OK ... so now Gordon has come around and taken the time to explain in more detail his situation and why we were put off. I'm attaching his response and raising my review score from one to three - can't do better as I really haven't even visited the place, but I appreciate that he made an effort to make things right:
Good Morning Rob & Darcy:
Thank you for your sincere advice. I apparently have not communicated as well as I should have and for that I apologize. Your comment regarding why we have dogs here for so long requires an explanation.
Almost without exception every dog in our rescue has come from a shelter and was on the euthanasia list, usually within a 24 hour kill time. They have a variety of behavioral issues, either human and/or animal aggression as well as underlying medical issues, ie. hypothyroidism epilepsy, etc. It takes a long time for us to rehabilitate them. Many have to go to a home where there cannot be other animals, cannot be around young children, etc. In addition there are neighborhoods that have CC&Rs that are breed restrictive, weight restrictions, etc.
Even owner surrenders many times have significant behavioral issues, mostly as a result of lack of training. It takes us a long time to diagnose the underlying issues, both physiological and psychological and begin the rehabilitation process. All dogs that we rescue receive a complete veterinary examination, in addition to vaccinations, microchipping, heart worm testing (if from CA).
Some dogs because of their age, behavioral characteristics are just not good candidates for rehoming and so they end up on the sanctuary side, where they can exercise, play, and interact with us and our volunteers but are a risk to be out in the general public.
We have had many dogs that we have been able to adopt out in a month or two after our evaluation and training is complete. Everything just takes time. On average we receive one to two calls daily from the SPCA, NHS, local and out of state shelters asking if we can rescue a dog(s) as they know we specialize in GSDs and working breeds. This is in addition to owner surrenders and occasionally we find dogs chained up and abandoned outside our property. So, we try to do the best that we can. I hope this gives you a bit of insight into our process and what we deal with on a daily basis.
In closing I wish you best with your new pup and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Gordon Hutting
Cold Nose Rescue & Sanctuary read more