Thursday, March 29, 2012

Long Term Shelter Dogs: How Long is Too Long?

Yesterday I received my e-newsletter from Dogwood Animal Shelter.  Dogwood is the no kill animal shelter we adopted Jeffie from after finding him on Petfinder.  They are 100% privately financed through donations and their thrift shop, where we periodically take donations.  

Each Dogwood newsletter highlights cool things donated to the thrift shop and special sales, fund raising events for the animal shelter, and pets available for adoptions.  Which leads me to this blog post.

Like most animal shelters and rescue, Dogwood is coping with more animals than they have space for.  In February they ran an adoption special and have now extended it to include the entire month of March.  

All kennel dogs who have been in an "Adoptable" status for over 90 days will have half-off adoption fees.  Adoption fees include all shots, spaying or neutering, and a microchip.

Take a good long look at Hailey, the dog pictured here.  She's a beauty and those eyes tell me she's a sweetheart, full of fun.  Now, notice that white hair on her muzzle.  At our house we call that "sugar lips" and we insist the kisses are sweeter.

Hailey is celebrating her 8th birthday.  She has been at Dogwood Animal Shelter since she was two months old.  This is the longest a dog has ever been at Dogwood.

As their newsletter notes:  it is a bittersweet birthday.

If I had to spend my whole life in an animal shelter, Dogwood would be one I would wish for.  This is a relatively new physical facility with an virtual army of volunteers, including their Canine Coaches program that works on obedience and sees to it the dogs get exercise.  For all the cat people reading this blog, rest assured, Dogwood's cat rooms are fantastic!

However, Hailey reminded me of other dogs in other shelters that I've stumbled across in the last few years.  Dogs that have spent years and years in a shelter.  I'm a "no kill" girl myself... but how long is too long to spend in a shelter?

Is life in a shelter better than no life at all?  What do you think?

Take another long look at Hailey.  The Dogwood Canine Coaches have taught her well.  Hailey  minds well, is great on a leash and is reported to be extremely sweet and loving.  She loves to roll in the grass, though she doesn't get many opportunities to do that.  She's a bit particular about what dogs will be her friends.  She's spayed, house trained, and weighs 64 pounds.

Hailey is a black lab mix.  Well, black with a bit of white, including that ancestral St Johns Water Dog medallion marking on her chest.  

The good folks at Dogwood surmise that Hailey has been overlooked because she is a black dog.  The plight of big black dogs and Black Dog Syndrome has been written and talked about for years, especially the disproportionate number of black dogs that are euthanized in shelters across our country.

So, Hailey is lucky.  Right?  Any day now someone could come along and adopt her into a loving home.  It's happened.  We've all read a few stories about senior dogs finally finding their person.

However, how many dogs live out their years in a "no kill" animal shelter?

How long is too long to live in an animal shelter?. 

15 comments:

  1. This is a tough subject. Hailey is beautiful and it's hard believe she has been in the shelter for 8 years! Oh if I had the property, I would take in as many dogs as could!

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    1. I know exactly how you feel. I'd have many more dogs, if only I could.

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  2. I wonder too if more of these places need help with marketing the dogs. While some dogs come in and go out because they are first picks, some dogs do need people who can market and help facilitate the right matches.

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    1. I think you're right and suspect that any/all shelters and rescues could always use more help with marketing - both with the actual doing, as well as tips on doing it well.

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  3. Hailey is lucky to be in such a caring place BUT I don't understand why no one has adopted her. I agree with Bailey and with Bassetmomma. WE have had some who have been with us for as long as almost a year. Nothing wrong with them but no one chooses them.
    Barb Mom for Ernie and the pack

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    1. Hailey could be in a much worse situation, but I can't help but wonder about earlier "marketing" of her. Then again, I'm aware of some dogs that wait a year or better before they're finally chosen.

