Its been a year since my last dog passed away.  

I think I am ready for another one.  

I'd like to get another puppy, but thinking of getting a rescue this time.  Looking online, there seems to be no shortage of rescue organizations in my area, many having different requirements.

I am wondering on your thoughts about rescues vs private puppy sales.   I am thinking of getting another pitty (I know, I know).  Out of all the dogs I've ever had, the most gentile, the most intelligent and the most docile was my Freya.  A 100 lb. super intelligent, super goofball great dog, but a pitty none the less.

There is a large portion of rescues who are pitty mixes.  

She was in my life for 15 years, and I am getting pretty lonely for another.

Walking Freyja 1 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

Semper Fi dog rescue run by an ARFCOM member. Joker1 I think.  He's always looking for homes for the dogs he brings in.

I'm on the board of a no kill animal shelter and we get A LOT of pit bulls and mixes in. They are in general very sweet dogs that were never properly raised. Some have stayed with us for a year being trained and socialized, it can be a challenge. I am a big pit bull fan, and as with any powerful breed they need proper socialization and discipline/training from an early age to learn what is and is not appropriate. I don't believe that the breed is inherently bad, but given their strength things can go terribly wrong - much more so than with many other breeds.

If you like pit bulls find a rescue dedicated to them and let them know you'd like a puppy or juvenile and they will connect you with the right dog.

Thank you for rescuing!

Ivan (crazy Ivan)

We got this guy from a rescue after seeing him advertised as a puppy on petfinder.

The rescue was so amazingly easy to deal with I couldn't believe it.

The offered to bring him to our house, so we could see how he acts in our own environment, and with our cat. This also allowed them to sort of vet us, and the enviro.

He was of course completely awesome.

They then asked if we would like to do a two week trial to see if he fits in.

They weren't out the door two minutes and the decision was already made.

I'll never get a dog any other way.

+1....no better guy to evaluate and give you the straight poop on your dog. Dude knows his canines, and is a personal friend.

We got one of our dogs from a local rescue. Had no problems with the business side of the rescue at all and they were pretty easy to work with.

The dog was a handful but we knew that going in as he had been returned a few times. He tested my patience but he turned out to be a great dog.

My last 2 dogs have been rescues.  One was a pretty large organization that was a no kill shelter type.  Pure breed weiner dog, they said she was returned twice and got into a fight with another dog.  I met her and called BS.  Brought her home and she is the sweetest cuddly teddy bear who has never even growled at another person/dog in 4 years.

Second one got from a lady that runs a rescue out of her house/farm, rat terrier/blue heeler mix.  Great dog, very energetic and athletic.  I've had good experiences so far.

My mom, her boyfriend and my brother and sister all have rescue dogs.
They're all good dogs
But they've all had their issues. Mostly because of shitty previous owners.
I'm not sure i could do it

Needs repeating... @Joker1

It's not a "rescue" dog if you have to pay out the ass for it and undergo a rigorous screening that would make applying to the CIA feel like signing up for a bowling team.

Imho.

Almost got a yellow lab from him, but he didn't know enough about the dog's personality.  Anyway, I went to the shelter.  Didn't realize it but they were abused animals.  The male adjusted really quick (RIP) but the female is still adjusting (5 years now).  Just be aware that the animal could be abused.  A shelter puppy less likely than a full grown adults like what I got.

Adoption was easy.  Pay the bucks (covers the shelter's expenses) and fill out the forms.  I know that some places do a home visit but the one I went to didn't.

My (really, my wife's) experience with rescue organizations has mostly been unpleasant and a hassle.  Seems to me that most people running them are crazy animal people that just want to hoard animals and don't really want to relinquish them to new homes.  At the very least their requirements are so strict and intrusive that many people that would be good pet owners are turned off by it and find a pet elsewhere.

We did get our latest dog (an older sheltie/collie mix) from a rescue organization and it was a PITA.  My wife wanted to adopt this specific dog because he was older but the rescue org was in Houston.  She contacted them and they told her she needs to work with the Austin rescue org and they will find a dog for us.  WTF?  My wife played their game and jumped through their hoops and we eventually got the dog but the whole experience just reminded us of how crazy they are.

