# I pit overzealous pet shelter rules **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 18, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130 "2011-01-18T22:10:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/101 "2011-01-19T19:56:30Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Maybe, or maybe they found their kitten another home just as good, where she never goes outside. And if they’re happy with their cat and you’re happy with your cat, it’s all good, right? > > It’s good that you found a pet adoption program suited to your needs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the adoption programs that are too strict for you are failing in their mission. I think that rejected prospective pet owners are sometimes a bit too quick to lapse into “rejection ego” feelings: “you’ll never get anybody as good for you as me, baby”. Did you miss the part where they expected me to be able to guarantee something no human can? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/102 "2011-01-19T20:26:10Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Whack-a-mole is killing me. Listen. Just admit that the strict application process isn’t there to weed out psycho animal abusers with a choke collar fetish. It is weeding out the people that have too-small yards or whatever. Posting pics of graphic images of abuse is weak. Might as well just walk right up to Rumor and pin the Debate Blue Ribbon on her collar. (Please note where I said the process was to weed out psycho choke collar abusers) Only if the criteria is the Sarah Palin School of Debate. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/103 "2011-01-19T20:58:45Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > Why doesn’t it make sense? If you spend a lot of time around animals, surely you have met someone who believes they are running a sanctuary, that their animals have special physical or emotional needs that only they can meet, takes in animals with no intention of letting go, and is in complete denial about the conditions the animals are in. In order to solicit donations, they pretend to put animals up for adoption. > > I’m a very actice HSUS member, and believe that there are legitimate rescues and rescue networks, but I have also personally dealt with more than one b.s rescue group while trying to adopt a pet. They were very misguided, intrusive and more than a little bit offensive. I’ll accept that places such as you describe exist. It is a big country and there are all sorts out there. I just have not personally run into them (I have run into individual animal freaks that act as you describe but they are not running a fake adoption agency…at least not as far as I was aware). That said I have spent lots of time around animals and love them (even the ugly ones). I used to volunteer for the Anti Cruelty Society in Chicago and ran into “interesting” characters on both sides of the fence (other volunteers as well as those wishing to adopt). Life in a big city I guess. At least at the ACS if a given volunteer gets a little too picky the would-be adopter can easily ask for staff (who are always there and very responsive). Volunteers are there to help and communicate ACS policies but if they decide to take too much onto themselves to thwart someone wanting to adopt it is a simple matter to sidestep the volunteer. Staff will dutifully apply ACS policy, simple as that. That policy is open for all to see from [their website](http://www.anticruelty.org/adoptioninfo/) to pamphlets at their location. There should be no surprises to anyone wishing to adopt as to what the ACS requires of them. It is not that complicated. More importantly the ACS genuinely wants to adopt out the animals they have. They want nothing more than to see their pets find loving homes. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/104 "2011-01-19T21:03:32Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > (Please note where I said the process was to weed out psycho choke collar abusers)… Okie Dokey. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Not being able to meet the dog’s minimum requirements could be deemed tortuous to the dog. Fido may be better off being gassed. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I have seen animal abuse that would make your skin crawl. I saw an animal left on a chain so tight the dog’s neck grew around the chain (chain literally was embedded in the dog’s flesh). [QUOTE=Whack-a-Mole] There is a continuum from not walking the dog for 12 hours once in awhile to what I just mentioned or worse (and yeah, there is even worse). [/QUOTE] If you want to sit up in this thread pretending that thinking adults can’t figure out what you meant by these statements, cool. But it may have been easier for me to play along if you hadn’t posted that graphic photo. That was just pitiful. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/105 "2011-01-19T21:13:05Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Only if the criteria is the Sarah Palin School of Debate. Where textbooks are optional, every day is “class photo” day, and everyone drops out mid-semester? