# home ready for the right dog



## anthonyverrall (Mar 17, 2010)

i have regestered with most of the local places in the kent area and battersy dogs home and a lab rescue center. but it all takes time. had one chap phone me this morning arranged to have it dropped off to me tonight the family was excited but changed his mind and had a better offer (seems money talks ) i dont drive but if anyone knows or a company has a dog except staffs that love children and a cat i and its free i will happly pay for petrol if its not to much. or a donation for the company.

plz pm me with an e mail add or num you or i will leave my number for you to call me. 

i love dogs and want to give one a great home and the love my family would give it

anthony..... enthusiastic dog lover


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## JSR (Jan 2, 2009)

I'm sorry but rehoming a dog isn't something that is to be rushed into, there is very good reasons rescues take their time. You need to have a home check and the rescue needs to ensure the dog suits your home and family, frankly if you just want any old 'free' dog then you take your chances on the free ads and god only knows what you'll get. Personally with kids involved I'd much rather take my time and go to a reputable rescue who temperment, behaviour, and health check all their dogs before rehoming them. Rescues are not in the job of selling dogs we are rehoming them to forever homes to families who have considered and thought about the long term consequences involved.


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## suewhite (Oct 31, 2009)

JSR said:


> I'm sorry but rehoming a dog isn't something that is to be rushed into, there is very good reasons rescues take their time. You need to have a home check and the rescue needs to ensure the dog suits your home and family, frankly if you just want any old 'free' dog then you take your chances on the free ads and god only knows what you'll get. Personally with kids involved I'd much rather take my time and go to a reputable rescue who temperment, behaviour, and health check all their dogs before rehoming them. Rescues are not in the job of selling dogs we are rehoming them to forever homes to families who have considered and thought about the long term consequences involved.


JSR totally agree our rescue charges £125 insists on a home check,insists on all the family visiting the dog at the rescue often more than just once,thankfully the days of walking in to a dogs home and coming out with one are gone


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

anthonyverrall said:


> i have regestered with most of the local places in the kent area and battersy dogs home and a lab rescue center. but it all takes time. had one chap phone me this morning arranged to have it dropped off to me tonight the family was excited but changed his mind and had a better offer (seems money talks ) i dont drive but if anyone knows or a company has a dog except staffs that love children and a cat i and its free i will happly pay for petrol if its not to much. or a donation for the company.
> 
> plz pm me with an e mail add or num you or i will leave my number for you to call me.
> 
> ...


Hi

when you say you would happy to give a "donation for the company"- do you mean a donation to the rescue?

Most rescues tend to ask for a donation of about £100- 120 for their dogs. This is obviously to allow them to keep the rescue running. Many of the rescue (and most of the good ones) will ensure that the dog is neutered, vaccinated, micro-chipped and has been assessed so that they know what kind of home would be suitable for the dog. The cost of neutering, vaccinating, chipping and any other treatments per dog is likely to be at least double what they ask as a donation fee. Many will spend at least £200-250 on each dog. So IMO the donations that they do ask for are incredibly reasonable.

Most rescues will insist on a homecheck and you coming to meet the dog with all the people that the dog will be living with, so that you can get to know the dog and check that it is a suitable match etc... You mentioned you don't drive. Provided the dog wasn't too far away, I see no reason why you couldn't travel to see the dog via public transport. I have a friend in fact who visited and then eventually picked her rescue dog up by the train and traveled back on the train with the dog (the rescue were more than happy with this).

It would help if you could supply some more information about your circumstances/lifestyle so that we/you can get a rough idea of what would be suitable?
Do you work?
Do you have any children?
How long would the dog be left for (if you do work?)
How long/often would the dog be exercised?
Do you have other pets?
Do you have a garden?
Have you owned dogs before?

etc...

Any particular reason why you wouldn't want a staffie? They can make fantastic family pets IMO.


