So terribly terrible sad, but i totally agree, we all need to get stuck in to helping rescues as dog lovers, in whatever way we can.

A hard one this, how long is to long, I guess it will al depend on the dog and the capasity of the re homing centre.

I have to say I am a believer that sometimes there is worst thing things for a dog than being pts!

I think the individual dog has to be taken into consideration.

A difficult dog , one that gets stressed and has behavioural problems (that may narrow down the placement) old dogs , or simply dogs that no one takes too.

Is living life in such environments , with all the stress of kennel life, having no or little chance of a new home coming along, better than being pts

Is waiting for yrs , on the off chance "a" particular dog may find a home, the right thing to do,

Then there's the flip side , a dog may be in kennels for 1/2 yrs, then be re homed the next day to a wonderful home, but how do you know that home is going to come along, do you just wait another day, then another, and so on..

I dont know , a very difficult decision for those who have to decide on the final outcome.


I would love to think, every dog in rescue gets the right home, that all cope well with kernel life, and for those that get homed quickly it will be worth the stress of a short stay,

But those who are "looked over" is it the best thing for them, to be kept alive

I just dont know!!

I don't know.
I just don't bl**dy know

I'm typing this through tears - just read a really sad thread on another forum re a rescue dog who almost made it - it's just so bl**dy heartbreaking. And frustrating. And that poor staffie pup .

I can't see the keyboard anymore so I'm off for a proper blub

I totally agree with you over the bit in bold.

As for how long you wait, from my limited experience, your instincts tell you, just as they do when you are considering having a dog pts for medical grounds.

There is always that guilt - 'would his perfect home have come along tomorrow' just as there can be guilt when deciding on medical grounds (e.g. 'should i have put him through another op that might have saved him'). But ultimately you have saved them from the ongoing suffering which their lives had become and as Jackbox says, there are worse things then going quietly and peacefully to the Bridge.

Pat's post says it all for me. If there was a time limit on it she wouldn't have her Missy.

I think it has to be judged on an individual basis as some dogs will cope better than others.

Poor Spence reminds me of my story about Hooch not so long ago. In an ideal world every rescue centre will have a ''snug'' room where dogs who are so used to pet home environment and are showing signs of stress can go and live there instead and sleep on a sofa with the radio on.

Dani, does your centre have something like this? Is it a practicable idea? If so, maybe we should do a fund raise for it in memory of Spence and also donate our calendar funds there?

I agree and I suppose thats why some centres will have a blanket policy

That dog that no one wants might just have a home round the corner waiting, but unless the centres have crystal balls, its a case of how longs a piece of string.

To many dog needing to few homes, and I guess the powers in charge need to be the ones to make these decisions.

I dont envy anyone having to make the decision for any dog that comes through their hands.

I must admit, I'm not keen on blanket policies, though with the number of dogs needing homes and lack of funds/kennel space etc. sometimes they do have to have them.

But you're right about the people having to make the decision. This is why I get so upset by the Dogs Trust advertising 'we never put a healthy dog to sleep'. The fact is that SOMEONE has to do it. The DT just close their doors when they are full and turn dogs away. If every rescue did that we would be over-run by strays living on the streets.

Hiya
We dont have a "centre" as such, we use boarding kennels across the country, if we had a centre it would be overflowing i can assure you. We try as much as possible to rehome direct from home to home and avoid kennels where we can. Usually only take into kennels where dogs are being abused/neglected or if they are in a situation which places them or another animal in danger etc.

However we do take on strays or dumped dogs and these usually end up in kennels, we try and not keep them there too long, but for the last few months there have been more dogs given up than people offering homes by about 3 to 1.

What we desperately need is foster homes and more volunteers. Even short term fosters for weekends etc to get the dogs out would be amazing.

I am hoping that they are going to be able to secure a good article in a national paper to try and bring up the huge issue of staffies being abandoned and desperately needing homes - its just awful.

Sadly we just dont get enough offers of the right type of homes

I would say sometimes 3 out of 4 homechecks I do are NO's, and thats hard knowing thats another dog that stays waiting longer.

Lovely idea though Pidge and I hope to be able to report good news soon on lots of dogs finding homes. We need an influx of calls we really do.

What do most people fail there home check on Dani? Just out of interest really!

I take newspapers to my local rescue centre and there had been a beautiful BC in there for months, only a year old. His spec sheet said he was wary of strangers and could bark but not to be put off, just dont stare at him. When I rounded the corner, he immediately hid but I ignored him and he soon came over and we made friends. From that point forward, he never had reservations about me but came over for a good fuss each time. He was obviously so stressed in kennels and his coat was matted and filthy.

If I was in a position to take him, I would've done and it broke my heart to see him each time, he was a beautiful dog who needed somebody to understand him. One day he just disappeared and I hope he found a home.

IMO, this illustrates that sometimes, foster homes arent sought hard enough for dogs who arent coping well or who have been in kennels for months. Furthermore, I dont think rescues seek out the help from specific breed rescues enough neither.