I did my first home visit, now I have questions

It was interesting to say the least, I drove 1.5 hours, not the norm for a home visit but she is applying for a special need pug, he is blind so the rescue said they would go out of there normal area to adopt him out.

Her house is very tiny,very full (very full) and not very clean but she seemed really nice and her dog was super friendly without being obnoxious and very well taken care of, she seemed to have a good rapport with him.
She had one of her previous pugs go blind on her so she put bumpers on things that could hurt if you walked into them, that was many many years ago but they are still there.
She has four cats, two ran and hid, one came out and was very friendly the other bolted when he saw me, she said they are used to dogs and pugs and they are great around them since they grew up with them and she is cautious of them as she know the pugs eyes can get hurt easier than other dogs.
I don't know if I'm judging her because her house was so tiny, cluttered and unclean, but it really was.

What is your take, you guys have done more home visits know more than I would on this.
Help

I'm sure there are others than can provide deeper insight, but I've done one house check and it was pretty filthy as well. I was told not to judge based on how tidy the place was. sure you want to look for red flags, but it's more about the person and a feeling you get. turns out the housecheck I did ended up being one of our best and most valued foster homes!

Mel wrote:I'm sure there are others than can provide deeper insight, but I've done one house check and it was pretty filthy as well. I was told not to judge based on how tidy the place was. sure you want to look for red flags, but it's more about the person and a feeling you get. turns out the housecheck I did ended up being one of our best and most valued foster homes!

That is what I am struggling with, my husband went with me, it even grossed him out which takes a lot!
But her dog was so happy and well mannered and she seemed nice, a bit odd but nice so I don't want to judge her on her house. Plus she has had experience with blind pugs.

I think it depends on the dog. If it was a puppy that is prone to chew everything in sight, eat everything they shouldn't, etc. I would be a little more concerned with cleanliness and tidiness. If it's an older, calm pug then maybe not so concerned. However, I would also want to make sure the house is clean/tidy enough for a blind pug to navigate through.

Thing is, at least she was honest about her daily living conditions. Anyone can be messy and clean up for a home check and then go back to being messy and dirty.

MackandMattiesMom wrote:I think it depends on the dog. If it was a puppy that is prone to chew everything in sight, eat everything they shouldn't, etc. I would be a little more concerned with cleanliness and tidiness. If it's an older, calm pug then maybe not so concerned. However, I would also want to make sure the house is clean/tidy enough for a blind pug to navigate through.

Thing is, at least she was honest about her daily living conditions. Anyone can be messy and clean up for a home check and then go back to being messy and dirty.

Yeah, I put that on her application, I would not let her adopt a young energic pug.
She would have had to start cleaning months ago to get rid of the amount of crap she had, at least she enough room in the kitchen and I think it was the living room on the floor that did not have stuff.
I'm talking minor hoarder.

I would just let the rescue know what you saw and how you felt. I'm assuming with all the animals that she has, someone will contact her vet to make sure that she is able to provide the necessary medical care both routine and possibly non routine. Sometimes it is hard for me when I was doing home visits because I am the type of person that does not like clutter. I'm sure many would look at my house and wonder why it appears so bare.

I am a cluttery person. It's not something I like about myself, but it's me. Stacks of stuff accumulate around me, seemingly out of thin air. There's a ledge in my kitchen that I can't seem to keep clear of stuff to save my life. I've been known to have a dirty dish or two in my sink, a cobweb or two has graced the upper reaches of my corners before I've noticed it, and I've occasionally been alerted to the fact that I haven't cleaned the floor in while by a tumbleweed of pug hair along the baseboard. So I drag out the Dyson, wipe down the baseboards, and then forget about it again.

Would I like to be tidy and clutter-free? Absolutely! Would I prefer to have my cleaning down to a well-organized rotation? Well, I guess I'd prefer a cleaning lady to do it for me, but barring that, yes! Am I likely to become that person at this point in my life? Probably not. But I am a good pug mom. I make sure that the stacks of mail/books/stuff that needs to get taken upstairs/whatever are kept out of the reach of the boys, or that they aren't anything dangerous for them.

I'm farther into the slobby end of the spectrum than many people, but I like to think that I still fall into the "normal" range. It's hard to know if this woman falls into my category or if she's all the way into the range of needing psychological help. I will say that I would absolutely not judge the tiny house, and that the bumpering she did to accommodate her previous blind pugs is a big plus.

That may not have helped much at all, but at least it's a view from little farther on the spectrum than you are!

