We Can’t Save Them All
“Save them all!” I see some variation of this slogan on shirts, thermoses, bags, etc. weekly. These words are popular within the dog community, especially those involved in animal rescue. It is meant to encourage humans to make more responsible choices with their pets (like spaying/neutering them, acquiring pets from reputable sources, etc.) and to increase awareness about the pet overpopulation problem in America. I own some clothing with something similar printed on the front. While catchy and uplifting, it is not to be taken literally. It’s a hard truth, but not all homeless pets can be saved, and some downright shouldn’t be.
Now don't get me wrong. I love dogs. I love cats. I love animals. (Chickens aren’t my favorite, but that’s another post for another day!) But some simply are not safe to live with humans and those animals should be safely and humanely euthanized.
Pets with severe behavioral issues shouldn’t be adopted out
Animals with a bite history are a potential liability for any organization placing them, but also to any family adopting them. This is especially true for dogs, since they have the ability to do much more harm than cats do. Dogs that are surrendered due to a bite history with severe injuries are ticking time bombs that we shouldn’t place back within our communities. When will they bite again? For many it is only a matter of time. And when that does happen, will they seriously injure someone? Maim them? Kill them?
But let’s not forget what happens to the dog. What methods do the humans use (or need to use) to stop the attack? Is the dog beaten to make them disengage? Are their caregivers now scared of the dog and neglect him? When dogs bite they will potentially be quarantined depending on what injuries were received, etc. Quarantine typically involves being seized by animal control for a period of time. Now the dog is in a new and stressful environment and is terrified. Depending on severity, at the end of quarantine the dog will be offered back to the family, but frequently humans don’t want to live with a dog that has bitten someone and caused severe injury. (It is a scary and traumatic experience for sure.) In some severe bite cases the dog is not released back to the family and the dog is euthanized. We put a dog through a lot of stress and suffering to end up euthanized anyway.
Most families don’t want or need a pet that is going to be a long term “project”
Most people adding a pet to their family are not looking for a “project pet.” Most people want a normal dog that will fit nicely in with their lifestyles and are willing and able to do some training for communication and management, but are not able to commit to working through a severe resource guarding issue in a dog. And why should they be?
Before we adopted Tule, we reached out to many rescues. A few of these rescues were quick to tell me about “special” cases that they had that would be “perfect since you are a trainer!” Red flag alert. Don’t get me wrong, we were fully ready to commit to training and helping a new dog adjust to our life and family. But please give me a dog with normal behavioral issues. I expect to work through some bad habits with any dog. (I do love a geriatric hound that struggles with nuisance barking, potty training, and adjusting to living indoors.) It is unfair to expect me (or anyone else) to take in a dog who has separation anxiety so severe that it caused thousands of dollars of damage in its foster home. (True story. We passed.)
My soul dog Senna was a “project dog.” He was dog reactive/aggressive and we worked on this for his lifetime. I loved him, but that was exhausting! And I am a professional! If I, as an educated, certified, and experienced dog trainer, do not want to adopt a dog with a severe behavioral issue, then people with less experience and education certainly don't and shouldn’t. Adopting a pet from a rescue shouldn’t be a burden on the adopter. And if it is, less and less people will choose to adopt. Which is a huge problem.
Pets with severe behavioral issues tie up resources in shelters and rescues.
This may be a hot take, but I stand firmly behind it. Trying to find “appropriate” homes for pets with behavioral issues clogs up the system and takes up valuable resources from shelters and rescues. Housing a dog or cat in a shelter environment costs money, time, and effort. These resources are finite within the rescue community. The faster we can place dogs into good homes, the more that we can save. The one dog that is scared of men and has bitten 3 people is going to take much more time to find a permanent placement for than the dog that doesn’t have social issues or a bite history. While we wait for this dog’s perfect home to appear, we turn down other animals due to lack of the aforementioned resources. A lot of these that are turned away from the rescue are euthanized for lack of space even though they do not have behavioral problems. It is really sad, and I wish that this wasn’t the case, but the goal of rescue should be to help as many as we can.