To Rescue or Not to Rescue?

Thge last two weeks of June are Animal Rights Awareness weeks! I had suggested on the ’s Facebook page that people take a moment to see what the Animal Rights issues are on Long Island and get back to me. Well, my inbox was full of private responses that focused less on animal rights and more on getting the word out about rescuing pets locally.

So here it is! I could write endlessly on the pros and cons of rescuing versus buying a pet but due to space (and attention span) constraints, I’ll just sum it up. You’ll notice in this article that I encourage rescue. I love all dogs equally but truly would prefer if people gave an animal a home rather than perpetuate the sale of dogs that have come from puppy mills and backyard breeders.

Whether you buy or rescue an animal, you are taking a chance. There is the misconception that if you buy a dog from a breeder, you are somehow guaranteed a dog with a specific look and temperament. However, in my soon to be sixth year of working in pet care, I have learned there are no guarantees and Mother Nature has a snarky sense of humor. Your beautiful lab puppy with parents weighing in at 50lbs has a pretty good chance of being 90lbs. Your little black cocker spaniel could start sprouting buff colored fur at any time in it’s adolescence.

And forget trying to predict temperament. You could find the most laid back canine parents in the world yet somehow manage to chose a puppy that starts showing signs of being Cujo at five months old. Or you searched the country looking for athletic Springer spaniels, then discover the puppy you picked barely wants to get off the couch.

Truly the most troublesome is buying from a pet store, even the so called "reputable" ones. I have so many customers who have bought from a pet store, only to find their new pooch has a chronic health problem, came home with a serious illness or is so poorly bred that they can't even tell what breed it is anymore. PLEASE, if you even consider buying from a pet store, do your research. Get references from past customers, search for pending litigation against the store and find out where they get their dogs.

People against rescuing dogs from a shelter or a private group say they don’t want to inherit “someone else’s problem”. While it’s true many dogs end up in rescue because of behavioral issues, it is also true that with a bit of time and work, those issues can be resolved. And with our economy being what it is these days, many pets end up in rescue because the owners simply can’t afford to have them anymore. I personally have two dogs that customers surrendered at Hounds Town because they could no longer care for them. Both are (usually) wonderful dogs given up by wonderful people who just couldn’t keep them.

So where do you go to rescue your next best friend? The opportunities to rescue a dog or a cat on Long Island are everywhere. Local shelters like Brookhaven Town Shelter, Little Shelter and Save a Pet constantly hold adoption events to introduce the public to their latest round of adoptees. Websites like www.patch.com and www.missionpets.com are great resources for finding adoption events and rescue groups.

 I’d also suggest asking your friends and coworkers about where they got their rescue pet. People don’t have to be “official” rescuers to know where to rescue a pet or to have a pet up for adoption. Take the Branch Manager of Chase Bank in Port Jefferson Village, Meredith Festa. She and her husband Matt recently rescued an entire litter of kittens from a group home. They’re caring for the kittens until they are ready to be adopted. They aren’t in rescue, they aren’t a nonprofit organization - they’re just two really good people who stuck their necks out for animals. In the case of Karin Schlee & Scott Goldstein (Hounds Town customers and Brookhaven Shelter volunteers), they foster dogs until it finds it’s forever home. They regularly take shelter dogs into their home, do some basic training and attend adoption events. Again, they are not a non-profit organization, they do it for the sake of the dogs.

If you still aren’t prepared to take the leap and rescue or foster an animal, how about donating your time? Brookhaven Shelter,   and Little Shelter have programs where people can volunteer to walk dogs and participate in obedience training with the shelter dogs.

Still not sold?

Donate donate donate! All shelters and rescue groups need crates, carriers, money, blankets and food. Most will take whatever you are willing to give and be eternally grateful for it.

If you’d like more information on Meredith’s kittens or Karin and Scott’s latest foster dog Savannah, email me at marianne@houndstownusa.com and I will email you more details.