ETA: I'm talking about breed specific rescue groups.  In our case it was Austin & Houston Sheltie rescue groups.

I have worked with rescuse orgs as a customer and on the vet side.  Some of them are pretty damn odd, but most of them have their heart in the right place.

The bully breeds unfortunately tend to be embraced by people that shouldn't have ANY dog, hence the reason there are so many in rescues and they have acquired a bad name.  

Spend some time getting to know the dog and you will likely be fine.  All mine are rescues and have been great.

The Border Collie puppy we recently ended up with might be the exception, but my wife picked him.  

Most so-called rescues are businesses -- selling a dog for $300 and calling it an adoption fee is a business. You should see them fight over the cheap/free adoptable marketable dogs from the local pound.

Notable exceptions apply.

Basically, not businesses I want to do business with. We use good breeders. Our dogs spend enough time with their siblings and mother to gain decent social skills and be weened properly. 3 Years later (come Dec 26), we still talk with our breeder all the time to give status updates and ask for advice. (Our giant breed dog was limping last Friday for example -- a big deal for giant breeds.)

We will only use good breeders -- but that said...

I'm not letting some low-IQ dog hoarder "inspect" my house or sign a contract allowing "surprise" inspections. Watch for that sort of crap.

Observe any group -- are they actually explaining the issues with adopting a "special needs" pet? Friends for Life in Houston is good about this -- they go over the cost of effort of, for example, medicating an animal every single day for life.

Are the dogs trained for basic obedience? (Stop, sit, down, and don't jump.) Not necessary for really young puppies. If the dogs are being taken care of properly, they should be learning something. FfL fosters will do this.

Friends for Life also maintains a cat room in the local PetSmart -- before COVID, we'd go there on date-night and spend time "socializing" the cats. Some have been there 3-4 years and are still cared for and will slowly get adopted.

ETA: Bad breeders can be just as bad. But with a good breeder, you also know the breeding and tendencies of the dog you're getting. We wanted to do water rescue and carting -- you basically need a Newfie for that.

My experience is that they’re all nutty as fuck.

YMMV

https://vrcpitbull.com

BTW, our Newfoundland's favorite friends at daycare have always been pits. They're big enough to play with him. We met another pit (yellow mix) in our neighborhood Monday -- watching them meet was so funny, cause the tails slowly went up and slowly starting wagging like crazy.

OP, I rescued two dogs that are awesome.  Both were 12 weeks old at the time, and fees were around $300.  Considering they had all shots, were neutered or spayed, and had health guarantees that's very reasonable.  

The biggest issue with rescues is you really don't what you're getting.  My next dog will be a purebred because I want a specific type or trait.

Local shelters are usually the way to go.

Some rescues, especially some of the breed-specific ones, can be batshit crazy.

Round here, it is the other way around. The general rescues are craziest. The breed-specific ones tend to be a little more rational.
YMMV LOL

We have had mixed results w rescue for sure.

Some have such a crazy vetting process that you just lose interest and move on.  Husky rescue took weeks to get back to us (pre COVID) then had more questions. In the mean time, we found a pup who's breeder became ill and picked him up that day. The end result is the same, a pup in need gets taken care of

We have also had good experience with people that seem to have good common sense.  Go visit the pup, talk for a bit, and they were like " do you want to go ahead?" as they know that the goal is to get these pups into good homes balanced with not needing weeks worth of visits and interviews.  

Had one just ask for our address and google street it to make sure we had a fenced yard and did not look like white trash.

If you want a pit just head over to the nearest trailer park and take your pick.

When it comes to rescue,
Shelters are a great source, but these days trying to dump a bunch of pitt mixes on people by claiming otherwise.  But pretty quick and painless.

General rescue projects, like the one one associated here, seem quick and painless and are just trying to get a dog a decent shot at life.

Breed specific rescues...
Picture the craziest red headed, horse loving, nurse that lost her license, can’t afford horses, is in rehab for meth, and strips on the weekend, and you sort of have the gist of the typical, ‘oh, this breed is so unlike any other animal and is so special, it needs the most special type of person, and the most perfect, special environments, we will make you spend and hour or two filling out highly detailed information, inspect your place, etc.

