Rescue Weary

Rescue Weary Daily, we have “rescued” dogs presented to our practice. Like most veterinary practices, we have seen and heard so many stories about rescued dogs that the definition of “rescue” has become blurred and diluted. When I started in veterinary practice, I thought “rescue” either meant that the dog was literally rescued from a disaster like drowning or a burning building or the dog was a search and rescue dog – a dog that was intensely trained to find lost people. Rescue has morphed into a term used for something other than dogs that were in genuinely life- threatening situations – who had no hope of survival without heroic efforts. Today, dogs that are to be euthanized at overcrowded animal welfare organization facilities, sometimes termed “humane societies” (now known as shelters or rescue groups) and then removed for re-homing are considered to have been rescued. Similarly dogs that were simply previously housed in large scale commercial breeding facilities where they may have been poorly cared for are also considered “rescued.” Fast forward to 2010. Somewhere along the way, rescue broadened still further. Somehow, every dog sold by a breeder, a pet store, a humane organization or pound or shelter, is now considered to be “adopted” as a “rescued” dog. Our clients love to believe they have adopted a dog that may have needed them more than they needed it. Such a belief makes them feel good, even heroic. No matter the source of the dog, it is now considered politically correct to “adopt” a “rescued dog.” We hear tales of the horrible life the dog was plucked from and that the new owner “knows” the dog was abused because of a terrible scar or the fear of the broom or vacuum the poor dog may have. Of course, this can only mean that the dog was struck with the broom or chased with a vacuum. It bears no resemblance to the fact that dogs just don’t like the ultrasonic sounds emitted by the average Hoover, in action or brooms that tip over as the dog zooms through the kitchen. Or the scar that is present from when a barbed wire fence was hit while the dog was our on a fun run and was having too much fun to look where it was charging around. Granted, there are still dogs and cats that are found and removed from unfortunate circumstances. But this number is, in my opinion, a small percentage of the dogs that find their way into a new home as either a puppy/kitten or adult. Most of the dogs we see that arrive at their homes through “rescue” are nothing more than a second or third hand dog – a pet that did not find it’s forever home in the first attempt. Or perhaps a dog that was in a breeders kennel until the breeder determined he or she was better suited to be a pet than a show or breeding dog. The stigma needs to be removed from the breeder who rehomes a dog when it is more appropriate than for the dog to stay at the breeder’s home. There are many reasons dogs end up becoming second-hand dogs. Owners become ill, get married, have children, move, become the care-takers of their parents, lose their jobs, become allergic, become overwhelmed with pet ownership, or made a mistake when matching their needs with the needs of their pet. Sometimes it is the behavior of the dog which they cannot manage or change, or the cost of daily care. A significant change over the last 70 or so years is that our dogs now live much longer, often well into their teens. Before that, dogs suffered more often from premature death due to trauma (the belief that dogs should be allowed to run free outside), previously untreatable diseases, inadequate nutrition, or lack of basic veterinary care. Veterinary medical advances now allow for greater longevity and dogs have a much elevated position in the lives of Americans today. Because dogs now live longer than ever before, we are also more likely to see dogs outlive their owners, or outlive the ability or desire of the owner for their pet. This is not meant to diminish the important work good-hearted and well-meaning animal lovers do in caring for dogs and cats who need better lives. It is hard work and it takes special people who can open their hearts and wallets to help the less fortunate animals in our society. However, we should distinguish which pets were in truly dramatic circumstances from those merely in need of a new home. I estimate over 50% of new dogs we now see in practice are described as rescue dogs by their owners. I understand that makes the owner feel good about their newly acquired pet. Unfortunately, it also dilutes the importance of dog and cat acquisitions (not adoptions) from sources that are vehicles for rehoming. We should be careful as a society as to what we classify as inadequate care. Every veterinarian I know has patients who would benefit from dental care. We see two barriers to this: 1. Fear of the expense of the care and 2. Fear of anesthetic and surgical complications. These two fears have left many patients with untreated veterinary medical conditions that some could interpret as neglect on the part of the owner. I dread the day that my clients are afraid to come to the veterinary clinic for care for fear their pet could be confiscated by authorities who believe their reluctance to treat their pet’s dental disease justifies removing their beloved pet from them. (See companion article: “What is wrong with putting teeth in the dog laws?”) Veterinarians are regularly asked to discount fees to help rescued animals. But what qualifies as a rescued dog, and are veterinarians responsible for footing the bill for them? With the terms “rescue” and “adoption” so overused, we in the veterinary industry have become numb to these terms, as they are not used as they are intended. We need to be able to filter which dogs are saved from dramatic life-threatening circumstances and those dogs or cats who simply outlived their first owner’s capacity to maintain them in their lives. Instead of calling these animals rescued or adopted, I propose that we develop new and more specific language to describe animal circumstances with greater accuracy. Let’s save the term rescue for true disasters and adoption as a specific legal process for human children. Here’s a true rescue: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20131124phoenix-firefighters-rescue-dog-from-house-fire-abrk.html