When is a shelter not just a shelter?

Until very recently the shelter only had a handful of dogs, and was able to take in dogs from other rescues that didn't have the space or resources to care for them. Those dogs were signed over to the shelter and made available for adoption. This post is not about those dogs.

There are so many different kinds of rescues. Some are breed-specific, some are all-breed, some rescue dogs from pounds when they are scheduled to be euthanized (IMO this is "rescue" in its truest form), others only take dogs that are surrendered by their owners (IMO this is more of a re-homing agency than a rescue. There is a need for both, I just think it's important to make that disctinction).

A former employee of the shelter runs a private, breed-specific rescue. Most private rescues rely on foster homes. In the event that there aren't any foster homes available, most will either stop accepting new dogs or board the dog at a boarding facility or vet clinic until a foster home becomes available. Adopt A Dog/Save A Life is an example of an excellent, all-breed rescue that will board dogs if there isn't space in a foster home. So what's the big deal about a former employee boarding dogs from her rescue at the shelter? Glad you asked!

If the dogs were only boarded when space was available, and if the rescue paid the shelter to board its dogs it wouldn't be a big deal. Sadly, that is not the case. The shelter has very limited resources yet it is absorbing the cost of caring for these dogs (staff have to clean the runs etc. to be fair I don't know whether the rescue provides food for its dogs or not). Naturally when the rescue dogs are adopted the rescue collects the adoption fee, which is intended to partly offset expenses incurred while caring for the animal.

The second issue is the shelter's mandate. The shelter exists to provide assistance and shelter to animals in distress, including strays and animals removed from abusive/neglegent situations. Any animal at the shelter is there because there was literally no other safe place for it to go. The rescue's mandate is to re-home dogs of a particular breed when their owners don't want them anymore. So what happens when there is an influx stray, lost, injured or unwanted animals but the shelter is already boarding rescue dogs for free? Resources that should be available for the stray, lost, injured or unwanted animals simply aren't available. The biggest resource of course, is space. There is a dog at the shelter that was available for adoption until very recently. He was "pulled from adoption" because he has some issues that need work - a lot of work actually. Normally when a dog is pulled from adoption it is literally taken out of the adoption room and moved to a holding area which is a less stressful environment. Unfortunately there isn't any room for him in holding because so much space is occupied by rescue dogs that the shelter agreed to board for free. So he is still sitting in the adoption room, growing noticably more stressed and agitated. For the time being he is the dog that needs to be there, so why is his care being compromised?

One last point and I'll put this to bed (for now). Consider the charities you donate your hard earned money to. How would you feel if you thought you were assisting animals in distress, only to learn that the beneficiary of your donation was a completely separate organization with a completely different mandate? If you'd wanted to donate to the breed-specific rescue instead, wouldn't you have just done so? Wouldn't you want your donation to be used for the animals you'd intended to help?