This past week, The Daily Corgi community celebrated the adoption of Pembrokes Eddie and Princess from the Hannibal, Missouri Humane Society. Word is they’re doing very well in their foster home! Our hearts are all with the dogs, and no matter where we live our natural instinct is to want to reach out and do something to help create this kind of happy ending.
In this case, however, the back story behind the positive outcome caused some unfortunate fallout for a couple of important people in the established rescue community. My decision to post about those dogs was made without adequate knowledge of how the nationwide Corgi rescue network operates. I did not know then what I know now: that at least two rescue groups within the region of that shelter already knew about the dogs, one of them for three weeks before I posted about them on The Daily Corgi.
One of those folks was Linda Moore of Pet’s Second Chance in St. Louis, Missouri. Linda has explained to me why my posting about Eddie and Princess — and all of the calls it generated — negatively impacted her relationship with the shelter. I have learned from her that the relationships cultivated between rescuers and the shelters are of paramount importance to rescue work: “This is not the way a real rescue operates. We don’t overlap and we don’t make a dozen calls to the same shelter.”
She continues: “It’s takes a long time to set up a rescue network and cultivate the people, and with shelters it’s even more difficult because staff changes frequently. We have worked hard to establish our credibility with the shelters but now it’s in jeopardy, and I am not the only rescue person complaining.”
“The shelter was inundated with calls from all over the country and they are not the least bit happy with “rescue” at this time” said Linda. “Please explain that these rural shelters DO NOT want all the calls. They are upset because “you people put the dogs on facebook”. They do not ship dogs; Florida and Pennsylvania are like a foreign country to these rural shelters.”
“I understand that everyone wants to help. I understand that we all love the Corgis, but it’s detrimental to rescues when people who have no idea what they are doing start making calls. It’s best to just notify the nearest rescue and let us do what we can do. Shelters want to adopt the dogs out if they can. If they have room and can keep the dogs, it’s in their best interest to adopt the dogs from their shelter. It’s all about numbers reported to the state and numbers used for fund raising. They are in business to adopt dogs. And they can adopt purebred dogs much faster.”
So … is it easy to hear some of these things? No. Is it important to know them? I think so.
I’m as happy as anybody that Eddie and Princess have their forever homes secured, and grateful to those Daily Corgi readers who made it happen.
At the same time, I believe this is a real learning opportunity for me. Linda assures me that my mistake was an easy one to make, because “people simply do not realize what is involved in rescue. I know that it’s all love of the breed and emotions. And heaven knows that is a good thing, but there is a place for all of us.”
I take full responsibility for the impact on Linda and others like her, and want to share this information with other Corgi lovers. A dedicated breed rescue network does exist, and they have valuable ties and contacts from years of experience. They’re the go-to people if you know about a Corgi in a shelter, especially with the current economy ( = more dogs in shelters).
If you learn of a Corgi in a shelter and want to help, there is a list of rescue groups by region at the Corgi Rescue page. Please contact one of them directly:
There is also web page for the Cardigan Welsh Corgi National Rescue Trust:
These links are permanently posted on The Daily Corgi’s Rescue and Adoption page, which can be accessed at any time by clicking the link on the right sidebar of the blog’s home page:
If you have any questions, comments or feedback you’d like to share with me personally, please feel free to write:
I’ll be posting more about breed rescue work going forward. It’s relevant and valuable information.
Thank you for reading this, and for being a part of The Daily Corgi community. I’m glad to have you here as we grow, learn and most of all celebrate the joy of the charismatic Corgi!
Laurie Eno
Founder & Editor
The Daily Corgi
Maybe we could make a donation to the shelter to help make up for it? After all, it was done with all good intentions. There are a lot of dogs that would not get saved if it weren't for facebook and other social media. The shelter may not have been happy, but the dogs were saved.
Don't be so hard on yourself …bottom line is the dogs were saved . I believe the media and facebook is a good way to get info out not always for the better . Thank you for the the info….Love your page and dedication .
