From time to time, I receive notices called “DNA” notices. They mean “Do Not Adopt.” Conversely, “DNR” means “Do Not Rescue.” It is to alert other rescues to deny an adoption to someone, or for a shelter to not let a rescue pull from their available dogs and cats. It may be helpful in some cases to alert individuals who may not be aware of legislation against the individual for animal abuse. However, take great care in making the decision to send someone’s name out on a list. Before you consider alerting your friends, please consider the following:
1) Rarity of name. If the person you are referring to is a John Smith, a Mary Baker, or another name that is common, your alert may prevent a perfectly innocent person from being able to adopt a dog or cat. People usually don’t walk around with
2) Personality conflict. Is your decision based on fact, or is it because you just didn’t gel with them? Sometimes people are quick to judge someone who appears very shy or abrupt. There are people that treat their animals like queens and kings, but are not “people” people. Observe them with the actual animals.
3) They want the perfect dog. Recently, I think I put my foot in my mouth. A rescue on a list I am a part of alerted everyone to a potential adopter who wanted “the perfect dog,” one that is crate trained, housebroken, but is a puppy or a year old. They implied to “watch out for this person.” Well, we were all pretty ignorant until we learned. People that had a dog growing up but never raised one from puppyhood may remember their dog as being fully housebroken. In fact, their parents probably trained the dog before the individual was aware of it, or cleaned up accidents, not them. There is no reason to flag the person for wanting “the perfect dog,” they just need to be educated that yes, there are housebroken dogs out there, but occasionally, if the dog is sick or not let out often enough, they will have an accident. Steer them towards a dog that is well trained but lost their family rather than a newborn, or a dog that lived life as stray and is learning the ropes. I remember some promotional pens a law practice gave out that read “Practice makes perfect.” My dogs have made sure I have had lots of practice, but there was a time when “I didn’t know.”
I am not saying that you have to adopt a dog out to them, but take a moment to educate them. A short amount of time spent on education will save you from having to pick up a puppy they buy from the shelter later. Also, what about recruiting them as a foster family for a decently trained dog? They can get some real world experience for a short time, as long as they live in the rescue’s geographic area.
4) Are they unsuitable to have any pet whatsoever, or just for “your breed.” There are many people out there that would be a less than suitable home for an older chihuahua, but would be a dream come true for an active young retriever, and vice versa. Before spreading someone’s name around, think about that.
5) Fenced in yards. Some rescues will not adopt out to someone without a fenced in yard. No reason to blacklist this person to other rescues. There are plenty of rescues who will adopt a dog out to someone without a fence. A four pound Yorkie gets the exercise it needs, even in a house. And a laid back older dog may be content with walks with their best friend.
6) Other rescuers were not born yesterday. If the person’s application appears that they are blatantly unsuited for pet ownership, other rescues are going to pick that up right away too in their vetting process. They don’t have time to go through big lists. Keep your “DNA” alerts on REAL threats, such as someone who has been convicted of animal cruelty in your area and may be reaching outside of your area to adopt rather than about someone you didn’t hit it off with.
There are way too many dogs in shelters dying every day. If someone can financially provide for a dog or cat, and has the love to give, we need to be careful about not turning them off to the idea of rescue entirely just because they don’t pass our muster. They may not be suited for every pet, but with a little knowledge, they would be a good match for some dog or cat out there who wishes to live.
I fostered a dog once that was like oil and water with my dogs. They couldn’t be just left to roam around with each other in the house. The foster wasn’t aggressive. She was just a big, friendly, overgrown pup who didn’t know her own strength or size. A tiny dog and a senior dog just were having none of it. She went for walks with me because I didn’t have a fenced in yard. She spent several hours at a time crated in the kitchen as I had to juggle dogs away from each other. It wasn’t ideal. A wise person in rescue told me that it might not be “the perfect situation” for her – I didn’t have a huge fenced in yard,etc , but she was alive, fed, exercised and loved. She ended up getting a great home.
May is NAVTEQ’s Map Update Month. What does this mean for you? It is a gentle reminder to update your GPS system. Every year, new highways are built, streets are bypassed for new arenas and subdivision configurations change. It may not be critical if you stick within a three mile radius, but I know folks who took a cross country trip with outdated maps and they were really turned around. They were lost and it took an hour or two a few times to right themselves.
