I lost my last Springer, Dunstan to bladder cancer in 2009. By late January of this year I found myself searching the ESRA (English Springer Rescue of America) website. Having had two Springers I am extremely partial to the breed. So I emailed the regional director telling her my story. In closing, I said that if a middle aged Springer came along that got along with cats but was having trouble finding a home for reasons other than behavior, I would be interested in adopting.
She promptly emailed me back and said that I sounded like a wonderful prospective forever home, but that nothing could be done until I completed the formal online application. So I went back online and submitted the form which included a personal reference and my vet, both of which are required to be contacted. I was again quickly contacted by the organization. This time the email was from a volunteer named Kathie, who was assigned to conduct the telephone interview and home study. By now I had realized that adopting a pet through a rescue organization was very different from going to a shelter. It was going to be much more like adopting a child.
Laying the groundwork
By chance, I had met Kathie years earlier at the dog park with Dunstan. We also go to the same vet and she remembered seeing me there shortly after Dunstan was diagnosed with cancer. She recounted these meetings in her email and went on to explain the adoption process. First there is an extensive telephone interview. The purpose is to determine if the applicants are genuinely interested in adopting, what sort of home they would provide and what type of dog they are looking for. That is followed by a home visit.
As I’ve grown to know the organization, I have become very impressed with the efforts it goes through to make certain it finds the best possible placement for both the dog and the new owner. The dogs come to the organization from many different sources. Some have had their owners pass away, others had been found in shelters and some have been rescued form puppy mills. Because of this economy, many have been given to the organization because their owners can no longer afford to keep them.
They are placed in an ESRA-approved foster home and given complete checkups by a veterinarian. Their immunizations are brought up to date, any medical issues resolved and they are spayed or neutered if needed. Each dog’s foster home evaluates his or her personality and needs.
These individual traits are taken into account when considering an adoptive placement. ESRA will not accept or place dogs that bite. The fostering process makes certain that the dog is ready for a new home.
In my case, Kathie expedited the telephone interview since she knew my background. She then conducted the home study. We spent most of the time talking about our Springers. She brought along a young female she had adopted that had been rescued from a puppy mill. This is standard procedure. It gives the interviewer a chance to see the applicant interact with an unfamiliar dog. Her companion was very good at getting me to scratch her tummy. The cats, however, were not at all pleased.
The perfect match
About this time a Springer came to the attention of the organization that had lost both of his owners. But it turned out that he did not like cats and needed a home with other dogs. I was in no rush. I did not count on the determination of the organization. The regional director knew of a Springer that had been rescued from a shelter in North Carolina. His initial foster home had been with the regional coordinator for the Carolinas. He had since been placed in a foster home with cats. He met my criteria. His hip had been shattered in a car accident years earlier and he walks with a limp. He was also in need of gaining much needed weight, so no one had expressed an interest in him.
I had a long talk with the coordinator in North Carolina. She said I sounded like a good placement, but the final decision was up to his current foster parent. So I sent off pictures and called his foster mother. We had a good conversation and she agreed on one condition: If for any reason the placement did not work out he was to be returned to her.
So in February of this year I drove to St. Augustine. There I met the ESRA volunteer from North Carolina who had transported him there. I signed the adoption contract and Tucker and I headed home together the next day.
He has since gained 15 pounds. The cats no longer hang out on top of the kitchen cabinets. I have joined the ranks of ESRA volunteers and do telephone interviews.
Adopting a rescue has turned out to be incredibly rewarding. And the process helped find the right home for him and the right dog for me.
