It is hard to explain to some people what and why we do what we do.  Everyone has their own notion of what Rescue is.  To some it is “there’s a dog at.. on the Internet at …, go and get it.”  To some, it is “save them all”.  To some it is “take care of the poor dog”.  To some it is “take care of my problem”.  We are some of those, we are none of those.  We certainly are not the people to collect and try to place each and every dog that shows up on some web site, which might be a Cairn or a close relative.

In our small rescue world, we deal with Cairn terriers only.  There is a whole world of rescue groups to deal with other dogs and other sizes. In fact, the size of dog we deal are part of what is frequently called the Under 25 list, that is a list of dogs that are under 25 pounds.  Dogs in that size range are frequently easier to place.  Many rescue groups will gladly take in dogs in this size range.  There are a few Rescue groups that use placing dogs as a source of personal profit, in that case, a small purebred dog is like free money.  We will never hear from them. Sometimes Cairns are referred to us by other groups or agencies but just as often they aren’t.  Sometimes agencies recognize that we will take special care with a Cairn that they are struggling with and they will call.  Sometimes we will just let them know we are out there and willing to help. Some times it is just a “come and get him”, sometimes we end up paying the same fees that an adopter will.  But, if called, we will go and get the dog. Finally, there are a few shelters which only hold dogs for a short period of time, we depend largely on local people to advise us of those situations.  If we hear about that kind of situation, we move quickly to get the dog.

Back to my subject, what it is that we do.  We will rescue or take in a Cairn terrier when there is an overriding need, or if we are that single available contact. We do not go out looking for them, in person or via the Internet.  Once we have taken a dog in, then the next part of our job starts because we want to be sure that Cairn terriers get placed in homes where they will be loved and not returned.

To some extent, that means we are not the Be All, End All for Cairn terrier rescue.  We will not take in every Cairn terrier identified at every possible source.  If an identified  Cairn terrier  is being held by an agency which is very capable of placing the dog with a good home, we simply don’t become involved.  What we will do in that case is to figure out if we have had a request from someone who might have an interest in that dog and we will notify them of the situation but that certainly doesn’t mean that we are the only ones capable of doing that task.  There are plenty of agencies which are very capable of doing that.  We do have some specialized insight into the behavior of terriers, especially Cairns but someone else can figure that out, too.

Jocko (4-7-09)

The first thing I did after looking at the link was to contact someone locally who was looking for a Cairn terrier.  This is someone who has  told us they are interested in adopting  a Cairn and they have filled our our Request form and they look like a good match.  The link says he is a mix but his picture belies that. With luck, our potential Rescuer will make a contact with the agency and end up with a fine looking dog.  It is encouraging that the agency does a temperament test and they have evaluated this dog so he will be placed with caveats.  We will not have handled the dog but we may very well may have facilitated and adoption.  If it all works out, we have helped a fine looking Cairn terrier get placed in a home where he will be loved and not returned and some person has had their Cairn terrier itch scratched.

So, Rescue doesn’t always mean we have to have the dog in hand. In some cases, our  job is only to sort through a list of potential adopters and try to find that right name, the right match to put the right dog in the right place.  Sometimes it means that we made a guess and didn’t guess right. Sometimes it means we get lucky and a dog gets placed just because we were around.  But almost always, it starts with “there’s a dog at…”.

Addendum:

I sent a note to 3-4 people in the area looking for a Cairn and told them about the dog in the picture.  One replied immediately. She went in, decided that Jocko is a mix, but still liked him.  She was seriously thinking of taking him home. While she was dithering about starting the adoption process, she walked down the aisle and spotted a wheaten Cairn male in another cage. He has been waiting for a permanent friend for 3 weeks. Bottom line, a 9 year old male is in the adopting process and will soon share a home with a little female who is pining for a departed kennel mate.  Jocko is a nice looking and much younger dog, the SPCA will see that he gets a good home.  This older boy has been waiting and the right person just showed up. A good day for Rescue.

Sometimes it means that we made a guess and didn’t guess right. Sometimes it means we get lucky and a dog gets placed just because we were around.  But almost always, it starts with “there’s a dog at…”.