WHY DO "BREED" RESCUES???

MY INITIAL INQUIRY

Hi,

I am inquiring about the Airedale Terriers you have that are believed to be from Alabama. National Airedale Rescue has volunteers around the country and I am the contact person from Alabama.

Would you mind telling me how the dogs got from Alabama to New England? We try to keep track of all the surrenders in our state, but sometimes a dog will slip through the cracks of our procedures. We would love to have them back in our state if they are Alabama dogs, if that is something you are open to doing.  We have approved families waiting to adopt.

Any information at all you can give me about these dogs will be much appreciated.

Thank you!

THEIR RESPONSE

I am angry about “breed rescue groups” that only care about their chosen breed. The shelter I volunteer with has contacted breed rescue groups several times and they always say they will only take the dogs if they are purebreds. Sometimes we have no idea if they are (purebred), but I am sick of the breed rescues that think the breed belongs to them and will fight me tooth and nail to get them, but if they are not perfect they will not take them.

MY ANSWER

Hi Michelle,

It’s sad that you have had bad experiences with breed rescue groups. I also do work with local groups who rescue all dogs, not just specific breeds, but because I love the Airedale Terrier personality and drive, I have chosen to help that breed as much as I can. Actually, mixed breed dogs are often easier to place than breeds like the Airedale, because mixed dogs are not usually as high maintenance and they tend to fit better into the average family. Mixed breeds also tend to be healthier than many pure bred dogs today because of unscrupulous breeders who breed solely due to the popularity of a certain dog, in hopes of making a lot of money. That kind of breeding too often results in unhealthy dogs with weak temperaments that should never be sold as pets to unsuspecting consumers. These dogs inevitably either bite someone or their medical bills become too great for a family to handle and so the dog gets surrendered to a shelter where their adoption possibilities are slim to none. Biting dogs are not ever supposed to be re-homed so those are put down almost immediately.

You are probably aware that Airedale Terriers are high energy working dogs that, if not given jobs to do, can quickly turn into aggressive behavior problems. It can be difficult to find adoptive families for Airedales, once people actually do the research and learn what might be facing them on down the line. I have 3 Airedales of my own, two of whom can never be re-homed (one due to biting and one due to aggression issues), and I have two mixed breed dogs that my husband and I rescued from grievous situations. One is a pit bull mix and one is a lab-beagle mix. Both of these have turned out to be the sweetest babies I could ever have hoped to find. It would have been easy to find homes for them, but we fell in love with them and adopted them ourselves.

So that’s why I work with Airedale Rescue and I imagine that’s why other breed rescues have to ask, “Is this a purebred dog?” I just know that often a hard breed like this needs different handling than a mixed breed dog does and I want their adoptions to be as successful as I can help make them.

In addition to being in rescue, I am a dog trainer, and a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for the AKC. I make sure that all dogs I take in are trained to that standard before they are placed in a new home.

You asked how I heard about the ones you have: I comb the Internet for Airedales in need of rescue and adoption. I do wish you success in your work.