Has anyone else had issues adopting from a shelter?

[pengupuff]

My husband and I recently decided we would like to have a dog, so naturally we went to the local shelter first. After looking around and a few meet-and-greets, we found the dog that we thought was perfect for us. He was small, energetic, and seemed happy to be near us.

I eagerly filled out the application and turned it in. It took about 15 seconds for the lady at the counter to shoot us down after skimming over the app. Her reason for rejecting us? We don't have a fenced in back yard. I politely pointed out that we do have a large yard and an extendable leash, in addition to the dog park down the street from our house. He would have gotten plenty of safe exercise when he wasn't inside enjoying his toys or napping on the couch. Still, she firmly stood her ground. Defeated, we decided to look at the other dogs again.

We found another one that seemed like a nice fit. He was quiet and seemed very chill. I approached the lady at the counter again and she turned me down a second time for the same reason. No fenced-in back yard. I should mention this isn't a policy there, she just personally believed that neither of those dogs could be happy without that fenced-in back yard. It was morally degrading, and she didn't offer any sympathy. On the contrary, she seemed eager to reject us. Maybe it's because we're still pretty young? I don't know. The craziest part is that she didn't offer to suggest any dogs that she might actually allow us to adopt, she would just flatly say "no, sorry" and return to typing at the computer. She had the gall to say "Looks like you guys are batting zero" when she turned us down the second time.

I felt bad for not adopting one of the dogs at the humane society, but it didn't seem like anyone was going to work with us, so we just left. We went to another, smaller shelter in the area and this time we had the good sense to ask about the adoption process before we started looking at the dogs. They said that every potential adopter had to have their home inspected first by one of their agents before they would be considered. Don't get me wrong, we have nothing to hide, but we both thought that is a little extreme, so we left. We eventually found a nice dog on Craigslist who needed a home, and he is doing great so far.

I'm glad that there are applications at shelters and I understand that they have to enforce some sort of regulation so that stupid people don't bring animals back, but I think, in this case at least, they're hurting the animals more than helping them. Both of those shelters euthanize animals when they get too full, and their capacities looked pretty small. Apparently those dogs were better off in a cold cage or dead than living with a loving couple who *gasp* didn't have a fence around their yard.

What have your experiences been with animal shelters?

[boomer girl]

How sad they wouldnt even consider you to adopt one of the dogs from the shelter. I know my sister just adopted a dog from our local shelter and she dont have a fenced yard at all so your shelters seem to be tighter then ours here in California. Here we have a law against dogs being chained or tied up, perhaps that was more of the reason they wouldnt let you have a dog then not having a fence. They say here its cruel to have a dog tied up which I can understand because I know a few dogs tied up in there owners yard and those poor dogs never get off the chain or rope.

[Pipers Mom]

I know shelters have policies and procedures, but I know a couple of people that have adopted dogs and they have no fenced yard. Matter of fact, my friends mother just adopted a dog and she lives in a condo where they have no fences or enclosures. Just because you don't have a fence doesn't make you irresponsible. We do have issues here in Michigan where people are abandoning homes and leaving their dogs and cats behind. Our shelters are packed with animals looking for fur-ever homes. So sorry to hear that you went through all that..

[Marrie]

Some rescues / shelters require it, especially for large dogs, because they don't trust owners to take them on proper amount of walks. It is just policy, usually it's for larger or more active dogs, like danes or border collies. I don't see why it would be a policy of a kill shelter though, especially for all their dogs. As for the home inspection, that is pretty common. Usually all it entitles is someone drives out, spends about 2 minutes looking at your house (sometimes they don't even get out of the car, or require you to be home) just to make sure you are not a backyard breeder, or dog fighter, or hoarder. Sometimes they don't even do it, they just say they will, since the manpower to actually inspect each home is extensive but the mere fact that you _may_ be inspected is enough to turn off anyone with bad intentions. Every shelter I have been to has the policy of inspection.

I'm glad you found a dog in need of a home, most the ones on craigslist end up at shelters anyway if they aren't taken in by someone.

[Tweety-holic]

I completely agree. I tried to adopt a 10 year old chihuahua but was turned down because I didn't have a fenced in yard and my dogs weren't fixed (one is just too old, and my male (the older dog) has NEVER bothered my female. I just never felt the need for such an unnecessary surgery, and they told me that the chihuahua couldn't exercise much- so why would I need a fenced in yard? I just don't get it. We went to another shelter and adopted Anni, a 5 yr old terrier mix, with no problem. I just don't understand shelters sometimes. Yes, they want to make sure the animals go to a good home but sometimes they don't see a good home if it slaps them on the face.