Home Visits Required

[dukedogsmom]

What are home visits?

[luvofallhorses]

What are home visits?

it's where you make sure the animal will be safe with the person who is adopting the animal and that the environment is in acceptable conditions for the animal to live in.

[mugsy]

Mike and I do home visits all the time. We actually, for the first time, last year turned someone down. When we do a home visit we always get a feel for the people first by chatting and watching body language and then we go through the house and check the yard (that's Mike's job) for size, fence, holes in the fence etc. We see where the dog will live and sleep. Most people are thrilled to have you come to their houses to do a home visit. If they have an issue with us coming, they automatically flunk and don't get the dog...

The people we turned down had an absolutely pristine home (and that's why they were turned down) with white carpeting and hugely expensive furniture and they had no fence and were thrilled because they backed up to a wildlife preserve....which I do not think is a good idea without a fence. I was afraid that the dog would pee one time on the carpet and she would end up at the shelter.

[pitc9]

I turned someone down once!
I was called by a rescue in Souther Ohio to do an inspection in my area and there was NO way I was going to let the rescue give a dog to these people!
It was a mother and father and 3 kids.
They started showing me pictures of the dogs they had in the past and one kid was sitting at the table with us and said "That one ran away, that one was hit by a car... etc"
They did not have a fence and when I said then what they planned on doing they said they would teach the dog to stay in the yard. I asked them what they would do if the dog didn't stay in the yard they said they would chain it up!! Then I noticed that as soon as I got to the house the husband went in the garage and didn't come out! So when I went to leave I asked where he was and the mom said "Oh he's a jerk, don't worry about him we'll being getting a divorce soon" Then one kid said "Yeah, he's mean"
The entire time all 3 kids were screaming and jumping off the furniture and never stopped when she told them to.
It new it was bad from the start, and there was NO way I would ever want them to have a dog.
I didn't feel bad at all telling the rescue not to give them a dog!

[mugsy]

gotta love stupid people!

[dukedogsmom]

I might be interested in doing this. I feel I would need a bit more advice before I go to someone's house, though. I guess you get good and bad vibes when you're there? I miss doing some type of volunteer work for dogs. I loved the transporting.

[areias]

I wouldn't mind doing it either, over here in Tampa. I've never done it before either, though. I'll give that person an email.