Filling Out Adoption Applications

This morning I finished filling out the adoption application for the lab rescue near me.  I finished and submitted the application for the golden retriever rescue a few days ago.  It took me a long time because these are lengthy applications.  I feel a little as if I am applying to adopt a child!

For the most part, I think it's good that they want to make sure the dogs are going to good homes and that they are matching the right dog with the right owner.  These applications ask questions like will your dog be allowed on the furniture.  They don't want to give you a dog that is accustomed to lounging on the couch and sleeping in someone's bed if you don't want to let your dog on the furniture.  Makes sense to me.

One of the applications wanted four references and asked that applicants not use family members as references.  Well, I had a hard time with that.  I don't know anybody!  I am really a pretty solitary person.  The only people I have any type of regular contact with are Mike, Mike's parents, my sister and my mother.  I mean, I do see the lady that works at the post office fairly often, but I don't think that she can vouch for my character based on the two minutes it takes her to sell me some stamps.  I know the manager of the local Panera by name and he greets me by name and asks how my writing is going when he sees me, which is fairly often, but again, I don't think he can verify that I am a good and loving pet owner.  It's not like I take my cats with me to Panera.  I couldn't even use my vet because they asked for that elsewhere on the application.  I ended up listing Mike, his parents, my sister and my mother.  I decided I would pretend I missed the part about not listing family members.

One of the applications advised me that puppies sometimes pee in the house and that dogs sometimes chew things and damage property.  It asked me what I would do if that happened.  I was like, um, clean it up?  Provide more supervision in the future so it wouldn't happen again.  Consult with my professional trainer to figure out what to do to keep it from happening again.  Provide appropriate chew toys if the dog was chewing my belongings.  And if the dog chewed up something that belonged to somebody else, pay them for the damages.

I found myself feeling like I had to explain that, while I wanted a service dog, I also wanted the dog to be a companion, that I would love it and treat it like a member of the family, etc.  I don't know why I felt that was necessary.  One of the applications asked if you were looking for a dog to be a companion, a hunting dog, or something else.  I wrote in "service dog."  Surely if they think adopting a dog to be a hunting dog is OK, they wouldn't object to using a dog as a service dog, would they?

I've just read a few things written by people that seem to think service dogs are basically treated like slaves, that they are forced to work all the time, and that they have no time to just "be a dog."  Now, you do have to consider the source.  One of the things I read was written by Ursula Kemp, the president of Therapy Dogs International, an organization which discriminates against people with disabilities that use service dogs.  The other was written by someone with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and was full of misinformation which indicated the writer had no clue about service dogs.

The two rescues I've applied to are the Greater Dayton Labrador Retriever Rescue and the Golden Retriever Rescue Resource.  If you're interested in adopting or fostering a dog, check them out.  Or if you just want to donate a little money to a good cause, check these out.

Why I Want a Rescue Dog

I have chosen not to apply for a service dog through a program, for a number of reasons.  I’ve talked about that before.

I have also chosen not to purchase a dog from a breeder, but to look for a rescue dog.  I don’t want a dog from a shelter, I want a dog from a rescue organization, one that will have been living with a foster family while waiting to be adopted.  Some people think that’s a bad decision.

Recently, on an internet forum, someone told me in great detail why she thought I was making the wrong decision and then, when I thanked her for her input but told her I believe a rescue dog was the best choice for me, told me I was being rigid and she didn’t like talking to people that were so rigid and wouldn’t listen.  I guess she equated listening with agreement.

I did listen.  I really did.  I value the advice and information from people that have had service dogs.  But it bugs me when people on an internet forum assume they know what’s best for me and that I don’t know what I’m doing.  It bugs me when people think they know what’s right for me and that I don’t.  It bugs me when people seem to think they should get to make choices for me.

I want a rescue dog because I don’t want a puppy and breeders typically, though not always, sell puppies.  There are a number of reasons I don’t want a puppy, and I feel strongly that choosing a young adult dog is best for me.  For what it’s worth, my trainer agrees.  I want a rescue dog because the adoption fees for rescue dogs are affordable for me and the cost of purchasing a dog from a breeder is not.  I want a rescue dog because I dislike the idea of breeding more dogs when there are already so many dogs that need homes, even though I understand that many of the dogs in need of homes aren’t suitable for working as service dogs.  A rescue dog is more in line with my values.  And there are people that have gotten rescue dogs and trained them as service dogs.  My trainer does not think that is impossible.

Would it be easier to train a dog from a breeder?  Would it be easier to find a suitable candidate for a service dog from a breeder?  Maybe.  But does that mean it’s the right choice for me?  I don’t think so.

Starting the Search for a Dog

I am getting ready to start my search for a dog to adopt and train as my service dog.  I am so excited about this!

I am going to be doing six weeks of intensive physical therapy for my back problems, starting some time pretty soon.  I don’t want to actually adopt a dog until I’m done with the physical therapy because it’s going to take a lot of my time and I don’t want to have to leave a new dog home alone that much.  I think I’ll be doing the physical therapy three times a week, and the hospital near my home does not have therapists that are adequately trained (says my back specialist and I believe him since when I did physical therapy there a couple years ago, it did not help at all), so I will have to drive about an hour to go to therapy.  I’ll drive an hour there, be there for about an hour, then drive an hour home.

I will be tired when I get home and I may also be having some pain that might make it difficult to walk my dog then.  And I just don’t want to leave a new dog home alone that often.  So I don’t want to get the dog until I’m done with physical therapy.

But it may take more than six weeks to find the right dog, anyway.  My hope is to find a dog with a rescue organization.  I really like the idea of getting a rescue dog instead of buying a dog from a breeder, and to be honest, the cost of buying a dog from a breeder would be too much for me anyway.  I understand that getting a dog from a breeder, one that specifically breeds dogs to be service dogs, increases the likelihood of a dog actually working out.  Not all dogs have what it takes to be service dogs. 

Also, when you get a dog from a shelter or rescue, you usually don’t know all the background information on the dog.  You don’t know what the dog’s been through.  Dogs that have been abused or traumatized may have emotional or behavioral problems that interfere with their ability to be good service dogs, and being in a shelter is probably traumatic for any dog.

Still, I like the idea of getting a rescue dog.  I like the idea of finding a really good dog that needs a good home and, maybe it sounds kind of cheesy, but I’ll save the dog and the dog will save me.

I want to get a dog from a rescue organization rather than a shelter for a few reasons.  A dog from a rescue organization will be living with a foster family prior to adoption.  That will be much less stressful for the dog than living in a shelter, so I expect fewer emotional and behavioral problems. 

Also, the foster family will know the dog well.  They will know things like whether the dog likes kids and cats, whether it’s hyper or mellow, whether it is easily startled by loud noises, how it responds to strangers at the dog, etc.  Staff at an animal shelter, on the other hand, are not likely to know those things.  Even if they’ve paid close attention to how the dog behaves in the shelter, that’s not a good indication of how a dog will behave in a home setting.

Also, I’m assuming the foster families of rescue dogs are people that really love dogs.  They will be taking great care of the dog.  Hopefully they will take the time to teach it good manners, maybe some basic obedience, things like that.  And hopefully the dog will be in good health and the foster family will take care to make sure it’s healthy.

Finally, I’d much rather support an organization that rescues dogs than a shelter than euthanizes dogs if they run out of room.

Finding the right dog with a rescue organization might take a while, though.  I’ll write more later about what exactly I’ll be looking for.