rules vs suggestions

I have trouble letting any of my dogs go out the door and into a new home. Always.
I am suspicious of everyone and trust no one. If I hear one syllable waiver during a conversation with applicants , I usually try to send them off to a different rescue.
There is no room in the pounds for one of my dogs. They have been through enough and deserve only the best families I can find. It may be the first applicant or the tenth before I consider a phone call. I can dispatch the unworthy by e-mail.
Yesterday has made me wonder if all my preparedness with the families is for nothing.
There were two urgent phone messages and five e-mails for me on Thursday saying that this certain family had to bring the hound pup back that they had adopted last October.
I was stunned . That's 6 months. Their excuse was that the pup wouldn`t listen and kept running away.
O`K. why is that??
Well, I had told them at the time of adoption to do some research on the breed they were adopting. I sent along a short piece to start them off from Wikipedia so they would get the idea. There were also several other articles in the adoption package ranging from Separation Anxiety to Crate Training. They assured me at that time that they would take this sweet little girl to classes to keep her socialized with other dogs and people. The classes would also show the family what the dog was trying to tell them and then everyone would be on the same page.
I don`t argue with people anymore as it only makes me angry and I say things I shouldn't`t . I sure don`t need anymore enemies in this world so I smile and tell them to bring her back at their convenience ( which meant the next day )
I have also learned to listen.
Here`s the deal.
-no crate( she was crate trained when she left and is happy to be back in one again)
so she wandered the house and got out as many times as she could because she had no guidance or safe place when she was alone. I`m not sure what all got destroyed but I bet it was alot of wood and furniture.
-they tied her out in the yard to do her business , instead of going with her( she broke her chain and went over the fence)
-no classes( The dog did what she pleased and has no leash training or recall of any kind )
She was picked up by animal control several times and luckily she has tags or she would be dead.
Could I have done more? If so, what?
I make the whole family sit and listen to me for at least 20 minutes while I go through all the reasons for the requests of fences , classes, no tie outs, crates, and so on. And that's only part of the visit. I watch how the dog is treated by everyone. I show them all how to walk with a new dog. I tell them about food and collars and love. I tell them about exercise and manners and staying socialized.
So why all at once did they want to bring this baby back?
She is frightened of her own bark. She`s too skinny. She wont leave me unless its to go into her crate. If she isn`t velcroed to me , she`s plastered up against one of my shepherds. A dogs brain is imprinted from the age of two months to five months. The crate and my dogs are part of that imprint. I`m grateful for that much.
In my heart , I know that the dog isn`t the reason that the dog came back.
Some people just don`t listen and some people have the impression that they know more about certain subjects than I do. Or choose to not give a damn. Its just a dog.
So , theres this little girl, crying her face off because she can`t have her dog anymore. That sucks large . And its the parents fault.
I`ve mentioned before that I don`t like to be told what to do. And I don`t tell adopters what to do . I don`t give them orders . I ask them to alter their pets. I ask them to crate and go to classes. Would it make a difference if I said they had to do these things? No!.
And now I wonder how many other babies I`ve sent out that are lost or dead because I made a bad choice for them.
No one ever said that Rescue was easy or simple.
I choose to keep going and keep trying to do better.
For the animals.
later