Questionable Rescue

Redneck Reject

I'm wondering if anything can be done with this situation.My neighbor had a border collie he had to re-home and a rescue in Wales agreed to take it.A few days later my neighbor looked at their website to see if the dog was re-homed or still with them.They still have the dog but the description about the dog and where it came from isn't the truth at all.
He emailed them asking why they told lies about the dog,but they refuse to reply.and he is very upset about it.So now he is wondering if there is any agency in the UK he can make a report to about it?

boomerang

I don't understand, what is the problem so long as the dog will get a good home? Did your friend give the dog to the rescue directly, or through a third party? The info may have got lost along the way. Perhaps the person updating the website didn't have any info on the dog yet had to come up with some kind of bio. And to be honest, a lot of rescues will adapt a dog's story - either to protect the previous owner, or to increase the dog's chances of being rehomed.

Discodog

Ok so a rescue or more than one rescue were prepared to take responsibility for your neighbour's problem & at considerable cost transport the dog to Wales. They will also have to invest a lot of effort in assessing, rehab/retraining, & finally rehoming.

They are doing all this & yet all your neighbour can do is complain about the description on their website ?.

Your neighbour has assigned his unwanted dog over to a rescue. It is up to them to put whatever information/description they see fit. They have to answer to any potential new owner. They have to take responsibility.

Your neighbour should be very grateful that a rescue in the UK were willing to take on a dog from another country.

Whispered

While I agree with you DD that the rescue took the dog and the owner handed over responsibility etc, surely it's the rescues responsibility to home the dog to the most suitable home. Impossible if they are lying about the dog. (depending on the lies obviously, if they are saying anything but the truth about the dogs personality then I'd be very worried)

dollydishmop

I don't know any specifics on the OP's friends situation...

...but I can't help wondering if its something along these lines...

Person A needs to rehome their dog, for real and practical reasons...eg has to move house to 'no pets' accomodation or something similar.

Instead of either dumping the dog out in the countryside, or surrendering it to the pound he does the responsible thing, what most of us on here would surely strongly advocate, and that is to find a good rescue to take the dog in.

The rescue takes said dog in....but hey, the back story on this dog isn't too sexy, in fact it could be considered boring and all too common, so they invent some heart-wrenching, tear-jerking story about how this incredibly lucky dog was beaten and starved all its life, locked in a shed with no access to food and light, blah blah blah until this super-wonderful rescue came along and plucked this dog away from its previously hellish life. And look, aren't we doing such a wonderful job with this woesome dog already...shiny coat, well behaved, great temperament outlook etc etc.
And if they're good with photoshop..perhaps they could embellish the back-story even more, eg the dog also was riddled with mange, worms, had one or both ears missing, only 2 legs left and needed a very expensive life-saving operation....send us your money now etc etc etc
Because a back-story like that will bring in more funds and donations than the truth ie "look at this healthy, good mannered, well loved dog, who came from a lovely home with no abuse etc he's with us simply because the owner's circumstances changed beyond his control."

Now imagine if you had been the one to have to go through the heartbreak of having to surrender your dog to a rescue because you really could no longer keep him....and then the rescue post up your dog on their publicly accessible website with a totally horrific and utterly invented, tale of unspeakable abuse behind that dog.
Then imagine if someone who knew your dog saw the pic or rescue listing and recognised the dog...well...would they know it was a fabricated back story...or would they forever after look at you just a little bit differently...and perhaps think that you are an unspeakable animal abuser...?

I don't know if this *is* what has happened to the OP's friend...but, things like that can and do happen...

Redneck Reject

dollydishmop wrote: »

I don't know any specifics on the OP's friends situation...

...but I can't help wondering if its something along these lines...

Person A needs to rehome their dog, for real and practical reasons...eg has to move house to 'no pets' accomodation or something similar.

Instead of either dumping the dog out in the countryside, or surrendering it to the pound he does the responsible thing, what most of us on here would surely strongly advocate, and that is to find a good rescue to take the dog in.

