Same-Day Adoptions: The Pros and Cons

There  are countless charities in the welfare sector and while they all have a  common goal, they all do things slightly differently to one another.

However,  while this is very much the case, one practice that seems to occur in  many instances is the practice of pushing same day, or very restricted  deadline, adoptions.  But is this a problem, and why?

There  is nothing more exciting, and nerve wracking then adopting a dog (or  any pet for that matter!) and once you’ve chosen your to-be hound it can  be all too easy to get carried away in the moment and get talked into  taking them home there and then.  The trouble is when we let our hearts  overrule our heads, reality usually comes along to slap us in the face!

Before  you can even consider taking your to-be hound home, there are countless  things to consider and organise, and things to buy to prepare for their  arrival…but most of all, you want to be certain it is the right course  of action, that it’s the right hound for you and that you are prepared,  informed and have support in place.  If you don’t, there is a high  chance that you will end up returning that hound to the rehoming centre.

It's  important to remember that, for most greyhounds, they have never seen a  house before.  They have spent their formative years in kennels and  running free in paddocks.  They are not house trained, they are not  separation trained, they are not familiar with the normal day to day  experiences, and they also don’t know who the hell you are.  You are  effectively a stranger to them, and there is no foundational trust  there, which means problems are bound to arise if you aren’t careful.

Imagine  it’s your weekend off work, you’ve been thinking for a while that you’d  like to adopt a greyhound.  You arrange to go and view dogs on the  Sunday morning, you fall in love.  You found your dream hound.  You get  swept away in the moment and you get pushed into agreeing to a same-day  adoption.  

Before you know it,  you’ve got this strange dog loaded into your care and you’re being waved  off as you drive home.  You get home that afternoon and have got until  you get up to go to work tomorrow morning to get that hound settled in.   You can’t.  It’s a physical and mental impossibility.  You finally get  them to settle for the night by sleeping on the sofa downstairs with  them, and just about manage to get your life organised Monday morning as  you have to adjust your normal routine to accommodate walking and  feeding your hound.  You then go to work.

A  couple hours later you get a phone call from your neighbour.  Your dog  has been barking and howling non-stop.  You go home at lunch to check on  them and they’ve destroyed the house.

What do you do?

What do you think could have been done differently?

This  is a true story.  Same day adoptions do not allow people to prepare,  and while restrictive deadline adoptions are somewhat better, they still  don’t allow people the time to really get their lives organised.  Last  we checked; most workplaces won’t allow you to book holiday time with 72  hours’ notice, so how are you to get your hound settled in?

Here are just some of the factors to consider before you take your new hound home:

-  Booking Annual Leave: Most workplaces need a notice period to book  holiday time, be it a week, three weeks or more.  Unless you have a very  amenable (or dog loving) manager, chances are you are not going to be  able to take last minute leave should you decide to take on a dog  without any forethought.
You need to book enough leave to get your hound familiarised and comfortable in the home and routine.  

Even  for hounds that have been in homes before, such as those that have been  fostered or have bounced back from previous adoptions.  While they will  be more familiar with the sights, sounds and smells of home living,  they won’t be familiar with your home and routine, so they need just as  much time to settle in.

You will  need to house train them and build up their separation training ready  for when you return to work…otherwise things will end up very poorly  indeed.  While most greyhounds pick up on house training pretty much  immediately in the first days of settling in, you want to have a  consistent and positive period of house training (even after you think  they’ve cracked it) to avoid them going backwards down the line.

-  Shopping: Trust us when we say you don’t want to be having to do an  emergency run into the pet shop one the way home from the rehoming  centre while the dog waits in the car.  You most definitely do not want  to be taking them into the shop!  
Not only will you  end up spending far more than is necessary in your excited rush round  buying things you don’t need, but there is also no guarantee you will be  able to get the things you actually need.  Traditional pet shops do not  stock raised feeders that are of a height suitable for greyhounds, nor  to they sell greyhound coats.  