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/106 "2011-01-19T21:20:56Z")
I once tried like hell to get a dog from a rescue organization. Sent in the application, followed up with a phone call in a couple weeks. They were still sorting through applications and calling references. Let’s just say that this charade went on for months. I kept following up, offering to come visit, even offering to pay more than their standard fee or make an extra donation if they would expedite the process for me. They kept feeding me this line about reviewing applications and calling references. Finally I specifically asked if I should just give up on them and they said, “oh no, no you’re application is wonderful we want to come interview you.” Another month goes by and I’m still getting the runaround and finally, 3 months after sending the first application, I gave up on it. I have no idea what their game was, but the whole thing was quite maddening. I ended up getting a dog from someone on craigslist, which I considered a rescue in itself. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/107 "2011-01-19T21:26:02Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](#): > > Earlier this year I worked with an “foster only” rescue organization who was trying to place a sweet little dog - who was an unsocialized, people shy, pit bull cross. Not an easy dog to place. A family fell in love with her, and they looked like ideal situation. But they had an intact male dog and no fenced in back yard. I was very, very happy when common sense prevailed and the family got the dog. What? You think that the right place to put an unsocialized Pit mix is with an intact male and no fenced-in yard? Did I misunderstand? WTF are they doing with an intact male? Do they have any idea of the energy level of a Pit Bull? Do you? I recently adopted a Pit Bull (out of necessity, to save his life) and there is absolutely no way I could have made it work without a fence. This boy is 100% muscle and his throttle is stuck on _balls to the wall_. If I couldn’t boot him out of the house several times a day one or both of us would go crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/108 "2011-01-19T21:31:22Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Did you miss the part where they expected me to be able to guarantee something no human can? Well, it sounded to me as though you were being scrupulously hyper-conscientious (or jerkishly nitpicky, depending on one’s viewpoint) in your interpretation of that “guarantee”: > [@curlcoat](#): > > I found a kitten I liked, filled out the paperwork and then was refused the adoption because I wouldn’t lie and state that the kitten would never get outside for the rest of it’s life. Hey, last I looked I’m a human and humans make mistakes, how can I possibly guarantee that a door won’t be left open at some time in the up to 20 years the cat will live in our house? If I fully intended to do everything reasonably in my power to make sure that the kitten would never get outside for the rest of its life, I would not consider it a “lie” to promise the agency that the kitten would never get outside for the rest of its life. So I would have filled out the paperwork and got the kitten. But then, I’m clearly not as scrupulously hyper-conscientious (or jerkishly nitpicky, depending on one’s viewpoint) as you are. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/109 "2011-01-19T21:32:08Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Okie Dokey. > > If you want to sit up in this thread pretending that thinking adults can’t figure out what you meant by these statements, cool. But it may have been easier for me to play along if you hadn’t posted that graphic photo. That was just pitiful. You took unrelated quotes which were responding to different questions and strung them together. Bet I could sift through your posting history and string together stuff to make it seem you said almost anything I wanted you to. Protip…context is important. Nice try though. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/110 "2011-01-19T21:38:15Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Nice try though. The ‘nice try’ was that graphic photo you posted (with a trigger warning for all of us nut jobs who are anti-animal abuse.) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/111 "2011-01-19T22:01:29Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > The ‘nice try’ was that graphic photo you posted (with a trigger warning for all of us nut jobs who are anti-animal abuse.) Interesting…I can make you do things remotely like clicking on links you do not want to. Good to know. And I described what was in the link just below it so following the link was not necessary. I was answering a question about someone “not getting” better off dead. I was illustrating the case in a way words simply cannot convey. I also noted I did not include dogs being better off dead if they are denied a squeaky toy. Like I mentioned all the way back in Post #15 there is a continuum of abuse from truly minor to horrid. But hey, easier to just cherry pick the parts you want to quote and ignore the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/112 "2011-01-19T22:09:38Z")
