Are People Being Forced to Shop Instead of Adopt?

The answer is an OVERWHELMING YES!

We posted a video this week asking to hear your stories and the response was so surprising that we decided to include some of those stories in this week’s blog post.

If this topic looks familiar to you, we did a blog post about a year ago called “Why can’t you adopt AND shop.” We were inspired to write that one because we have so many wonderful owners who have both purebred and rescue cats, and honestly- we don’t think there is anything wrong with that. In that post, we briefly touched on the fact that we have both been turned down to adopt dogs recently by several different rescue organizations. I was turned down for adopting a puppy because I didn’t have another adult dog already (wait- what?), and Whitney was turned down when one of her cats wasn’t up to date on its vaccinations (it was 17 years old and was being treated by the specialist at the time). After talking with friends and clients about our experiences with private rescue organizations (not shelters), we realized that at least half of the people we spoke with had also been denied for adopting a pet for a myriad of ridiculous and unfair reasons. So this time we asked our followers what their experiences have been with private rescue organizations and here are just a few of the stories!

Yes… Because I wanted a black cat …I wanted one because it’s the least accepted cat and most abused.. I was fine with background check and everything.. I was asked ” why black and not some ginger?” ” You must want him for black magic”

shovhangini

One of the veterinarians I used to work with applied to adopt a dog from a rescue and they were denied! She tried contacting them to figure out why and what made them decline her application, and they wouldn’t tell her why. She’s like the sweetest person in the world, and she’s a veterinarian, she’s like the ideal adopter!

sroberts03

I tried to adopt multiple dogs after my last one passed and was denied beck had children under 10. So…. Went and had to buy a puppy.. love her to death but with I could have adopted one..

groomin_mama

I was denied for several small dogs because I lived in an apartment. Meanwhile, all of my neighbors had dogs

jackie.and.mariah

I’m currently looking for a rescue pup. It’s so much harder then I thought. While I’m happy these rescues are getting adopted, a simple phone call letting me know the one I’m interested in has found a forever home. You fill out forms, send texts, emails and leave messages and it’s crickets. I don’t know if it’s understaffing issues or what. Last week we were literally on our way to meet a dog I had sent in an application for and I received a text he had been adopted. It’s heartbreaking and frustrating. I’m close to just buying one from a breeder.

mk_thompson

So this last one was ME about a year ago. I had lost my 14 year-old golden retriever mix to cancer the year prior and was finally ready for another dog. I really had puppy-fever. None of the local shelters had puppies at the time, so I started inquiring with private rescues on Insta & Facebook. I filled out forms, donated money, filled out more forms, signed away the rights to my first born-child- you get the picture. After several months of getting nowhere, I was ready to BUY A DAMN PUPPY! I didn’t WANT a pure-bred dog- I just wanted a mutt! Fast-forward 6 excruciating months later and I found my dream dog at a local shelter- a 3 year old cattle-dog mix that was “cat-tested”(and it’s true– she loves my cats). Soooo- while I didn’t end up buying from a breeder- I was THIS CLOSE. I completely understand why so many people have pure-bred dogs and cats now! We even had several local breeders give their two cents. They all agreed that many of the people that end up buying kittens from them have were previously turned away from adopting for reason or another.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Charleston Cat Groomer (@whitneybullockcfmg)

Here’s the video with all of the stories if you care to read them!

The most common reasons for denying a potential adopter appear to be as follows based on your comments:

1. Children under 10 in the house
2. The presence of a dog in the house
3. The lack of another dog in the house
4. No fenced in yard
5. Apartment living
6. Renting instead of owning a home
7. An adopter that works full-time
8. Asking for a specific color (haha)

Can you add to this list? We’d love to hear about it! We promise we aren’t trying to slam rescue organizations here- we are just starting a dialogue that people are afraid to discuss. Saying you’ve had a bad experience with rescuers is apparently akin to saying you hate babies or Christmas- people are scared to say anything. Well, we aren’t!

~Shannon & Whitney

>^..^<

*My name is Shannon Baker and I’ve been writing the blog in conjunction with Whitney for a few years now. We’ve known each other for 20 years- were in each other’s weddings, etc… so it’s been a cinch for me to write in “her” words, using whatever topic she gave me. She still decides what I write, and I’ll still be including her viewpoints, but she recently asked me to add my name- because if you don’t enjoy reading it now that you know it’s me writing it- well, that means it was never any good to begin with, right? 🙂

Advertisement