I understand about a shelter not wanting to be inupdated with calls as volunteers are usually extremley limited and they don't have people to just answer calls when it pulls them away from work at the shelter. My confusion is it was stated that one rescue knew they were in the shelter for 3 weeks yet when the Daily corgi posted they were adopted in a couple of days. Did the rescue have a foster pending? Were they not pulled by rescue immediately because the shelter told them they were safe for a certain period of time? Respectfully asking these questions for future information. As we all want to help in an efficent manner and not step on toes.
Hi Anonymous,
It is my understanding that a rescue group did have an arrangement with the shelter whereby these two were safe and not in danger of being put down.
I don't know if there was an adoption pending.
Sometimes there are no spots available in foster homes, because of the numbers and demand, but the relationship between rescue and the shelter had ensured the safety of these two.
Thank you for your questions! The more questions I'm asked, the more I can learn and share here.
Corgially,
Laurie Eno
Editor
The Daily Corgi
I've become a little jaded with the whole rescue scenario.
I have a corgi now that I need to get into rescue. I emailed the rescue in Marietta Ga. over a month ago and haven't gotten so much as a "screw you" email in reply.
Perhaps it's that experience that leads me to believe most – if not all – of them are in it for a buck. And by going around the system to get these dogs in a good home, they were hit in the pocketbook.
As for the shelters, it's easier to gas a dog than it is to answer a phone.
I'm sure this is going to tick a lot of you off – but I've volunteered at the local shelter and seen some of the crap that goes on there. It ain't pretty. And the majority of the people who work there – you know, those who AREN"T doing community service – could give two craps about a dog making it out alive.
Hi Laurie,
Glad that all worked out for those 2 and I hope that any problems with the rescue groups and the shelter have been worked out. It takes guts to take publicly responsibility for making a mess and cleaning it up.
I have contacted a couple of local (to where the shelters were) rescues about corgis that I found on Petfinder; both cardi & pem & have gotten nothing but quick and appropriate responses. Due to lack of foster space they haven't always been able to pull the dogs right away, but they have worked with the shelters to keep the dogs off the euthanasia lists.
No, it's not always perfect and yes, some shelters are truly awful. But those that do care do the best they can.
Thanks to all that do good to save the dogs.
Anonymous,
I'm honestly sorry to hear your experience with rescue has been a disappointment. I'd encourage you to visit the list of rescue groups and make another inquiry before writing rescue off entirely.
As for making a buck, many of the rescued dogs are in very poor health and/or are seniors who have long-neglected medical needs. I don't know how it's remotely possible to make money off of legitimate rescue efforts. If anything, it can be quite costly. There is more than a sacrifice of "just" time for the people who carry out the work.
Working in a "kill" shelter … how many of us can imagine doing it? I don't know how that affects a person. Like any difficult thing, it can shape peoples' attitudes for better or worse. Some become jaded; ennui and cynicism are to some degree probably inevitable. However,
I do think a wholesale condemnation of shelter workers is not entirely realistic, and not especially helpful.
Anonymous, I can appreciate that you speak out of your own experience, and it doesn't take reading between the lines to hear that you care deeply about the welfare of the dogs.
Sometimes we just need a place to vent our frustrations and despair at the things we know are happening but feel powerless to do anything about.
Trust me — you're not the only one who feels the way you do. All of us want to see change.
Thanks for weighing in.
Laurie Eno
Editor
The Daily Corgi
You’ve touched my heart. How much you care is awe-inspiring. We need people like you and Anonymous to keep the balance. It makes us start thinking. Only good can come from all of this.
itsmebuddy,
Thank you.
I know that bottom line the most powerful thing we all share is the love of the animals.
Knowing that this is true, I think we all have a place at the table. Everybody's caring counts!
Laurie
I think that the majority of people working in rescues, whether they work in shelters or breed rescues, are angels with hearts of pure gold. I can't go into a shelter without crying and I have tremendous admiration for the people who do what can be thankless, devastating work.
I feel that the best way to show my support and gratitude is by donating to organizations like CorgiAid as often as I can.
I am very interested in knowing how rescue operations work. It's a bit confusing since the operation says they were working on it but through the Daily Corgi the two Corgis were adopted within 48 hours. There really is some disconnect in my mind of how rescue works when getting word out on those two worked so quickly in this case.
