I wrote a myTake called 9 Reasons Why You Should Adopt—Not Buy—A Pet! recently, but then I did some thinking, and it occurred to me that some animal rescue organizations are way too picky when it comes to adopting out their animals, making it extremely difficult to adopt and turning people away from adoption altogether.
With me volunteering at an animal shelter and attempting to adopt animals before, I can say that I've seen this first hand. Some of the people who are at these organizations turn down potential adopters for the most minuscule of reasons, and frankly, it's becoming ridiculous.
I remember being a little girl in fifth grade who wanted a kitten, so my mom took me to an animal rescue group. I was so excited to see all the puppies and kittens there, but one particular kitten caught my eye. She was black and white and so sweet, and I thought she was going to be mine forever.
The people let me play with the cat for a couple of hours. She was so playful and just a bundle of joy. We were going to adopt her. My mom had to fill out a paper for us to adopt, and after a while, a woman came back and broke the news that we couldn't adopt her because my dog wasn't neutered at the time.
What?
I'm buying a cat and you're telling me I can't adopt one because of my dog?
What's going to happen? Will my puppy get my kitten pregnant or something? Absolutely ridiculous. Many people would give up and buy from a breeder, but I waited a few years to adopt from a lenient shelter to get my second cat.
It is approximated that 7.6 million animals enter shelters each year, and due to low space, 2.7 million of perfectly healthy animals are euthanized. This makes euthanasia the leading cause of death in healthy companion animals. With so many perfectly healthy animals dying, should we really be so overly picky with who can adopt and who cannot?
Shelters vs Rescues
Shelters and rescues are essentially the same and they both have the same goal, but there are a few differences.
Shelters are publicly-owned organizations who receive animals from the hands of cruelty, broken laws, and people who can no longer care for their pets. If the animals are not adopted out or claimed, they are usually euthanized. This is why it is so much more crucial for an animal to be adopted from a shelter.
Unlike shelters, rescues are private organizations in business due to do donations and grants. They are ran by animal rights advocates who are against the euthanasia policies that shelters run. They usually accept dogs from shelters or strays of a certain breed or type, and they pay out of pocket for them to receive the help they need. They usually are much more strict with who they adopt out however, but, apart from terminally ill or aggressive dogs, they do not kill their animals.
Why shelters are even more deadly
It is much more urged for people to adopt from kill shelters, because you will be saving an animal's life and funding the shelter so that more animals don't have to die. When you adopt, you usually have to pay a fee. This is usually required by both rescues and shelters, but shelters tend to be more lenient on their fees. The money goes to the animal's health care and food, instead of into a breeder's pocket like when you buy.
There are no-kill shelters, but adopting from a place when an animal can die any day now is much more commendable.
Well, before I ended up at the shelter am at now which is fairly quick at approving adoption applications, there was one who could never seem to find the "perfect match" for what seemed like any of it's animals, and they were stuck in these shelters for most of their lives.
So many happy people are being turned down after they become so attached and optimistic that they will be going home with an animal because of pettiness. It definitely was not the animal's fault, it was the staff and their opinions on whether or not the people interested in adopting would be good matches or not. They have become too judgmental, too picky, or even reluctant to adopt animals out because their opinion and their opinion only on a sheet of paper that applicants fill out gives them access to people and they suddenly know all about them and whether or not they'll be that "perfect match". Their ego and feelings towards these animals has become too inflated, and as a result animals are dying at the hands of shelters. High adoption fees, long and undying wait times, petty reasons for being rejected, and even no call backs are ever dividing the barrier between an animal and caring person.
Some of reasons that people are omitted from adoption are:
having a yard without a fence
having young children
admitting to previously re-homing an animal
admitting that a previous animal died from being hit by a car
admitting that you lost a previous pet
owing a dog or cat that is not spayed or neutered
admitting to working all day
owning outdoor pets such as feral cats
Some of these reasons are justifiable, some not.
It's ridiculous how many hoops these organizations make you jump through in order to adopt an animal. I think it's become the fact that these people who volunteer have become way too attached to these animals that nobody would be their perfect match, only they will. I get it, people over time get attached to the animals they work with, but if you really wanted the best for these dogs and cats, you would be more understanding of these people and not judge them on every little thing they check, every little thing they write or sign. One piece of paper does not mean that you know a person. Perhaps that person would be just right for that animal and your feelings are inhibiting that animal to live a happy, healthy life.
I also get it, you have specific standards for the adopters, and that's okay too, but just because that person is not entirely "perfect" in your eyes does not mean that they are not perfect for the animal. Sorry, I don't think that you know or get to overly dictate what is best for that animal.
Some of these organizations won't let you adopt a pet because the family interested has children, and they are often told to wait until they are old enough to be responsible. Sorry, but I find this outrageous. Most family settings tend to be stable environments for pets, and give them a higher chance to be adopted. They are the perfect playmates to each other and it could also ensure that they will get more time and attention from people. Rescues and shelters should not automatically exclude families from adoption opportunities. If you exclude families with children, what does that leave? The people in poverty and the extensively rich, and most likely the latter will be excluded too. If you eliminate so many groups out of the groups that you will adopt to, then that will hinder so many perfectly fine dogs and cats out of the equation in which to be adopted, and so many of them will be left in these shelters for the rest of their lives, or even euthanized. They should not be so tough on their requirements like this when so many animals are dying every year.
There are plenty of responsible, compassionate people in the pet-loving community who are more-than-willing to give these animals loving homes. Why are we punishing people who choose to adopt by putting so many standards on people willing to adopt, when they should be rewarded for their mature decision? These people should be treated with gratitude, not suspicion. These ridiculous standards that are imposed on people looking into adopting an animal is one of the many reasons why so many people go straight to breeders, pet shops, and even puppy mills. They are lenient on the standards required to adopt and they don’t make you jump through so many hoops. Also they sometimes let you adopt right away and they call you back, unlike some rescue groups and shelters who never do.
Most importantly though, as I said in a previous myTake, by adopting from kill shelters, these compassionate individuals looking to adopt a new best friend are saving a life and giving them a second chance. Don't make it unreasonably hard for them. Sadly, the way that rescue and shelters treat people will keep puppy mills and irresponsible breeders in business.
Their overbearing opinion is not as important as a life on the line. </3
Do you think that shelters are too picky when adopting out animals?
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