I've done a lot of HVs and go a lot on gut feel. If you wouldn't be comfortable leaving your own pug there, I'd let the rescue know that you have reservations.

GingerSnap wrote:I am a cluttery person. It's not something I like about myself, but it's me. Stacks of stuff accumulate around me, seemingly out of thin air. There's a ledge in my kitchen that I can't seem to keep clear of stuff to save my life. I've been known to have a dirty dish or two in my sink, a cobweb or two has graced the upper reaches of my corners before I've noticed it, and I've occasionally been alerted to the fact that I haven't cleaned the floor in while by a tumbleweed of pug hair along the baseboard. So I drag out the Dyson, wipe down the baseboards, and then forget about it again.

Would I like to be tidy and clutter-free? Absolutely! Would I prefer to have my cleaning down to a well-organized rotation? Well, I guess I'd prefer a cleaning lady to do it for me, but barring that, yes! Am I likely to become that person at this point in my life? Probably not. But I am a good pug mom. I make sure that the stacks of mail/books/stuff that needs to get taken upstairs/whatever are kept out of the reach of the boys, or that they aren't anything dangerous for them.

I'm farther into the slobby end of the spectrum than many people, but I like to think that I still fall into the "normal" range. It's hard to know if this woman falls into my category or if she's all the way into the range of needing psychological help. I will say that I would absolutely not judge the tiny house, and that the bumpering she did to accommodate her previous blind pugs is a big plus.

That may not have helped much at all, but at least it's a view from little farther on the spectrum than you are!

Ginger's statement can describe me too. I can have pug tumbleweeds on my hardwood floors seconds after sweeping. Peachy has at least 15 toys in a pile on the couch right now and 5 on the floor. I pick them up and she pulls them immediately out again. It makes her feel safe and secure to have a pile of toys near her. My house is crowded, and maybe even cluttered. I had a modern 3300 sq foot house with a three car garage and a shed when I was married and a weekly housecleaner. Now that I am divorced, I have a 1950's house with less than half of the space, a tiny kitchen with barely any counter space/cabinets, a one car garage, and no shed. Organization is not my strong suit, but I try my best. And... I would say that I am a pretty good pug mom.
I always knew I liked you Ginger.

Rebecca and I can just hang out and be messy together... and drool over firemen! I'm not trying to make light of your concerns, Donna, and I'm not trying to be defensive. I think that the gut is one of the best decision-making tools out there-- just make sure that your gut is telling you the whole story in this case, rather than just reflecting your preferences.

GingerSnap wrote:Rebecca and I can just hang out and be messy together... and drool over firemen! I'm not trying to make light of your concerns, Donna, and I'm not trying to be defensive. I think that the gut is one of the best decision-making tools out there-- just make sure that your gut is telling you the whole story in this case, rather than just reflecting your preferences.

Absolutely, that is one of the hard parts of doing a visit and why we tell people to really not judge the house but get to know the person. But it's hard because you DO want to make sure it's a safe environment, so gut feeling really is key. Our place is pretty cluttered too (books, papers for work, etc everywhere), and I know I freaked out when I had my home visit done, but really-sometimes the most pristine home isn't the best for a pug (where are the toys? where will they sleep, will they freak out over an accident??)-so the weight of the person and how they treat their dog is worth more, at least to me.

Saira wrote:

GingerSnap wrote:Rebecca and I can just hang out and be messy together... and drool over firemen! I'm not trying to make light of your concerns, Donna, and I'm not trying to be defensive. I think that the gut is one of the best decision-making tools out there-- just make sure that your gut is telling you the whole story in this case, rather than just reflecting your preferences.

Absolutely, that is one of the hard parts of doing a visit and why we tell people to really not judge the house but get to know the person. But it's hard because you DO want to make sure it's a safe environment, so gut feeling really is key. Our place is pretty cluttered too (books, papers for work, etc everywhere), and I know I freaked out when I had my home visit done, but really-sometimes the most pristine home isn't the best for a pug (where are the toys? where will they sleep, will they freak out over an accident??)-so the weight of the person and how they treat their dog is worth more, at least to me.

It is funny that you mention "too clean of a house and where are the toys" If someone did a home visit for me now, they would walk in and wonder where are all the toys. I'll tell you where........Since Tinker arrived a year ago, he has destroyed about 200 stuffed animals, eaten the squeakers out of tennis balls and even chewed pieces off of rubber toys. So, we have no toys now. Poor Chyna misses having them, but Tinker not only destroys them but eats them as well. We do have rope toys that no longer have the long threads hanging of the ends because he ate those too. We do have a special bag of stuffed toys that we take in the rv when we only travel with Chyna. You also can't have any paper or books within reach or he will eat those too. If you really want to get rid of clutter in your home, I will gladly send Tinker to you so he can assist with the project. You have two choices then, you can clean up the clutter or pay for the surgery when Tinker gets an obstruction

GingerSnap wrote: I'm not trying to make light of your concerns, Donna, and I'm not trying to be defensive.