The rescue takes said dog in....but hey, the back story on this dog isn't too sexy, in fact it could be considered boring and all too common, so they invent some heart-wrenching, tear-jerking story about how this incredibly lucky dog was beaten and starved all its life, locked in a shed with no access to food and light, blah blah blah until this super-wonderful rescue came along and plucked this dog away from its previously hellish life. And look, aren't we doing such a wonderful job with this woesome dog already...shiny coat, well behaved, great temperament outlook etc etc.
And if they're good with photoshop..perhaps they could embellish the back-story even more, eg the dog also was riddled with mange, worms, had one or both ears missing, only 2 legs left and needed a very expensive life-saving operation....send us your money now etc etc etc
Because a back-story like that will bring in more funds and donations than the truth ie "look at this healthy, good mannered, well loved dog, who came from a lovely home with no abuse etc he's with us simply because the owner's circumstances changed beyond his control."

Now imagine if you had been the one to have to go through the heartbreak of having to surrender your dog to a rescue because you really could no longer keep him....and then the rescue post up your dog on their publicly accessible website with a totally horrific and utterly invented, tale of unspeakable abuse behind that dog.
Then imagine if someone who knew your dog saw the pic or rescue listing and recognised the dog...well...would they know it was a fabricated back story...or would they forever after look at you just a little bit differently...and perhaps think that you are an unspeakable animal abuser...?

I don't know if this *is* what has happened to the OP's friend...but, things like that can and do happen...

From what I gathered about it,it was along those lines.He was upset as it was to have to rehome the dog and then to read the dog's story on their website just made him more upset.He's calmed down a little after realising the dog will hopefully go to a new home.
I know he cared for the dog,and having to give it away,well emotions are running high anyways.And seeing a tear jerking about his dog when the truth is it was a loved family pet,just made things a bit worst I guess.
I don't really whats the story with the rescue,maybe they have the dog's background confused with another dog,I know rescues are very hectic.
I told him that he knows he loved the dog,the dog knew it too so just focus on that and hope the dog goes to a good home,and just let it go really.
Because thats really the only advice I know to give him.But thanks for the replies,it helped.

Discodog

Well as the dog is on a public website why doesn't the OP give us a link & let us decide ?. This thread is based on total hearsay.

I have recently taken in a little chap who could, by local standards, said to be in good condition. In reality he was thin, covered in cuts/sores & has needed 3 visits to the Vet with more to come.

Sigma Force

I don't see why any rescue would have the right to change a dogs life history or lie about the previous owners. Now of course depends on wording of the ad. and what the truth is but say for example if a dog was much loved and the owner had no choice but to surrender the dog to a rescue and then a rescue states that that dog was abused or neglected or unwanted then I think that's of order.
I think it would be insulting to the owner and very unfair if a rescue stated that a dog was dumped or unwanted when the dog wasn't.
It's just as heart rending to read that an owner had no choice but to give up their much loved dog so I don't see why the truth would need to be altered.

Not saying this specific rescue did this because I haven't seen the ad. I just think rescues in general have a responsibility to be totally honest. Rescues get lots of dogs in with no previous known history so having a dog that has a known history should be a good thing and not chopped and changed.

I know if I had to surrender my pooches (dog forbid) to a rescue I'd be very upset if they put something like 'unwanted' or 'neglected' etc. down. So many people have to rehome pets through no fault of their own and it's hard enough and very emotional for them so can imagine the previous owner of the dog would have been very upset if anything like that was put up.

Redneck Reject

Discodog wrote: »

Well as the dog is on a public website why doesn't the OP give us a link & let us decide ?. This thread is based on total hearsay.

I have recently taken in a little chap who could, by local standards, said to be in good condition. In reality he was thin, covered in cuts/sores & has needed 3 visits to the Vet with more to come.

