Failure is something I hate.
I try to find something positive out of every failure, something I can learn and take away from the experience.
A noble concept.
But it still stings when I fail.
I’ve done a lot of rescue work in the past 20 years and can name about 100 dogs that I have placed. I’m sure I’m missing a few but I do know that I’ve placed at least that many. Out of that many, I’ve failed to find the perfect home for just two.
Bailey was placed with an older couple who left her alone out in the yard despite saying she’d be a house dog. Bailey got bored and dug under the fence day after day. When they got tired of paying the fines from the city, they returned her to me. Luckily, I found another couple who wanted a house dog and she lived with them for ten years. But then the kids developed allergies and Bailey came back to me. But this is a bit different as the family still ‘owns’ her. She just lives with me. They pay for her food and vet bills and they come out and visit quite often. So I don’t count that as a failure.
The second failed home irritates me just a bit. Maggie was just nine months old when the rescue group I was fostering her for found a home with a gal who wanted to do herding with her. The contract with the rescue group stated that if she didn’t want the dog or if she didn’t work out, she was to come back to the rescue group. I would then have adopted her personally. I do not believe dogs should be ‘pass-around packs’. Maggie, for whatever reason, didn’t work out and the gal rehomed her. I only have her word that it was a good home and a forever home.
Last Friday I was faced with another failure. I received an email from one of my puppy owners. They want to return their puppy, who is now two-and-a-half years old, because they have jobs and a new baby and no longer have time for her. Sigh. We covered this in the pre-purchase interviews.
This makes me sad on two levels. One, because I failed to do an adequate job of finding “Yellow Girl” a forever home. That’s my bruised ego talking. I want to be perfect in placing my dogs. Two, because I know that Emma will be confused, scared, and feel abandoned when her ex-owner drops her off with me and drives away without her.
So I am now looking for a new home for Emma. If she’s anything like her siblings, she is a great dog. I will post pictures of her sometime this weekend after she gets comfortable being here. The photos her ex-owners sent were anything but complimentary with bad angles and poor lighting.
I am anxious to meet her again. I am hoping she has no ‘issues’ that have to be worked thru. I hope to find her healthy and well-adjusted.
And this time, I pray that I find the perfect, forever home for her. That is something she deserves.
Kat, I know it is very frustrating when what once seemed like a perfect placement fails. When I was doing lots of fostering I tried to put a positive spin on it when someone relinquished their dog rather than get mad over it. I kept telling myself that it was better for the owner to relinquish the dog than ignore the dog and let the suffering and neglect go on for years. If Emma’s only problem is lack of manners that should be relatively easy to fix. The fact that she is still young should also make her much easier to place. I am sure you will find a great home for her soon.
FYI – I really enjoyed meeting you and Trey at the Nationals.