The Unprepared Rescuer

Whew! January just flew by!  I have recently been through a bit of a roller coaster ride, but fear not Dear Readers, I am still here.  My rant of this day concerns Humans with the best of intentions, but absolutely no common sense.  Yes, yes, I fear there are a lot of them out there; we've all probably been guilty ourselves at one point or another.  I would specifically like to address the issue of The Unprepared Rescuer.

What is an Unprepared Rescuer?
Someone who sees an animal in need, and takes it.  No matter what kind of home situation they may have at their own place, they "rescue" this animal, and then bring it home.  They usually have a Love is Enough philosophy.  Anyone who has read any of my other posts most likely knows by now that is certainly is not enough, and that a lot can go in to helping a physically, or emotionally damaged animal.  Especially a Dog.

They don't bother with any kind of Decompression Stage for the dog, and they don't take any precautions to acclimate this rescue to their new home, or the other animals, or children in it.  The Unprepared Rescuer is usually short on crates, or doesn't believe in them, and places these new animals in potentially fatal situations with their other dogs.  Now, this may not apply if the Unprepared Rescuer does not have any other pets, or kids, and in that case it may become a learning experience that both Human and Dog can grow in together.  I am referring to these things I see on Facebook, or these kind-hearted Humans who have to invite me over to help, after the dog has done something they can't take back.

In one recent posting, an Unprepared Rescuer had brought in an animal from a situation where bad things were happening; evidenced by scars all over this dog's head. Apparently this is an unaltered animal, and this dog had killed one of the other dogs in the house.  Resulting in this poor dog being chained in the backyard.  Not ok.  Read further down the post comments, and it is revealed that the dog was "doing fine" until she had puppies......really?!?  I do not know if the dog was pregnant when  "rescued" or if this was something that happened because this person who wanted to "save" this dog from the abuse she was suffering did not take her other dogs into account.  This is a sad story that could have been prevented.

The Unprepared Rescuer in this case most likely should have taken this dog to a shelter facility.  Yes, there is a high possibility that this dog would not make it out of the shelter alive (she is a pitbull), but now she is on a chain in someone's backyard.  Square one.  Or perhaps the dog would have been in a better way, had this Human had her spayed (again, I don't know enough to understand how this dog came to be pregnant), done a crate and rotate, and allowed this dog to properly decompress before allowing any free-time to be spent with the other animals in the home.

As a Professional, I know there were most likely other warning signs that this dog was headed into a problem, but they were either ignored, or just not noticed by the Human.  This is understandable, I do not expect everyone to be as obsessed with the subtleties of dog body language as I am, that's my job. But expecting a dog who came from a bad place to not have some kind of issue with some things....well.....

In other cases, I see Humans with big hearts taking on a dog who "would have been put down" if not for their big hearts.  That's fantastic, but if it's too much for you, it is not helping the dog at all.  And it certainly isn't helping you.  Or dogs invited into homes and turned loose with toddlers, only to bite them, and now it's the dog's fault.  Nope.  You, kind Human, did not take any time to see if that dog would be alright with the kids being so close to him.

Still others take in more animals then they can afford, and that animal who started out in a bad situation has now jumped to one where veterinary care, or even food is in short supply because someone's heart outweighed their common sense.

I am not saying you should ignore an animal who needs you.  Far from it.  Please do.  Make that choice and save that dog.  Bring that dog home.  But do some research on it as soon as possible! Place the rescue in a safe, peaceful place, away from your chaos.  Use a crate, and if you are violently opposed to the idea of a "cage" for this animal you know nothing about, then at least keep them in a room by themselves for a bit until they can decompress.  Remember that article from zenpetsupples.com about how to properly introduce a new dog to your existing dog?  No?  Here, copy and paste into your browser if you'd like to check it out:

 http://blog.zenpetsupplies.com/introducing-a-new-dog-to-the-house/

I know a woman who is a virtual magnet for stray dogs.  She is a Professional Dog Walker/Pet Sitter, and it seems every time she leaves the house (practically) she finds another dog who needs her.  She is what I like to call The Perfectly Prepared Rescuer.  For instance, she once found a dog at a public park who was too afraid to be caught.  She worked in conjunction with Animal Control, and other people to help her over a few weeks to finally catch this dog.

After catching him (FINALLY) she took him home; to her finished basement where she had set up a kennel, and had that inside a room with a closing door.  She then also had her husband (bless this man!) put a swinging door at the bottom of the stairs, so that in case someone forgot to shut the door at the top of the stairs, there was another stop between this dog and the rest of her house.

Over the next weeks, she rotated this dog with her other three dogs so that if he was in the backyard, the others were in the house.  Again, with more than one door to separate them.  As this progressed, she got helpers to start walking him around ONE of her dogs at a time....Can you see where this is going?  She took her time to ensure the rescued guy could integrate in a slow fashion, and now he is a loved member of the pack.

Your dogs see any new dog as an outsider.  Even though you may have a huge heart, (I know I have made myself late to work a time or two because I was catching a dog on the side of the road) and you just have to Rescue that dog....Think about all that will entail, and get some help.  You aren't alone in this.  As a community, dog people are usually pretty eager to help.

We can feel like a judgmental bunch sometimes, but just as The Unprepared Rescuer, our hearts are in the right place.  Ignoring that growl, or that snap, or that cowering in the corner because you think Love is Enough, and You Can Do It Yourself, is foolish.