Logic  would suggest careful planning before taking your hound home.  Making a  list of essentials and shopping around to get the best deals…getting a  hound is expensive enough, you don’t need to be throwing money away that  you don’t need to!

- Find A Vet:  This is important.  Not every vet is greyhound-savvy, so it’s important  to do your research, find and register with a vet in advance of taking  your hound home.  Since covid, and the enormous increase in pets  nationwide, many vets are unable to take on any more clients and have  waiting lists to be able to register.  You cannot be without a vet, so  you want to make sure you have one available to you before you adopt.

-  Support Network: Before you even start looking at dogs you should be  talking to your friends, family and researching dog walkers/sitters in  your area to ensure you have a sound support network in place for  emergencies.  
In an ideal world you want to have at  least one human on hand, that has a key, that can check on your hound  should you get stuck at work, end up in an accident or otherwise can’t  make it home or have to go out for an extended period.  It doesn’t have  to be friends of family; you can hire the aid of a dog walker/sitter  even on an ad hoc basis.  A responsible rehoming centre will ask if you  have a support in place before adopting.

-  Clear The Calendar: While taking a hound home is exciting and you’ll  want everyone in your life to meet them…don’t.  You want to clear your  calendar of any events, parties, BBQs, family visits or holidays for the  first three weeks at least, ideally longer depending on the confidence  of your hound.  If you know you have a getaway booked or a wedding that  you have to attend in the early weeks of settling your hound in…you  would be better off putting off the adoption date until after so you can  ensure a smooth transition for the hound.  

-  School Holidays:  Are there school holidays coming up?  For people that  work in education, the holidays are the perfect time to settle a new  hound in.  But there is a potential downside to this approach depending  on how long the school holidays are.

The  first three to four weeks are crucial for settling a hound into their  new lives.  So, if you’re settling the dog in over say a one- or  two-week school break for instance, you’ll be two weeks into this  crucial period and suddenly the routine they were just getting the hang  of changes!  In fairness, most of them take to this fairly well, but not  all hounds are able to adapt quite this quickly.  We have found that  the reverse to this situation tends to be of bigger impact.  Where the  hound has gotten used to having peace and quiet throughout the day but  then the children break up from school and suddenly, they are there all  the time!  

We have seen this  result in quite dramatic behavioural issues, and one hound in particular  springs to mind.  He was just into his third week of settling when the  children broke up from school.  Suddenly, his routine was out the  window, and he couldn’t get enough sleep from the kids being in the  house during the day.  The change of routine, as well as the sleep  deprivation, resulted in him demonstrating defensive behaviours and  becoming unaccepting of the children.  Sadly, he was returned to the  rehoming centre as he was frightening them…but could this have been  avoided?  We’ll never know.

Greyhounds  can be quite sensitive to changes in their routine in the early weeks,  but, if handled carefully, you can avoid any issues developing.

There  are likely several other things to consider, but the moral of the story  is that should you fall in love with a hound, don’t get swept up in the  moment.  Ask to go home and sleep on it, at the least, so you know you  aren’t rushing into a decision you may come to regret later!  

You might find you wake up the next day and realise that perhaps the hound isn’t even the right fit for you!

If  the rehoming centre that you’re dealing with refuses to allow you time  to consider this life changing decision, be sure to put that red flag in  your rear-view mirror and don’t look back.  Taking a hound on is upward  of a 10-year commitment, and not something that should be done on a  whim.

Don’t let anyone pressure  you.  If the rehoming centre believes you are a good home, they won’t  want to waste that opportunity by pushing you into something you aren’t  prepared for.  One night, a week or two weeks wait may not make a  difference to the hound while it’s waiting in the kennel, but it sure as  hell will make a difference to their life once they come home with you.

Be prepared, be informed and most importantly, be certain.

The  only ‘pro’ to same day adoptions is to the kennels having to feed one  less dog that day…but if the hound is returned, they’ve not done anyone  any favours.