Dog Saver is a wonderful rescue group made up of volunteers and foster homes. I would never consider them, or any other reputable rescue group a 'business' by definition. They are dedicated 24/7 to cover the needs of their rescue dogs.
It is a common practice for a rescue to give their dogs vaccinations, except for rabies. If the Vet gave them every vaccine, a rescue couldn't afford to save as many.
Regarding Bordetella, plenty of rescues have stopped giving this. Kennel cough is like the common cold. There are so many different strands of the virus that even if you gave Bordetella the dogs/pups can still get it. It will always depend on the individual animal. When a rescue takes dogs/puppies they do not always know their history, and even if somebody told them a story it could be just that, a story.
Some dogs and pups may have a more compromised immune system than we would ever know. There's no way to know if their immune systems are strong or not. And unless a pup is born within the rescue they truly do not know the exact age of each animal. When the rescue takes in pups at 3 or 4 months of age and starts them on their vaccinations, they will obviously already be behind the 8-ball.
Unfortunately, some of the adopted dogs may get exposed to kennel cough either by walking past a new intake or even at the adoption event. People bring their own dogs to these places all the time and some people walk around with small pups that they got from whoever and may have only had one round of vaccinations, or have never had any at all.
Rescues do the best they can with the resources available to them. It's not easy, physically, mentally, or emotionally. Funds are scarce, demands are high.
Dog Saver would never purposely adopt out a dog or pup if they knew they were sick. Ever.
Have dogs or pups gotten sick after an adoption? Of course.
The stress is a lot for these animals, so that alone can weaken their immune systems enough to get kennel cough, or have sick stomachs for the first few days.
With distemper, a viral disease, there is no one test to determine this illness. The diagnosis is based on symptoms and health history. Typically distemper symptoms present themselves in a series of five stages after the virus has been contracted. A week after the initial contact with the virus a pup will start acting sluggish and have a fever over 101.5 degrees F. The trademark symptoms will begin to appear shortly after....
Distemper is one of the most cruel and heartbreaking viruses that any pet owner can go thru... trust me, I know.... and I wholeheartedly believe that Dog Saver, or any other reputable rescue group, would never ever purposely adopt a pup to a family that had any possibility of being exposed to this. read more