No worries there, I'm looking for all opinions on this.
I am not a cluttery person but many of my friends and family are, I get teased all the time how tidy and organized I need to be, but her house went beyond just your garden variety clutter, and that is what has me worried.
If she just had to many nick knacks then so be it but she just had an enormous amount of stuff packed up in a really really small space.
She was an odd duck but I did get a good feeling from her, it's just her house that has me worried.

Edited to say I don't want to judge her on the way she lives but it has to be taken into consideration. I did love the fact that she bumpered the handle on her bottom drawer of the stove for her previous blind pug, but what bothered me about that was it's been there for many, many, many years.
I'm going to sleep on it and call the adoption coordinator tomorrow and talk to her.

leslyeb wrote:

Saira wrote:

GingerSnap wrote:Rebecca and I can just hang out and be messy together... and drool over firemen! I'm not trying to make light of your concerns, Donna, and I'm not trying to be defensive. I think that the gut is one of the best decision-making tools out there-- just make sure that your gut is telling you the whole story in this case, rather than just reflecting your preferences.

Absolutely, that is one of the hard parts of doing a visit and why we tell people to really not judge the house but get to know the person. But it's hard because you DO want to make sure it's a safe environment, so gut feeling really is key. Our place is pretty cluttered too (books, papers for work, etc everywhere), and I know I freaked out when I had my home visit done, but really-sometimes the most pristine home isn't the best for a pug (where are the toys? where will they sleep, will they freak out over an accident??)-so the weight of the person and how they treat their dog is worth more, at least to me.

It is funny that you mention "too clean of a house and where are the toys" If someone did a home visit for me now, they would walk in and wonder where are all the toys. I'll tell you where........Since Tinker arrived a year ago, he has destroyed about 200 stuffed animals, eaten the squeakers out of tennis balls and even chewed pieces off of rubber toys. So, we have no toys now. Poor Chyna misses having them, but Tinker not only destroys them but eats them as well. We do have rope toys that no longer have the long threads hanging of the ends because he ate those too. We do have a special bag of stuffed toys that we take in the rv when we only travel with Chyna. You also can't have any paper or books within reach or he will eat those too. If you really want to get rid of clutter in your home, I will gladly send Tinker to you so he can assist with the project. You have two choices then, you can clean up the clutter or pay for the surgery when Tinker gets an obstruction

Hah!! Actually with Sophie around Ken has learned he has to be better about picking up his books from the floor-otherwise she munches on them! She destroys toys too, so we can only give them to her supervised, the boys have a horde of toys upstairs where she can't get to them. Little stinkers!

Oh and I agree with just telling the rescue everything-the pros, cons, etc. They might have more info on her from the application, emails, or calls and might be in a better position, or even have a second person do a check. We have done that before.

GingerSnap wrote:Rebecca and I can just hang out and be messy together... and drool over firemen! I'm not trying to make light of your concerns, Donna, and I'm not trying to be defensive. I think that the gut is one of the best decision-making tools out there-- just make sure that your gut is telling you the whole story in this case, rather than just reflecting your preferences.

Can I hang out with you messy girls? I better not drool over the firemen, though. I don't know if we are "messy", but our house is most definitely "lived in". I live with a farmer, a 10 year old boy and 3 dogs. I would have to clean 24-7 to stay on top of that. The house is usually clean, but I guess it's cluttered, things are out of place, mail is stacked up.

OK, Christy, I'd love to have you come hang out with us messy girls! You're allowed to not drool, but you have to at least be able to agree or disagree with us when we think one is hot! I'm pretty sure that you can get away with that much without breaking marriage vows.

Saira wrote:[

Oh and I agree with just telling the rescue everything-the pros, cons, etc. They might have more info on her from the application, emails, or calls and might be in a better position, or even have a second person do a check. We have done that before.

I was going to also suggest that the rescue might want to send out a second opinion or do follow up.

We have not allowed an adoption because the house check person did not get a good feeling, but they were on the fence about the house environment. When the couple came to look at the foster dogs in my home, they didn't want anything to do with the couple. I didn't get a good feeling about them either because the pugs were very stan- offish with them and wanted to stay on my lap.We just let the couple know they weren't a match. When the pugs found their forever mom, they were all over her. I was glad we went with our gut feelings because it was a better situation for the pugs.