It does not matter if it is a GSD, Husky, BM, Collie, Wolf Hybrid, etc.

You live in an apartment, not a candidate.  Don’t care if you take it on a 40 minute morning run, your wife takes it for an hour walk later, and are 150 years from a dog park.
You have a huge home in a fancy subdivision with an acre back yard?  Fence is not six feet tall, does not extend into the ground, your high school kids are under 18, etc.
Thirty acres in the country with invisible fencing?  Not a real fence.
Twentytwo acre hobby farm with an adequately fenced one acre extra pasture and a heated / cooled room with other dogs, a stream to run through, squirrels to chase, pond to swim in, and crap to roll on? Sorry, dog does not have full run of the house and furniture.

We have a male Dutch Shepherd that only gets along with females, must have other dogs to play with, large dogs only,  needs a huge space to run and play, needs a working dog experienced owner, and no cats.  
Hey, I have had GSDs, BMs, Collies- I live in the boonies with female 75lb BM, 85lb GSD/lab rescued stray, and 50lb rescued Aussie/husky mix, no neighbors, no cats, kids all grown up, etc.

Well.....
I don’t think he will get enough personalized attention with three other dogs.

I found a prolapsed bull mastiff female someone had dumped down the road from where I live back in April.  2 people from different rescue organizations contacted me about her (she's a really nice dog).  I got advice on what I should do if I wanted them to step in and take her. They offered to help with medical bills, and care, if I needed it.  I advised them I was planning on keeping her.  They were still helpful, and I still keep in contact with them.

All of my fury friends have been rescue's. I actually look for the older ones to give them their forever home, evan if its only a few short years.

I have a total of 3 dogs. Last two were both from rescues. They can be a little kooky and some paperwork but wife and I
agreed after the last rescue that will be the only way we go for any more.

Very True.

We adopted a retired greyhound and had one of the best dogs ever.
Because he was retired, he always slept late and wore a dirty wife-beater.

Take a look at the Three Little Pitties rescue.

We got a dog from them that ended up having some unknown medical issues and they were great to work with getting it sorted out.

https://www.threelittlepittiesrescue.org/

I tried a Belgian Mal rescue group, what a pain in the ass, I just gave up and went out and found a local breeder and got a puppy.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/Semper-Fi-Dog-Rescue-I-have-a-line-on-some-puppies-Golden-Shepherds-6-weeks-old-/5-2397783/

The only bad experience was when we got a pit at the shelter. After 3 months of being a good dog and getting along with our rottweiler it attacked her 7 times in 2 days. Bloody god awful fights and my wife got bit trying to break them up. Back to the shelter for the pit. They said they'd put him up for adoption but only to homes without a dog.

Same here about four years ago.

Two of our current dogs are from rescues.

We continue to support both organizations with financial assistance.

I’ve heard disparaging stories about some places,

In my personal experience rescue orgs. have caring dedicated volunteers...

None were in it for the money.

.02



ETA: they make people jump through hoops to weed out the assholes.

Damn, I miss having a dog.

But it's just me and I have neighbors who aren't good dog parents.

The guy to the west comes back from the bar and ties his redbone hound out and passes out.  Doesn't matter what the weather is.  Then she barks the rest of the night.

People to the north have a pair of goldens that have run loose, came into my garage and started acting Very aggressive.

Wtf did they do to them to make them act like that....

Did I make it before the “Who rescued who?” with a paw print bumper stickers?

ETA: We “rescued” () our current dog, if that’s what you call it, from a local county shelter. Dogs doubled up in kennels. Disgusting place. They tried to give us the run around, as others have mentioned, wanting some waiting period? and to ask us a million questions. Also telling us they wouldn’t be able to neuter him for a couple weeks. When we basically got fed up and were going to walk they changed their tune. Going in to adopt a dog (who actively had Bordetella) from a shelter that is busting at the seams and we want to turn this in to a huge hassle and interrogation? I get wanting the animals to go to good homes but dang.

