Recently, John and I decided to adopt a puppy. It has been four months since our beloved Max has passed. Peekaboo and Cooper are not as happy and honestly neither are we.
I think that we really need a new love in our lives. Someone that Cooper can play with, and someone Boo can take care of, and someone that needs us. So we want a puppy. I know, I know you can not replace one dog with another. Trust me. Maxwell P. will never be replaced. But, I think Max may have helped us find the puppy that will be the right amount of naughty and fun and love for our family.
Over the years, we have adopted dogs. We would meet them then say “ok we like this dog lets take her home”. But, somewhere things have changed. You have to search on the internet as most rescues do not seem to want you to visit the dog to see if you even like the dog before filling out paperwork and being ‘fully vetted’ which includes a home visit and vet recommendations and personal references contacted prior to a ‘meet and greet’ with the intended dog. Seriously? Yes, seriously.
My questions are: do you really want to have this dog adopted? Do you really think that what most people write on an application is 100 percent true? Why do you need to judge my house before I can even look at a dog? Why does no one want to talk to me personally?
I found a rescue that did just that. After my initial contact about if this puppy was still available, I received a phone call. She asked questions and I answered willingly. I asked questions and she answered. It was a great conversation. A ‘meet and ‘greet was set up for Saturday and we decided to adopt this ball of fur that is adorable.
Sunday night I received an email saying that I was conditionally approved for adoption by another rescue based on the outcome of the home visit. I wrote a letter to respond and thought I might share it.
Here it is:
October 29, 2018
To Whom it may concern,
The Krueger Family would like to take this opportunity to inform you that at this time your adoption services will no longer be required, as this position has been filled.
While we were applying to your agency we were also interviewing you. I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with some feedback.
We were under the assumption after having adopted several dogs into our family throughout the years that we would be granted ‘meet and greet’ prior to filling out adoption paperwork. Our thoughts were that we would not waste anyone’s time with paperwork if we did not feel this puppy or dog would fit into our family. But instead, we were to submit paperwork and deemed worthy even before we were to see if we would like to continue with this particular dog.
We were judged solely on an application that felt more like a mortgage application. We were not judged on who we are as we were not even spoken to by an actual human. Just the occasional email and lucky to get that. This process felt cold and impersonal and frankly caused us some wonder about the legitimacy of some of the “rescue” groups.
Even after submitting the paperwork we were not guaranteed that we would be even considered for the puppy/dog that we inquired about. Adoptive parents search and search. We go to rescues and shelters and we search the internet to find a face that could possibly fit our families. One that will love us as we will love it. But, to go through all this process to be told it is no longer available is not really fair to anyone. And can be a waste of time if you do not have a dog that fits that particular families needs.
The rescue that we chose to work with, upon my inquiry to see if the puppy was still available immediately called me. We spoke for over an hour and set up a ‘meet and greet’ with the puppy and then filled out an adoption application. References were checked. Puppy is now adopted and part of the Krueger Family.
Thank you for your time and for the efforts you are making on behalf of these pets but sometimes having that human touch is necessary when finding a great home for a puppy or dog.
Thank you for your consideration,
The Krueger Family
John, Shari, Peekaboo, Cooper and River
I hope this doesn’t offend anyone, whether adopting a child or an animal, adopting is the best thing you can do. But sometimes the way the agencies go about it can make a person feel less than, but I know that I am a good mom to my babies. I love them and adore them and I just wanted this to be more of a personal experience from beginning to end and only one rescue stepped up and provided that for all of us.