BlackLabbie:FWIW, my DH and I were rejected from a (very popular) Lab rescue in our areabecause we don't have a fenced in yard. We explained that we would leash walk and my parents- who have a huge, double lot, fenced in yard- live 2 houses away and we have permission to use their property whenever we like. Plus, I'm a dog walker/pet sitter working for myself so my dog can come to at least 1 park every single day. We have excellent vet references as well as personal/professional refrences. My job is a work from home/take the dog to work, so it could be with me 24/7. We have prior Lab experience. We would take an adult- we don't want a puppy. I agreed to obedience classes. We gladly invited a home inspection. We would send updates. We're financially sound. They still said no. No fenced in yard means no dog. Period.
That really is sad - dogs are missing out on good homes (and keeping the rescue from being able to take in other Labs) because the people in charge are so close minded. I have honestly seen rescues say you can not adopt a dog unless you have a dog door that opens to a fenced yard. The point of rescue is not to only give dogs to people who will care for them exactly as you will but to find owners who will give a homeless dog a good life. A good life doesn't mean the dog has to sleep in the bedroom or has to have 24/7 access to a fenced yard or have someone home with them 24/7 or has to eat X brand food or live with people who make X amount of money.
I adopted an Aussie out to a family that was turned down by a respected Aussie rescue, after being given the run around no less. This family has owned multiple Aussies over the years and really loves the breed. They applied with Aussie rescue after seeing a couple dogs they felt would be a good match listed on the org's page. They filled out an application and sent it in. They were told they needed a home check and agreed to it. They were then told that there was no "approved home evalutor" in their area, so they'd have to get someone approved before their application could be approved. Weeks go by and they are back and forth about the home check. They can't arrange to see any of the dogs until the home check is completed. After about three weeks, they happen to run into someone walking Aussies in a park and find out this person fosters for the org they are trying to adopt from and lives no more than 15 minutes from them. But they aren't "approved" to do home checks. They end up arranging for this person to be allowed to do their home check. Then they are turned down for not having a fence - something they were open about on their application and was never mentioned as being a problem until the home check. They were extremely frustrated about the whole thing and couldn't believe that they would be labeled inappropriate owners for the breed that they have shared their home with for 18 or so years. They gave the Aussie I was placing a great home - she had a really sad six years of being shuffled from bad to worse situations before I took her in and now she finally has a good life with owners who adore her.
We would have been turned down, without a doubt for our corgi had the shelter fact checked our application.