― To Kill a Mockingbird
That’s a convoluted way of saying this: if a rescue/shelter has a goal of putting out a specific number of animals, they may (unconsciously or not) let some health and behavior issues slip under their radar. If their goal is to only put mentally and physically healthy animals up for adoption, their first thought is their community as a whole, not one dog in particular.
Now, listen, I’ve worked in shelters, and I’ve made a lot of really hard decisions. And every one of those decisions was because I felt it was the best for the community (my family, my neighbors) and for the animal. There are certainly plenty of shelters that fall in the “no kill” category that are doing a good job of selecting only safe and healthy animals to head out into the community. I’m not saying to avoid them – when you look for your next family member, you want to cast your net as wide as possible.
What I am saying is that no matter where you go, you want to learn as much as you can about how that animal was deemed adoptable. The biggest issue for your family is how well that dog or cat works in your family and neighborhood, not the politics of the shelter.
So you need to know if the animal has a bite history – that is, has the dog ever bitten a human, for any reason. If the answer is yes, what were the circumstances? I might be willing to forgive a dog or cat that was defending themselves from a truly frightening situation. How serious was the bite? Was it only as intense as needed to get the animal out of danger, or did they bring a gun to a knife-fight, as the saying goes?
In other words – was a dog in a new and overwhelming situation, very frightened, and put teeth on a human without breaking the surface of the skin or drawing blood? I would likely consider that a forgivable bite. Was the cat startled by something else in the room and chose to attack a human to the point that medical care was required? That’s not an animal that I want in my home, and isn’t one I feel is likely to have much success being adopted out.
Similarly, does the animal have any other behavior issues that make life in a home unfairly challenging? Separation anxiety, that means the dog can never be alone without a panic attack, is a workable issue. I help clients with it daily, and have managed my own dog through it successfully. But it is not something I’d knowingly enter into with a new dog. Likewise, fear to the point that the dog can’t go outside, struggles to eat, and can barely move, is not likely to fit well into most homes. And we need to consider if the shelter is turning down more adoptable animals in the place of saving these dogs for the sake of a number.