Rocky update, lessons learned...

[Chrisnstar]

Rocky will be leaving next week to go to the national ridgeback rescue. We obtained him from another rescue that broke away from the national org.

I've told them everything he did, so they know. He's staying in the house and only allowed out on a leash until he leaves here. I wanted to have him pts, but Ray wouldn't let me, so this was our next option.

I've learned a lot about how rescues should operate and what this one did wrong. I'm not blaming them, but if I ever ever get involved with another dog rescue, I'll be a much more informed consumer.

What SHOULD have happened was that the rescue should have gotten Rocky out of the shelter and fostered him for a while. They do that to evaluate the dog's temperament and needs so they can match it up better with a home. He was simply picked up from the shelter, taken to the vet for shots and neutering, and turned over to us. So there was no in between evaluation.

Also, their contract said that we are not supposed to sell him or give him away to anyone, that they are supposed to take him back, but they would not. I contacted the OTHER rescue, the national org, and they got back to me within 2 hours with plans for picking up Rocky.

The rescue person is in Denver and it looks like I'll have to make a trip partway.I think we're going to meet in Hays to exchange the dog. So I'll probably have to miss my convention in OK, but it will be worth it to send him on his way.

It's so odd because this dog is so sweet otherwise. He has never bothered the house cats. They've walked right under his nose. He's submissive to Bubba and Lady. He's a friendly lap dog, just can't be around livestock. I've told the rescue people that if I were placing him I would not place him in a home with children or babies.

They know the good, bad and ugly about him, so he'll be their responsibility now.

Anyway, I hope this doesn't spin out of control. I just wanted to share my experience so others might learn from it and make sure the rescue you are dealing with is a good one with policies they uphold.

I suppose I could get ugly and force them to take him back under their own contract, but it is being taken care of, and that's what I wanted.

chris

[Mary Ann]

I have to reiterate how sorry I am that it didn't work out. It sounds like this rescue will put him in a foster home before rehoming him, and will evaluate him more carefully for the next situation. I sure wish the last one would have been more careful, because while you wouldn't have Rocky, at least you'd still have Sassy.

I've never dealt with a rescue adoption either; I wouldn't have known to ask these questions, or what the correct process would be. Your experience has been a bitter one, but one from which we all can learn.

I thank you for sharing this, even though it's been really difficult.

(((((HUGS)))))

[Chrisnstar]

Difficult and expensive. We will be out about $400 by the time he is turned over between the adoption fees, vet bills and my travel.

We could have put that money toward a well bred puppy and known its bloodlines and prospect for good behavior.

Lessons learned the hard way.....

We have decided to remain a 2 dog family for awhile and keep things as simple as possible for the time being.

chris

[Cally]

I'm so sorry Chris. I know you really wanted this to work out-I'm so glad that Ray was willing to face reality and find Rocky another place to go.

[Sarah]

Chris I am also very sorry that Rocky did not work out for your family.

As far as adoptions from rescues go I can tell you how our rescue works our adoption process however not all rescues work the same way so take this for whatever it is worth.

When we get a dog in (be it from a private owner, the pound, or another rescue group) the first thing we do is preform a preliminary temperament test on the animal. We check for food aggression, toy aggression, reactions to other dogs, cats, livestock, and reactions to children. Then we have the dog completely vetted (including spay/neuter, heartworm testing, and all shots). The dog then goes into either a foster home or into our home for a period of no less than 30 days (unless it has come from another rescue group and the 30 days has already passed) before it is released for adoption. Puppies do not go through a 30 day period for obvious reasons. *We do put them online immediatly to give people the opportunity to apply for them so that we can go through the applications*

We do a home visit prior to adoption as well or work with someone in their area if they are outside of ours who can do the check for us (Melelio has helped us out before). We also tell the adoptive owners EVERYTHING about the dog that we have noticed since it has come into our care so there are no suprises. We also explain to the adopter that should anything go wrong and they do not wish to keep/cannot keep the dog any longer that we will take it back no question. We stand by that 100% and have actually taken back 2 dogs that did not work out in their new homes.

Adopting a rescue dog can be a game of chance sometimes. Not all behaviors are displayed within the period they are with us so things can and sometimes do happen when they are in their new homes that didn't happen here. We try to work with the adoptive owners if something goes wrong as well to help them sort it out and try to fix it but if they don't feel comfortable the dog comes back here.

You did your best with Rocky but the rescue you got him from dropped the ball IMO. ((Hugs)) to you all

[Chrisnstar]

They gave us quite a grilling. Called our references several times and did a home inspection. The person inspecting saw the goats and the horses. Knew we had livestock here.

Of course, no one would know how Rocky would be with livestock if he wasn't exposed to them, but they knew next to nothing about him.