ETA #2: The previous dog we “rescued” from a different shelter. She had a “clean bill of health,” supposedly evaluated by a veterinarian from a large local practice. The dog was thin but we thought she just needed some TLC. She couldn’t keep anything down, bowel habits were all messed up, etc. Took her to THAT SAME VETERINARIAN a couple weeks after we brought her home. Palpates her abdomen and “thinks he feels something.” We pay to have an x-ray done and he sees something that he doesn’t like. We take her home and she continues to not put on weight and has the same issues. Take her back for an exploratory abdominal surgery with THAT SAME VETERINARIAN. I had just made it home from their office when he called me and said that her entire abdominal cavity was filled with a giant tumor that encompassed every organ except her left kidney. He told me “I can’t wake this dog up in good faith,” basically telling me he was putting her down. From the time of adoption to him putting her down was ~3 months.

All of this venting to say.. your mileage with a “rescue” dog may vary.

We tried a shelter, (rescue) dog when we lived in Nevada.

Yellow Lab female. She was extremely protective with our kids, which was fine, but anyone else came around and she was Cujo.

We did keep her at the wife's insistence, but when she passed at 10 due to an anuerism, I vowed off dogs.

Then my son brought this Boxer male pup home he had got at the local crackhead dog breeders here in Idaho.

That guy was the gentlest meathead I have ever owned. The kid moved out, we kept the dog.

He ended up being my work K9 for 5 years. Lost him at 13 to a seizure.

We bought another Boxer male, again the gentlest dog.

Then we bought a female Boxer pup. She is mouthy, but again, a gentle dog.


I had some real bad experiences with the local shelter when I worked at the PD.

The volunteers were dog hoarders, complained all the time when we had to bring strays in, and were NEVER available when we needed them.

I took my Boxers in to get chipped, made 3 separate appointments, and the employees never showed.

That shelter is always hitting the city up for funding but has two thrift stores and does "benefits" for themselves all year long.

Then about 6 months ago, they bought out to very good Vet businesses.

Now, you can't get a hold of them, and they have different Doc's coming in that are not friendly, just after the money.

That's my story on shelters-

Something to keep in mind with rescues, you have to keep in mind the clientele they get.  

One of the rescues I worked with had a line in the form "How much do you expect to spend annually on the animal (including food and vet)."   A common answer was $50 and $100.

A family comes in with the "husband" or babby-daddy-o-the-week wanting "the biggest dog you got".  Off he does to the trailer park to get a spiked collar and put out on a chain.  

People shocked and outraged the $75 adoption fee does not cover life time vet visits.  The vet I worked for would cut them a deal that all vet work as at cost and the housing we did was something like a dollar a day.  The organization was always broke.

On the other side are the no-kill cat organizations.  These people are completely and utterly unhinged.  Keep in mind there is a nearly endless supply of cats and kittens coming in off the street.  The adult feral cats will never be converted to house pets.  "But we have to save everyone one of these sweet fur babies!".  Realistically, 50% of any given group of stray cats should be put down as a start.  

I had never even considered the craziness of cat rescues.

Cats show up here now and again.  They hand in the barn, food and water is put out.  There are mice to be had.  The dogs keep the coyotes and foxes out of the cleared area, pastures.  Out surround woods we only walk the perimeter a few times a week.  The cats just have to hit the woods.  They end up not coming back as often as a new one shows up.

He just added a litter of eight pups which should become awesome dogs.
https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/Semper-Fi-Dog-Rescue-I-have-a-line-on-some-puppies-Golden-Shepherds-6-weeks-old-/5-2397783/

Rescues come from home breeders aka puppy mills. Buy from a reputable breeder where at least you can see the history of the bloodline, parents on site, health etc etc. My buddy bought a rescue from the pound and it had nothing but health problems, cost a fortune ($$$$) and eventually wound up having to be put down in the end (bulldog) Nothing wrong with a rescue but you take your chances with its health history.

Rescue groups are fucking insane with their requirements. It's like they don't want to place their dogs and make it as hard as possible to get one. Not worth the effort to jump through their damn hoops. Find a good breeder who does health checks.

