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Some realities most people will not like about surrendering their dogs.
by Scotty. Valadao - Friends of the Dog
When the decision is made to bring a dog into our home, we should realise that it should be for life – these are living and sentient creatures, not possessions that are given away, or dumped at a shelter when we have no further use for them, or our circumstances change.
The reasons that people surrender their dogs are numerous, ranging from moving to a place that does not accept dogs, being made redundant, deciding to emigrate, financial problems, behaviour problems developing, and many more reasons. Where behaviour problems are the reason for surrender, do look if any of the numerous articles on our website can assist, or call in a behaviourist - on average, behaviour problems are not hard to solve if the owner does the work required.
It is a reality that there are times that people have absolutely no other choice and these are the people who would have done everything in their power to keep their dog – the shelter being the very last resort. If this is the case, shelters often have Outreach programs and may be able to assist.
Owners simply do not realize that dogs will experience fear and anxiety upon being relinquished to a shelter, with overt signs of stress sometimes persisting for several weeks after relinquishment. Imagine how that dog feels - he goes from a comfortable home to living in a run (often in a run with other dogs) - he has lost his family - he is surrounded by barking - noise - people walking up and down often creating major excitement for the dogs in the shelter, which can increase stress levels, dogs challenging other dogs as they walk past - if in a run with other dogs, communal feeding - walks and personal interaction with people will reduce - he may have to challenge other dogs in the run to establish his own position, often leading to a dog that never showed aggression to other dogs in the home environment, having to resort to aggression just to get by. Furthermore, as the length of time in a shelter increases, the detrimental impact on dogs’ emotional state worsens. The picture above shows that dogs can, and very often do, become depressed. Additionally, if adopted and the adoption fails, the chances of that particular dog finding a new home reduce every time.
Heaven forbid I was faced with the reality of having to get rid of my own dogs, unless I could find them a home with family or friends for example, where I knew they would receive all that I supplied them with, especially the love and walks they adore, then there would be no other option for me - as much as it would break my heart, I would rather assume my responsibility as an owner, and have them euthanized. This may sound incredibly harsh and cruel, and would be my last resort, but would rather do this than see them end up in a shelter.
We think shelters and rescue organizations are the most incredible people we know – the work they do is really beyond belief – they take on the responsibility of the health, welfare, emotional and physical needs of these dogs and they work under extreme stress, with constant worry about finances – even finding the funds to feed a dog is often a major concern, and when we look at vet bills, these can go into the thousands for just one dog – can you imagine the emotional stress that these human angels endure? It is not just all about money either, when you are looking after up to 500 dogs, how on earth can there be enough time in the day to cater to all their needs, especially when constantly shorthanded and no funds for extra staff!
These incredible people put the dog’s needs beyond their own, and often end up with compassion fatigue, family problems, illness themselves, breakdowns, to mention but a few – just because they care so much.
Our view is that as hard as it is, shelters should accept only the maximum number of dogs they can cope with, but how on earth do you turn away a dog that is in desperate need – not a situation we would like to be faced with, that's for sure.
However, we do have a suggestion – we have asked shelters/rescue/breed rescue that we have worked with, to consider challenging and even turn away the people who want to rehome/surrender their dogs. If you think about it, at the end of the day, all we achieve by taking in dogs such as this, is to make it far too easy for people to surrender their dogs – we are, inadvertently, reinforcing the behaviour of people putting up their dogs for adoption because the dog is too old, too busy, too destructive, has behaviour problems, has had puppies or whatever else the reason. By accepting and allowing these people to behave in this manner and seem to find it very easy to surrender their dogs, we are enabling them. There will always be the odd exception, however, that would be at the discretion of the shelter.
This sounds harsh – and it is, however, if people cannot keep their dogs for whatever reason, then they must assume the responsibility of what happens to that dog. Either they need to adjust their own lives so that the dogs can stay with them, put off moving or relocating – find the dog a home with friends or family, or – and this is a hard one – take the decision to end the dog’s life after speaking to their vet – why should the shelters take on the responsibility instead?
So often we hear that people try and manipulate the shelter by threatening to have the dog euthanized should the shelter not take the dog in, or abandon the dog on the side of the road. Well if they were going to go that route our opinion is that they should take the responsibility and accountability and do it – not use it as a tool to manipulate the very people who are working so hard to make a difference.
Perhaps if all the shelters took a stronger stand in situations such as surrendering a dog, the people concerned would start to think more seriously about whether they should adopt a dog in the first place.
We do not think that the people surrendering their dogs are ‘bad’ people – rather they have made a very rash decision of getting a dog in the first place without thinking through the consequences. Unfortunately, it is the dogs that are paying the penalty.
Finally, we urge you to help these shelters – not just financially either. Get in touch with your favourite shelter and see where you can help. Perhaps, financially, perhaps taking one of the dogs for a walk or just spending some time with a dog – you may be able to bake a cake to help with a cake sale to raise money – you may be able to supply them with some dog food or building materials. The list of their needs is enormously, so please become pro-active and give your local or favourite a hand in whichever way you can.