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  4. It's sad that she's been there that long. I can only hope if she gets adopted that she will be able to adjust to life in a real home. I volunteer at a shelter that will euthanize for space, and I also maintain their website. To say Hailey hasn't been adopted because of black dog syndrome is really doing her a disservice. You've already justified her reason for being there, and therefore think there is no solution to get her adopted. I'm a firm believer that there is a home out there for every dog. If a dog has been there longer than a month, you have to ask yourself why - and answers of age, breed or color don't cut it with me. Like Bailey mentioned above, I think marketing is a big factor. Sometimes posting new photos on their web profile does the trick. Hailey has a beautiful picture featured prominently on their website. If you go to her profile on Petfinder, there is NOT A SINGLE PHOTO of her. Has it been like that for all 8 years? Web surfers likely won't even click on her to read the profile. Once you do get to her profile, the write up says she probably hasn't been adopted because of her color. Don't point out the negative in your write ups. Focus on everything she does right. Better yet, add a video clip where she's demonstrating all the wonderful things she can do. My personal opinion is that if after a few months have gone by and you haven't been able to find the dog/cat a home, then it's in the animal's best interest for you to hit up a rescue group. A change in location can be all it takes to find them their forever home. I've seen countless dogs spend months at the shelter, only to be transferred to another organization and be adopted out the same day they were transferred.

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    1. Stephanie, I agree with everything you said. As I commented earlier, I can't help but wonder about the effort put out for all these years. Surely in 8 years there's been a placement that would have been possible. Some shelters and rescues do a much better job at marketing their animals in terms of photos, videos, and just plain getting the word out.

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  5. I really hope this beautiful pup finds a home soon. The shelter where I work has an entire area for long-term residents - they have pretty nice digs, considering, but it breaks my heart every time I walk by and see their faces. I realize that sometimes there are valid reasons that a dog can't be placed, but it's still very sad to hear - the story you shared is especially heartbreaking, as puppies usually go faster and this gal didn't. Hard to believe she has been there almost her whole life. It really doesn't make any sense. :(

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    1. Agreed. Though I'm aware of other puppies that didn't find a home for a year or more. Coincidence or not, all of those pups were black. My local shelter is a "kill" shelter, so there are no long term dogs or cats, though puppies are usually shipped to St Louis after being available locally for only a week or two.

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    2. Gotcha. Black dog syndrome is one of those things I will never really understand. It's always amazed me that people actually have that bias, even though it clearly happens.

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  6. She is a beautiful girl and it breaks my heart to see that she has been there so long - I don't understand it. The only saving grace is that she doesn't know any different - to her the shelter is home, where she has lived all of her life. I try to tell myself that when I see a dog that I feel bad for and the dog still looks happy (like Hailey does). Dogs are so resilient, they tend to be happy right where they are and don't have expectations. I hope she finds a forever home during this adoption event and gets to have the family she deserves!

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    1. I hope calling attention to her plight will help her, finally, find a forever home. And I know that years ago when we adopted Spanky, a black lab mix, from a shelter, he was the last pup of a litter there. All were black and the staff there told us black puppies were hard to place. Spanky was one of 6 puppies that came in at 6 weeks old. He was almost 5 months when we adopted him.

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  7. Poor sweet Hailey! May I ask if they have tried having volunteers take her to community events and dog parks etc? We have two or three trusted volunteers that take long term residents on day trips so people can see how awesome they are in action.(If the adopters won't come to Hailey, take Hailey to the adopters!)The dogs wear bright fun bandanas with funny sayings and the words "adopt me!!" and they have their own business cards that we pass out to everyone we meet. Every time we choose to feature a dog this way, they are adopted within 30 days. It's crazy how well it works. When a great dog stays in a shelter a long time, I usually chalk it up to needing better marketing, which is hard considering most shelters are short staffed.

    We also have a "weekend foster" program, where volunteers take the long term residents on weekend long field trips to home, so they get some one on one time and to experience life in the house.

    Good luck Hailey!!

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    1. There are no dog parks in our area of the country, but Dogwood does do adoption events (in house and at nearby large shopping outlets). As I mentioned above, I cannot help but wonder about adoption efforts over the years. Has Hailey been overlooked by the staff and volunteers just as she has been by adopters? I don't know the answer to that. I love the idea of business cards for the dogs! What a fantastic marketing tool! Have you blogged about that?

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