The last day any dog can be adopted from The Rescue Home 15th November went up today on each kennel, the main gates, around the visitors car-park, in reception & on staff notice boards. The reason we have a cut off time in November is to stop any puppies we might have being adopted upto 2 weeks before Christmas & given as Christmas presents. People can still reserve puppies/dogs & home checks will still be carried out right up to Christmas eve, all we ask is that they come to feed & walk their reserved puppy/dog on Christmas Day & or Boxing Day & again on New Years day, (unless very bad weather) quite a lot of people then say they are no longer interested in the dog, we then point out that they would have to feed & walk any dog they own on them days, so maybe its better if they don't own a dog. Far to many puppies are bought for Christmas presents & 87% are either resold or dumped in rescue homes by the 2nd week of January.
No Azz as I adopted a 5 year old Rottweiler & 6 year old GSD on the 20th December from the R.S.P.C.A, roughly 14 years ago, no home check at all because they said I had already adopted 2 dogs off them, [but that was some 10 years previously in 1990], I just walked in on the 20th & came out with both dogs.
I believe there are a few rescues adopting this policy, though most start in middle of December, I do think 15 Nov is ridiculous. Quote ( The reason we have a cut off time in November is to stop any puppies we might have being adopted upto 2 weeks before Christmas & given as Christmas presents.) why Nov and not a couple of weeks before Xmas doesn’t make sense to me ) Most of the puppies handed in after Xmas are bought on a whim from online/ petshops or Byb, as presents without the person’s knowledge. I personally don’t think there should be a blanket ban at Christmas, not everyone celebrates Xmas and for some can be the ideal time to adopt, long holiday to settle dog in, if they have no children or they are having a quiet Christmas at home. It should depend entirely on the circumstances, with more care taken and pertinent questions asked. Whilst I respect the need for rescues to be vigilant Is there any wonder they are full to overflowing with the stipulations they have, common sense is what’s needed not strict blanket bans.
Vee the reason we have cut off in November is because some dogs need 4 to 6 weeks to settle into their new homes, we use to have the 2nd Saturday in December as last day for dogs to be adopted, only for their new owners phoning up saying their dogs have not settled in & have either escaped when there was a lot of people in house, bitten someone visiting their home or is shaking non-stop, so The Rescue Home owner decided years ago to have second week in November as cut off, as this will give the dogs the 4-6 weeks to settle into their new home.
I see the reasons and they are valid, though I don't care for them. I do think anyone buy a animal as a surprise gift for anyone is off there rocker.
i agree with gsd for some people its the only time some people are off work and at home. Im sure i will face them same problem as i think the start of my maternity (when there is finally a bun in my oven) leave would be a great time to bring a new dog home as i will be home and it means the dog will have the baby around soon rather than after years of being solo. Phoebe on the other hand will just have to accept the new arrivals. But my friend at our local rspca says they wont let me rehome from there in that situation
If you settled on rehoming a specific breed, you may well find that their Breed Rescue has a more relaxed attitude. Yes, maternity can often be the reason for problems with rehoming, but I think that having worked in rescue, and your dedication to Phoebe should count for something.
I agree, its a shame such an early cut off, you could be stopping some dogs a nice warm Christmas by the fireside with a new family, People will just go else where to get their new pet.
I agree with both the above comments - we do not celebrate Christmas and yet when I lived in England both my children had the same school holidays as those who did celebrate it. Also, if the second week in November is the cut off in order to give the dogs 4 - 6 weeks to settle into their new home, what guarantee is there that even if they have settled, the upheaval of families celebrating Christmas will not reverse that? The dog will, hopefully, be nicely settled in when all of a sudden the possible Christmas upheaval and excitement happens and the dog - especially a younger dog or puppy - might find it too overwhelming to cope. Even an oldie, for that matter.
Having the 2nd week in November works well for us, plus anyone who is seriously wanting a dog, are only to happy to wait until after Christmas. A dog is more likely settle in a calm household rather then busy excited household, an adoption record chart of dogs adopted out in December, was once done by either Dog Trust or Second Chance, can't remember which one did the chart, but they found that out of 10 puppies/dogs adopted in December 8 was returned in January, so by having a cut off in November is reducing the number of puppies/dogs returned in January. Our Sister Rescue Homes for Cats do the same they have cut off time in November too as they found that once the excitement of having a kittten for Christmas had worn off, the kitten would of been dumped yes dumped outside to fend for itself, that same kitten would end up back at The Rescue home pregnant at only 7 months old. In a prefect world there would be no Rescue Homes at all, but some humans are cruel they breed for money then dump the bitch/stud once they are too old to breed with, they don't care who buys the pups or where that pup will end up, all they care about is MONEY.
Tina I can understand rescues being reluctant to sell puppies at Xmas, but i think you’ll find that most puppies bought for Xmas presents are got through online ,free ads ect: which are specifically bred to be ready at Xmas. these are the ones that usually end up in rescues, I doubt if many people would go through the process of getting one from a rescue just to give it away, There is a difference in someone buying a pet for a present than those who want to adopt, im talking about the ones who want to adopt for themselves, who will be having a quiet xmas. I can’t see anyone wanting to give a puppy for xmas present buying/adopting it in Nov,
I understand what your saying Vee, but I still think the owner is right in having cut off in November, I know several other rescue homes are now also using November as cut off (3rd & 4th weeks) Not sure if its Dog Trusts or Second Chance cut off is first week in December, my local Council pound is also the first week in December. I think the RSPCA are still allowing adoption right up to the 23rd December.
