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Post by angelad on Apr 29, 2012 18:08:04 GMT
I know that some of you are upset at the fact that dogs have been returned recently. As I have said elswhere: You're right about the need for more support for rehomers but I do think we need to keep a perspective and remember the background. The Home, after all, is a Council run pound - it's only obligation is to keep the dogs for 7 days and try to contact the owners, after that it is at liberty to PTS and until fairly recently this did happen, as it does in a lot of other pounds - We are very lucky that the Home are trying to change things and to that end 'Friends' were set up at the Home's initiation 8 months ago to help them with their new aims. Sooo much has been achieved already but obviously there is still a lot that can be done but it's going to take time, we can't get everything in place overnight. A Home Checking scheme is coming to fruition and this should help with the rehoming, but it must be remembered that all Rescues have returned dogs for whatever reason. The Home has 1200+ dogs through every year, far more than most Rescues, and percentage wise, the returned dogs are very few overall. There are lots of plans in the pipeline, (one suggestion was training classes for new adopters) but the most important thing is that the Home is happy to work with Friends to help achieve the best welfare for the dogs, as said, we've come so far in 8 months - where will we and the dogs be this time next year ;D Again as I've said, we are very lucky that the Home instigated the setting up of Friends and are happy to work with us. The Committee are working hand in glove with the Home to set up policies and get new initiatives in action - but we can't do this overnight. I've already mentioned the Home Checking and the possibility of Training classes for new adopters - we're working together and we will get there. I have deleted the previous Return thread as most of you agreed it was a 'rant' which doesn't really help us or any members of the Home that read the forum. If we could use this thread for positive actions/ideas that we could discuss and then take to the Home that would be great ;D Thank you ;D
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Post by skye on Apr 29, 2012 18:18:43 GMT
All these returned dogs make me so sad, and I def agree more support should be there for first time rehomers. However, perhaps I can present an upside to the current system. 7 years ago I met my other half, needless to say for him it was love at first sight... With my dog! He never had dogs growing up so this was a shock to all involved, but it quickly became clear he was bereft whenever I left ( and took my pooch home with me!). So we went to the local dogs home to get him his very own companion (and to see if he loved me for me or for access to my dog!) we saw many lovely pooches but when we enquired to seems as we both worked we were not eligible adoptees. We were committed to dog flaps, dog walkers and were financially sound but it seemed we just weren't worth the risk, so he bought a puppy instead of rescuing. When I first went to cdh as a walker I didn't believe they would let me rehome and was thrilled when I casually asked about the process and received a resounding 'of course'. If there had been any doubt over whether I would be 'allowed' to rehome, I really don't think I would have put us through the process only to be upset again. Anyone who has ever met thyme and knows her history knows that all the conditions were far from perfect when I got her, but the conditions didn't matter a jot as I was committed. I would never return Jake for any reason, and rosie has had an amazing life so far in family that wasn't judged good enough to rehome another dog.
Keeping the rehoming system so simple, quick and honest, may lead to some failures but prob also leads to many dogs like my Jake finding a truly loving home.
Skye Trying hard to put a good spin on sad day of returns...
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Post by marialopez on Apr 29, 2012 18:41:40 GMT
Well lets not make a big thing of this, I think we all agree that CDH do a really good job and they do their best when they rehome dogs. Theres nothing else they can do about it. To be honest, theres always gonna be good people and bad people, and returns are always going to happen no matter what. Its sad and i agree im the first one to get very upset when i see them back to the kennel, but hopefully all of them will end up in loving homes like they deserve. People just needs to think before they get a dog, sometimes you can think a dog its really cute and fun, but they can be also hard work, and its all worth it when they become one more in the family.
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Post by Jo on Apr 29, 2012 18:52:10 GMT
I agree with Maria. The staff do a fantastic job already above and beyond what is expected. These ideas of how Friends can support the rehoming process further sound great, I had no idea these things were being considered. If I can do anything, let me know!
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ellie
Junior Friend
Posts: 58
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Post by ellie on Apr 29, 2012 19:15:29 GMT
I think that's an excellent point too from Skye - I know from experience that some rescue organisations become so strict on their regulations that it becomes almost impossible to adopt a dog - because you work full time, because you have kids under five, because your garden fences aren't high enough - and various other stipulations. It's understandable to a point, when these people put in immense amounts of hard work with fostering and transport and all that, but it does mean that sometimes they won't even give you a chance.
