British Chihuahua Club Rescue Association

The Dark Side of Breed Rescue
by Sylvia Fresson, former BCCRA Secretary

As a 'novice' rescue co-ordinator for the British Chihuahua Club Rescue, having only been actively involved since November 2000, following the retirement after 13 years of Miss Iris Fairs and Miss Eileen Scaggs, my first reaction to being asked to write an article on rescue was "What can I contribute, that hasn't already been said?"

A regular exhibitor/'hobby' breeder since 1988, I have always supported rescue raffles and events, seeing, in my mind's eye, lots of lovely, happy little rescue Chihuahuas, of all shapes, sizes and types, being successfully rehomed, to live out the golden years together with their doting new owners. This might be one's ultimate aim, but, in my hitherto brief encounter with rescue co-ordination, the dark side of breed rescue has become painfully obvious.

The term 'rescue' is a broad-spectrum one. To me, to 'rescue' an animal is to remove it from an environment in which it is being abused, neglected and/or ill-treated . 'Rescue' should not be confused with 'rehoming'. Very often breeders, who primarily breed to show, choose to rehome animals that have been used in their breeding programme, or animals that have finished their showing career. This is not necessarily a callous thing to do, as it is better for a dog to have a lap to sit on and lots of cuddles, rather than to be one of a large number. It is, therefore, soul-destroying for a breeder, who has acted responsibly, to hear it inferred that an animal "has been rescued from the (wicked) breeder"!

Breeders should be careful about selling a puppy or young dog to elderly people - my advice is to ensure, before doing so, that there is plenty of reliable family back-up and to stress that, should circumstances change in the future, YOU, as the responsible breeder, would be happy to take that animal back for rehoming, should the need arise. The same applies to rehoming a young rescue dog. I am definitely not an ageist, being the wrong side of 55 myself, but this point was brought home to me when I was contacted by the family of an elderly couple, with whom I had rehomed two longcoat bitches 7 years ago. The wife had died, the husband had developed dementia and, by the time I was contacted, the bitches were grossly overweight, claws growing into their pads, teeth broken off to gum level in one case and hanging out of a severely ulcerated mouth in the other. They had not been out of the house for months. They are now happily rehomed, losing weight and thoroughly enjoying a life of luxury with their new owners.

We have had a case of a dog that had, from puppyhood been the constant companion of a young lady. Her circumstances changed, in that she married and had a baby. The dog had become so dominant and possessive of her, that he would attack anybody who came into the house and subsequently had to be rehomed, as he was attacking the child. He now lives with an elderly, single lady, who he has accepted, but there is still a long way to go. Hopefully, with our help and support, she will be able to gain his total confidence and turn him into a happy and trusting little dog. There are, thankfully, people who are willing to take on a problem or disabled dog, as these are seen as a challenge and enormously rewarding when rehabilitation has been achieved.

Then there was a puppy with possible patella luxation, bought through a free advertising paper. Once the new owners realised that vets' fees could be involved, the puppy was left at a veterinary practice, away from their area, with the instruction that it be destroyed. Thankfully this was not done and the little chap has filled a gap left by a much-loved pet, with the new owner's full knowledge and acceptance of the condition.

The plight of breeding animals, living out their lives producing litter after litter, or studding bitch after bitch, in horrendous conditions, for 'puppy farmers' and back-street breeders, is another case for concern. These are often further exploited, when their usefulness has ceased, by being offered for sale as 'house-trained' pets. One such bitch was bought by an unsuspecting member of the public. Once it became obvious that she was totally un-housetrained, the new owner tried to return her to the breeder, who refused to take her back. She was then left at a rehoming centre. Fortunately for her, she has been rehomed with a loving and understanding family, where she reigns supreme!

As the BCC is a country-wide club, covering both longcoat and smoothcoat Chihuahuas, I am trying expand the idea, put forward by our Committee, of a 'rescue network' enabling BCC Rescue, in theory, to rehome a dog within a very short space of time, in any area of the UK. This would ideally consist of a chief co-ordinator, to whom a number of area co-ordinators would be responsible. They would deal with rescue enquiries in their respective areas and research suitable foster-homes, with reliable volunteer helpers generally helping with the transportation of dogs, the vetting of homes on the adoption list and performing follow-up duties on rehomed dogs. Equally important are people willing to give bereavement telephone counselling, as it is amazing how much time can be taken up by a distressed person, who has just lost a beloved companion, enquiring to replace it with a rescue dog. There is a very great need to talk and one can be on the phone for hours.