It is 6 weeks ago today we lost our 15 year old Maltese named Sabrina, my wife and I are still devastated and our house is empty....she is wanting another one, but I am hesitant, but I did tell her if we did will be a rescue-no exceptions

If we do decide in the future, I will get our vet to help us, she is tied into some good organizations and knows the ropes

Last month, we tried to adopt a Galgo or a Spanish greyhound.  And we got all of the bat- shit crazy people.   I live in the country and they were asking me if I live in a apartment in the country.   Greyhound people didn't want to adopt out since I live too far away from their city.    We just gave up trying to find a greyhound.   Sad too, since Florida is closing those tracks so a bunch of doggo need a home

Too many of them were looking for $$$..   Application fee, inspection fee.    

So I just might get one from Spain and fly them here.

All five of our cats are rescues, I have no experience with dogs.  They are all absolutely marvelous, far better than kids.
Friends point out that the cats can't pick out our nursing home, but I've met their kids.  I like my plan.

John

If you've got time and patience, you might consider finding a rescue that needs people to foster dogs, that either need to recuperate after a medical procedure, or just need some time to de-compress from being in a shelter stressing them out.  Fostering is a short term commitment, helps dogs who need a little extra help, and often results in "foster failure", when a fosterer bonds with a dog and doesn't really want to give them back.

This is Cassie, an ~11 yr old Carolina Dog (American Dingo) mix. She was abandoned as a pup and was emaciated and infested when she was rescued the first time.  Her savior was a soldier who'd gotten his ass half blown off and burned up in Afghanistan. He spent quite a while in a hospital in Germany before coming home.  Expecting to be discharged, he found her and took her home.  
Cleaned her up, got her healthy, and less than a year later, he got his marching orders. The Army decided he was healthy enough to deploy again.
His mother worked for a rescue shelter in PA, and that's where we met her.

She's been with us about 9 years now, and I couldn't have designed a better dog in a genetics lab. When she came home, I made sure she understood where she stands in the pack, and ever since, she's been an amazing companion. Incredible loyal, vocal but not loud (usually), gentle with kids and fierce with dangerous UPS drivers.

A few years ago, she suddenly fell over, paralyzed. She could breathe, but couldn't move her legs or head.  Rushed her to the vet where they determined there was a piece of foreign matter caught in her spine.  After the surgery, the dog asked me if I knew how long ago she'd been shot!
Had to be when she was still a pup, but we'd had no idea.
They told us there was no guarantee she'd walk again, but she surprised them and recovered about 90% mobility.  Her rear legs have trouble keeping up sometimes, but we'll take that.

My biggest worries these days aren't about my kids--they're grown, strong and doing great.  It's not even Covid, although I just tested positive and am already damned tired of the symptoms.
My biggest worry is that this beautiful animal will die before I'm ready for that loss.  Her vision and hearing are almost gone and I find myself having to help her climb into the truck these days.

You ask for my opinion of rescue shelters? Long after they blessed me with this good girl, I continue to contribute financially to the shelter where I found her.  I suppose there are good ones and bad ones, but I won't hesitate to rescue another dog when the time comes.

(BTW, a couple years after Cassie came to live with us, I got a call from the lady at the shelter. She said her son was back in the States between deployments and was wondering if he could come see Cassie.  Of course, we welcomed him.  It was a happy reunion, but in the end he had to leave again and when he pulled out, Cassie stood, pressed against my leg in the driveway. When we got her, she was supposed to be my kids' responsibility, but there's no question that she became my dog.)

Attached File

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Well, I didn't end up using a rescue service, not right now anyway.   They all had pretty long applications with stipulations like home inspections and checkups, things I might agree to once, but not drop in visits.  

I still might get a rescue in a little while, but in the mean time I found a younger girl whose pure bred pitts just had a litter.  

Today I went over to see the puppies and see how the mom and dad dogs behaved.  They were not the big headed muscle bodied breed, but the nice smaller sleek bodied breed, basically the original pitties, not the ones bread to fight.  The parents were very well behaved and friendly and the puppies were very nice.

These people were not breeders, just had a couple of pits that had puppies (6).  They said this one time was enough and they are going to fix their dogs after this.

I put a down payment on a blue/brown eyed girl and will pick her up in a little over a week once her time with her mother is up.