With CDH, I'm reassured that the fact that I work full time (but can get home at lunch times) won't prevent me from finding the right dog for me, and I really, really appreciate that.
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Post by Kara Collie-Cross on Apr 29, 2012 19:31:27 GMT
I think that's an excellent point too from Skye - I know from experience that some rescue organisations become so strict on their regulations that it becomes almost impossible to adopt a dog - because you work full time, because you have kids under five, because your garden fences aren't high enough - Absolutely. And that was a point I had made on the other thread that got deleted. I find it hard to attempt to put a positive spin on some of the recent returns though considering some of the excuses being made, for instance a puppy getting bigger than expected etc. The only saving grace is that the dog was returned rather than abandoned, but it shows that more needs to be done in terms of making sure that people understand fully what responsible dog ownership entails and what to expect realistically, rather than allowing people to get away with the initial excitement of getting a puppy and then returning it a couple of weeks later because it barks, poos and chews stuff... and God forbit it's grown....
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Post by skye on Apr 29, 2012 19:47:58 GMT
Dog training lessons sound like a great idea, Bath cats and dogs run socialisation groups once a week. There were different classes according to need ( mine went to the 'boo class' for under confident hounds for a while), but they also ran agility fun classes in the summer. There were always a lot of recently rehoming families there talking and sharing experiences.
How about maybe a friends 'buddy' support system that give new families 'friend' they could contact for support if needed?
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ellie
Junior Friend
Posts: 58
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Post by ellie on Apr 29, 2012 20:21:54 GMT
Socialisation classes for adult dogs are something that Cardiff in general seems to be lacking - at least, I've looked for them on google and found nothing! CDH doesn't really have the space to do it I wouldn't have thought, but it would be great if such a thing did exist!
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Post by Kara Collie-Cross on Apr 29, 2012 20:24:14 GMT
I know we were once looking into training people to start doing home checks. Is that progressing at all?
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Post by Baglady on Apr 30, 2012 0:50:37 GMT
I know we were once looking into training people to start doing home checks. Is that progressing at all? I know we were once looking into training people to start doing home checks. Is that progressing at all? Absolutely Conny The staff and managers are working really hard to develop procedures which need to be linked in to training, assessments, reserves, rehoming policies etc, and it all need to be joined up. Eyes on the horizon peeps, group hug It will happen, and in the meantime everyone is doing such amazing work helping our resident dogs, and making such a difference to their lives.
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Post by sionedp on May 3, 2012 20:59:10 GMT
I just wanted to remphasise what's already been said - that my experience with CDH staff has been fantastic. When I rang CDH to ask for advice, the person I spoke to was so helpful and gave good advice above and beyond what they had to. As a newbie to this Forum I think it is also a really great support. I bumped into the lady who adopted Duke in the park a couple of weeks ago and she was saying that it's a shame there's nowhere to put pictures of adopted dogs after they've settled in and I told her about the forum but it made me think maybe iF more people knew about it, it might help. Maybe add the website address to the end of the official adoption forms under 'if you want to chat with other adopters. . .' or something similar. x
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Post by cherylW on May 3, 2012 22:04:58 GMT
I just wanted to remphasise what's already been said - that my experience with CDH staff has been fantastic. When I rang CDH to ask for advice, the person I spoke to was so helpful and gave good advice above and beyond what they had to. As a newbie to this Forum I think it is also a really great support. I bumped into the lady who adopted Duke in the park a couple of weeks ago and she was saying that it's a shame there's nowhere to put pictures of adopted dogs after they've settled in and I told her about the forum but it made me think maybe iF more people knew about it, it might help. Maybe add the website address to the end of the official adoption forms under 'if you want to chat with other adopters. . .' or something similar. x oh I've been dying to know how Duke is doing - how was he Sioned?
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Post by plasticflower on May 3, 2012 23:14:29 GMT
I walked him quite a few times too. Been wondering how he is now! :-)
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Post by Baglady on May 3, 2012 23:31:18 GMT
Aw it would be lovely to see Duke again There is a mahoosive picture board at the Home where lots of rehomers pin pictures up, but it would be lovely to see some here on the forum too ;D As the Home is council run, I don't think they could actually put our details on the rehoming forms, but they might be happy to insert a leaflet or something similar into the rehoming packs?
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Post by sionedp on May 4, 2012 8:28:56 GMT
Duke is looking really great. He was off the lead and full of beans but very well mannered (and patient when Billy tired to pull his ear off) when I saw him the week before last ;D
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