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## Jason2 (Dec 4, 2008)

suewhite said:


> JSR totally agree our rescue charges £125 insists on a home check,insists on all the family visiting the dog at the rescue often more than just once,thankfully the days of walking in to a dogs home and coming out with one are gone


And that has led to more BYB and puppy farming.


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## JSR (Jan 2, 2009)

Jason2 said:


> And that has led to more BYB and puppy farming.


: Urh and Eh? How on earth have you got to that? So you are blaming rescues for puppy farmers????? :confused1:


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## Jason2 (Dec 4, 2008)

JSR said:


> : Urh and Eh? How on earth have you got to that? So you are blaming rescues for puppy farmers????? :confused1:


I'm not the only one who complains about rescue centre procedures. Many on here do.

May I also say, I was warned about being judgemental, isn't that what many of you are doing here? You don't even know the poster. Well done to lemmsy, at least she bothered to ask questions instead of assuming.


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## JSR (Jan 2, 2009)

Jason2 said:


> I'm not the only one who complains about rescue centre procedures. Many on here do.
> 
> May I also say, I was warned about being judgemental, isn't that what many of you are doing here? You don't even know the poster. Well done to lemmsy, at least she bothered to ask questions instead of assuming.


Err if you read more on these pages you'd notice the OP has already posted previously and gave all the details needed to make a 'judgement'. :thumbup:

If you want to start a thread regarding how rescues are responsible for puppy farms and BYB's please go ahead...oh wait you can't cos all your posts keep getting deleted don't they? :lol:


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## Jason2 (Dec 4, 2008)

What I mean, is that strict procedures of most rescue centres puts people off, thus resulting in them looking at other alternatives, which more than often results in BYB or Puppy farm. I hope you understand now.


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## JSR (Jan 2, 2009)

Jason2 said:


> What I mean, is that strict procedures of most rescue centres puts people off, thus resulting in them looking at other alternatives, which more than often results in BYB or Puppy farm. I hope you understand now.


Oh I understand complete. Evil naughty rescue people trying to save lives...tut tut what is the world coming to.


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## Jason2 (Dec 4, 2008)

I'm sorry we don't share the same views. Agree to disagree methinks.


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## tashi (Dec 5, 2007)

Strict procedures add up to happily rehomed dogs that have come from circumstances less than adequate on times, the rescue that I was involved with used to assess the dogs before rehoming them, this cost money for feed etc, often vets bills and so a donation was always asked for to enable the rescue to keep running, also some were never rehomed as they were too badly treated to enable them to be placed in another home and the lady who ran the rescue kept them.

Rescue does a sterling job with sometimes very little thanks


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## Fuzzbugs!x (Jan 18, 2010)

Can I just ask why you wouldn't have a staff lol? You just described some staffs I know completely lol - good natured, great with kids, good with cats lol. Just curious. 

Btw we were knocked back from quite a few rescues for various reasons inlc. working full time, couldn't find a dog that could live with cats and small furries, our neighbours have an aggressive dog and the like. It did pee me off lol, and they did lose a dog a great home but it didn't mean we went to BYB for a puppy, we went to fantastic breeders. x


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## Jason2 (Dec 4, 2008)

tashi said:


> Strict procedures add up to happily rehomed dogs that have come from circumstances less than adequate on times, the rescue that I was involved with used to assess the dogs before rehoming them, this cost money for feed etc, often vets bills and so a donation was always asked for to enable the rescue to keep running, also some were never rehomed as they were too badly treated to enable them to be placed in another home and the lady who ran the rescue kept them.
> 
> Rescue does a sterling job with sometimes very little thanks


That may be so, but my mum went for a dog before and they said our garden was too small. I couldn't help but laugh because our garden is well...big. I noticed how they had to say this in letter and couldn't tell us on the day. Why hide the truth?