I look forward to hearing how rescue operations work and how we can help get the word out on these rescues who need us. It worked for Eddie and Princess, can we make it work better for more Corgis?
I am sorry you took the brunt of the frustration from the rescue people you talked to. It was really many of us that published and commented on the status of these dogs that caused the dust up to occur. So I understand, in the future, would it be best to contact the regional rescue organization to ask about he status of the dogs and send the rescue the possible petfinder link to check whether they have the dogs on their radar? That being said, perhaps the rescue organizations could post the dogs on The Daily Corgi to help facilitate the movement of these dogs out of the shelters and into homes.
I contacted the corgi rescue (at your suggestion) about the two corgis in the shelter in KS and received a nice response back that corgi rescue was already aware of these two dogs and knew the particulars of the situation. I think rescue could benefit from using sites like yours to get the info about these dogs out a little faster and to a community of people who already love corgis and know the breed. Social networking for the good!
Thank you for all you do and we all had the best intentions in mind. Hopefully, all parties involved will come to realize this.
Thanks for posting this update and information, Laurie. It's tough to hear when you're trying to help and don't want any corgis to fall between the cracks. We all want them to find good, caring, and permanent homes. These two sound like they are on their way. The corgi rescue network is well-connected and intentioned. My own corgi came via it.
To me it sounds like a frustrated volunteer shelter taking it out on a now-frustrated rescue, who is now taking it out on you. If the shelter chose to be grumpy about all this, that is on THEM. Not on you or the rescue or anyone else. Can someone explain to me how the calls of some folks, unaffiliated with this rescue, could somehow impact the rescue's relationship with the shelter? All they had in common was the dogs!
Yes, a dozen calls about two dogs in a short period is annoying. Yes, maybe the rescue had "dibs." But isn't this about the dogs? Didn't they find homes?
It really seems like the rescue probably didn't have room, and the shelter was letting the dogs stay until the last day or they were adopted, which ever came first – at which point the rescue would have pulled them if it was the former. This is understandable. Maybe they were even networking and had some adoption applications lined up, which is frustrating to have been interrupted. If that's the case, say that!
But all I see here are two dogs who are now in a safe place, and some people who happen to be upset over it, for reasons I just can't understand. I think "contact a rescue to see if they know" is a valuable lesson, but that shouldn't stop people from trying to find dogs homes anyway.
Please keep posting corgis in shelters on the Daily Corgi and facebook. Like MN says – why waste such a wonderful tool?
Local rescues knew about them for 3 weeks, and through Daily Corgi they got adopted in 2 days? I'm sorry, but when it comes down to it, it's about the dogs, and getting them out of that shelter to a good home was in their best interests, regardless of how it occurred. And considering the rescue in question only adopts out to the St. Louis area, the dogs' forever home in Florida likely wouldn't have happened. They got much more attention by being posted on here than by being left on Petfinder and hoping someone would find them.
I agree with NY's sense that frustration was passed down to you. If there had been adoption applications pending, someone at rescue(s) or the shelter should have said so. All we heard was that the two were known about–but that no movement was occurring other than some vague "interest" here and there. The desired movement is to get them out of the shelter to a loving home, without getting split up, right? Through Daily Corgi, positive movement occurred, and Daily Corgi members took it upon themselves to help find fostering and transportation.
If that stepped on some toes, that suggests to me maybe it's more of a territorial thing than about the dogs, which I don't quite understand. Laurie, please don't feel badly about increasing awareness of these two dogs. Unless we can get more information about exactly how this messed things up, I don't see where you or any of us did anything wrong other than make a few too many phone calls.
I've been reading the comments and am grateful to all who've left them.
There's so much food for thought, I think my brain got a little overheated today! BOL.
I'll be reading and responding in days to come, as I feel I've got something more to contribute positively to the discussion. These issues are too important to gloss over, as they're and completely relevant and timely.
It really is all about the dogs. I love that that's what we're all here for.
Yours in Corgi Power!!
Laurie
TDC Editor
I figure I will put in my 2 cents.
I remember reading the original comment from someone about how the shelters are annoyed with calls and the rescues are doing what they can, when the pictures of the dogs were posted on facebook. I didn't think much of it at the time but I guess it's a big deal.
