rescue organizations

[rileyroo]

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are we allowed to discuss rescue organizations? i'm interested in fostering or adopting from a rescue organization for aussies, and am wanting to know if anyone has had any experience with any of the rescue organizations.

if this discussion isn't permitted, maybe those who have had experience with any of the orgs can PM me? i'd really appreciate it. 🙂

 

[bunnity]

You mean are we allowed to discuss them on SDN?
I don't see why we couldn't talk about them on here. A lot of us (including me) are very into shelter med. I will talk your ear off about rescue if you want 🙂

Petfinder.com is a good place to start, and you would be able to find both breed-specific rescues and australian shepherds at regular rescues and shelters.

A good rescue will have the pet come spayed / neutered, microchipped, and healthy and up to date on vaccinations. There are some shady rescues out there (speaking generally), so it's worth talking to people you know, asking for a vet reference, or going to see the place for yourself.

Good for you for adopting / fostering and if you have any questions I'd be happy to talk to you about it.

 

[ReadyBeVet]

I'm a big advocate of rescue! I am a home inspection volunteer for a local golden retriever rescue group. Actually, I just did a home visit today! The rescue should be as interested about you as you are in them! Best of luck finding your aussie!

http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm#834

 

[rileyroo]

thank you all so much for your information.

i didn't know if we were allowed to discuss specific organizations or not so i thought i'd ask just in case. 🙂

thanks for both of the websites you have mentioned.

bunnity - i'm glad you mentioned aspects of a good rescue as i probably wouldn't have even though to double check for certain details.

readybevet - i used to walk dogs for a local golden retriever rescue! i get attached and i hate to see dogs sitting in crates all day. i'd love to foster them so they can have a home, yard, family, and be walked twice a day - even if that is just until they find a permanent home.

i'm trying to decide whether it is best to adopt or foster right now. things i'm considering are finances (for healthcare, food, etc), space (i have great space now as i live in a house with a yard in a great neighborhood to walk the dogs but if i get into vet school i won't know where i'll be moving to or what my living situation will be), time commitment, and i already have another dog (who i rescued from a local shelter). if anyone has any information from personal experience either sheltering or adopting another dog, i'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts! 🙂

 

[twelvetigers]

I think this forum is pretty much a free-for-all as long as no one is giving out (or asking for) what could be considered veterinary advice, or trolling/spamming/being a db in general.

 

[rileyroo]

I think this forum is pretty much a free-for-all as long as no one is giving out (or asking for) what could be considered veterinary advice, or trolling/spamming/being a db in general.

ok good. 🙂

 

[bunnity]

I fostered a Husky mix puppy for about three weeks... my roommate was fostering her at first but then she would leave for 24 hours at a time so it ended up with me fostering her.

It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot (never owned a dog), and I really enjoyed it. It was hard though, partly because she had a broken leg (in a cast) so I was trying to restrict her activity the whole time (6 month old puppy... yeah right). She actually pulled the cast off once and so had to go back to the shelter to get a new one. I won't lie though - it was really hard to let her go back to the shelter after some landlord issues arose (and it sucked because I had a couple people really interested in adopting and they flaked out). I missed her for a good couple weeks after I took her back. I think it helps to remember that by NOT adopting them all, you can keep helping more animals in the future.

Most of my foster experience is with rabbits (I have two fosters right now) so that's all I have to say about dogs.

I think fostering is a great way to figure out if you're ready for the time commitment of any animal though. You might have a dog for a month and realize you can't do it long term, or you might realize that you're totally ready for a dog and become a "foster failure" and end up adopting 🙂
It also gives you an opportunity to figure out whether that particular animal works with your family / lifestyle / other animals. I have fostered three female rabbits (not simultaneously) with the understanding that I would adopt if they got along with my male, and none of them worked out. My bunny is mean to other bunnies 🙁 But at least I was able to know that instead of making a commitment right away and then having years of antagonistic rabbit behavior.
AND if you foster you do a great service to the rescue, and free up a space to make room for another animal there. More animals get homes, less animals get euthanized for lack of space. It is a great thing to do and I wish that more people would.

 

[twelvetigers]

It's so strange to think of pre-vet and vet students not having pets! I know bunnity only said she didn't have dogs previously, but I know a couple of students that haven't had animals at all, or had them as children but nothing recent where they were really taking care of them. Should having pets be an unspoken requirement?

Just a somewhat OT thought. 🙄

 

[rileyroo]

bunnity thank you so much for all of that info. i really don't know a lot of information about what fostering involves so every little bit helps. i thought if you contacted a shelter about fostering that you HAD to keep that animal until it was adopted, so i was afraid that if it wasn't working - like i didn't feel like i was able to give it enough attention due to school and work or if it wasn't working with my dominant female (i'm hoping to foster a male) then i would be in a situation where i signed myself up to do something i wasn't equipped to handle. thanks again! that information really helped out.

i do have one question regarding vet care for fostering. does the organization/shelter take care of the vet care while the animals are in foster homes? seems like i have heard that before. or does it vary by organization?

 

[bunnity]

Glad to help rileyroo.

The organizations I've fostered for like you try to keep the animal for a specified time (3 weeks seems standard) but if it's a total disaster then they understand if you have to bring the animal back. Actually a lot animals "up for foster" are non-adoptable at the time, for health reasons (like my broken legged Husky), or because they are cruelty cases waiting for their ex-owner's court case to be over before they can legally be adopted. And since an animal often has a better chance of being adopted when it is located at the shelter, they won't expect you to foster indefinitely until someone is interested in the animal (unless you want to).

