You mean like creating multiple websites that concisely, in a quite educative and non-combative method, inform people of the benefits of rescue and the atrocities that are, in general, the result of breeding operations? What a wonderful idea...
No, that's been done very well here and on numerous other websites. I'm talking about educating the people who make the difference- the consumers in store and the employees of the pet stores, both of whom I am sure make up a significant population of this forum. If those people are being bashed for either shopping at or working in a pet store OR for supporting breeders, they are not going to be eager to support the cause of rescue because it HAS been shoved down their throats.
These days there is very little "jumping on new people" going on in the forum. Those who do jump on new people are reprimanded by the moderators; there is even a
long disclaimer for users on the top of the intro forum to not even bring up the topic. Now, if someone has been a member here and knows about rescue and still chooses to buy a pig and post about it, they will hear about it, but they are begging for it at that point.
What is your problem with people informing users that they can save dogs that are on death's door instead of all of us mindlessly saying "OH SqUeEe u got a kute puppyeye!"?
I don't have one if said user is looking for a dog. The above poster was not. Therefore there was no point in basically pointing out that s/he is, in your mind, a heartless human being for going to a reputable breeder to get her dog.
Sorry, if one comes here fishing for compliments and ego boosts, I suggest they look elsewhere.
I don't think anybody was fishing for compliments..
This website is first and foremost about guinea pig care and rescue, and there is nothing mean/rude/indignant about informing someone they can get whatever breed they want at a shelter.
I agree.
If someone chooses to participate in a public forum, they ought to expect a range of responses and be sound-of-emotion enough to handle it.
This is where we disagree. You don't seem to understand who your audience is. You are getting people who WANT to learn about caring properly for their guinea pigs and when they tell you they purchased said animal at a store, you berate them with information that points out what a terrible person they are for having done so. They already have the animal and you can't change where they got it. Educating for future reference is fine- but when these people defend their actions because they are attacked from all angles, it just adds fuel to the fire and the arguments heat up. Instead of saying "Look at all the dead guinea pigs that you just made happen" why not try something like "For your next cavy, why don't you try checking out a rescue? I'm sure there are plenty in your area." Don't tell me it doesn't happen and that it isn't happening. I've been on these forums in the past and have lurked for months.
Where do you think rescues get these animals from? The answer is incompetant owners.
Wrong. There are literally hundreds of reasons why an animal ends up in a shelter. Not all owners who surrender their animals are incompetent.
There is a reason for hoops to be jumped through; I'm an excellent owner and caretaker, and I walked through those hoops with ease.
I absolutely agree that there are plenty of reasons to have hoops to jump through. However, there are MANY rescues who make adopting an animal way too difficult just as others make it way too easy. Should I have a fence if I'm looking to adopt a dog? Sure, if the rescue wants to only adopt to people with fences and has a good reason for doing so, that's fine. But if I don't make as much money as they think I should or if I've surrendered animals to a shelter in the past, this does NOT indicate the quality of ownership that I give my animals. I personally was only turned down once by a rescue and it was because of the area I lived in (not their service area). But I also never applied to some rescues because their methods for determining me to be a good adopter were far too invasive. I've done rescue. I know how to find a good home for a dog. Is it always 100%? Absolutely not. But there are some hoops that are just not necessary. I adopted two dogs to owners who did not have a fenced yard- and one was even a college student! Both were people who had trouble getting dogs because of their lack of a fence. The first owner competes with their dog in agility trials now and brings her with them to work every single day. The second owner also brings their dog to work- he is the superintendent of a golf course and it is the dog's job to chase geese off the land. These are people that many rescues would have turned down. Those are the bad hoops that I'm talking about.
I am beyond thankful that rescues have the standards and sense to vet their potential adopters before handing out pets. Sending a rescued animal home with a miserable owner is not rescuing.
I agree.
Sometimes it takes a little effort to do the right thing. I'm sorry that you know thousands of people unwilling to put in that effort, and I'm happy to know hundreds of pet rescuers who aren't lazy.
I known plenty of people willing to put in the effort but the effort they put in wasn't enough for some rescues. That is not rescuing responsibly.
