What were they thinking?

[Cami]

Before finding Cami back in May of this year my husband and I tried going through a local Boxer rescue organization.
We made countless phone calls and left numerous messages. We contacted the group via e-mail for countless weeks still nothing. After recieving no responses from this group we went the route of shelters, dogie adoption venues etc....searching for a boxer in need of us.
Finally after all the waiting we finally received a phone call from one of the rescue co-founders. There was a white boxer available. We would have taken a green and purple boxer....we didn't care. We were given an initial phone interview....which almost seemed like we were being asked everything but our measurements...(which was perfectly fine with us). We were invited to see the pup and we agreed to call the next evening to make arrangements for the upcoming weekend. Now, we called, & called and called. We again left messages, phone and e-mail. No replies, nothing. We felt that we had probably not responded correctly to some question or perhaps she just didn't get a certain "feel" from us. But then thought...."What about the supposed invite?". Certainly we would not have been invited only to be refused once we got there?
Anyhow.....fast forwarding.....Hubby found Cami via a local newspaper ad....byb (hindsight).....And nearly 1 week after bringing Cami home this same rescue woman calls to let us know that she still has the white puppy....regretfully (for the adoptee's sake) we tell her we have Cami. She reacts very angrily at us....wants to know Cami's breeders kennel name....we offer it to her and before we even take a breath this woman goes OFF on us. Telling us that this (we assume Cami's pedigree) is "junk", and WHY did we not contact her IF we were going to be purchasing a dog? We received the 3rd degree about what we did and how we went about it....Everyone is entitled to a bad day/week/month and in her defense I can't even imagine what she must go through with rescuing but we certainly didn't think we deserved that sort of treatment.
And then just yesterday.......I went to the rescues web sight.....the poor white boxer is still with her and still waiting.......what must this woman have been thinking? Don't get me wrong we love Cami with all our heart and wouldn't give her up for all the money in the world but now my heart aches for this little precious soul that could have spent the last 6 months in a loving home with us. I feel so sorry for this pup and only wish that someone will soon be able to open their hearts and home to it.
Thakns for letting me vent,
Susi

 

[DixieDiana]

So sorry to hear all the trouble you went through.
Maybe you could post a link to the rescue website on here and perhaps someone in the area will see her and be interested in adopting her.
I have two white boxer puppies

Best Wishes to you!

Jeanne

 

[adeinert]

Sounds like that white boxer girl really missed out. Unfortunately, in rescue everything is done by volunteers, and although our friends and families think rescue is number one in our lives, we really do other things.

I am sorry she took out her feelings about BYB's on you.:( Unfortunately, we know that if people purchase, they will continue. One dog "saved," many, many more sentenced to that life. Many people go through the steps to rescue only to support BYB's and puppy mills at the last moment.

Although I would beg everyone to never purchase another BYB or puppy shop dog from here on, and guarantee if everyone did - it would shut them down - I must say, I am so glad Cami is with you and I am sure she was meant for you.

Are there other rescue organizations near you? Maybe you could volunteer with a rescue organization nearby that you feel share your views. There always seems to be room for more help. I have met the most wonderful boxer lovers and friends through rescue and have learned so much about my furkids from them.

Is Cami doing any better? I look for posts in the health section regarding her when I check in there.
AShlie and the rescued boxertrio

 

[jazzzman]

Originally posted by Cami

She reacts very angrily at us....wants to know Cami's breeders kennel name....we offer it to her and before we even take a breath this woman goes OFF on us. Telling us that this (we assume Cami's pedigree) is "junk", and WHY did we not contact her IF we were going to be purchasing a dog? We received the 3rd degree about what we did and how we went about it....Everyone is entitled to a bad day/week/month and in her defense I can't even imagine what she must go through with rescuing but we certainly didn't think we deserved that sort of treatment.Susi

No, you didn't deserve this. I hope you hung up on her when she started to rave...

 

[tanya22]

We are having the same experience with the Kentucky rescue!
How do they expect to find homes for the dogs when they do not bother to follow up on inquires. The experience has left me with a bad feeling. IMO if you are going to do something (volenteer or not) do it right. These people are doing more harm than good.:confused:

 

[vasha]

Originally posted by tanya22
These people are doing more harm than good.:confused:

To say that volunteers that work full time at their regular jobs, have their own boxers, and their own lives are doing more harm than good must obviously have been something that you didn't intend to come out the way that it did, at least I hope so.

I understand that frustration of waiting that happens when you apply to rescue a dog and no one gets back to you, because I've been there. I had been rejected and no one ever got back to me to let me know. But I didn't turn around and badmouth the rescue on an online forum, I just searched out another rescue group that would allow adoptions to someone that lived in an apartment complex.

For everyone that has ever felt frustration with a rescue group and their turnaround time in responding to you I implore you to spend at least a month volunteering with rescue so that you can completely understand the roller coaster of emotions and the whirlwind of a schedule a typical rescue volunteer deals with on a daily basis.

We have home checks lined up to do within our rescue group, but I also had an emergency with my own personal dog that had to be addressed. We had to put a dog down this week due to aggression issues. It's been a harrowing week for all of us, finding foster homes for incoming dogs, making sure that we have scheduled vet appointments for the dogs that need them, transport. Rescue truly is a labor of love.

We need a bit of understanding and patience from you guys when you apply to rescue, it's not a process that can take a week, or even two, it may take longer. In all honesty it's easier to work with someone who realizes that instead of one who goes out and buys a BYB puppy.

