Overseas dog adoption: Who could resist this hunk of chocolate love?
In recent years, would-be adoptive parents, tired of lengthy applications, intrusive questions, lack of communication and eternal waiting lists, have been looking overseas to adopt healthy babies, primarily in China, where the supply far exceeds the demand.
Unfortunately, the same layer of red tape is just as prevalent with local dog adoptions, even for highly qualified puppy parents.
It doesn’t make sense, does it? With so many dogs needing homes, why do you have to jump through hoops of fire to adopt one?
It seems to be a matter of simple bureaucracy.
When you’re working with a rescue, the adoption process is similar to human adoptions. First you fill out an application, then you open your home to a visit from a rescue representative, and then, if you are approved, you can meet the dog.
Well, that’s the way it’s supposed to work, anyway.
The reality is that rescues are underfunded, overworked and understaffed. Many of them don’t return email messages or phone calls, or they wait days or weeks to get back to the potential adopter. When the parents-to-be do hear from a live human, the rescue representative may display all the tact and grace of an IRS customer service employee on April 15th.
And after all that, there’s still a good chance the adopter might not get the dog.
With shelters euthanizing hundreds of thousands of dogs a year because of lack of space, this kind of SNAFU is totally FU’d.
As someone who supports pet adoption and fosters too many dogs at a time (we currently have five), I cringe when I encounter people who have been burned by rescues.
Having worked with rescue for years, I understand the challenges involved with pulling dogs from the shelter, vetting them and finding them homes. I know how tough it can be to juggle work, home and rescue work. I’m well aware of how tiresome and infuriating it can be to wade through applications from whackadoos who’ll keep the dog in the yard 24-7 and feed him Alpo.
Really, I understand.
But there’s no excuse for failing to get a needy dog into its perfect home.
Burned by Rescues
Let me tell you about something that recently happened to a friend of mine, Maryanne Dennehy, who lives in San Francisco.
In addition to being a wonderful person, Maryanne is one of the best dog moms I know. She’s adopted three dogs from my rescue, including an 18-year-old blind, deaf dachshund named Beau, for whom I formed a particular attachment. Her home is beautiful and clean, she seldom leaves for long periods of time, and she spares no expense dealing with her dogs’ health and medical needs.
So why didn’t she get to adopt the dog she wanted?
Here’s what happened. Maryanne and her husband, pining for the chocolate Lab they lost to old age a few years ago, started looking for one on Petfinder. They wanted an adult dog around 5 or 6 years old, preferably a truly needy dog, even a special-needs dog, who might take longer to find a home.
When they saw Hershey, a 5-year-old, one-eyed chocolate Lab, it was love at first sight.
Because the rescue was local to me, she asked if I had any contacts there. I didn’t, but knowing how difficult it can be to communicate with rescues, and having been a rescuer myself for almost a decade, I offered to contact them with a personal recommendation, rescuer-to-rescuer, and find out if Hershey would be a good fit.
It did not go well.
I was lucky enough to reach a live human on the phone, someone who actually had the time to talk with me. I identified myself and my reason for calling, and then asked for information about Hershey. I told the rescue representative that Maryanne was a rescuer’s delight, always willing to take the old, infirm and behavior-challenged, and that I could not recommend her more highly.
We agreed that Maryanne’s home sounded like a great match for Hershey, and I let her know that Maryanne would be sending over an application later that day.
That was the last we heard from them.
Overseas dog adoption: Browny with his "nephew," Brandon, and Squeakers, the elderly chihuahua who has made Browny her bitch.
Maryanne followed up after sending in her application by forwarding pictures of her home. When she didn’t hear back from them, she asked my advice. I told her to be persistent but nice, and that I would contact the rescue again to see if my luck was any better.
It wasn’t. Weeks went by, but they never responded to either of our inquiries.
Overseas Dog Adoptions
Fed up, Maryanne and her husband did as so many other people have done in the past few years: She adopted from China.
This wasn’t intentional. After being ignored by the first rescue, Maryanne and her husband went back onto Petfinder and soon found another chocolate Lab that warmed their hearts, a chap named Browny. The only problem was that he was located halfway around the world.
Geography notwithstanding, they had their Browny less than three weeks later.
As it turns out, just as it is with human baby adoptions, overseas dog adoptions can be a lot faster than working with local agencies.
Within 24 hours of contacting Asians for Humans, Animals & Nature (AHAN), a rescue that specializes in relocating homeless animals from China, Japan and other disaster-stricken nations, Maryanne and her husband received a response.
A few days later, a representative visited their home and pronounced Browny a very lucky dog to be landing in such a fantastic place, with such wonderful people. Not long after that, the dog arrived from overseas.
Yes, it was really that simple.
The Northern California rescue representatives displayed excellent communication skills. In preparation for Browny’s arrival, the rescue sent Maryanne information about getting their home and family ready, as well as a one-sheet about how to help him adapt to his new time zone.
“The first night he was very restless,” said Maryanne. “The rescue representative explained that he was on Taiwan time and to keep him up the next day so he would sleep that night. It worked.”
The day of the adoption, Maryanne and her husband went to the airport and met Vicky, the rescue representative, who introduced them to the angel who had transported Browny to his new home. After emerging from his travel crate, Browny jumped into Maryanne’s car, his tail wagging.
Just a few days later, he was firmly established in his pack, which includes a playful young dachshund-terrier mix, an elderly dachshund (Beau) and a somewhat persnickety elderly chihuahua, who has since made Browny her snuggle buddy.
Browny, who spent two years living in a kennel in China before Maryanne adopted him, now goes for walks in the park every day and sleeps in their bed at night.
“It is so sad that he spent so many years in a shelter,” Maryanne said. “This rescue just wants to find good homes for their animals. I know in this case they did. Browny is a love.”
The overseas dog rescue also followed up after the adoption to make sure things were going well, offering advice about housetraining Browny and teaching him basic commands.
So why did the other rescue blow off my friend? I honestly don’t know, but they messed up big time. In the long run, it didn’t matter to Maryanne and Browny, but it might have mattered a great deal to Hershey.
What has been your experience with rescue? Have you thought about overseas dog adoptions? I’d love to read your stories, good and bad, in the comments section.
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