Being someone who works in a dog daycare (that works closely with a rescue to board dogs until they have fosters), a complete dog fanatic in general, and of course a corgi lover, this all confuses me a little. If the shelter had a deal with a rescue that these guys wouldn't be put down, then they should've stated to at least ONE of the callers. I'm sure they knew we were all calling in because we all saw the same post wherever it would be. Had it come to our attention sooner that the dogs most definitely would NOT be put down because there WAS a rescue aware of them, I think that would've saved a little panic on our side.
What kind of blows my mind, however, is what seems to bother everyone else, and that's that the dogs were adopted within 2 days of being on the Daily Corgis facebook page. You'd think that the shelter would be happy to get the dogs out of there (or any animal for that matter) to save them money and resources (food, vaccines, etc). Also, you would figure that most people who work at a shelter love dogs and would want them to be placed. Unfortunately I know that's not always the case with shelters. I've experienced some people at large shelters and I think they could care less what happens to dogs (as one comment stated above). Frustrating because I would give anything to work in a shelter, but they give those jobs to people who don't care about dogs, and just need a job. Sad.
All in all, I think I understand how the shelter would be frustrated with calls coming in from everywhere and anywhere in the country. A lot of shelters do not do out-of-state adoptions, so I know it would be annoying if I worked at a shelter in Ohio that didn't do out-of-state and someone from California is trying to adopt a dog. HOWEVER, as I said, the shelter should've been happy to get the dogs out of there, and I have NO idea why any sort of rescue is involved with this whatsoever. It was maybe a little overwhelming for any and all of us to call in, but we placed the dogs together, without a rescue. I just don't know with this whole situation. You think the shelter and rescue would be happy, but you win some, ya lose some. This is why I want to start my own corgi rescue once I'm out of school and have my own house!
(Cross-posting from FB.)I am one of the people who called the shelter about Eddie and Princess. I was a legitimate potential adopter of one of the corgis, and stepped out only when someone who could take them both entered the picture. In NO WAY did I intend to damage any relationship between the shelter and any rescuer, and I truly am sorry for any negative feelings my call may have generated. HOWEVER: these dogs were posted for any and all to see on Petfinder long before they showed up here, and there was absolutely no indication that any rescue was working with the shelter.
I spoke with the shelter director after the person who first answered the phone could not answer my questions. I told the director that I have adopted a rescue corgi long-distance in the past, and asked him whether they had any specific requirements for long-distance adoptions (eg, if they required a home visit I would not be an appropriate adopter). He told me that they have lots of experience with long-distance adoptions and as an example told me that they recently sent a dog to Canada. He was extremely pleasant to me on the phone and gave no indication that by making a serious inquiry about the dogs that I was causing him a problem.
Laurie, I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble. However, it's hard for me to believe that anyone could find fault with someone offering a home to a corgi who has been languishing in a shelter for weeks! I am really saddened that you had any negative fallout from what started as a well-intentioned effort and ended with Eddie and Princess being welcomed to their forever home!
Laurie, I've read all the posts and comments surrounding this issue and would have to agree with what most everybody else has said… You have absolutely nothing to be sorry or regretful about. You are in control of such a powerful tool for getting the word out about things, maybe the rescue group could learn a thing or two from you ;). But in all seriousness, this should be a win-win situation for all parties because the dogs are safe, which is what everyone's goal was in the first place. I can't criticize the rescue group without knowing the full story on their end, but the comments you received seemed incredibly inappropriate and way out of line. Just take a deep breath and move on (and keep doing what you do best, bringing the community of corgi lovers closer together!!!)
I had to go back and read all this when I saw mention of it on facebook. As for me, I hope you continue to post about Corgis in need, where ever they may be. One day, there might be one close enough that I can help. Sounds to me that this rescue group just got miffed because someone circumvented them. If they were aware that the shelter was getting numerous calls about adopting the dogs, they should have contacted you and let you know that they had them taken care of. There is power in numbers, I think thats been proven. If this rescue group has a problem with help getting dogs rescued, then maybe they need to rethink what they are doing. You did nothing wrong, don't ever think that you did.