Our vet needs to build a Camp Cocker wing for us! (five cherry eye surgeries in one week)
The first picture is Rudy before with double cherry eye. The other pics are one day after his surgery. Thank you Dr. Birr at Community Vet, for doing such a good job! Hey there Rudy, you cleaned up good, a-thump a-thump thump, you make our hearts skip a beat. You thought nobody wanted you before? Just wait, everybody is going to want you now!
The first picture is of Katie before her surgery, the second two are of Katie two days after her cherry eye surgery. Katie looks like she is laughing because she is so happy to have been rescued. No more backyard breeding for you little gal, we are going to find you a proper home as a much loved pet, your working days are over.
Thank you to The Hogan Foundation for helping us with the cherry eye surgeries! Now we just need to raise funds for medical boarding and then for general boarding for all of these new kids.
Duke, you are too skinny, who let that happen to you little boy? Don't worry, you are safe now. We are going to find you a great home and you'll never have a hungry tummy ever again! Hey, look at the bright side, at least you didn't have to get cherry eye surgery this week like the rest of the new kids.
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animal rescue vs. animal brokering . . . how to tell them apart
Controversial article about the animals of Kern County/Bakersfield Shelter portrays animal rescue in a negative way.
Well, we read the article and it sent us into a fit of laughter because the idea that animal rescuers make "profit" on animals seems so ludicrous. But then we took pause and considered that the source of this article did not understand or point out that there is a difference between animal rescue and animal brokering.
Now Camp Cocker is only aware of the cockers that leave that shelter as we keep an eye on about thirty shelters within a hundred mile radius of Los Angeles. We are aware that when young healthy adoptable cockers come into the Bakersfield Shelter, they often quickly go to "rescues". We never know what becomes of the dogs, but we are aware that many animal brokers pose as rescuers, some even get a 501c3.
We take the rehoming process with as much care as we would in rehoming one of our own personal pets. We like to see the home where the dog would be living and meet the entire family, to get a feel for what dog might be the best match for that environment. Part doggie matchmaker, part doggie social worker. Matchmaking benefits both the adopters and the dogs. As much as we try, we still get it wrong some of the times, but at least we are going the extra mile to aim to get it right.
The safety and fate of the dogs is something that any legitimate rescuer is morally obligated to do. It is not optional, it is a responsibility. Any rescue group who feels they can adopt out dogs on the spot by using their "instincts" and not doing a thorough screening of the adopters, is missing the entire point of a home safety check. Sure it takes a lot of time, it is inconvenient to be driving all over the place to do home checks. And to be honest with you, for ninety nine percent of our adopters, the home check goes great. Were those home checks a waste of time? We don't think so. Because of our efforts all of those times, it saved that one dog whom might have slipped through the cracks and gone to a home that was questionable or a potentially dangerous situation.
The other way to spot an animal broker, besides being able to get a dog with no screening process, is to take a look at the volume of animals being re-homed. Consider the time it takes to re-home a dog thoroughly and ethically. Pouring through adoption applications can take several hours for just one dog. Then the phone interview, then the home check, then getting the dog to the adopter. Since many of our dogs get adopted out in Northern California and we are located in Southern California, it can be an entire day of driving for just one dog to get adopted. To be thorough when adopting dogs out, it requires hours upon hours upon hours for just one dog. Camp Cocker is still a very small rescue, so for us to get four to six dogs adopted out in one month is a lot for us. When we hear of other rescues adopting out this many in one week or one day even, we get a little concerned about the quality of the rehoming process.
To clarify, anyone can call themselves an animal rescuer and label their activities as animal rescue. There is an ocean of difference between legitimate animal rescue that is ethical and thorough, from animal brokering. It is disappointing to see a newspaper article promoting the idea of animal rescue being profitable. We just wish they would have pointed out that the group of "rescuers" they are talking about may be in the animal broker category, not in the same category as a legitimate rescue group like Camp Cocker.
Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 08:36PM 
