Rehoming vs Rescue

[southcalihedgie]

The reason why I rarely post on his site is because of the passive aggressive/ soap box comments in response to posts about owning hedgehogs, breeding hedgehogs...basically anything someone posts about is really irritating. There is always someone who has something cynical to say. This post above is a prime example. Accussing people of "bragging" if they post about rescuing and actually get compliments/ support for doing something positive. Give me a break! God frobid someone get kudos for doing something nice! :eek:

[paris26]

It's bragging any time someone posts they have 'rescued' something and they usually get pats on the back in reply.

I wouldn't call it bragging. When an animal has been "truly" rescued, it's a relief. There are many people that have helped out along the way, and who better to understand than a pet community such as this and many others. That animal has been removed from an unhealthy situation and is being given a second chance. Take Peggy's "Hope" for example. Do a "search" on this forum and a few others and you will be able to read the story. So many people were involved with that either by physically being part of the railroad, financially helping out with vet bills, or emotionally with words of support.
Those types of rescues certainly do deserve a pat on the back. :applause: I guarentee that Hope would not be alive had not been for Peggy's willingness to help a chin in need.

The whole reason I started this thread was to differentiate the usuage of "rescue" vs "rehoming" because they usually are not interchangeable.
Thanks to all who have contributed thus far.

[Aqua-Net]

My interpretation of what Tamiko was saying was that that not all so-called "rescues" were truly rescues. I just got a new little girl a few days ago from someone who had posted her on craigslist.com (of all places). She could definitely use some more socialization and wasn't eatting the best food for her, but nothing life threatening. It was just some guy that decided he needed to get rid of one of his three hedgehogs. Would I call her a rescue? Not in the least. She had a good home--probably even better than some pet store hedgies--but she was rehomed. I don't feel like I deserve credit for that when there are people that literally save the lives of hedgehogs as well as socialize them into loving pets.

[Love4Hedgies]

What an interesting topic! My only "rescue" was Molly. I guess you could call it a rehome but she was in bad shape. It was not that the people were not nice but she was kept in a hamster cage, no wheel, no real hidding space, being fed dog food, on the wrong kind of bedding, very gross yucky water bottle water (I have no idea how old it was but it was nasty), was being called a male when she was a female, was sitting on top of a loud tv, and hadn't been handled in over a month. In my opinion, that is boardline rescue. Had she been left like that for much longer who knows how long she would have lived. I do understand how some can blurr the lines between rescue and rehome though. It is a thin line unless you really understand the definitions of the two. :)

And Southcalihedgie: I think a lot of people were really happy that you rescued those two hedgies (a true rescue). How are they doing by the way??

[yourmine]

I'm not sure how do catagorize Calli, the little girl I took in recently. At first, before I had actually seen her, I was considering it a rehome. I thought it a bit odd that someone would offer her up as a trade for a washer and dryer, but otherwise, I didn't have any idea if she was being mistreated or not. Then, once I saw her and the huge mass on her chest (not to mention her inability to get water out of the water bottle, the poor quality of her food, the cedar shavings, and her severe low weight), I immediately started thinking of her as a rescue. However, now that I know that the growth isn't anything serious and she has put on weight (over 100 grams already!), I'm not sure what to call her. I still tend to think of her as a rescue though since I'm not sure how long she had been so severely underweight.

[Kerrie]

In my opinion that would be a re-home. The owner was offering her up for sale or trade. You knew nothing about the conditions she was in when you got her, so to me..that is not a rescue.

[shirleytx]

I have pulled many animals from animal control facilities (guinea pigs not hedghogs) and I classify them as rescues. Most AC's have their small animals in very bad conditions and they are there on borrowed time. If animal rescue groups did not pull them they would be put to sleep.

[ejw829]

I always considered my first two hedgies to be rehomes. I adopted them from rescues. The first was not neglected; her original owner did not have the time for her. The second was more of a rescue; her original owner was not providing the proper care due to illness. Both were taken in by caring folks from rescues, given time to adjust and eventually we found each other.

The next 3 hedgies were pet-store purchases. They were all being kept in adequate conditions (food, water, bedding, a pigloo inside a cage). However, they were all victims of the typical pet store mismanagement: no wheels, pet food deemed by most HH owners as innappropriate at best AND males housed w/ females. In a sense, I rescued them by giving them proper homes. However, it was a purchase, plain and simple.

There is a clear difference between rescuing (taking an animal out of an extremely unhealthy/dangerous environment), rehoming (taking in an animal to ensure it gets proper care) and hoarding. The last has not been broached but some folks are collectors. Not just out of interest or concern -- but as a possible side effect (for lack of proper terminology) of mental illness or loneliness.

Regardless, if you are taking good care of your animals or offering to take good care of animals who need it, that's a good thing.

[ejw829]

I have pulled many animals from animal control facilities (guinea pigs not hedghogs) and I classify them as rescues. Most AC's have their small animals in very bad conditions and they are there on borrowed time. If animal rescue groups did not pull them they would be put to sleep.


Interesting point. Several months ago while browsing PetFinder I came across a solitary rat being offered for adoption by a local shelter. The shelter admittedly did not have the means to take proper care of him/her b/c they only dealt w/ dogs and cats.

Fortunately, it seems that there is a decent amount of networking in my area that allow small animals (rabbits, rats, GP's, etc.) at large to be taken in by smaller shelters/foster homes for species-specific care. If I had more time and money, I'd like to be able to do that to ease the burden.

[paris26]

There is a clear difference between rescuing (taking an animal out of an extremely unhealthy/dangerous environment), rehoming (taking in an animal to ensure it gets proper care) and hoarding. The last has not been broached but some folks are collectors. Not just out of interest or concern -- but as a possible side effect (for lack of proper terminology) of mental illness or loneliness

I didn't want to bring hoarding into this topic, but it is always at the back of your mind when dealing with animals. Who says how many animals is too many? Where do you draw the line? How do you screen for hoarders? Definitely a great topic for another thread.