July 31, 2008 - 5:13pm | animalrescue

You brought tears to my eyes

Ms. Claire...THANKS for the update on you and Trudy. I was so excited to hear from you.

To those of you that don't know about our Trudy. She was at Animal Control...a very overweight and extremely pink Black Lab with almost no hair. She was adored by the Animal Control staff and they asked for a rescue. At first I thought, what a challenge. I thought I would break their hearts if I said "no", so I agreed and Trudy joined the foster pack. Talk about one of the most comical and delightful dogs the world could ever know...she snatched my heart completely in record time. We worked on the allergy and skin issues...it was a long hard road cuz Trudy loves food and could convince anyone and everyone to share. Eventually she began to get hair...we were absolutely estatic...and the bright pink turned to lighter pink. She was still overweight...but playful and still in total control of my heart. Initially I wanted Claire to "foster" Trudy to help eliminate her opportunities to get food she was not allowed. Okay...I admit...I was sure hoping Claire would say "yes" and then fall in love with Trudy like I did. Claire was the best home for Trudy and I knew I had to do something to get this match made. Claire "fell" for the idea (I do believe she did have her eyes open to my intentions, but played along to help me feel better). Trudy went to live with Claire on the same day Claire took in an ophaned older cat. Her life was suddenly full. I was not wrong...they were absolutely meant for each other and WOW did Trudy improve in no time. Last time I saw her personally, I could not believe it was the same baby I rescued. I still have the e-mailed pictures and they make me beam with happiness when I look at them. If you had seen Trudy initially, you would have questioned "Who will ever adopt that nasty looking dog?' Now I believe she would have lots of interest...but too bad...she has her very happy home and a very wonderful mom.

Thanks so much for blogging...I would love some more pictures...smile

Love...Carol

  July 9, 2008 - 11:57am | animalrescue

Pictures and Biographies

You can check out some our rescues on the web-site at www.kittyandk-9connection.org We also link to other rescue groups. Have fun...it is great to get to know some of the animals through pictures and bios.
Carol

  July 1, 2008 - 9:22pm | animalrescue

Anchorage Animal Care and Control Rescues

I can promise you that rescue groups do not get first choice...I have been interested in several dogs that were deemed adoptable to the public and were adopted out...rescue was not called and therefore, I did not get them into rescue.

I would venture to guess that your adopted dog did not come from the Anchorage Care and Control shelter. The ACC staff are very concerned for the animals and their well-being. If the pet has medical issues, it is not put up for public adoption. In the past, their experience has been that once the medical conditions are identified, people do not want to take on the expenses and they return the pet. Or people do not address the issues for weeks or months...then they take the pet back to ACC...really sick. ACC staff want to ensure the medical issues are addressed immediately so the pet does not suffer...rescue is called at that point.

Anchorage Animal Control calls for rescues for a few specific reasons: medical, not child friendly, kennel aggressive, behavior issues, failed the temperament tests or they have been there too long and their time is up. If the dog passes everything...rescue does not have the opportunity to get the pet...it is placed up for public adoption...which is ACC's goal.

The Pom in question had potential medical issues and desperately needed a dental. KKC did not do the rescue on this dog, but I was aware of his needs and issues...they were significant enough that he could not be placed for public adoption. As with every dog or cat that goes to ACC, he was assessed and a decision was based on his needs.

The reality of the fact is that if a rescue group does not step in...the dog or cat still does not go up for public adoption. If your dog had been in ACC and rescue was called on his behalf...but none of them stepped in...he still would not have been available for you to adopt him...that is their policy.

There are several factors that rescue groups look at when determining someone would be able to foster. Fostering involves much more than just having a place to house the animals. A foster home needs to work on helping the animal become more placeable (such as willing to make efforts to improve house manners), the rescuer needs to have a good relationship with the foster homes to ensure the animal finds the right placement, the foster home needs to keep the rescuer posted regarding behavior, medical, house manners, etc. and the rescuer needs access to the animal for placement, vet care, etc. Sometimes location is a factor...having a foster home miles away or across town makes things a bit difficult. One's heart may be in the right place, but fostering not feasible for one reason or another.

Carol

  July 1, 2008 - 5:03pm | animalrescue

Animal Control

I understand your frustation. Cat rescues are so much easier. You just go in, get a cat, and that's it. There are soooo many cats that come into A.C., and I know we don't see the ones that are deemed unadoptable.

Dogs are difficult. They put the dogs thru specific testing at Animal Control in order to be available for adoption. Lots of them don't pass the testing, and get put into rescue or euthanized. Our rescue group, KKC normally gets the dogs that have issues and they normally don't get put out to the public beforehand. I have asked for a response from Animal Control as to their rules and will post the response here when received. In the meantime, perhaps Carol, our dog mom, can respond with what she knows.

Sue

  July 1, 2008 - 7:26pm | animalrescue

Animal Evaluation

This is a good question...and finding the right placement for all our pets is the utmost priority...but a difficult venture. Living with our animals in rescue helps us become very familiar with the animals behavior towards numerous things. If they don't do well with other animals, we know right away. If they don't like men...we catch on to that real quick too...smile...my husband deals with the "not male friendly dogs" quite well and they most generally come around. We do have foster homes that have children...our little test pilots...smile. If we know right away that they are not child friendly, then we don't risk our little volunteers. We go to meet and greets which also gives us an idea how the pets will respond to different people. We do have volunteers that help socialize the pets too. Most of our ability to seek the right placement for the pets is living with them and experiencing their temperaments daily.

There are times that we discover they act differently in foster than in placement. Example: I rescued a Jack Russell that did really well with us. On two home visits, he bit the people we went to visit. Unprovoked and without warning. It was determined that he was too high of a risk for placement. We had never had a problem with him in foster. His behavior was quite surprising...and devastating.

We do our best to try to find the right home for each of our critters. It is the hardest part of our job. Home visits help alot because we are there to assist with transition and can see fairly quickly if it is not going to be the right match. We screen in-person and on the telephone first and if it seems it might be the right match, we pursue a home visit. It takes time...but if it is the right home it is worth the time and energy. First and foremost, knowing the pets personally helps with finding the right match.

Carol

  July 1, 2008 - 9:34pm | animalrescue

Would Love Your Help

Being the only dog mom in KKC and slammed with lots to do...I do not find the time to blog very often. If you would like to provide dog information and suggestions, I would really appreciate the help. Our cat moms, Sue and Cindy, have done a great job blogging...I will try to do better and add more dog stuff...smile.
Carol

  July 9, 2008 - 12:03pm | animalrescue

Sending You Hugs

And lots of puppy licks...Love Ya
Carol