One of the things I've realized volunteering in rescue is that we are fighting a battle against BYB. When someone who's applied with us doesn't like how long it takes and buys a BYB, it's almost a personal affront to everything that we try and do, however, I don't agree with her yelling at you over the phone and am sorry you were an unwilling recipient as she vented her frustration.

vasha
NCBR of Texas

 

[VTbxrFan]

You know, that's a tough situation. As Vasha pointed out, volunteering with rescues is hard...those of us who do it make our best effort to fit it in with other life obligations like work, family, and our own pets. Once a contact lands in my hands, I try to contact them quickly to keep the ball rolling...but I'll admit sometimes it takes a long time when unexpected things happen in my life.

I do understand your disappointment. I certainly make an effor to follow-up with phone calls or emails...even if it's just to ask the person to be patient a little while longer...and I know it must have been very frustrating for you to be waiting and not hearing anything back.

I also do not feel that you, or anyone else, deserved the harsh criticism for the choice you made or the puppy you ended up purchasing. Such behavior understandably leaves people with a negative view of rescue. I also understand the other side, though. Those of us in rescue put so much time and effort into our dogs, and we are so emotionally connected that sometimes we just snap and react in ways we shouldn't.

The point I'm trying to make here is that I certainly hope that you receive better treatment in the future if you decide to try to adopt from a rescue group, but I'm also asking for your understanding with the situation you experienced before. Please don't let it sour your opinion of rescues general. Even those of us who are usally very nice people, and very dedicated to what we do, sometimes let the pressure of rescue work get to us and we act inappropriately. We are only humans doing the best that we can.

 

[Claudia807]

I'm really sorry that your experience with rescue did not work out. :(

I do think applicants deserve a response regardless. It is helpful (at least for us) that if an applicant purchases a puppy or gets a dog elsewhere while they are waiting, let us know so that we don't continue to work on processing their application.

We encourage our volunteers to treat people professionally - that goes for people surrendering their dogs as well as people wanting to adopt.

Claudia
Green Acres Boxer Rescue of WI

 

[Cyklopz]

I certainly understand how hard it must be for rescue voluteers to do their jobs. My mom got her 3 legged boxer mix from one of our local rescues and we are trying to contact another one about a boxer boy. It has been over 2 weeks since the first contact (almost 3 weeks I guess). Everyone knows we all get busy but there is just no excuse for not getting back to someone. I work in IT and I know exactly how long it takes to shoot off an email. Don't tell me you are to busy to respond to me. Respond to me and tell me you are busy but that you are working on my app. If this is not possible in a timely manner (2-3 days max) then hand the contact off to someone who is less busy or just tell me to try another rescue that might be less busy.

Rescues do good deeds but the lousy response times are just not acceptible and then to even suggest that the interested party is at fault for not contacting the rescue to tell them they made other arrangements? You must be kidding!

Rescuers please continue to do your good deeds but take contacts seriously, and your pledged effort to help, and respond quickly (again 2-3 days). Everyone will benefit, things will happen faster and some of the stress will actually reduce for you.

C&E

 

[rog1006]

If this is not possible in a timely manner (2-3 days max) then hand the contact off to someone who is less busy or just tell me to try another rescue that might be less busy.

This is an old thread, but as the subject has come up again, I wanted to take a few minutes to respond.

Many people do not even check their own personal e-mails or phone messages for 2-3 days. As someone who does rescue full time, works full time, has a family full time, like every other rescue volunteer, expecting someone to respond to an application in 2-3 days is expecting a LOT and to be frank, is expecting too much. Our rescue gets HUNDREDS of applications a month, and there are just TWO people screening, as the rest of our little group of trench workers are busy taking dogs to and from the vet, doing shelter walking on a daily basis, trying to move dogs from kennel to kennel to foster home, scrounging dog food for the dogs in our kennels, raising money to pay our $10,000 a month vet bills, etc.

That means coming home from work and spending on the average about 2 hours+ of calling and interviewing people on the phone at least 3-4 days a week. Then another 30 min+ to e-mail home visit teams, input the applicants information in the database, e-mail foster homes to see if an adoption appointment with a particular applicant will work out, all the while trying to picture just the right dog for all the rest of the 20 people you are working with.

And lets not forget the 5-10 e-mails a week we get from people who have already adopted that have questions about training, feeding, can't remember where they put the vaccination records we gave them, etc. In our rescue, we call on an application between 5-7 days after a person submits the app--PENDING they are approved passed the initial screening, which is the app itself. So I'm hoping you are beginning to understand why the voicemail I get from an applicant that is upset because they haven't been called when they filled out the application 2 days ago and now their kids are nagging them because they wanted one before saturday and now it's SUNDAY (can you tell I just heard this a couple days ago !!), gets me (and others I'm sure) a bit frustrated as we are doing the VERY BEST WE CAN. And God forbid the other volunteer adoption coordinator goes on vacation for two weeks....then just take all that and double it (as that too has just happened!).

Please be patient and please understand that about every couple of months I look at my husband and my scattered house, and think I spend WAAAY too much time on rescue and I always have that feeling like it is never done and never enough as there is always something more to do. For me to walk away from the computer knowing there are applications that I've received that I haven't called on, is horrible and I feel guilty every night when I turn this computer off because I'm thinking that maybe there's that perfect applicant for Blanco, or Abigail, or some other little mush face I have to look at every day on our database. But the truth is, if we don't draw a boundary and try to stay somewhat sane, those of us in rescue will be burned out horribly and will quit. So I'm just asking that you give us all a break and give us a few more days as we ARE getting to you, we DO appreciate that you want to save a boxer, and we WANT to help you do just that, but we just need a little more time.