Why so much?

Once again on Friday, we went through that old conversation with an elderly lady... "If you gave these dogs away, there wouldn't be so many homeless dogs!!!"

I would like to take the time here to address this issue once and for all (and finally for the last time).  People are giving away dogs all the time on CraigsList - that doesn't stop the dogs from becoming homeless, ending up in a shelter somewhere and if not adopted, killed for lack of space, behavioral issues, etc.

We are not a shelter - we are a rescue.  If we were to give away the dogs we rescue from death, we wouldn't have the funds to pay the bailout fees, buy the vaccines, get them spayed or neutered, buy and insert microchips, etc.  All of this is paid for ahead of time by the rescue, and because we are No-Kill, we continue to feed, house and vet care for the dogs in our care until they find their furever home.

We do at least 16-18 loads of laundry a day and go through a bottle of HE detergent every 2 days along with fabric softener, bleach, fabric sheets, etc.   Our weekly food bill runs an average of $250.  Some puppies require special food, other dogs require reduced diet foods to lower their overweight physique and I can't begin to quantify the amount of toys, low-calorie treats, collars, etc. that we go through constantly.  Our electric bill averages over $1,000 a month.

Exactly HOW would we keep open the doors... the lights, A/C & heat on... and care for these dogs if we simply gave them away?

And on a side note?  And this view expressed by me personally and not the rescue... More than one we have given a dog away to a great home to help them get adopted due to special needs, etc.  I can cite numerous examples of how not having a financial investment in the dog, these folks later just 'threw away' the dog because it didn't cost them anything.  I won't embarrass these folks here in public by citing names, but this mindset with people bothers us more than anything else.  

• Recently we were asked to take in a dog from a family that owns a $3.5 million dollar home - with that kind of income, they couldn't seem to find a solution to a small behavior problem the dog was having... bottom line?  The dog was too inconvenient for them to take care of.
• A dog we adopted this year is now kept in a cage all day long because she has developed a biting issue (and she never had one prior to adoption as my foster and with another foster mom - in fact, this dog took on an orphaned pup and raised this pup as her own).  The dog needs a dental as well and I begged the owner to return this dog to us - which she refused to do because she's put out a nonrefundable adoption donation and a small amount in vet bills.   If we are willing to pay her $500 AND give her ANOTHER dog to ruin, they would be happy.... they say they can't afford a dental for the dog, but even that won't change this new behavior of selective biting the dog has supposedly developed.... grrrrrrrrrrrr.
• Great dog adopted for free to a good home - later, the folks bought a new home and didn't want to take the chance of any accidents on their new carpet because the dog was 'incontinent'.  She was returned to us, and although she had not been at my home for over a year, she immediately went out through the doggie door and did her business.  She went to the vet for a check the next to see if she had a bladder infection just in case (she didn't), and months later, this dog has yet to have an accident in my home.

I get it... times are tough and economics are tight.  But just like every one else, times are just as hard --- if not harder --- for rescues as well.  Donations are few and far between as people's extra monies are gone with the economy.  The current condition of the economy does not stop dogs from being thrown away - as a matter of fact, the inbound numbers of dogs into kill shelters has greatly increased!   Do we turn our backs and say we can't afford to save their lives?  Do we turn down pregnant moms or nursing moms because it is a long term foster and expensive to speuter a litter, do three sets of puppy shots, and provide quality nutrition for mom and her pups through the 8-12 weeks they are with us?

Or do we just go ahead and kill the dogs ruined by someone in the general public?  Reed is a small little female we recently agreed to take in.  She is more apt to growl, raise the lip and give you bite signs before she's willing to take the treat you are offering her.

Do we turn our backs on this dog, despite knowing we can save her life and rehabilitate her?   Somewhere along her young life, she's learned that she can't trust humans and if she wants to be left alone, appearing to be ready to bite will cause that human to go away.  Beautiful dog, huh?  Young - very young - and yet so damned sad.  So we take in this dog, we feed and house her through the rehabilitation process, and then bring her up to our adoptable standards.    No, someone already gave this dog away to a shelter to die.... So just 'giving dogs away' is not the answer to the vast amount of homeless dogs our communities are dealing with.

Maybe we can just 'give away' the humans that destroy these dogs by poor dog ownership practices.  After doing rescue for over 30 years now, I am probably pretty jaded by the human nature that just HAS to have that cute little doggie in the window, but is not there for the rest of that dog's lifetime.

Linda