You guys have ceased to make any sense, and are now arguing for the sake of having the last word. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/113 "2011-01-19T22:10:51Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > I don’t adopt cats. They invariably adopt me. > > Oh, wait. That’s not true. I was actively looking for a cat at one point, and went so far as to visit a shelter. They wanted to be able to come to my house, and inspect my property to ascertain whether it was up to their standard. I laughed in their faces. > > A week or so later, I was adopted by my beloved Porkchop kitty, who has never known a moment of ill treatment or neglect in her entire spoiled, pampered life. All the cats me and my family (when I lived with them) had were, in order from earliest to latest: - Free kitten - Free kitten - Stray cat - Free kitten - Stray \* 2 - Stray kittens \* 4 (4 abandoned kittens found in a field by a lake) - Stray cat - Free kittens \* 5 (yes, all 5 were adopted by us) We never paid a cent to acquire any of them, and they were all loved and lived to very old ages - only one less than 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/114 "2011-01-19T22:11:36Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Interesting…I can make you do things remotely like clicking on links you do not want to. Good to know. I never clicked the link. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/115 "2011-01-19T22:13:15Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I never clicked the link. Hah! He must have made you not do it. Run tell that. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/116 "2011-01-19T22:18:12Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well, it sounded to me as though you were being scrupulously hyper-conscientious (or jerkishly nitpicky, depending on one’s viewpoint) in your interpretation of that “guarantee”: > > If I f I had the same issue. In my case, the wanted me to promise that I would never give up the dog. I have two kids. They take priority over our (loved, spoiled, and well treated) dog. If the dog acts aggressive to the kids, if he can’t be quickly and safely trained out of it, if he needs to be dominant over the children - that isn’t a dog I can have in my house. I cannot answer to the personality of a rescue dog I have not yet met and found on the web site. I cannot promise that “yes, I will take this dog and keep this dog.” I am interested in this dog. But it has to be a good fit for both of us - I’m not promising sight unseen that I’ll take care of this dog for the rest of his days - even if he is a poor fit for my family. Maybe I should have simply said yes, I would (though there were other problems - no one is home all day - they didn’t like that, the yard isn’t fenced - they didn’t like that, I hadn’t had a dog in ten years - they didn’t like that.) We adopted a child. That process was less invasive and judgmental than the first rescue agency I worked with. Now, I’m just not going to buy that is because we are LESS concerned with children being abused than dogs. Its because social workers actually have a concept of BOUNDARIES. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/117 "2011-01-19T22:24:04Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I had the same issue. In my case, the wanted me to promise that I would never give up the dog. I have two kids. They take priority over our (loved, spoiled, and well treated) dog. If the dog acts aggressive to the kids, if he can’t be quickly and safely trained out of it, if he needs to be dominant over the children - that isn’t a dog I can have in my house. I cannot answer to the personality of a rescue dog I have not yet met and found on the web site. I cannot promise that “yes, I will take this dog and keep this dog.” I am interested in this dog. But it has to be a good fit for both of us - I’m not promising sight unseen that I’ll take care of this dog for the rest of his days - even if he is a poor fit for my family. > > Maybe I should have simply said yes, I would (though there were other problems - no one is home all day - they didn’t like that, the yard isn’t fenced - they didn’t like that, I hadn’t had a dog in ten years - they didn’t like that.) > > We adopted a child. That process was less invasive and judgmental than the first rescue agency I worked with. Now, I’m just not going to buy that is because we are LESS concerned with children being abused than dogs. Its because social workers actually have a concept of BOUNDARIES. The dog is better off dead than living with you, anyways. I mean, you didn’t have a fenced yard so clearly its minimum needs aren’t being met and it’s utter torture for that poor pup. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/118 "2011-01-19T22:57:12Z")