Rebecca and the Pugs wrote:

Saira wrote:[

Oh and I agree with just telling the rescue everything-the pros, cons, etc. They might have more info on her from the application, emails, or calls and might be in a better position, or even have a second person do a check. We have done that before.

I was going to also suggest that the rescue might want to send out a second opinion or do follow up.

She lived pretty far away in an area that Green Mountain would normally no adopt to so a second visit would be doubtful.
It's ironic because the foster home that I picked Rupert up from was appalling from the outside, I later told my husband if it looked that bad on the porch I can't imagine what it was like inside.
I don't care that the house was small or untidy,that does not matter but all her stuff. I was watching the show Clean House, and thought of her, her stuff is not thrown all around like the people on that show, it was all pretty tidy in boxes, and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes!
I thought this would be a breeze, it was so much harder than I could have ever imagined.
Thank you for all the suggestions, I appreciate them, and can I still drool over the firemen even though I'm married?

wow you have a tuff report to fill....I am not sure that is something that I would want to do as I am at the other end of the spectrum,,, If I had someone come do a home visit I would never be allowed any dog,,,, even though I like to think that I am the best pug mum there is,,,, I LIVE ON A BOAT how awful is that..... enough said..how would you feel if you had to have this lady look after your pug, did you get the feeling she would take care and watch them carefully, and give them hugs and loving...Perhaps the bumper things were screwed on and it was easyer to leave them where they were in case she got another pug, as she is trying to do.. like I said really tuff . good luck,

judy and smu bobbing around on the ocean..

PS. oh yay include me in the drooling over the firemen hahahahaha

Well it's done, I sent my app into the person who decides now it's up to her, I was honest and truthful, can't ask for more than that.

Donna wrote:Well it's done, I sent my app into the person who decides now it's up to her, I was honest and truthful, can't ask for more than that.

Donna... thank you for giving up your day to do this housecheck. Three hours of drive time, plus the time you spent there is a big commitment. I know the rescue will appreciate your honesty. And... we would love to have you hang out with us and drool over firemen. Ginger, your pictures with Pip were my favorite of his journey.

Rebecca and the Pugs wrote:

Donna wrote:Well it's done, I sent my app into the person who decides now it's up to her, I was honest and truthful, can't ask for more than that.

Donna... thank you for giving up your day to do this housecheck. Three hours of drive time, plus the time you spent there is a big commitment. I know the rescue will appreciate your honesty. And... we would love to have you hang out with us and drool over firemen. Ginger, your pictures with Pip were my favorite of his journey.

Ditto what Rebecca said!

And I want to hang and drool with you guys too. Pretty, pretty please? Firemen are one of my favorite flavors...

pugpillow wrote:I've done a lot of HVs and go a lot on gut feel. If you wouldn't be comfortable leaving your own pug there, I'd let the rescue know that you have reservations.

What Hilary says. For me, it's the deciding factor.
Just my pennyworth.

Ginger, I've seen your house and it's normal! Jeff and I just did a MAJOR declutter and cleaning in our house. I have a small condo and sometimes the stuff gets the better of us. We had wedding, Christmas and other stuff just piled. It took his parents coming for a visit to light a fire under us to get it picked up.

But cluttered and puggy tumbleweeds are one thing. Dirt is another. Donna, I'd go with your instincts. Would you feel comfortable leaving a pug there?

GingerSnap wrote:OK, Christy, I'd love to have you come hang out with us messy girls! You're allowed to not drool, but you have to at least be able to agree or disagree with us when we think one is hot! I'm pretty sure that you can get away with that much without breaking marriage vows.

I always go into a housecheck with the mindset of "Would I leave Dyna and Darth here for a month and let this person watch them?" If I can answer that yes then they are approved. I am not looking at clutter (heck I've got clutter and dirty dishes, most people do). The housecheck is more to get to know the person/family who will be adopting. There are very few that I have denied, but when I do deny them you just know it wouldn't be a good home for a pug. One family that I did deny walked through almost every room in their house and said "The pug can't go in this room, the pug can't go in this room, these are new couches so the pug can't go on there." I was thinking where will the pug go? When talking about bathroom accidents and that that they are likely to happen until the pug gets adjusted to your schedule they said "And how do you avoid that?" I said "You don't" and that was the end of our conversation. If you get the vibe that this person will provide a good home and you would leave your pugs there, then it will be a good home for a pug Good luck!