There are people who believe that “any pet in any home” is preferable to euthanasia, or to the pet remaining in a shelter situation. I am not one of them.

I base that opinion on over 35 years of doing rescue and rehabilitating animals to ready them for new homes – and choosing those new homes very carefully to ensure a good match. I have too often seen the results of that sort of ‘any pet anywhere’ philosophy over the years of doing rescue. It too seldom works out well for the pet. The animals suffer mentally, with damage in their ability to trust and bond among other things, and often physically for it, as do the disappointed owners.

The whole point of rescue is making sure the pet finds the right lifetime home. Otherwise the animal is not actually saved; its fate is simply delayed, with the portion of time where it may be treated poorly extended. That, to me, is not rescuing the animal. I do not feel that simply transferring an animal from one place to another, and hoping it will work, is enough.

Sure you can work some things out with a new pet (though not everything), and many people do manage it to one extent or another, but a regular read of all the pet classifieds shows most people are not skilled trainers with infinite patience, time, and money, who live in an isolated bubble where their pet interacts with no one and nothing outside of their control. People have expectations of their pets and not everyone can or is willing to help those animals who do not meet those expectations fairly quickly. Not every animal is capable, for one reason or another, to meet those expectations either.

I feel it also is not doing rescue efforts any particular good to mismatch pet and home, as the people who end up with the wrong pet often turn away from the very concept of rescue and tell all their friends and family to do likewise. Misleading people about the pet, its behavior, its health, its cost of upkeep, its very existence – as in the case of some scams, actually puts the concept of rescue/rehoming in danger and can put the individual pet in danger too.

I hope my article improves the success rate for adopters keeping their newfound pets because they find the right one, from a legitimate rescue group, private home, or shelter, the first time. That is what I feel rescue is all about.

I agree 100% that any issues should be disclosed so that the adopting families can make an informed choice. But please understand that every one of these issues can be over come.

And yes, adopting from a shelter can have it`s advantages, but it can also have it`s down falls as well.
The screening process for some shelters are just absolutely insane. And being able to pay the crazy prices that some shelters charge does not mean that person can or will provide a safe loving home..