We won't make that mistake again! If we wanted to just go get a dog from a shelter we could do that without the rescue!

chris

[Sarah]

Without the rescue keeping him with them for an evaluation period they didn't know enough about him to release him for adoption IMHO. Actions like that are what make people reluctant to adopt from a rescue group.

Calling references, doing home visit, and screening adopters is great but it isn't enough if they don't have a good handle on what the dog is really like before they release it to the adopter.

In good concious I couldn't just go pull a dog from the shelter because you said you wanted that breed of dog and then send it home with you without it being here for enough time to evaluate it around people/animals especially if I knew the dog was going to a home with small kids or livestock. How do you know what the dog might do if it has never been exposed to that situation? *sigh* If I even think the dog may do something I don't let it go to that home even if it means it has to stay here longer....

Again I'm sorry about everything that has happened. If you are ever interested in a mixed breed mutt dog that does well with livestock let me know. I'm sure we have one that would suit you

[Chrisnstar]

LOL, mutts are the best!

For now, we're going to stick with being a two dog family, but Bubba is getting old and gray and at some point we'll have to say our goodbyes. Then we'll be ready for another dog.



chris

[mandy]

I'm glad that RRR is helping. I would have been soo disappointed had they not stepped up! You are absolutely right, the dog should have been fostered or at the VERY least, temperament tested since it was known (was it?) that he has mixed lineage. Even though it was a terrible, expensive, and ultimately fruitless endeavor, I'm glad that the outcome is something you can live with. Rescues are wonderful for lots of people, but with ridgebacks, your situation obviously calls for a dog you can raise from the beginning to be trustworthy (though no dog is ever 100%) or maybe for a less predatory breed. I'm sorry things didn't work out with him.
Mandy

[wildfire]

First let me start by saying that I am so sorry for the loss, hurt, disappointment and grief that you are going through with the loss of what you thought you had with Rocky, and because of the callous attitude of the rescue. (To be sure, I am VERY PRO-rescue!)

Since THEIR contract said you were not supposed to sell him or give him away to anyone, and that they were supposed to take him back, but didn't abide by THEIR OWN CONTRACT.
This sounds like a classic breach of contract.

The way I see it, because you TRIED diligently to abide by THEIR CONTRACT, and when you saw there was a problem you STILL tried to abide by THEIR CONTRACT, if it were me, I’d send the rescue a bill for the price of Sissy (?), as well as the $400 for the adoption fees, vet bills and your travel expenses.

Despite the obvious grief caused by the loss of Sissy (?), I would not even suggest this, were it not for the rescue’s obvious indifference about your emotional grief and monetary losses caused by the dog they contracted. (Since they dumped THEIR burden on me, and they made no effort to abide by their own 501 (c)3 organizations contract, I would send them a bill, preferably through an attorney, for ALL dollar losses. Had they simply taken Rocky back, I would never have said a word about my losses.)

You may find this of interest:
www.lectlaw.com/files/bul08.htm

From the 'Lectric Law Library's stacks

Nonperformance & Breach of Contract

Again, I'm sorry.
Prayers are going up!

[Mags Mom]

Chris- I'm sorry about the series of events with Rocky. We are all wiser about "spin off" rescues as a result. This whole thing reminds me of "HorseAid".

Your giving Rocky a new lease on life by turning him over the other group. Hopefully all of his quirks and personality will be discovered and he can be placed in a home where he will do no harm.

Leslie

[Hasha]

Maybe they will take the time to find the right home for him this time.
I don't know what it is about goats, but they really bring out the agressive side of a dog. When I was a kid, I got a baby goat. It was the sweatest thing! She would follow me around all the time and cry for me when ever I would leave her in the pen. I named her Baby because of all the crying. My dog hated her but he never did any thing to her until one day he got in her pen and strangled her. This was a mutt dog, probably a lab and beagle cross, not much bigger than a beagle and as gentle natured as he could be, but for some reason unknown to me, he had to kill her. I never saw this dog hurt another creature other than a wild rabbit in his whole life, but there was some thing about the goat that brought the killer out in him. Go figure?

Good luck finding the right dog. I'm looking for another one myself, we were thinking about getting a purebred, but I think that I am going to wait until one that needs me finds me. There are so many lost souls out there, that it would be a silly to buy a pup.

[Newfygirl]

We had a similar experience with a Greyhound rescue. We specifically needed something good with kids, other dogs, and cats. Well, after the adoption fee, the inspection, interviews etc we finally got our dog. Then, not 2 days after we got her home she began to snap at our kids. We couldn't chance her biting one of them. We had to send her back. We found out later that she had never been exposed to kids and that the foster home had "fudged" her experiences. hmmmm.