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Rescues, Rescues Everywhere Till Not A Dog In Sight
In considering how to approach a subject like dog rescue, it is important to recognize the potential for controversy as it relates to the facts and the conclusions one might arrive at. It is with this in mind that I write; acknowledging the risk that the points I am trying to make might be misinterpreted. Therefore, let me state clearly that I admire and respect those who dedicate time and effort to dog rescue. When addressing any topic where passions are high, one can be sure the feelings that are touched lie just below the surface. In fact, as I will discuss later in this article, it is these very passions that are sometimes played with, manipulated and preyed upon in driving an agenda that is very much anti-dog.
While I generally support the work of many rescue organizations, I do have concerns with how some operate. A list of those concerns might look something like this:
- An attitude of save ‘em all at any cost
- Poor utilization of scarce resources
- Bad matches resulting in wrong dog placed with wrong family
- Agendas driven by idealism interfering with effective and efficient operation
- Animal Rights proponents infiltrating, taking over the cause, reframing the issue and driving the agenda. Many, if not most, of the issues on that list are connected to some degree though they manifest in different ways.
Those who participate in rescue are understandably passionate about saving dogs. Some would say “All Dogs” - even those dogs that are unsalvageable and cannot safely be rehomed. With the growing move toward “no kill” shelters and rescues, some dogs are simply being locked away indefinitely at a very high cost and sometimes already tight budgets get stretched to a breaking point. The fact is, you cannot save them all and in trying to do so, pressure is being allowed to build up within the rescue/welfare system that helps fuel the concept of crisis…a concept that is then being used to fuel the support of some anti-dog agendas.
For some unscrupulous folks, people’s concern for animals is something that can be exploited and the rescue concept can be used as a political and/or a business opportunity. Not long ago a couple dog owners contacted me to help train their dog Nikki. Nikki is a handsome medium sized dog of unknown mixed parentage. His owners, a young professional couple, report, “Nikki is a wonderful dog, he just has a few issues we must get under control.”
As it turns out, Nikki has a propensity to get into fights with other dogs, runs off any chance he gets, steals stuff, can be very destructive and is almost impossible to walk. His owners inform me that they got Nikki through a rescue organization in the mid-west USA and that he got there from someplace in Mexico. Noting my puzzled expression, they explain that even though they know there are dogs available locally, they wanted to contribute to a larger cause and help a dog from more difficult circumstances.
Nikki is not unique in my experience. I’ve had clients tell me of the hundreds of dollars they paid for the Bouvier that was “rescued” from a puppy farm in Quebec – they got him by arranging to meet some guy on the side of the highway. The dog was transferred from his van to their car and the deal was sealed by them handing over a considerable sum of money “to help defray expenses.” Or how about the Chihuahua obtained from someone’s basement in Toronto for several hundred dollars. They were told the place was a foster residence and the money helped cover costs – they were also told they could pick any kind of small dog they liked and the foster residence could get it for them. They believed the story that all the dogs were rescues and therefore they were doing a good thing. From the dogs reportedly rescued from the puppy mill in northern Quebec to the side street operations in Toronto, it is becoming more and more common to see rescue’ dogs being shipped far and wide… sometimes with exorbitant price tags attached to boot.
Every year millions of concerned citizens mistakenly believe they are helping, to take care of pets in need, by donating millions of dollars to Animal Rights organizations (some posing as animal welfare groups). Fact is that while most front line rescue groups have almost no money, very few resources and rely on donations from patrons within the community to survive, outfits like HSUS have their coffers full and very little ever finds it’s way back to actually helping the animals. What do such groups use the money for? While I don’t have access to their budgets and can’t give a full accounting, there seems to be plenty of evidence that a good portion of it goes to fund political activities in line with promoting the AR agenda. Some of the money goes directly into funding unreasonable restrictions on dog ownership, dog care, reproduction and various other anti-dog type laws – all with a view to first restrict and ultimately eliminate the ability to own and enjoy the company of a dog.
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