Scrumpy at MT: 11-month-old blue roan girl

[gorgeouspoppy]

Sorry it didn't work out. We too had a similar experience with MT.  The guy who does the foster side had phoned us after we showed interest in a dog + thought we were suitable.  Then Sylvia decided my 10 month old son would be too much.  (His reputation must have got out! )

On a happy note Scrumpy has now been home vetted so fingers crossed she has found her forever loving home.
Jo + Poppy.xx

[mcphee]

Sorry it didn't work out. We too had a similar experience with MT.  The guy who does the foster side had phoned us after we showed interest in a dog + thought we were suitable.  Then Sylvia decided my 10 month old son would be too much.  (His reputation must have got out! )

On a happy note Scrumpy has now been home vetted so fingers crossed she has found her forever loving home.
Jo + Poppy.xx

Hope you are right. She was reserved for me and my home vetting was at 6 yesterday. I wasn't told by Sylvia that I couln't have her until about 4.15 and she did not give any indication they had a suitable home then, in fact she intimated that a home may  be  difficult to find. MT must have cancelled the home check because no one turned up. Will contact Sussex cocker rescue next week as I cannot find a cocker match at a rescue centre.

[mary w]

I’ve just caught up with this and I feel so sorry for you, and angry that you have a perfectly good loving home, the willingness to look after this little one, and yet they say it’s a no go.
All this little mite wants is someone to love and care for her I’m crying at the moment because I am so angry. If you thought you could not handle her (once you had seen her) then you would have said so.
I know MT do a very good job but I do wonder at times if they should no readdress there criteria.
I know I’m going to get into trouble now so….rant over.

Mary.

[bajoleth]

I’ve just caught up with this and I feel so sorry for you, and angry that you have a perfectly good loving home, the willingness to look after this little one, and yet they say it’s a no go.
All this little mite wants is someone to love and care for her I’m crying at the moment because I am so angry. If you thought you could not handle her (once you had seen her) then you would have said so.
I know MT do a very good job but I do wonder at times if they should no readdress there criteria.
I know I’m going to get into trouble now so….rant over.

Mary.

I totally agree with you

[Rats and Dogs]

Will contact Sussex cocker rescue next week as I cannot find a cocker match at a rescue centre.

You could also try NESSR , plus there are the Scottish spaniel rescues if you would want to travel a bit for your dog.

I understand your frustration, I've been in the same situation recently after losing Gari and being turned down for dogs who require other dogs in the home. I was quite upset at first, as I was very raw as it is, and felt I was then being punished for losing him. But when I thought about it, I realised that they are just putting the dogs first, although sometimes I wonder if they are missing out on potential good homes by being quite so strict.

I hope you find your new dog soon.

[1sttimecockermum]

Maybe they are erring on the side of caution  - I guess being returned to a rescue after a mismatch can set a dog back in its recovery so they are trying to avoid this happening  It does seem tough but I would hate to be making the decisions as to which dog goes where - there's so much responsibility to find the right home for the dog and the right dog for the new owners. 

[sharonmansfield]

I feel sad and angered by this somewhat, they say that rescue centres are bursting at the seems with unwanted dogs yet they make it very hard for genuine people to adopt.  I do also believe in fate and I believe that your perfect pup is just waiting for you to find him / her. Good luck in your continued search and I hope that we are all reading good news on here soon.
It really upsets me to see that little girl and know that she could have had a wonderful home. I know they have to be strict but come on!!!

[cindere528]

I feel sad and angered by this somewhat, they say that rescue centres are bursting at the seems with unwanted dogs yet they make it very hard for genuine people to adopt. 
It really upsets me to see that little girl and know that she could have had a wonderful home. I know they have to be strict but come on!!!

My old girl Nelly who sadly passed away on 12 May this year, also came from Many Tears. She had originally been homed to a family and a few weeks later, MT found out that she was being abused in her home. Among the abuse she suffered was being beaten with a stick by a man . To cut a long story short, thanks to my son, she eventually lost her fear of men, but she was always afraid of anything resembling a stick.

The point I'm trying to make is that MT are very very careful about who they let the dogs go to, but sometimes, a potential new owner manages to pull the wool over their eyes. When this is discovered, it makes MT even more selective about potential new homes. So please don't be too harsh on them. They are doing a fantastic job 7 days a week, for no pay. Their reward is in finding the dogs happy in their new homes.

[PennyB]

I feel sad and angered by this somewhat, they say that rescue centres are bursting at the seems with unwanted dogs yet they make it very hard for genuine people to adopt.  I do also believe in fate and I believe that your perfect pup is just waiting for you to find him / her. Good luck in your continued search and I hope that we are all reading good news on here soon.
It really upsets me to see that little girl and know that she could have had a wonderful home. I know they have to be strict but come on!!!

Rescue centres also need to be responsible in rehoming as well, plus as Mary also said it doesn't mean MT have turned anyone down here full stop just not these dogs.

Yes rescue centres are bursting a lot of the times but often they're dogs some people wouldn't look twice at - sometimes just because they're not pretty enough.

As we've said before its far better to match the right dog up with the right owner - just because someone with a good home and who's a responsible owner it doesn't necessarily mean that they are what that dog needs either due to other cirumstances and especially if that particular dog has special needs


Being involved with a rescue myself I know we would rather wait for what we consider the right home for a particular special needs dog - some dogs are easier to place and so we may be spoilt for choice and even then we're bound to upset someone because we didn't choose them.