I must also stress the importance of double-checking the credentials of anybody you enlist as a volunteer helper. I had a plausible and sweet-sounding lady applying for a rescue chihuahua - any age, any temperament - anything, especially a 'problem' dog. She also offered her services as a volunteer helper. As it happened, we had a snappy dog to rehome from a well-known rescue centre. An appointment was made with this person, to meet me at the centre and to decide whether the dog was suitable for her and vice-versa. To cut a long story short, the dog was collected, in our name, free of charge, from the centre prior to the given date and had to be returned the following week, as the 'volunteer' couldn't deal with the temperament. It transpired that the dog had been offered for sale for £75 in a local free newspaper, but the animal obtained under false pretences was obviously not a saleable item! The advert had been spotted, by pure chance, by one of our breed exhibitors in that area! I wonder how much more of this goes on!

The British Chihuahua Club Rescue does not sell dogs - all we have is a space in our Adoption and Relinquishment Forms for voluntary donations towards the cost of rehoming. I have had a case of a volunteer helper, whom I had known over a period of time and had trusted, withholding cash donations and deducting their own 'expenses' before passing on the balance when prompted! This has taught me to tactfully suggest that any donations be in cheque or P.O. form, made out to BCC Rescue.

Another unhealthy situation likely to arise is that of privately-run, so-called 'rehoming centres' operating from private addresses. These do not appear in the KC Rescue Handbook, which consists of carefully monitored establishments and is distributed, free, by the Kennel Club, to veterinary practices throughout the U.K. and available to the general public, on request. They appear to operate thus: - Person A contacts such a centre, with a dog to rehome and is told that it will cost, for example, £40 to rehome the animal. Person B applies to the centre, offering a home to a dog and is told that one is available but the owner wants £40 for it. The 'rehoming centre' makes £80 on that dog! Breed rescue societies beware! Such people exist in every part of the country and are not always traceable by, or responsible to local authorities. It appears that dogs, all over the country, are being exploited from the whelping box to the grave. Anybody offering breed rescue should, in my opinion, be supported by a Breed Club.

When rehoming a dog, it is essential to place the right dog in the right home, not necessarily to the next person on the list. We have an adoption registration form, modelled on the Battersea Dogs' Home form. After an initial chat with a prospective adopter, just to ensure that they are suitable, they are asked to send a s.a.e. for a form, or to supply an e-mail address, as our form is also available online. This initially sorts out the sheep from the goats, as timewasters cannot be bothered with this first obstacle. Once a form is received from an applicant, the references (that of their vet, and somebody who has known them for at least 2 years) are checked and if the accommodation is rented, the written consent of the landlord is obtained, to say that pets may be kept on the premises. We then arrange for a local area volunteer to make a home visit. Once this is cleared, the application goes on the waiting list. Genuine applicants do not mind how long they have to wait, as they realise that rescue dogs do not come to order.

Once a dog is placed, it is essential to follow up with the occasional phone call, encouraging people to contact us for any advice or if they have any problems. This must be part of the rescue service, as it does not necessarily follow, however careful one has been to place a dog in the correct home, that the placing will be successful. Sometimes there are just teething problems, but occasionally, especially in the case of a temperamentally difficult dog, one has to think about taking the animal back and trying again. Fortunately this is fairly rare.

At this point I have to mention the placing of a dog into a less affluent home. I used to think that if a person could not afford to buy a puppy, how would they be able to afford vets' bills and the everyday costs of keeping an animal. Some poorer homes, very often older people on income support, can offer a wonderful life to a little dog. These people can resort to the PDSA for veterinary help and I would not rule out such homes, provided we can provide satisfactory back-up - after all, a dog craves human love and companionship and doesn't worry about the furnishings - lots of love, a full tummy and plenty of walks are the most essential things!

To sum up, my advice to anybody envisaging taking on Breed Rescue co-ordination, is to carefully check everybody who offers to help, bearing in mind that, in many cases, it is necessary to reimburse such expenses as fuel, phone calls and feeding costs, as not everybody who is willing to give of their time is able to finance such expenses and without willing helpers, it is impossible to operate breed rescue. Once a network is set up, there must be an overall co-ordinator, to whom everybody else reports, otherwise confusion, resulting in misunderstandings, can easily occur.

Breeders should act responsibly when selling puppies, to offer support and comeback for the sakeof the puppy - not just bank the proceeds and forget. Whenever I let a puppy go, I always ask people to let me know if their circumstances change and they are no longer able to keep the dog. I would prefer to have the dog back and rehome it myself. However, I would like to point out that there is no stigma attached to asking Rescue for help in rehoming in such circumstances, as the service exists for helping breeders as well.

Finally, although I may have painted a rather depressing picture, nothing is quite as exciting as getting the wonderful letters and phone calls of thanks, when one has placed the right dog in the right home. I am grateful for the help and advice offered by Iris and Eileen and for the support of our Committee, BCC members and members of other Chihuahua Breed Clubs who liaise with us to help our breed.