Additionally, please feel free to pass on this article and let people read it, we have multiple articles on the behaviour aspect that can help. Together we can do so much more – so let’s get going!
The reasons that people surrender their dogs are numerous, ranging from moving to a place that does not accept dogs, being made redundant, deciding to emigrate, financial problems, behaviour problems developing, and many more reasons. Where behaviour problems are the reason for surrender, do look if any of the numerous articles on our website can assist, or call in a behaviourist - on average, behaviour problems are not hard to solve if the owner does the work required.
It is a reality that there are times that people have absolutely no other choice and these are the people who would have done everything in their power to keep their dog – the shelter being the very last resort. If this is the case, shelters often have Outreach programs and may be able to assist.
Owners simply do not realize that dogs will experience fear and anxiety upon being relinquished to a shelter, with overt signs of stress sometimes persisting for several weeks after relinquishment. Imagine how that dog feels - he goes from a comfortable home to living in a run (often in a run with other dogs) - he has lost his family - he is surrounded by barking - noise - people walking up and down often creating major excitement for the dogs in the shelter, which can increase stress levels, dogs challenging other dogs as they walk past - if in a run with other dogs, communal feeding - walks and personal interaction with people will reduce - he may have to challenge other dogs in the run to establish his own position, often leading to a dog that never showed aggression to other dogs in the home environment, having to resort to aggression just to get by. Furthermore, as the length of time in a shelter increases, the detrimental impact on dogs’ emotional state worsens. The picture above shows that dogs can, and very often do, become depressed. Additionally, if adopted and the adoption fails, the chances of that particular dog finding a new home reduce every time.
Heaven forbid I was faced with the reality of having to get rid of my own dogs, unless I could find them a home with family or friends for example, where I knew they would receive all that I supplied them with, especially the love and walks they adore, then there would be no other option for me - as much as it would break my heart, I would rather assume my responsibility as an owner, and have them euthanized. This may sound incredibly harsh and cruel, and would be my last resort, but would rather do this than see them end up in a shelter.
We think shelters and rescue organizations are the most incredible people we know – the work they do is really beyond belief – they take on the responsibility of the health, welfare, emotional and physical needs of these dogs and they work under extreme stress, with constant worry about finances – even finding the funds to feed a dog is often a major concern, and when we look at vet bills, these can go into the thousands for just one dog – can you imagine the emotional stress that these human angels endure? It is not just all about money either, when you are looking after up to 500 dogs, how on earth can there be enough time in the day to cater to all their needs, especially when constantly shorthanded and no funds for extra staff!
These incredible people put the dog’s needs beyond their own, and often end up with compassion fatigue, family problems, illness themselves, breakdowns, to mention but a few – just because they care so much.
Our view is that as hard as it is, shelters should accept only the maximum number of dogs they can cope with, but how on earth do you turn away a dog that is in desperate need – not a situation we would like to be faced with, that's for sure.
However, we do have a suggestion – we have asked shelters/rescue/breed rescue that we have worked with, to consider challenging and even turn away the people who want to rehome/surrender their dogs. If you think about it, at the end of the day, all we achieve by taking in dogs such as this, is to make it far too easy for people to surrender their dogs – we are, inadvertently, reinforcing the behaviour of people putting up their dogs for adoption because the dog is too old, too busy, too destructive, has behaviour problems, has had puppies or whatever else the reason. By accepting and allowing these people to behave in this manner and seem to find it very easy to surrender their dogs, we are enabling them. There will always be the odd exception, however, that would be at the discretion of the shelter.
This sounds harsh – and it is, however, if people cannot keep their dogs for whatever reason, then they must assume the responsibility of what happens to that dog. Either they need to adjust their own lives so that the dogs can stay with them, put off moving or relocating – find the dog a home with friends or family, or – and this is a hard one – take the decision to end the dog’s life after speaking to their vet – why should the shelters take on the responsibility instead?
So often we hear that people try and manipulate the shelter by threatening to have the dog euthanized should the shelter not take the dog in, or abandon the dog on the side of the road. Well if they were going to go that route our opinion is that they should take the responsibility and accountability and do it – not use it as a tool to manipulate the very people who are working so hard to make a difference.
Perhaps if all the shelters took a stronger stand in situations such as surrendering a dog, the people concerned would start to think more seriously about whether they should adopt a dog in the first place.
We do not think that the people surrendering their dogs are ‘bad’ people – rather they have made a very rash decision of getting a dog in the first place without thinking through the consequences. Unfortunately, it is the dogs that are paying the penalty.
Finally, we urge you to help these shelters – not just financially either. Get in touch with your favourite shelter and see where you can help. Perhaps, financially, perhaps taking one of the dogs for a walk or just spending some time with a dog – you may be able to bake a cake to help with a cake sale to raise money – you may be able to supply them with some dog food or building materials. The list of their needs is enormously, so please become pro-active and give your local or favourite a hand in whichever way you can.
Additionally, please feel free to pass on this article and let people read it, we have multiple articles on the behaviour aspect that can help. Together we can do so much more – so let’s get going!
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