I wasn't asking for posters to decide if the rescue itself was questionable.I was only asking if there was a organization in the UK to make a complaint so I could pass that info onto my neighbor.So I'm not going to name and shame a rescue when personally I have no dealings with them to make a judgement.

lrushe

Whispered wrote: »

While I agree with you DD that the rescue took the dog and the owner handed over responsibility etc, surely it's the rescues responsibility to home the dog to the most suitable home. Impossible if they are lying about the dog. (depending on the lies obviously, if they are saying anything but the truth about the dogs personality then I'd be very worried)

I agree, if I were re-homing a dog and was lied to about the dogs origins and personality I wouldn't be too happy, not to mention the fact that it could end in a bad outcome ie. the dog didn't get along with children or cats etc. and somebody's child or pet gets bitten or worse. It is in the new owners and indeed the dogs best interests to know the full and honest history of the dog they adopt.

Discodog

Redneck Reject wrote: »

I wasn't asking for posters to decide if the rescue itself was questionable.I was only asking if there was a organization in the UK to make a complaint so I could pass that info onto my neighbor.So I'm not going to name and shame a rescue when personally I have no dealings with them to make a judgement.

I just think that it's a bit ridiculous for everyone to be posting about what a rescue has allegedly done when none of us have seen a shred of evidence.

As we don't know the rescue or any organisation behind it, it is very difficult to know if it is regulated. It may come under a local authority & trading standards may be involved. By not linking to the page you are in effect shaming a lot of rescues & denying the rescue in question any right of reply. Also we have no idea if their description is accurate or not.

If there were someone to report it to what would you say to them ?. You would say one thing & the rescue would say another. Now who do you thing is likely to be believed the man who surrendered his dog or the rescue that saved it ?.

dollydishmop

Redneck Reject wrote: »

I wasn't asking for posters to decide if the rescue itself was questionable.I was only asking if there was a organization in the UK to make a complaint so I could pass that info onto my neighbor.So I'm not going to name and shame a rescue when personally I have no dealings with them to make a judgement.

If they are a registered charity, then the UK Charities Commission would possibly like to hear about any questionable practices.

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/

Assuming they are a regsitered charity, then this link may be of interest to your friend:

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/About_us/Complaining/Complaint_about_a_charity_index.aspx

boomerang

No rescue I know of would dare publish such extravagant falsities about a dog they were trying to rehome. Ireland's too small a place. Plus, as a previous poster said, you need to give the new owner as accurate a picture of the dog's history as possible. More often than not rescues are actually softening a dog's bio rather than playing the sympathy card by highlighting a dog's neglectful background, because you have to keep the previous owner sweet. For example, I know of a dog that recently went into rescue. She had been tied up 24 hours a day, attached to a kennel that was too small for her to fit into. She'd been that way for months. It took lots of negotiations to the get the owner to give up the dog. If we could reveal that info, it might help us rehome the dog quicker, as people would pick her out from the dozens of other dogs needing homes as one especially deserving of sympathy. But we can't because the owner could read the info on our website and could be so enraged they might demand the dog back.



If the rescue in Wales is the one I'm thinking of, they have a very high intake of Irish dogs and I would say the dog's bio simply got lost along the way between collection in Ireland and arrival in Wales. They go to many different pounds, rescues and individual volunteers in Ireland to pick up needy dogs. I've seen this breakdown in communication happen before. But the good news is it is a very good rescue - the dogs are fed well, lavished with love, they have a great outdoor exercise area and the dogs are walked every day. They carefully vet new owners and there is a rigorous adoption procedure. In other words, your friend's dog is on the pig's back. He'll probably find a better home there than he ever would have found in Ireland. He is extremely lucky.

I'd let it lie.

Redneck Reject

dollydishmop wrote: »

If they are a registered charity, then the UK Charities Commission would possibly like to hear about any questionable practices.

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/

Assuming they are a regsitered charity, then this link may be of interest to your friend:

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/About_us/Complaining/Complaint_about_a_charity_index.aspx

Thank you Dollydishmop,will pass that on to him and he can take it from there.

Discodog

The Charity commissioners will not have the slightest interest in this. Their function is to ensure that a charity is bona fide & complies with tax, donations etc.

As boomerang has told you he is a lucky dog to have gone to a brilliant rescue. It is a pity that your neighbour is investing so much effort in finding fault & apparently so little in awarding praise.