# Some Questions About Rescue Organizations



## caniformia (Feb 6, 2015)

Hello fellow dog people,

I've been doing some volunteering with a rescue organization, and while it's been generally a good experience, I have some concerns and am wondering about how this group compares to others. I'm hoping those of you experienced with dog rescue can answer the following based on your experience:

1. How lengthy do the dogs' time in foster care tend to be? I realize this varies a lot, some dogs have special challenges that make it difficult to home them, and some dogs are even named "forever fosters" and never adopted out, etc. But for a dog that is available for adoption, advertised by a group, etc., is a lengthy wait common? About what proportion of these dogs are advertised for _a year or more_ before adoption?

2. Would a rescue ever start talking euthanasia for reasons _other than severe behavioural problems or terminal illness?_ For example, not being able to home a dog, or a foster no longer being able to care for a dog and being unable to find another appropriate placement? If not, what is normally done in these situations?

3. How does staying in touch after adoption tend to work? Does the adoptive family stay in touch with the foster home? Are they expected to, or is it left up to the parties involved? Would the foster have contact info of the adoptive family and vice-versa? Or would contact go through the owner of the rescue only?

Any replies would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## parus (Apr 10, 2014)

1. It really depends on the dog and the situation. 

2. It...really depends on the dog and the situation, again. I appreciate the sentiment behind "no kill" but if an animal has needs that are making it near impossible to properly rehome, and the current carers can't keep it, I think sometimes euthanasia may be the most humane option even if the dog is not terminally ill or dangerous. Of course one should explore all other realistic and responsible options first.

3. Individual rescues have individual policies. The important thing is that those policies are clear, and are clearly communicated to all parties involved. Different approaches have different drawbacks and merits.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

It depends is kind of the answer to all 3 questions. 
But, here's my observations from fostering bully breeds and just generally keeping up with the rescues around the area.

1. My fosters stayed with me from as little as one week to as much as 6 months, aside of course from my foster fail Eva  the two that were with me the longest at 5 months and 6 months were both healthy and loved people but had dog aggression issues which really limited the number of homes they would be suitable for. Bully breeds in general can be harder to adopt out than average mutt or the small breed dogs because of rental and insurance restrictions. Typical time for adult dog in foster assuming no major behavior problems was maybe 8-10 weeks, puppies go faster and seniors much slower. A few took over a year, but most of those needed several months to get to the point of truly being Adoptable.

Other rescues that take in all breeds seem to have slightly shorter foster times on average, maybe 4-6 weeks assuming healthy dogs without behavior issues.

2. Overall I haven't heard of rescues euthanizing for space or lack of a foster home once a dog is in their program, they may turn down many dogs for lack of a foster but once committed, they really push to keep a dog alive if the dog is healthy or treatable. Many use boarding as a Las at resort for housing, there are a few boarding facilities around here that give rescues discounted rates and long-term rates and allow volunteers to walk the dogs that are in boarding.

3. Some rescues have the foster involved in the home visit or available by phone to answer questions so they'd have a contact information but i don't think it is really expected that the adopter keeps in touch with the former foster unless they happen to run in the same social circles or such. Some adopters will post update photos to the rescue groups Facebook pages but most seem to just update once or twice after the initial settling in period and then move on if they have no troubles with the dog.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

1. Really depends on the rescue and on the dog. Less adoptable dogs, i.e., with moderate-severe behavioral issues, a chronic (but not necessarily terminal) medical condition, or who is older, usually end up in foster for a lot longer - in my area, it is not unheard of for older dogs or behaviorally challenged dogs to be in foster for over a year.

2. I have never heard of a _rescue_ in my area discussing euthanasia as an option for an animal that was mentally and medically sound (I have heard of shelters in other areas doing it, however). If a foster home is no longer able to care for the dog, they find another foster home, sometimes dogs are transferred between rescues when one rescue is full but another has room, etc. Dogs are sometimes transferred to other rescues in other regions too, which IMO also gives the dog further exposure to more adoptable families. Some rescues have a relationship with one or more boarding facilities and in extenuating circumstances, dogs will be boarded until a foster home is available.

3. Really depends on how the rescue is set up. I have never had any contact with my foster's adoptive families. Although I occasionally get updates on one foster through a mutual acquaintance. However, some of the foster parents in my shelter's foster group keep in regular contact with some of their fosters' adoptive families. The rescue we got my mom's kitten from, the foster parent was the one who actually approved the adoption. It would have been easy to stay in contact with her if either party had suggested it.


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