I live in Kent and have found a rescue centre in East Sussex.   They do home checks but if they haven't got a home checker in my area they won't even consider me.  Also I have to be prepared to pay a 'minimum' non-refundable donation of £160 for the dog I want.  Would you please post your comments.  I'm still going to apply to see if I get a reply.

> to pay a 'minimum' non-refundable donation of £160 for the dog I want

Non-refundable sounds a bit much ! What happens if they home a dog to you that is totally unsuitable (as happened to my nephew once) ?? Cynically - it could be a good way to get money - keep rehoming the same dog knowing it will keep coming back :( :(

A three-figure donation is standard for a rescue dog.

Surely if they thought you were suitable on paper then it is a small price to pay to send a home checker out of the way to check the house. I know they have to think about costs and petrol isnt cheap but neither is it cheap to keep a dog in their care when a great home is available but not considered as it is 'out of the area'. I'm very disappointed to read that a rescue centre are being that black and white :-(
Eta our rescue dog was £90. We got him 4 weeks ago. They knew we had a dog already so assumed our house was safe for dogs.we just had to provide photos of garden and all areas the dog would be in. Is this an option for you?

> ?? Cynically - it could be a good way to get money - keep rehoming the same dog knowing it will keep coming back

I know of one rescue who rehomed a young, lively medium to large gundog breed to a woman afflicted with arthritis having both wrists in spints for £100 (some time ago)  krching!........dog bounced back but no refund of course, sold again for another £100 to my friends who both worked full time.....krching!......krching!  With a lot of hard work they did make it work but that could very easily have been krching!......krching!........krching!

Most reputable rescues will ask for assistance from local people in home checking - I've done a home check for a rescue some distance away (ie on south coast and person was in Yorkshire, it's hardly far from East Sussex to Kent!)

I can understand why they have a non refundable donation - to stop people taking on dogs on a whim (although the checks should prevent this) but it is open to abuse :-(

What part of Kent do you live in? There are quite a few rescues in Kent -DogsTrust, Foal Farm, RSPCA are all located in Kent and can think of quite a few more too in different parts of the county.

Breed rescues have  people who home check for them - my friend is a homechecker and is often asked to do home checks for varying organisations and have another friend who home checks for a labrador rescue and she too has carried out checks for other rescues when they haven't had anyone in the area of their own who could do a check.

Stooge rescues don't sell dogs?

> What part of Kent do you live in? There are quite a few rescues in Kent -DogsTrust, Foal Farm, RSPCA are all located in Kent and can think of quite a few more too in different parts of the county.

To the OP: agree with above.
Check out http://www.dogpages.org.uk
and
http://www.dogrescueworld.org.uk
to find more rescues in your area.

> Stooge rescues don't sell dogs?

Well, you don't get to take them away without making that "donation" :)

I am signed up with Dog Trust and renew every 6 months.  They were keen when I said I wanted a puppy as not many people do.  I keep looking on their web site and visiting once a month but still no luck.   RSPCA no luck.  I will try the other rescue you mentioned.

You need to visit the DogsTrust on a regular basis - I know for a fact they have just rehomed a whole litter of puppies as  a friend of mine had one of them. The most rehomable dogs are reserved very quickly - 2 of my dogs came from there and one of them was a GR who was just 9 weeks old. We had been visiting for months and were second reserve for two different dogs who were adopted by the first to see them. The pup we got had just come in that day and we called in not long after his arrival and the manager mentioned him to us - had him nearly 8 years now and he is an amazing dog so we were very lucky :-)

Our second dog from there was 5 months old when we got him - hardest dog to live with I have ever owned but we love him lol :-)

The dogs that are put on the website tend to be those that are less easy to rehome for varying reasons so visiting is the only way to see all the dogs that are there and to give you a good chance of finding the dog that is right for you and that you are right for.

There are several breeding establishments in the area that sell very cheap puppies but those are to be avoided at all costs.

There are dozens of puppies on Many tears right now incuding 12 collie X and a 6m GSD X collie. I know they are miles away but they do send local home checkers.
Louise

I too am a homevetter, and have been asked by totally unrelated organisations (Siberian Husky Welfare was the last one) to help them out.
The other rescue centres mentioned have had quite a few litters of puppies recently and I am sure will again......so do take time to check their websites and depending how far away you are, go and visit. 

