Rescue question

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

I have a question I hope someone has an answer for.
My daughter and I are driving tomorrow to "meet and greet" a dog she wants to adopt from a rescue group. Does that mean just a "meet and greet" or will she be able to adopt him then and bring him home as he is 3 hours from where we live. They have all her info from a week ago.
She is excited about meeting this st. poodle boy who is five years old. I am, too, and also wonder
about our doodle meeting him as an occasional playmate.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Did they approve her adoption application? The DRC usually completes the adoption on the first meeting unless other arrangements are made in advance. Have your daughter reached out to the rescue? Is the Poodle dog friendly? I would bring your Doodle to make the introduction on neutral territory but certainly find out from the rescue first. To have 2 dogs in your car and if 1 is not dog friendly would not make for a happy ride home! Share his rescue story. I just love Happy Tails!!
Let us know how the day goes!!

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Adrianne,
Thank you for the quick response. I am not positive but I think she was approved. All the information about the dog is good. He is friendly to both people and other animals. He is a retired show dog and is enjoying his freedom. We were not going to bring my doodle to meet him, thought that would happen at the local dog park or
outside on a leash away from my home. I do plan on bringing our crate, just in case he comes home with us.

If they invited her to meet him, would she not already be approved? And if so, might she be permitted to bring him home? Do rescue groups make you return several times before adopting? She is so very excited about meeting this dog, it is contagious!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

All rescues have different policies. If your daughter filled out an application prior to the rescue group arranging the meeting, she was probably approved as a potential adopter. But sometimes, the rescue has approved other people too, and everyone meets the dog before the rescue makes a final decision. I don't like that way of doing things, but it does happen. It happened to me. I ended up in 2nd place, and didn't get the dog. (Best thing that ever happened to me, I wouldn't have found Jack otherwise.) If the "meet and greet" is an open event (i.e., not specifically arranged for just your daughter, but open to anyone who wants to meet the dog), it's unlikely she will be able to adopt him on the spot.
Many rescues also insist on everyone in the family meeting the dog, including any current dogs, before they will let you adopt.

[Richard Crowe]

Judy and I rescue and foster Maltese through the American Maltese Association Rescue. Each prospective rescue family submits an application. The applications are reviewed to find the most suitable families and to eliminate those families who are not considered suitable such as families with aggressive dogs. Some really positive factors are a family that has previously owned a Maltese who died from old age or something like cancer. A definite negative factor would be a family who had a Maltese that was lost or had been killed by other dogs or predatory animals. We will not adopt to persons in this category.

Then there is a home visit to ensure that the environment will be safe and healthy for the dog. Sometimes Judy or I will do the home visit if the potential adopters are local. If they are not local, we will try to have another member of the American Maltese Association visit the prospective home. We also try to trade home visit responsibilities with other rescue organizations. In other words, if there is a potential rescue home in Santa Barbara and we have no AMA member able to visit that home there, perhaps a member of some spaniel rescue group could do the visit and our association could do reciprocate by visiting a home in a location where the spaniel group has no member.

If the prospective adopting family is traveling from a distance, we will do the visit before they ever meet the dog. Then, it is pretty much a done thing when the meet us. Unless, we see some problems with the interaction between the dog and the family, the dog will go home with the new family.

However for local adoptions, we will often have the family meet the dog first and then do the visit. We ask the family to bring their other dog(s) if they have any so the dogs can meet at our home. That way, the family is not bringing a new dog into territory which has been established by their present dog.

We like all family members to meet us and the prospective Maltese but, if the family has come from a long distance, this is not always possible. We had a couple fly down to us from the Bay Area in Northern California to pick up a dog. They were not able to bring their other dog or their daughter. However, the AMA member who made the home visit assured us that their present dog was very gentle and that their daughter interacted appropriately with their pet. We have recently received a picture of the adopted Maltese sleeping happily with his new dog buddy in his adopted home.

That's just the way we do things. I would suggest that your daughter phone the adopting agency and ask about their procedures.

One thing we do and any responsible adoption agency should do is give an accurate account of the dogs behavior and level of training such as is the dog well housetrained. We definitely do not want an adoptive family to get an unpleasant surprise. We want our dogs to go to forever homes.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Hello Adrianne and Everyone,

Elliott has a new home! He is a very sweet natured, friendly dog and my daughter is delighted to have been allowed to bring him home today. He is a great deal underweight though, so he will be fed carefully. He had to gain 15 pounds before he could be neutered and he is still so thin we can count his ribs.

We did just get back from the pet shop with Bitter Apple to stop his amorous advances towards our doodle (she was spayed a year ago). He won't be living here but will visit frequently so this behavior is not desired.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Congratulations on your new Grand-dog! I hope you will post photos!
Assuming that he's neutered, the "amorous advances" may be a dominance behavior. Once he adjusts to his new life & family, and figures out where he fits in, that may stop.
Congratulations to Elliott on his new forever home!

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Karen,

Thank you very much! I hadn't thought about the dominance factor, that is very interesting. He is just visiting here today, and will just visit in the future so being aware of this may help prevent possible problems. Your advice is greatly appreciated.