I've also been turned down by a couple of rescues, but have not even received replies to my carefully filled in forms documenting my suitability to foster/adopt by many, many, more! I honestly think that fact of the matter is that the UK has more people willing to rescue than the system has rescue dogs - which is why lots of smaller rescues import dogs needing homes (and why not, if there are homes going begging). Well, if you exclude the fact that there are endless bull terriers needing a home in the UK and no-one wants them, that is.
Lovely to read your story - thank you for sharing. I agree that rescue dogs bring great rewards, despite often having 'issues' when they are first adopted. Many years ago we had a beautiful Golden Retriever puppy called Jenny from 10 weeks old. She was so lovely, and we adored her, but we were inexperienced with dogs, and her training didn't go to plan, which left her unreliable living as we did, not far from a main road. As a result, when she was 2 we reluctantly let her go and live with one of my best friends, who had a Springer, Muffin, and lived deep in the countryside. Jenny was in heaven, and had a wonderful time with my friend's family and with Muffin, living until she was 13. We were able to visit and see her, so it wasn't as hard, and we knew that she was happy. As a result, years later when I wanted to have a dog again, I somehow didn't feel it right to get a pup, and so I rescued... a Lab/Spaniel cross called Smudge, aged 8 months. She was so sad and frightened, totally scared of being left in a room on her own (she had been left alone for many hours repeatedly in her first home), so she'd pee and poo in the house if we ever left her, even for half an hour. It took a while to build confidence, but she grew into the most loving wonderful family dog. When she was 16 months we adopted another 8 month-old, Sophie... very much a cross-breed, with Lab/Collie and a bit of Spaniel evident. She was the younger dog but the boss and initially more of a challenge, especially to Smudge. However, once they'd sorted out the pecking order, they lived very happily together with me and my children and 4 cats and 4 ducks until they were both 14. We were devastated to lose them. A few lonely dog-free years ensued while I was working, but two months ago we adopted Annie and Bella, black Labrador sisters, who are the most beautiful dogs! They're nearly four, have really good manners in most ways, and only a few issues to address, not least being that they're a bit podgy, though we're working on that! They have settled well with us - we're around most of the time as we're retired - and are bringing us lots of fun and happiness, as well as making sure that we get out and exercise every day, which is good for us as well as important for them. I feel that our girls may be unusual rescues in that they haven't arrived with some of the really difficult problems that some rescue dogs have, and so we are counting our blessings in that way, though the journey, even with more 'challenging' rescues, is so rewarding. I, too, would thoroughly recommend rescuing an adult dog, rather than taking on a puppy... and labradors are just wonderful, aren't they?
Our first Lab, Ginger, was a rescue. She was 4 years old and very well trained and cared for by her previous owner. The story was that they were moving out of the the country, but we could never understand why they took her to the Humane Society instead of finding a home for her themselves. She was obviously well treated by her previous owner, but she adopted us instantly and never gave us any significant behavior issues and no health issues until she was 12. She became diabetic at 12 but lived 4 more years, and was very healthy for most all of that. She was our introduction to Labs, and we've never looked back.
Our ESS Whisper was a private rescue. Purebred, registered, gun trained she was about to be taken to the dump and shot when a relative at her home on business discovered her and was told he could take her that minute or not at all. He did and found, no, she was not mostly liver. That brown colour was her own excrement which her too small cage did not allow her to stay out of. She was mostly white. He also said he thought he could see just about every bone in her body. We were newly married and wanted a dog, the OH to hunt over; the man, OH's cousin, pawned her off on us. We are forever grateful to him and that we took her, she was the most wonderful dog that ever lived. It turned out Whisper had, previous to the man who would have shot her, belonged to a very good owner. We got all her Vet records from the first owner, along with those of another dog. Her good nature due to her first good owner began to show through soon after we got her, though she was leery of strange men all her life. We had Whisper from her age 4 to 14.5. We wondered how her life worked out the way it did, especially what happened with the obviously good owner, but were never able to find out. STrangely, when our first Lab died and we thought to maybe get another ESS, the same man who saved Whisper told us about another ESS, also purebred, registered and gun trained, who's owner had just died. In that case though the breeder of that dog took him back.