A good rescue will provide veterinary care through their own vet if they have one or through an outside vet where they cover the expenses. Everywhere I have fostered for also provided food, litter, leash, crate, etc for the animal. You should really only be housing the animal - not supporting it financially.

And to twelvetigers, I agree about the pet ownership thing and I actually wish I had owned a dog at some point. I think there is a lot of body language that you learn when you own an animal, and I feel "behind" most people in reading a dog or cat. Problem for is is that I've always had rabbits, so I don't want to own a predator until I have a big house to keep everyone separate if necessary. I think if someone has really never owned an animal, even as a kid, it would be really hard to relate to the bond with an animal, the financial side, or the responsibility.

ETA: Since I'm on my foster soapbox I will add that animals coming from shelters can be very stressed and consequently are often sick. Be aware of this if you have your own animals, and consider fostering a different species than you own (like foster a cat if you have a dog) if you don't have the space to keep everyone separate. Don't be afraid to ask if there is anything unusually bad going around the shelter. There will always be URI's but sometimes some more lethal bacteria or virus makes the rounds and you don't want to bring that home to your own animals. I have a sick bunny foster right now, and it was very stressful until the vet confirmed that he was not contagious.

 

[GellaBella]

My bunny is mean to other bunnies 🙁 .

Oh gosh I have a bunny who is just an absolute terror with other buns. I have 4 rabbits and this newest one just. wants. to. kill. the others. The other 3 get along fine, and they can all come out and play together and then this new one just wants to fight fight fight.
I'm glad I'm not the only one with a rabbit-hating bun!
She is such a sweetheart when she is out on her own, wants to be pet all the time...but put her near a rabbit and she becomes evil!

 

[bunnity]

Oh gosh I have a bunny who is just an absolute terror with other buns. I have 4 rabbits and this newest one just. wants. to. kill. the others. The other 3 get along fine, and they can all come out and play together and then this new one just wants to fight fight fight.
I'm glad I'm not the only one with a rabbit-hating bun!
She is such a sweetheart when she is out on her own, wants to be pet all the time...but put her near a rabbit and she becomes evil!

Haha my bunny is the sweetest little thing when he's around people, and then put a rabbit in front of him and he's an attack machine. I felt guilty that he was alone for a long time but I figure it's his own fault now. I also am glad to not be the only one - I felt like such a failure not being able to get him to bond. I think he knows that he will get the most attention when he is the only bun in the house... maybe yours thinks the same!

 

[shelterURIgirl]

Ha! I love the bunny stories! Ok, this is off topic but I grew up with lots of bunnies, they are awesome animals! The thing about bunnies is lots of people get them but can't care for them--which is how my family became kind of the neighborhood bunny rescue. Like this one time we took in a mean boy rabbit that a pet store couldn't adopt. So we took him in and even started letting him out with the other rabbits (all our females were spayed) and much to our surprise, he got along great, especially with the males! Apparently he got along so great that "he" became a "she" and popped out another 15 bunnies! Whoops. Lesson learned: never trust a owner when they tell you the sex of the animal.

 

[Minnerbelle]

There are so many different types of organizations doing different types of fosters, so I would call up a couple of places and see which place is right for you.

For example, very large shelters that are able to take back any animal at a moment's notice (though of course that's discouraged) and have lots of resources will usually provide not only vet care, but also food and supplies. Many also have you just foster long enough so the animal is rehabilitated and adoptable, so that the animal can come back to the shelter for adoption. Some shelters allow you to hold on to the animal until an adoptor shows up, but obviously the animal has a better chance of getting adopted in person rather than a flier or just on the website.

Lots of little All Foster rescues or mostly foster rescues usually need you to foster indefinitely until the animal has a home. Lots of variations, but especially if the organization is 100% volunteer run, and does not have a physical facility, then it's hard to get a lot of support. Many will provide vet care, but supplies are a bit of a different story (though some do!) I work for one of these little orgs right now, and there are great things about them, but if you don't know how much you can commit, then I'm not sure this is the route to go, but give them a call and see what's out there!

 

[bunnity]

Ha! I love the bunny stories! Ok, this is off topic but I grew up with lots of bunnies, they are awesome animals! The thing about bunnies is lots of people get them but can't care for them--which is how my family became kind of the neighborhood bunny rescue. Like this one time we took in a mean boy rabbit that a pet store couldn't adopt. So we took him in and even started letting him out with the other rabbits (all our females were spayed) and much to our surprise, he got along great, especially with the males! Apparently he got along so great that "he" became a "she" and popped out another 15 bunnies! Whoops. Lesson learned: never trust a owner when they tell you the sex of the animal.

Definitely true... there is a huge lack of knowledge about correct rabbit care, even among veterinarians. What constitutes correct care has changed a lot recently... the vet told me to feed my childhood rabbits pellets only, and now vets are recommending little to no pellets. It is really sad when bunnies are kept in tiny cages and bought as pets for little children that are rough with them, and even in shelters they are often not treated properly.

I loved your story about the "male" bunny - they are definitely hard to tell the sex. Once at the shelter, we opened up a rabbit for a spay only to find that it had neither ovaries nor testicles and was in fact a neutered male. He had been neutered very young (probably by the breeder... shady) that he had not developed normally, poor guy.

OK sorry for the bunny hijack...