anyone have negative dealings with Bkln animal foster networ

Who runs that organization? I think I might know the person, but I don't want to say more without knowing for sure that it's the person I'm thinking of.

In my experience, people trying to find homes for animals will definitely minimize any problems. I adopted two dogs from people involved in a similar kind of rescue/foster operation, and both times there were fairly significant problems that I was not told about. One dog was basically untrained and had pretty significant behavioral problems, and the other had health problems that cost lots of $$ to resolve -- and, he was not fully housebroken. I love my dogs, I've had them a long time now, and all these problems have been resolved, but I think there should have been full disclosure about what exactly I was getting. I'm sure the rescuers do this because they hope that the adopter will fall in love with the animal and do whatever it takes to keep it.

I'm all for animal rescue, and all for people adopting rescued animals. It is certainly understandable that animals that have been abandoned, abused, and/or have lived on the streets would have some significant problems. As I said, I love my dogs and I certainly don't regret having taken them in. However, I do think it's irresponsible to give an animal to a new owner without disclosing any health or behavioral issues that may be present. If the new owner can't afford vet bills for a serious medical problem or can't deal with the behavioral issues due to lack of time, experience with animals, money to hire a trainer, etc., it's not a good placement for the animal and there is certainly a risk that the animal will end up back at the CACC.

And I was not saying that I expected my rescued dogs to come to me "perfectly trained." But I was not expecting and was really not prepared to deal with the fairly serious behavioral issues that were present with one of the dogs. The other dog was sweet and wonderful from the beginning but again, it would have been good to know that he was not fully housebroken (as advertised). It would have been good to know that he had health problems that were going to end up costing me lots of money. Disclosure is good, that's all I'm saying.

Rose wrote: Who runs that organization? I think I might know the person, but I don't want to say more without knowing for sure that it's the person I'm thinking of.

Laurie Bleier (sp?) runs it, I think. I've spoken to her on the phone--very nice. She was also very quick to forward my contact info on to people who were looking to place dogs in temporary foster homes. Seems like they are doing a good job. I know that they do frequent weekend adoption events where they pull a lot of dogs from the Brooklyn CACC.

True, this means that they don't have as much time to evaluate the animals behaviorally, but I think its important to just get as many off the euthanazia track as possible. My little Foxy was slated to be put down (God forbid!) at the Manhattan shelter before a rescue group pulled him.

And if things don't work out, they don't usually end up in back at the shelter because most rescue groups make you sign an adoption contract stating that if it doesn't work out, you MUST return the animal back to the rescue group, not the shelter or to another person.

I stopped by one of their fostering events - the pressure to adopt was pretty strong at the end of the day, even though I made clear I was just there to give them a little $$ and scout pups for a friend. I thought the guilt-tripping was very foolhardy, and likely to get pets placed where they really shouldn't be. "If you don't take him, he could be killed!"
I appreciate the passion, but I'm not down with the hard sell.

The above was from the adults. The band of kids they had working with them were fantastic -- 10 year olds saying things like "she's not food aggressive". They were very upfront with the behavioural issues of each dog, from what I saw . . .

Anonymous wrote: I ended up calling the City who put the crying, bleeding, eyeless cat to sleep. Anything I could have done differently?

No, you did the right thing, by making sure that the cat didn't suffer indefinitely. I don't think there is anything you could have done differently.

Steve, you're not the only one with a story like that. She definitely has issues.

Yikes! Well, I'm glad I didn't get past the initial conversation stage with her!

KM, you did a lot for those cats, more than most people would have done. You certainly showed more compassion for them than their "owner" who dumped them on the street. It's too bad Laurie wasn't honest with you from the beginning. After paying the vet bills, you may have found that there were still more hoops to jump through.

topics like these break my heart... why can't people spay and neuter their pets? WHY WHY WHY?

KM, have you been in contact with the trap, spay and return people? at least it would give the kitties some vet care, and they won't be reproducing

kensingtonmom wrote: [quote=brooklynpotter]topics like these break my heart... why can't people spay and neuter their pets? WHY WHY WHY?

KM, have you been in contact with the trap, spay and return people? at least it would give the kitties some vet care, and they won't be reproducing

I haven't but i thought that I have to trap and bring the cat to the vet and pay for the bills? I haven't brought my own cats to the vet in 2.5 years so I think they have to go first. The one cat is SOOO friendly I can't believe I won't find him a home.

i don't think you have to pay; i've seen ads on craigs list. you might want to do a search over there.

homeless kitties make me cry.