[Harveypops]

Oh no! Just seen this. Clicked on t'internet last night to read this, but then got distracted and forgot. 

 I thought you were going to be able to have this little girl. So sorry, I hope you find a rescue soon. There's a lucky cocker out there with your name on it 

[mcphee]

Thank you everybody for your support. I think my experience has prompted a useful exchange of ideas, and has helped me make up my mind. The only possible thing I would have changed is that having made it clear on email and phone that Rufus was my first dog, it would have been better to have been told straight off that poor little Scrumpy wasn't for me. However, we wouldn't have had this debate. I am highly relieved that quite by chance I phoned and did not make the 5 hour at least journey yesterday. It was quite funny, because I had a headache yesterday, but lots of school governor work to do, and I watched Murray. Rufus did something he never does. He kept pawing me as I was on the laptop. Then, when I had finished and was watching the match, he got on my lap and stayed there for the two final sets. Not sure it he was making the point that one gorgeous cocker is quite enough, or that it was getting late for his walk. It was lovely anyway.

[julesph]

I have to say that I feel that MT do a fantastic job and that I am glad that they take so much care in rehoming their dogs.  They always put the dog first and for me that is the right way to do things.  A great many of the dogs they get in are so severely traumatised that they need to be placed incredibly carefully and being returned to rescue would set them back so badly that it is a risk that they cannot take.

  That said I do fully understand people's frustration because they may think that the home that they can offer is a brilliant one.  MT do know what they are doing though.  When we got Alice she was in a mess but it was only a few weeks later when a friend brought their children round  (we have none) that we realised that she is absolutely petrified of kids - and I mean really horribly afraid to the point where we asked our friends to leave!

Other rescues may not be as strict or as scrupulous in placing their dogs - but I wonder what the return rate is like compared to MT?

[mcphee]

I have to say that I feel that MT do a fantastic job and that I am glad that they take so much care in rehoming their dogs.  They always put the dog first and for me that is the right way to do things.  A great many of the dogs they get in are so severely traumatised that they need to be placed incredibly carefully and being returned to rescue would set them back so badly that it is a risk that they cannot take.

  That said I do fully understand people's frustration because they may think that the home that they can offer is a brilliant one.  MT do know what they are doing though.  When we got Alice she was in a mess but it was only a few weeks later when a friend brought their children round  (we have none) that we realised that she is absolutely petrified of kids - and I mean really horribly afraid to the point where we asked our friends to leave!

Other rescues may not be as strict or as scrupulous in placing their dogs - but I wonder what the return rate is like compared to MT?

I do not think any one is doubting that MT do a fantastic job, as posts frequently tell us. I do not have any argument with that, and know nothing about their success rate or that of other rescues. I am not frustrated, because after a last minute hunch, I phoned. The original lady was still saying I could have her and the home check was imminent. I would have been vexed if knowing all my details which I set out explicitly and repeated on the phone, I had had a wasted journey. Of course if the dogs had an issue, or there was something about me which appeared different from what I had said, then travelling would have been my risk. As it is, I feel quite relieved, given how serious her condition is and that the nature of the mange has not yet been confirmed. I have decided, after discussion with an agility friend who is an experienced trainer and who rehomes herself, that I will use the local rehoming service, and her good offices to arrange a more realistic introduction process.  She is looking out for a young cocker bitch for me. She has known Rufus for a couple of years and sees him weekly at agility. In this way, I am saving a local rescue from taking another dog and I do not have to take up the valuable time of MT. TBH, if I didn't use CoL, I would not have known about them anyway, so it is all for the best.

[sharonmansfield]

Hi,
I was not suggesting MT was not doing a great job, I was just really sad that after reading the threads for this little girl and thinking she had found a wonderful loving home to then come across the bit where Mcphee was told she would not be considered for the dog.  I know they have said there will be other dogs she could be suitable for in the future.  I was just not seeing the bigger picture.
 I apologise if I offended anyone this was not my intention I just felt frustrated I guess about this poor little dog. I do understand they have to be careful where they place these dogs and what I find shocking is what PennyB said about someone pulling the wool over their eyes I just don't understand why someone would go to the great lengths of getting a rescue dog, because lets face it its not easy to get a rescue and then abuse it. They need beating with a stick themselves. I was speaking to my vet on Friday and he was telling me how they had had puppys left on the doorstep and how he gets asked to put down day old puppys (not that he does he was just telling me what gets asked of him by heartless cruel people) There are some vile people out there. My comments about rescue was also based on when my mums friend lost her border collie she decided to get a rescue and was told she was too old at 58, she and her husband are both retired and love walking and are experienced owners of border collies they were devastated as they did not want a puppy they wanted an older dog. However fate intervened and they happened to find a stray collie or rather she found them by wandering about in their road they took her in and reported to the right people that they had her, but no one claimed her, so they kept her. From this experience I have it in my mind that they can be too fussy but then I don't see it from the rescues point.
I hope that the right dog comes along soon and again apologies for my rant.

[julesph]

It appears that MT would consider the beautiful black cocker girl Wist to be an only dog.  So if you are still looking....