A set non refundable donation is standard. If it was not, dogs might be returned for the least little problem, without attempting to work it through. No reputable rescue centre is trying to make money out of bouncing the same dog from home to home, and frankly anyone who even thinks that must be well......nuts. The costs of keeping a dog and more often than not neutering/spaying and vaccinating it more than wipes out any donation fee. If a homing proves to be unsuitable (which with the right checks and balances in place at the outset it shouldn't) there is no reason that a more suitable dog couldn't be substituted, so long as it was the match that was at fault and not the people. Sometimes it doesn't work out for some reason despite everyone's best efforts.

> The costs of keeping a dog and more often than not neutering/spaying and vaccinating it more than wipes out any donation fee.

But those costs are not re-incured if the dog is sold twice.

Still wouldn't cover it. Work it out.
You actually seriously think that any organisation is doing this LOL?

> Work it out.

Nope, no matter how long I think about it I can't see a bitch requiring spaying twice :)

> You actually seriously think that any organisation is doing this LOL?

I have related my personal experience.  Work it out :)

> You actually seriously think that any organisation is doing this LOL

Why would a rescue centre rehome a dog to a first time owner that had already been returned twice because of problems ?? A dog out of the door means a 'donation' and no more costs. I'm not seriously suggesting that getting another 'donation' is the first thing that they think of when a prospective adopter turns up, but it sure does help when they are full and short of money - otherwise why do these ridiculous rehomings ??? (I am not saying that ALL rescue centres are the same)

Without knowing the full story it is hard to say. Presumably (your nephew) was told of the problems and that it had come back twice for you to know of them, so perhaps he was so keen that he thought he would be able to deal with whatever the issues were. Sometimes, a 'plan' of training/behaviour is given to adopters to deal with certain behaviour, though I have lost count of the times that people fail to follow through on advice given.

Some dogs come back through more of the fault of the adopter than the dog (in the original circumstances). In what way was the dog 'unsuitable'? The problems could have been big or small, really there are too many variables to call.  Then of course it could have been just plain old fashioned incompetence on the part of the rescue centre/homevetter - I have come across some pretty dire mistakes made on that side of things in my time too.

As I said, no reputable rescue centre wants a dog bouncing back. It isn't fair on anyone, least of all the poor dog.

I'm not sure what type of incompetence prevents you refunding when an adoption goes wrong so very soon.
I think most of us that have bred litters refund any payment received on a second sale for any returned puppy.  If nothing else you have to question whether the fault lay with yourself in the vetting procudure.

I can only speak of the centre I vet for in terms of refund policies, and if incompetence was indeed the culprit a refund would certainly be considered if another dog wasn't an option. A face to face interview would be arranged to discuss that individual situation.  I was replying to Daisy, and can of course only speculate what may or may not have happened to her Nephew wherever she is referring to.

I am happy to say Stooge that a homing has never gone badly wrong due to my incompetence (yet). I would say in my experience it is quite rare for it to be a fault in the vetting procedure (but when they have occurred in my opinion they are dire), more a case that despite all the advice you may give a potential adopter, they think they know better :) Oh, and it's also quite hard sorting fact from fiction too :)

> more a case that despite all the advice you may give a potential adopter, they think they know better

In my nephew's case, he and his wife (who is home all day) tried everything that the rescue suggested, but it was a disaster :( :( It was very upsetting for them having to take the dog back. They subsequently got a puppy and 'produced' a super young dog :) Just a pity that she died suddenly at a young age :(

I'm sorry to hear your nephew had a bad experience, and then losing their young dog too. I was not suggesting that he didn't follow the advice given, some are just wonderful homes and do everything we ask, they are a gift from heaven, and such a shame if they are not treated right - bad for all concerned.

Not all rescue organisations are created equally.

> Not all rescue organisations are created equally

No :( Our older dog came from Battersea 13+ years ago and the whole adoption experience was excellent - although we didn't have a home check (they must have known that we were wonderful people ;) ;) )