Why We Rescue?

Why bother, it's just a dog. It was getting too old. It shed too much. It chewed on everything. It would not house train. We were going on vacation. The kids grew up. The landlord found out we had it. We thought that it would stay in the yard without a fence. Someone in the family developed a new allergy to it. We found out she was going to have puppies. What else have those of us in the foster and rescue end of things heard? 

How many dogs do we see that didn't have a problem of one kind or another that a responsible pet owner couldn't have overcome had they the desire to do so? What makes a person get into rescue and foster? Do we love the challenge of taking a dog that was beat up in the past so much that a loud voice will make her run for cover or the picking up of a newspaper near her will cause her to cower or urinate wherever she is at the moment. Do we like to settle pack order disputes between our dogs and the new one we just brought in the house? Do we like the extra time it takes to brush out another one, hope they are house trained and keep them in food and take care of their medical needs while they are in rescue? No. Do we like to watch one of our children cry because we found a home for a foster that he had become attached to? No. But we do realize that the dog is not the one that is always responsible for the predicament that it may be in, most of the time it will be the former owner that dropped it off at the shelter and walked away, dropped it out of the car and drove away or let it run until it was picked up by one of two people, either animal control or if the dog is lucky somebody that is involved in rescue. 

What kind of person gets involved in rescue work? Can't be someone in it for the money as most of the ones I know of are a losing proposition from a monetary standpoint so that only leaves the kind of person that understands that owning a pet is a lifelong commitment and will do what they can to make sure that somebody is there when a commitment isn't kept. Would those of us involved in specific breed rescue take in other breeds? Good question, deserves a good answer. Speaking for myself I can say that I would be willing to take any breed in, there is usually no shortage of Elkhounds waiting for a foster home though so that is not a position our family has found ourselves in. 

Why do we do this then? Why do we take a complete stranger in and try to work through any problem it may have, evaluate them and try to find a compatible home for them. A home where it's understood that they may chew something up, they may have to go to a kennel that cost money to be boarded at while the family is on vacation, a family that understands that they shed and get old and need to see the doctor once in a while just like we do. A family that knows the value of a good scratch behind the ear, maybe a warm spot on the old couch in the family room when no one is around one that understands that the kids will grow up and leave someday but their Elkhound will still curl up on the floor at night next to your chair just to be close to you. 

Why do we do rescue and foster? Why take a rescue if you are looking for a dog? You take the rescue because you can wait for the right dog to come along for you and your family, we get inquiries frequently from people that want an Elkhound that is “good with kids”, or “is house trained”, maybe “not too active”, “one that would like to go camping and hiking with us” if you can think of it we have probably had a request for it. Why do we do foster and rescue? To tell you the truth I really don't know, it just seems like the right thing to do. And myself I would just like to know that I did what I thought was right by getting involved with rescue and foster rather than sitting back and wondering if I should have. 

What kind of families do we look to place our Elkhounds with? Ones that didn't sit back and wonder if adopting was the right thing to do, they knew it was.