I think home checks are a good idea in general, but think they are getting a little too personal with the employer and income questions. I assume its just to make sure they have a stable source of income to provide what the pet needs... but still think its a little much to require information about.

I also don't see the need to get so upset about it. If you don't like the requirements of the rescue, don't deal with that rescue. If you found your perfect pet and can't possibly give them up... suck it up and let them approve your home.

Most places who do home checks aren't actually juding them specifics of your home, they just want to make sure it will provide the RIGHT place for this particular pet. Living in a tiny one bedroom apartment won't make you a bad pet owner... but it might not be the right environment for a very large high energy dog. They may not ask specifically about pools, fences, etc but will make note of these things during the home check and probably ask about them in an interview.

Home checks aren't meant to be an invasion of privacy, they are 100% in the best interest of the pets in rescue.

 

Having spent many years in rescue and doing adoptions, I understand the need for carefully selecting prospective homes. But I think some of this is a bit much....

You definitely don't want to place a huge dog in a small apartment and the home check is reasonable, because the reality is...people lie. Way more than I'd like to think. I've seen many pets come back because the shelter I worked for didn't do home checks or always check with landlords or vets.

As far as I'm concerned, references are useless and don't know why anyone bothers with them for pet adoptions, jobs, etc. You won't give a reference that's going to say anything bad. Unless you're very skilled at questioning them and interpreting answers, you get very little out of them.

I understand why a rescue would want to ensure that someone is financially stable, but I don't think they're entitled to know how much you make. And I think it's going too far to even confirm employment. I think you can get a sense about the financial situation from the conversation. I know I could, and then would make sure to initiate conversation about how much it costs to own a pet and bring up all the things they might not have thought about.

As far as her comment about not allowing strangers in the house, but I think she's being a bit paranoid. Exercise caution, don't agree if the person gives you a bad vibe and even if you get a good vibe, make sure there's a couple adults in the house when they come. Her kids are probably scared of their shadow when they're anywhere but home.

 

I agree with Lisa. I gave my employer's name, but I don't think they asked how much I made. I did lie, too. I said I owned the home I live in. I didn't even have to lie, but my landlady's mother was dying and I simply didn't want to bother her. But considering that the adoption agency had Charlee and Cali's names mixed up, their birth dates wrong, and had them listed as living in separate foster homes and NOT related, I figured they wouldn't check.....

For a dog, I think a home visit is warranted. I have friends who have dogs in apartments and with every few exceptions, I don't think it's fair to the dog.

 

When I adopted Arianwen, I was glad that Safe Dogs By The River rescue did a thorough hame check. To me, this indicated a high level of care.

I remember the adoption questionnaire/contract being long, but don't really remember details, except that they were strictly against declawing. I liked that.

 

It's not on to ask financial details.. I mean who will care?

Home checks are necessary, but some people could do with training on what's sensible (or not) to ask. Ours lasted about half an hour, with most qns focused on the area and who would be at home etc.

The poster in question sounds completely paranoid though... "strangers are not welcome" wth? LOL. Wouldn't want to be those kids. "no honey you can't have a friend over, his parents might have to come in the house and they're STRANGERS".

 

I do a lot of homechecking, mostly for dogs but for cats & other animals too. I think they are important, and the fact that a potential new family is happy to have one means a lot in itself. It usually means they have nothing to hide and are serious about giving your animal a good home.

My homechecking is pretty informal and relaxed, with a set of set questions adapted to the individual. I ask job title and working hours, but not employer. I wouldn't ask a persons salary, but I do clarify that they understand the potential costs of caring for the animal and how they are prepared to cope with potential large bills. If the family have children I always ask that they are present so I can explain to them why I am there and why it's important.

I would never rehome a dog these days without homechecking - I need to know that the home & garden are safe for one of my rescues, and that the dog will be cared for properly. I also often carry out post homing visits if there is anything I have doubts about.

However, I am not too strict and nowhere near as strict as many rescues. If I have a problem with a family, I give them ways to remedy it or an alternative option. For example, many UK rescues refuse families who work full time - I recommend the services of a dog walker and recommend an adult already used to spending time unsupervised. Again, many families with young children are refused - I ensure I meet the kids and match the family with a dog that suits them, and recommend classes that they attend as a family.

 

I think home checks are definately necessary but some shelters really do go overboard - particularly the smaller independent ones (in my experience). I agree with Jessie - if you dont like their policies, adopt from somewhere else. I refuse to go anywhere near my nearest animal shelter because they have such droconian rules. I also know precisely which shelter I'll be heading towards when I want to adopt another cat or dog because they have rules I feel comfortable with.

As a side note -theres no way in heck I'd tell some stranger how much I earn!! None of their darn business!! I'm employed and I've worked out I can afford an animal. Thats all they need to know on that score.

 

The thing that amuses me is that the rescue places care so much for the animals, that they don;t realise that they could be turning away perfectly decent people (like Allie for eg) because they're so strict. I mean we wondered what we were getting ourselves into when we first went to the Blue Cross place. It really was as if they didn't trust us to be intelligent sensible people.

 

I think home checks are necessary, and if they didn't do them, I'd be afraid of the condition the animal could end up getting right back into. The only way to find out that information, is to ask the necessary questions. That said, I do not agree with the depth they went into requarding the financial status of the potential adopter. Simply to ask if they are currently employed, possibly where they are employed, tell them on average how much it costs to care per year for that particular animal, and ask them if they are financially in a postion to take on that cost, would be sufficiant I would think. It would be about as much as I'd be willing to answer.

 

this may be contrary to what's been written, but I think many breeders ask invasive questions because they are reluctant to give the animal up, so they need a polite way to turn you down. no breeder is going to say you can't have their dog simply because they don't like you. it's much easier to say they think your home is too small, or you are away at work too long to care for their charge. in my case, for years I negotiated adoptions with breeders who asked all kinds of stupid questions, until I found one who had a good feeling about me, and didn't feel the need to ask many questions at all. - she just trusted her instincts, and knew I would make a good home for her cats.

 

I seem to recall that your breeder was quite rude, Petspy.....

unfortunately this breeder is all business,
and not forthcoming on a lot of information.
she seemed oddly offended when I asked to
measure the cat's height and length, and I
was lucky to even get her to admit what food
and litter she was using.

 

marie; not rude, just evasive.
recently I asked her how often
the cats would vomit with her,
and could not get any answer.
but no matter, I have the cats,
and I'll deal with their mess ups.

 

Do they have names yet?

 

OT: I'm kind of in a cat naming limbo...
I'm not crazy about their original names,
and don't have much use for my new names.
I live alone, so I don't have opportunities
to refer to them by name to anyone else,
and I don't gossip with friends I have cats,
so I just call them "he" and "she" for now :?

 

Careful...or you could wind up with He and She as permanant names! We had one named Outside Kitty when I was a teen. My feral that I spent years taming, my hubby would say; "Hey, that Pretty Green Eyed cat is on the patio again." Pretty Green Eyes became her name, Pretty for short. I have one right now whose nickname stuck as his proper name: Floofy.
I'm just sayin'... :wink:

 

Oooh, I like Sheherazade and Schariar for those two kitties.

http://www.wic.org/artwork/shehera.htm

 

Great link, Smir!