Adopting a Rescue Pet - your experience

We got a beautiful Australian shepherd mix from the Humane Society. He was about a year old and the sweetest thing. However after getting him home for a few days we found out that he hated almost every other dog out there (but ours). He destroyed our blinds trying to get to dogs outside. I had never had a rescue and knew this pup needed a lot of love and training. Sadly he went back to shelter. I cried for a few days, but I knew at the time I just couldn't have a dog I couldn't trust with my five year old dog. We ended up getting a puppy from a breeder. We go on walks every day and hike on the weekends. I needed a dog that could enjoy our lifestyle. Both of my dogs love people, water, and I can trust them with anyone. They even sit with the bunnies in our yard.

I think my experience was different from most. I am not sure why the Humane Society didn't know that the rescue was so dog aggressive. Most rescues turn out to be awesome dogs.

One of our shelties a rescue from a horrible hoarding situation that made national news. He has come very far and we are still working with him on fear issues. Another rescue was born in a shelter so has some better background but still needs some work. They are both more intensive than the three we have had that originated with breeders and had solid early socializing and puppy training. For the rescues we applied, had a home visit, and had to have a physical fence.

We used a rescue. Filled out application. Had a home visit. Paid $100. Picked him up a few days after his "snipsnip" appt.

My dogs have all come from shelters rather than rescues, but it was pretty straightforward both times. My cats came from rescues, and they were also pretty straightforward, but some places we talked to were kind of crazy. There was one rescue that wouldn't even let us come see any cats before we wrote up an application, and then rejected us because they didn't approve of the fact that we only fed our cat dry food - even though we had vet approval and the cat that we had would absolutely not eat canned food. There is definitely a wide range of programs out there!

My rescue dog was adopted from the set up in front of a local Petsmart.

I filled out the application. They told me what type of food he was eating (not a cheap brand) and asked me to go inside (Petsmart) and buy some. They said they had him for a short time and had not gotten him neutered yet. The surgery would be covered by them, I just needed to leave a $100 deposit which would be returned to me when I brought back the form from the vet, indicating he was neutered. I think there was a adoption fee also.

That tells me that they at least, wanted to make sure they were not adopting to someone with cash flow problems. Because how are you going to feed and medically take care of a pet if you have limited sources? The application was basic standard questions.

I had been looking for a dog, but was not necessarily planning to adopt that day, but it was fate, and he and I have been living happily ever after.


ETA: While the food my dog was eating when he got adopted was not a cheap brand, we only kept him on that brand until the bag finished. We transitioned him to a better quality dog food. I don't think it was a requirement that we keep that original brand.  If it was, too bad. I found food with better ratings. 

I would only rescue a pet.  There are so many furry friends that need a good home and they're just waiting for someone to love them.  Rescuing is worth it, because you get a pet that has been fixed, vaccinated and often your furry baby is already house trained.  I've rescued two  kitties and they have been so lovable and sweet.   Rescuing is the way to go, imho.

We found ours on Adopt-a-Pet dot com. She was through a small-dog rescue that brings dogs to NY from CA and some southern states - small dogs are more in demand here (so much apartment living!), so it's easier to find them homes.

The individual rescue groups vary widely. Ours required that we submit an application before we could meet a dog. They did not do a home visit, but they checked at least one of our references. We then met the dog at a city park with the foster mom, who was allowed to "yea" or "nay" us, based on how we interacted with the dog. If it hadn't worked out with this one, we could have requested to meet a different dog without re-applying. But I knew our sweetie belonged with us from the get-go, and fortunately, the foster mom agreed! The whole family had to go to meet her. It was $350 to adopt.

Our chihuahua mix was 5 when we got her. She's our first family dog, and I did not want a puppy. She had one owner; she went to the local shelter when the owner passed away (SO SAD, right?), and the rescue pulled her, vetted her, and shipped her north in a van with 15 other dogs. She was in a foster for a short while, but one of the other dogs in that home kept trying to attack her, so she went to another foster. She was a sad and scared little thing when we brought her home - I think her tail stayed clamped between her legs for a week, she cried when left alone, and she had stress diarrhea for about three days. She had no idea how to go on a leash (her owner was in a rest home, and she was an indoor dog).

The good thing is that she had no history of abuse, and she is affectionate with familiar people. She doesn't love strangers, but she is not aggressive. She's a happy little camper now - her tail curls into a circle when someone comes home or crinkles the treat bag. We love her to pieces! She's perfectly potty trained, and her only bad habit is shredding tissues out of the small wastebaskets in the house. It doesn't happen that often - and it's a good motivator to empty them more often, since she can't reach the bottom of the bins!

All of our dogs have been rescues. Two from the SPCA and two from private rescues. All were fixed before we took them home and the two from the SPCA went through some kind of temperament class. 

I have rescued one dog (approximately 1 year old) from an animal rescue center, and two kittens from the shelter. Both required a standard application but we were able to bring them home same-day. The kittens were 8 and 16 weeks old and not spayed, but part of our application was the requirement that we bring the kittens back to the shelter at 6 months old to have them fixed. Both experiences were easy!

We went to a multi-rescue event held at a local pet daycare, training and boarding place. There were a bunch of different rescues there from specific breed rescues to one that rescued any and all pets including hedgehogs, snakes and birds. Each rescue's volunteer foster homes brought in some of their available animals. They all had different applications, rules and fees.

We didn't really have much say. Our dog saw YDS and they were hugging each other before we knew the dog's name. There was no way that dog was going anywhere but home with YDS. We walked around the rest of the place and met other dogs, but YDS knew which dog was his. We filled out the application. It was a couple pages long. They called our vet to verify we brought our current dog in and she had a current rabies vaccine. They called two of the references we listed and verified our fenced yard with the reference that was a neighbor. We got a call later that same day to arrange a time to bring our dog over to meet Si. And, if it went well, we would be able to pick up Si on that visit. I can't remember what we paid for a fee. It covered the cost of his microchip and neutering, I think. Maybe $250. The rescue's only rule was that if Si didn't work out for our family, or if we had to give him up for any reason, that we contact them first.

thank you for going this way to get a puppy...hugs

We rescued our cat from the county animal control - very easy and I don't remember a lot of questions.

We rescued our dog about 2 years ago from an animal rescue organization. We had to fill out a huge application (probably 12 pages long) and need to have our vet and one other person give us a recommendation. We went through this particular organization because we had a friend that had adopted 2 dogs through them and had good experiences both times. I found their fees were reasonable unlike some other "rescue" groups that wanted $800 or $1000 for an adoption fee.

Our dog is the BEST dog ever!!! So loving and fun! She was approx 2 years old and was potty trained although we didn't know if she was potty trained before we brought her home.

I adopted my dog from the Humane Society in my city.  I was looking at pictures that they had of available dogs and fell in love with him.  

We went as a family to see him and even took another dog that we had at the time.  We all agreed that he was our dog, so I filled out an application to adopt him.  He had to be neutered, so I had to wait until the next day to pick him and bring him home.

He was 4 years old when I got him and he's been a part of our family for 5 years.  He's a great dog.  We did have a few problems initially.  He had to have a potty training "refresher"  but after a day or 2 he settled in nicely.  

I did take him to obedience classes at PetSmart and he did great.  He was found on the street and was only at the shelter for a few days before I adopted him.  

When he crosses The Rainbow Bridge I'll probably adopt from a shelter or the Humane Society.  My experience with them has been very positive.