******STAY AWAY FROM THIS RESCUE****** Go to a reputable rescue instead. There are plenty in the region that do not operate under suspicious policies.
Long story short: my husband and I were approved adopters trying to adopt a specific dog. When we FINALLY got the "foster" to allow us to meet her, we were completely smitten, and she got along beautifully with our german shepherd. We were ultimately rejected by the foster, but he would not tell us why. It was clear he was incredibly attached to her, and had no interest in adopting her to another family.
This "foster" has 7 (!!) dogs on his property, and has had this dog for about 8 months. He seemed incredibly attached to this dog. He refused to let us adopt her that weekend because supposedly there were more families scheduled to meet her. (Why continue introducing a dog to new families if an approved family that gets along great with the dog is standing in front of you??) He said he'd make a decision within the week. When a week had passed, and he still hadn't given us an answer, we pressed him for a decision. He told us she was being adopted by another family. (((SPOILER ALERT: she wasnt!))) It's hearbreaking that this man is stringing families along, and prolonging placing dogs in their forever homes. (We got the impression from other volunteers at the event that this is not uncommon behavior for this particular foster.) When I brought my concerns to the president of the rescue, nothing was done about it. That dog is with that foster, and listed as available for adoption on the rescue's website.
Long story long: after going through the extensive process of becoming approved adopters (home inspection, vet checks, references contacted, etc.), the final say is left to the foster. This "foster" Tom, consistently gave us contradicting information on his "policies". E.g., he would not allow us to come to him (despite our willingness to travel), but insisted any interested adopters attend an adoption event for the initial meet, then meet a second time with all pets and family members at his home. When we finally got him to commit to an event, we traveled 4 hours and rented a dog friendly Airbnb in the area. We ended up bringing out dog to the event, and he got along beautifully with the dog we wanted to adopt. We spent several hours there, and at the end of the event spent a few hours getting with her, and she got along great with our german shepherd. The "foster" Tom, had been giving us the runaround for the MONTHS, making it incredibly difficult for us to meet Cookie (despite our willingness to come to them). The other volunteers at the event were surprised he wasn't letting us adopt her that day, since it was clearly a great fit.
Tom insisted she was scheduled to meet other families that weekend, but he'd let us know his decision within a week. When I finally pressed him for an answer, he told me she was being adopted by a family in Richmond. Now, more than a week after that, she is still attending adoption events and listed as available on the website. It was clear Tom was very attached to her, and told us how she sleeps in his bed with her. I believe he has had her since September, which is ridiculous. There is no reason a dog as well-mannered and beautiful as Cookie shouldn't have been adopted immediately. It's obvious he wants to keep that dog.
This is completely unacceptable. I'm not sure how it's possible to provide that many gsds with the proper care they deserve. It cannot possibly be within a rescue organization's mission to allow a foster situation in which the foster refuses adopt to qualified families. read more
