Interesting "opinion" on rescue dogs

[Logan]

I'm not sure of what my opinion is of this article (yet), but I thought I'd share the link and let you see what you think.

Lonely People Rescuing Dogs (http://slate.msn.com/id/2083699/)

[Sudilar]

Some quick thoughts on the article:

I think the author may be correct in some instances, but not many instances. Some "needy" people may have to rescue, but I think the majority of rescuers are not those people. My thoughts on abuse are following.

I think most who rescue or who work in rescue have a genuine love of animals. In my case, it is the German Shepherd Dog breed. If there is something I can do to prevent the death of an unwanted GSD by letting one live with me for a little while, I will do it...for the love of the breed. If I have room in my home and heart, why not adopt a dog on death row? No, we don't have to adopt one on death row, but why not? Why not save a life?

In the case of abuse..not all dogs put in shelters or rescue are physically abused, but just the dumping of them at the shelter (taken away from their family, their home, their shelter and placed in a noisy, scary, unfamiliar place) is mental abuse in my book. And there ARE those who are abused...Those that weigh 69 lbs. when they should weigh 110, with sores all over their body were abused by neglect. Those that dig themselves into the floor when you raise a hand or your voice at them were abused.

No, rescuers are not heroes to themselves. They are heroes to the dogs that don't die that day, those that are transported to a new, loving home, those that are retrained to fit in their future homes.

Being a rescue is NO EXCUSE for being allowed to run loose and uncontrolled or untrained!!! I don't see a lot of people who do that, however. Many rescue groups REQUIRE obedience training as part of the adoption contract. They also do a follow up on it.

Just a few thoughts, IMHO.

[Logan]

And your thoughts coincide with mine, Sue. I just thought that the way he worded thing might raise the hackles of some rescuers, like myself! Of course, I have yet to keep one of the ones I help to rescue, just help them along on their way to a good home.

The one good thing I thought after reading it, is that it just increases awareness about rescue efforts, which many people don't even know exist. I was trying to find something positive!! :)

[clara4457]

The author does make one vaild point. Some people do use the excuse "he was an abused dog - so I don't want to make him do anything he doesn't want". We have a guy that is a volunteer at the same shelter as I. He is a loving, giving human being that goes to the shelter almost everyday on his lunch hour to walk the dogs. He feels so sorry for them that he lets them pull on their leashes, jump on people, play bite him, etc. He even brings them fast food for lunch!!! It is hard to fault him because these dogs desperately need a release from the kennel. (It is an city run animal control facility - so adoptions are a secondary concern). But at the same time there are those of us that are trying desperately to teach them some manners to make them more adoptable. The authors mistake I feel was in thinking it is the rescue organizations that promote this type of behavior. It is actually what rescue organizations are trying to avoid. Ill mannered pets that end up back in shelters!!!

I have adopted both my dogs from shelters - I don't think they were physically abused - but I do think I rescued them because I took them from a 4X6 cage into a loving home where they are well fed, much loved, exercised and have the medical care they need. Does it make me feel better about myself - YES! Does it prevent me from teaching them manners - ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

[Cincy'sMom]

Originally posted by clara4457

I have adopted both my dogs from shelters - I don't think they were physically abused - but I do think I rescued them because I took them from a 4X6 cage into a loving home where they are well fed, much loved, exercised and have the medical care they need. Does it make me feel better about myself - YES! Does it prevent me from teaching them manners - ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

Having recently rescued Spot from a shelter (where he was almost put down) I agree with this totally...we have had him less then 3 months and already we have taken him through an advanced obdience class, and he is now able to take "competetion" level classes. We were lucky, he obviusoly had some training before we got him, but it had been neglected the month he spent inthe shelter and we felt it neccesary to get him into training right away. I think people were in schock when we came to class and said we had him 3 weeks, but if we didn't make the rules clear from the get go, it would only be harder later :)

[Rachel]

I don't know what to make of Mr. Katz article. I think he has simply gone adrift here, mixing apples and oranges. People are just beginning to become educated and see the needs and problems associated with our pet population and for him to speak so cavalierly does not do service to the issues at hand.

[IttyBittyKitty]

The author on this article makes a valid point - no matter the history of an animal, or a child for that manner, there is no excuse for not giving them the necessary training and discipline to make them polite members of the animal and human societies. Teaching an abused animal or child to behave is NOT cruel, if you think it is, then you should re-think the strategies that you use to train animals or children.

As to petfinder.com having to "Scour" for abused or abandoned animals - that's complete hogwash, and I am confident to dismiss it as such here. That problem, despite positive developments in the neutering of animals, will never go away. Not while there are still cruel and stupid people around.

[msturbo209]

Well, I read the rescue article, and as a long time observer of both human (and inhumane) behavior, I can only say that Mr. Katz, the author may be a little jaded by this cynical society we live in. To suggest that the motivations of animal lovers stop just short of neuroticism and that the primary reason that people rescue animals is for their own narcissistic gratification is simply insulting to those of who have given our hearts to a "rescued" animal.
In this age of psycho-analyzing everything to death, people are always looking for psychological 'flaws' in others in order to classify them into some category or other. We must never allow the critics of the world to devalue our beliefs. An animal is indeed an innocent loving soul that can flourish with love and nurturing or wilt from neglect. People who choose pets with special needs mostly do so because they have big hearts and extra patience and understanding. NOT because they are psychologically needy!!!!!