[quote=“Lynn\_Bodoni, post:82, topic:568130”] It takes a couple of years to get a dog well-trained, though many of the basics can be covered in the first couple of months. I am not thinking in terms of a couple of months. Last I heard, if parental leave is offered in the US, it’s generally limited to six weeks, at best, though I could be wrong.[/qyuote] Family medical leave act requires at least 12 weeks of unpaid leave. > [@](#): > > And yeah, a newborn ISN’T going to hit a dog…but an infant of six months or so is perfectly capable of doing so, and a puppy of six months will probably take this action as aggression. Many adult dogs might take it as aggression, too, and react accordingly. Many other adult dogs seem to understand that babies are babies, and will simply move away if they think that the baby is too aggressive right now. Yeah that’s why I waited until my kid stopped pinching people. > [@](#): > > I wouldn’t get a new puppy or kitten if there’s a newborn human in the house, and I’ve been a stay-at-home mom to an infant. Have you? My cats were a couple of years old when I had my daughter, and one of them would put up with my daughter pulling her tail and whiskers, and one of them scratched her. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to hover over an infant 24/7, and it’s also a bad idea to try. So eventually, the baby WILL maul the animal, unless the animal is kept outside. Newborns do sleep a lot, but babies and toddlers are soon active for at least a few hours a day, and can get into a lot of mischief, especially when they learn to walk. Having animals around is highly correlated to a lower incidence of all types of allergies in kids. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/119 "2011-01-19T23:13:06Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Depends what other options there are for the “existing dog”, I guess. If I had to choose among lots of families clamoring to adopt my dog, I’d want to pick the one that would give it the best home. Family X saying “Well yeah, it’s true that we might decide to dump the dog after a few years, but if you don’t let us adopt him then we’ll be forced to patronize one of those horrible puppy mills instead and it will be **your fault**!!” would not cut a lot of ice with me. Yeah if every dog was going to get adopted anyways then you might as well be picky. I hear you but at some point it can become obnoxious. > [@](#): > > It looks as though adoptable dogs are at a premium in your area. In itself this is a terrific thing, of course, because it means that local pet owners are being responsible and caring. But one of the side effects is that it makes adopting a dog a more competitive process, and pet adoption agencies can afford to be more picky in their requirements. > > I definitely sympathize with you about the extra hassle and difficulty this puts in the way of perfectly good pet owners like yourself. But I can’t quite agree with you that it’s automatically a bad thing for the shelter to be so picky about adopters. If the supply and demand situation is such that they can get lots of qualified adopters to take their pets even with the picky rules and requirements, then their pickiness is not doing any harm to the pets they’re caring for. If there is such a disparity in the number of dogs avaialble at shelters across the country, why doesn’t some worthy charity redistribute from palces where there are a lot to places where they end up euthanizing anything that isn’t a cute little puppy? > [@](#): > > And the welfare of the pets they’re caring for is the only thing I really expect them to be concerned with. Hypothetical speculations about how the pickiness of their adoption requirements might affect the supply and demand situation at the local puppy mills are kind of extraneous to their core mission. I disagree here. I think the puppy mills should be on everyone’s list of things to make obsolete, at least everyone who volunteers at a shelter. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130/120 "2011-01-19T23:22:23Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I agree, if the goal is to shut down puppy mills, people (even abusers) will simply get a DIFFERENT DOG from a different source. It isn’t hard to get a dog. It isn’t any cheaper to get a rescue dog. Rescue agencies who engage in restrictive adoption simply drive people to mills making them much more viable. > > So the agency MIGHT keep THIS dog from getting abused. But if someone is determined to get a dog, and then going to keep him in abusive conditions, he’ll find a dog. So you’ve simply condemned a different dog. > > We were turned down by a rescue agency. We don’t have a fenced yard and I wasn’t willing to say that if the dog was aggressive to the kids, I wouldn’t put him down. We got a dog through a different agency. The dog has been yard trained. Not a big deal. Yeah I’m gonna try a different shelter this weekend. I think the part that really put me off was the home inspection PRIOR to adoption. The shelter was really nice and the dogs seemed really happy so maybe they are better off staying there. This other shelter I called said I could take an animal home the same day if things worked out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-overzealous-pet-shelter-rules/568130.md?page=7)