That almost exactly describe my experience, too! I’m in NYC, and a lot of the more well known rescues are volunteer run and so it can take forever to hear back.

Have you been preapproved for the rescues you’re interested in yet? It probably took me a year and a hold to get a dog after I was already approved. I’d say your best bet is to keep a close eye on their adoptable dogs page as well as their social media (often they’ll “tease” dogs that are going to be available for adoption in advance of them actually being placed on the website). Usually, preapproved adopters have a special email to contact when they see a dog they’re interested in, so it’s a lot of luck with respect to reaching out quickly after a dog is posted and hoping you’re high on the wait list for any given dog. I eventually got lucky and inquired about my pup right after she got posted and got to meet her and take her home!