop.

[Pheebs]

I'm on the mission to find a kitten at present, and have a similar feeling when I look at the websites of registered breeders. Whilst not rescuing, it is 80% of the time referred to as "adopting your kitten" which I cannot help but feel is a tad manipulative, much like the notion of "rescue". Am I wrong to feel this?

[Crisovar]

I'm on the mission to find a kitten at present, and have a similar feeling when I look at the websites of registered breeders. Whilst not rescuing, it is 80% of the time referred to as "adopting your kitten" which I cannot help but feel is a tad manipulative, much like the notion of "rescue". Am I wrong to feel this?

Breeders are stuck between a rock and a hard place as far as I am concerned.

If they refer to sales, selling etc they are accused of being too commercial or profit driven. I don't think the wording is manipulative at all.

[Pheebs]

Breeders are stuck between a rock and a hard place as far as I am concerned.

If they refer to sales, selling etc they are accused of being too commercial or profit driven. I don't think the wording is manipulative at all.

Very valid point - thanks

[CrazyCresties]

Lavendergirl said "Tourists from other (developed) countries are often appalled when they visit our shopping centres to see pups for sale in glass cages" - what countries are these?? (thinks of immigrating).

I was appalled when we moved over from the UK a year ago to see puppies/kittens in pet stores I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a pet store in the UK selling them.

However I believe in a couple of large cities a large store has opened selling a variety of pups

I was speaking to an English lady outside a PP and she said that dogs could only be bought from breeders in England. I believe many American states are the same - maybe not all.

Dogs can be brought from numerous sources in the UK.....the usual outlet for puppy farms are ads in local papers and on places like gumtree

Edited August 18, 2011 by CrazyCresties

[Little Gifts]

2ps would you consider a rescue dog one that was going to be dumped by the original owner who no longer wanted it? Ie it has been rescued from an inappropriate fate? That is how I've ended up with all my dogs except two. One was a straight foster care arrangement who went on to a new forever home after recovering from health issues and the other was a dog left with me on a 2 week temp care arrangement whose owner never bothered coming back.

I consider them all rescue because I never planned on having them before hearing about their circumstances, was willing to make adjustments in my life and household to manage their arrival and if I had not been the right person for them my intention would have been to find them the right home. I didn't 'buy' them off anyone but did 'pay' for all of them through desexing, vaccinating, vet care and meeting their specific health needs. One of them I also reimbursed somebody for the cost of them being flown to Brisbane.

I do think rescue comes in many forms, particularly in smaller communities where things sometimes happen by word of mouth rather than through pounds or more formal rescue arrangements.

I cannot support anyone endeavouring to make a living or profit from breeding and selling puppies or dogs whether they do it for one litter, breed or more. (I obviously exclude quality registered breeders from that because I doubt you could make a profit from a litter when you are providing good food, vet care, socialisation, assessment, post sale support and all that is required in raising healthy parents and puppies.)

[Weasels]

I know someone that saved a dog from an unfortunate situation with a close family member. Even though it didn't come from a shelter she calls is a rescue, I think mainly so she doesn't have to go into the whole story with every random and speak ill of her family member. Seems fair enough IMO.

[WoofnHoof]

I bought my two dogs from a pet store, I don't consider them rescues although the sibe I do refer to as a lucky bugger for ending up with an owner who was crazy enough to buy the sickest looking dog there and then spend thousands on corrective surgery lol The outcome could have been worse but it could have been better had he been born as part of a well thought out and planned healthy litter.

The horse I bought from the sales I do consider a rescue because she was off to the doggers but horses are a slightly different kettle of fish since they are worth meat money even if no one else wants them.

[espinay2]

I think many people confuse 'rescue' and 'rehome'

When a breeder takes a dog of their breeding back and finds a new home for it, that is not rescue that is a rehome.

When an owner finds a new home for their dog, no matter what story they spin (whether true or not) about where the dog will end up otherwise, that is a rehome not a rescue.

Where a dog is taken in by people who are not the dogs owners edited to add - like a rescue service as explained below which is an example of this definition (or who do not have some connection to the dog such as the dogs breeder, or vested financial interest in the dog such as a store or broker) and they keep it temporarily before finding the dog a permanent home,THAT is rescue.

And of course buying from someone who has a financial interest in the dog (such as a breeder, broker or store), not matter what the condition the dog or pup is in, is a sale - not a rehome, and not a rescue either.

Edited August 18, 2011 by espinay2

[Gayle.]

When a dog is rehomed via a breed rescue service, whether it was bred by the people who run the service (ie, a registered breeder or a breed club) or bred in another state, or bred by backyarders, then it's a rescue.

A lot of "rescues" are not "rescued" from deaths doorstep, or from a terrible situation. A lot of them are surrendered due to owners circumstances....marriage break up, ill-health, moving etc....and they are perfectly nice, well balanced dogs whose owners couldn't keep them and who couldn't find them another home.

And so they ended up in a shelter, a pound or with a rescue service for rehoming (or euthanasing).

Edited August 18, 2011 by GayleK

[PennyGB]

“I consider him a rescue.”

if you did something wrong, if you made a mistake, even if you knew it was wrong and said heck with it, I'm doing it anyway, OWN IT. Say "I did something really stupid, something I hope you don't ever do, something I hope nobody ever does."

http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/general/i-consider-him-a-rescue/

I have family members who at the time thought they were doing the right thing buying from a byb (they called themselves a "breeder" and my family took that to mean they were reputable), several years on they freely admit it was a bad choice and they were not fully educated. Their experience helped us be a bit more discerning when choosing a puppy.

I wish people would spend less time trying to defend their poor choices and more time helping people avoid making the same mistakes...

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

One chain of puppy selling pet shops has recently decided not to support "puppy farms" and instead is taking puppies from BYB. So they mostly have "accidental" litters of SBTx or farm dog bitsa in their perspex walled cages. I did notice that one food court that I walk through to get from A to B - had one of these chains in it, and it has since disappeared. And good riddance.

There is still another one across the mall though I think that one has puppy mill puppies. ARRGHH.

My dog is such a good ambassador for pound puppies - I got her from AWL and she's such a friendly dog - people are amazed you can get a friendly dog or a 10 week old puppy from the shelters. Don't all those dogs have behaviour problems? Erm, no!

[krustie22]

2psinapod, while i agree with what you said, i think you said it in the wrong spot lol. i am certain most the people on this forum know about puppy mills etc...i think it is the people NOT on this forum that need to be made aware.

In my opinion, a forum like Dol is exactly the place for something like this to be posted. Dol is a huge, popular forum- in the past 15 minutes, 190 guests have been here- that's 190 people who may have been Googling puppies or considering "rescuing" a puppy from a pet shop.

lol HA i decided to google "buying a puppy from a pet store" and this thread came up top of the second page...point taken!

[espinay2]

When a dog is rehomed via a breed rescue service, whether it was bred by the people who run the service (ie, a registered breeder or a breed club) or bred in another state, or bred by backyarders, then it's a rescue.

Regarding the statement in bold. I have to ask. Are their breeders out there who work for rescues that are using the rescue resources rather than their own to rehome dogs they have bred? I am not talking about just contacts for people who might be looking for homes as these can often be passed freely between breeders and rescues and I would not class a dog as a rescue because the dog was united with a person through a contact list of people looking for dogs (my friends just got a lead for a dog through a rescue but dealt with the owner who was rehoming the dog - while the lead came through rescue the dog is a rehome). I am talking about in general classifying a dog as a rescue and possibly using rescue resources to rehome a dog where they are the breeder of that dog.

Edited August 18, 2011 by espinay2