 Barked: Sun Mar 3, '13 9:03pm PST |
 | |  | | Paws crossed for you! I totally know what you mean- you get SO HOPEFUL and it feels crushing and/or terrifying when you get turned down. I wasn't specifically turned down by the B/T GSD rescue here, but she was honest and told me flat out that with my work schedule and my kitties she didn't have the right dog for me.
The truth, but I was still crushed. She then told me about their partner rescue, the white GSD rescue, and well...  There's our happy ending. Miyu is my perfect dog, and I love working with the lady that runs it. We've fostered two dogs for her now and she's looking for the next one to place with us.
As for a home check- I've only done one where I was doing it, not receiving, but here's my input. I was instructed to look at the house, and see where the dog is allowed to be, and not to be. The ideal is that the dog is allowed all over- we want them to be a part of the family. It's okay if they're not allowed in one or two rooms, but if there's a small postage square of where they ARE allowed to be? Nah uh. We also want them indoors. A problem we face with GSDs especially- people tend to think they're guard dogs and best left outside, sadly. I think they'd also check to see if the yard was fenced in, or if anything might pose a risk in terms of losing the dog. For example, we placed our foster boy today (cross your fingers, I liked them and hope they'll keep him!) and she mentioned specifically that they had a gap under their wood fence and the ground that they needed to patch up. And lo and behold they did get that taken care of, so yay!
But even things like yard/no yard differs from dog to dog. I was worried about what they would say when they did come over for my house check, as I have a townhome style house, that has like a 10ft by 10ft concrete square with a bit of gravel for a back yard. Not much of one at all. But she pretty much told me that was perfect, as Miyu is a fence jumper (no fooling, she jumped the fence the first night she was with the rescue, and tried to jump the freaking fence her first day at daycare too.) So the fact that there wasn't really a yard to park her into meant she'd be indoors, and happy, and... not trying to scale the freaking fence, the beast.
So I guess a good rescue would be looking mostly at whether the home you have is suitable for the dog you want. Some dogs would be great in apartments, some not so much. Some do need a bit more of space, some don't. Some thrive in certain families- we held out for a family with a stay at home mom and two little girls for our foster boy because he was just THAT great with kids- he deserved a couple of his own! Be open too, if they suggest a different dog than what you wanted. I picked one, and Miyu wound up being the one the lady at the rescue picked for me. Not the one I picked for myself.
And lastly, yes the landlord's letter is a good idea. I know for me I would be put off if you fudged about your parent's address vs your own. A good rescue would want to place the right dog with you, and the right dog for your parent's home wouldn't be the right one for yours. Plus it just... leaves a bad taste in your mouth, knowing you've been lied to. Even if you are a great pet parent. |  |  | |  |
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