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We work with existing re-homing organisations and directly with the public to find the best solution for damaged dogs on a case-by-case basis.
A common complaint is that UK re-homing centres have fixed and unnecessarily restrictive policies which exclude many people from adopting. This may inadvertantly encourage buying from unscrupulous breeders or importing dogs from abroad- these dogs have a very high incidence of disease and behavioural issues. We are in favour of licensing for dog shelters and evidence-based re-homing protocols, not blanket rules about, for example, age of children or the height of fencing. Currently, anyone can set up a ‘rescue’ organisation, without qualification or regulation.
If you are a member of the public wanting to surrender a dog, this requires referral from a veterinary surgeon or an APBC-qualified behaviourist.
An important note: Dogs which are available for, or have been re-homed are often referred to as rescue dogs. They may be treated as the ‘other’ to ‘normal’ dogs, somehow difficult and problematic, or tainted. There aren’t two populations of dogs, rescue and normal. There are just dogs. You haven’t rescued a dog if you bought it from a puppy farm to ‘save it’, if it’s a puppy the breeder couldn’t sell, or if you can’t afford to care for it.
All dogs can have health and behavioural issues. Most are given up because their owners didn’t understand their needs before they acquired them, not because they are faulty. Every time someone buys a puppy instead of adopting a dog, another dog down the line has to die because a space in a shelter isn’t made available. This is not euthanasia- a peaceful death to end suffering. It’s killing- humane destruction and mass incineration of the bodies of healthy dogs who do not get to experience positive welfare. The stress this puts on mental well-being in shelter workers and vets is very well documented and, quietly, a national scandal.