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## tashi (Dec 5, 2007)

Jason2 said:


> That may be so, but my mum went for a dog before and they said our garden was too small. I couldn't help but laugh because our garden is well...big. I noticed how they had to say this in letter and couldn't tell us on the day. Why hide the truth?


I'm sorry but I cant answer that one not having seen your garden and you dont say what sort of dog etc but please dont knock the rescues they are not all the same


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

Wow- it got a bit heated here didn't it? 

I would also say that in many ways I'm not a fan of blanket policies that wipe out a perfectly good home for the right dog. 
However I would say, don't let a bad experience with one rescue allow you to form generalized opinions on all rescues. There are many rescues that do not have blanket policies and believe that there is a rescue dog for nearly every situation. 
With regards to rescues being selective on who they rehome to; I don't necessarily think this is bad thing. They have the dog's best interests at heart. I know for example that at a rescue my friend (and I sometimes) help out with, had a very good looking dog come in. There was loads of interest in him but they had to be selective about who he went to at the end of the day because he had fear related issues and needed someone with experience who could help him work through these fears.

Let's try not to judge each other (whether that be rescues or posters on here). It sounds like the OP would like to rehome a dog (which is a great thing) and to be fair he hasn't even had the chance to reply yet to explain more about his circumstances etc. He seems to be committed enough to rehoming to have registered with rescues and Labrador rescue. 
If he could give us a bit more information about his circumstances- I'd be happy to direct him to any rescues that are relatively local that he hasn't come across. 
Another fantastic website is dogpages- definitely worth checking on there.

OP- I think one thing to bear in mind is that getting a "free" dog is not really a viable or sensible option (the dog will not have been properly assessed, neutered, vaccinated,microchipped etc). Rehoming from a reputable and supportive rescue centre is in my opinion as they will be there to support you should you encounter any problems during the rehoming process and they will be able to match the perfect dog to your family situation.

Anyway- I hope you can all see where I am coming from.


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## anthonyverrall (Mar 17, 2010)

well i have a home visit booked for next wednesday and hopefully it will all go well isw there any do's and dont's that i should know


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## RockRomantic (Apr 29, 2009)

anthonyverrall said:


> well i have a home visit booked for next wednesday and hopefully it will all go well isw there any do's and dont's that i should know


thats fab! have you seen a dog your hoping to rehome then?..x


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## anthonyverrall (Mar 17, 2010)

mo just wanna get the home visit overwith really


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## xNatashax (Mar 1, 2010)

i argee with tashi rescues dont get enough credit in my eyes i volunteer for the shar pei rescue and we do ask for a donation as looking after the dogs does take money and also time most of the time there in a bad state so need emergency vet care so getting a dog for free isnt always the best choice as like everyone has said on here you dont know how they will react, whether they will be assessed etc plus most owners selling dogs with a geniue reason normally ask for a little donation to make sure they go to a good home.

Hope the home visit goes well


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## JSR (Jan 2, 2009)

anthonyverrall said:


> well i have a home visit booked for next wednesday and hopefully it will all go well isw there any do's and dont's that i should know


:thumbup: Brilliant!! Dos and don't : Don't worry. Don't think the homechecker is against you..they REALLY want you to pass! Do offer a cuppa. Don't think you house has to be spotless..we actually prefer a lived in house cos then we know you won't be bothered about dog hair etc. Do make sure all the family is there as we need to ensure everyone is on board with having a dog. Do make sure you have a vets name and number and if thinking of having a puppy maybe find a local training class ..this shows you have thought about it.  Do tell the truth. Don't ask the homechecker if you've passed, it's not their decision it's the rescues. Do understand homecheckers are volunteers doing it totally off their own expense and time so do be respectful of this. Do ensure you garden is secure, this is the biggest reason for people failing homechecks, gates should be lockable and walls/fencing at least 5 foot high....if not shove some trellis up to highten it.

The one thing homecheckers usually have in their minds when looking around is ..'would I leave my own dog here' so work with that principle and you'll do fine.


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