CLEVELAND — After asking for help from residents in Northeast Ohio to open up their homes to foster Golden Retrievers, G.R.I.N., the organization that rescues Golden Retrievers from puppy mills, says they have received such a large number of applications from people willing to foster Golden Retrievers that they can’t take anymore applications.
In a Facebook post, G.R.I.N asks for no more foster applications until they can get through the existing ones they have received.
The organization says they are “very grateful” and “ humbled” for the positive response they have received from people willing to step in to help. However, since writing the plea for help, the organization has received negative comments from people questioning the logic of their policies.
G.R.I.N. addressed their policies, which are posted below , as written in the post:
1. Our Service Area: We adopt out to parts of Northeast and Central Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. The reason for this is because that is where we have volunteers based. GRIN is a 501(c)(3) Non profit organization that is staffed 100% by volunteers. We process applications, conduct home visits and facilitate meet and greets. This is NOT possible to do when we do not have volunteers in a location to make those things happen.
2. Adoption Requirements: We do at times close applications when we have far more approved applicants than dogs. We get four times as many applications than dogs so we do have to manage that process. At times we may be looking for adopters who meet specific criteria based on the needs of the dogs in our care at that time. We regularly post updates on our web site under the Adoption Process tab to keep potential applicants updated on our status.
3. Fencing policy: We have received criticism for requiring fenced in yards for some adoptions. Many of the dogs coming into our care are emotionally broken or strays with a history and we have a responsiblity to keep them safe. We are taking in a number of puppy mill dogs who are terrified after having lived their entire lives in a cage with little or no human contact. These adult dogs are considered flight risks and require traditional fencing and close management. GRIN does not require fences for dogs 6 and older and we do accept invisible fencing.
4. Vet care: GRIN will conduct a vet check on all potential adopters. We will confirm the animals are current on vaccines, heartworm testing and prevention according to their vet's recommendations. If an applicant is not caring for their own pets properly they will not be approved to adopt.
5. Adoption: We do our best to match appropriate dogs with appropriate homes based on the needs of both the dogs and the adopters. We do not place adult stray or mill dogs in homes with small children. These dogs are not child tested and particularly the mill dogs can be fearful and we will not put young children at risk.
4. [sic] Our Adoption Fees: GRIN spends an average of $1,200 on each dog that comes into our care. We are not a profit center and the adoption fees are in place to help defray some of the medical costs. We have had extreme cases where the medical costs have been in excess of $6,000. We will, as an organization, do what is necessary to give each rescue the very best care.
The policies and procedures in place are not meant to be personal. We are ALL volunteers working hard together to do the best thing for the dogs that come into our care. We have been doing this for many years and have adopted out thousands of dogs into wonderful homes and have a stable of FANTASTIC volunteers.
Rescues and shelters work tirelessly together to help the dogs in need in our communities. While we are horribly disappointed by the negative and hateful comments regarding our policies we stand by them.
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