Those of us who DO desex and adopt our animals won’t come in often. I anticipate that my cats will live between fifteen and twenty years, and I will only keep a maximum of three cats in our house. Three seems to be the limit in our family. When my daughter left home and took her two cats with her, I went to the local Humane Society to get another cat to keep my 8 year old meezer company (who I got from the HS as an adult), and because the house felt empty with just one cat in it. My husband and I ended up taking one cat, for me and Sapphire, and one kitten, for him. But that was only my second visit to the HS in seven years…so I think that you won’t see responsible pet owners very often.
The word is getting out, but slowly. Of course, some people will never learn, and that’s why we will always have more animals than good homes for them.
I have 2 beagles from rescues. They have been great. Quincy was beaten and had a tooth kicked out. He had to have another removed. He has issues. He will not passively take abuse. He stands up for his doggy rights. He will do what you want, but not if you do it with aggression. My wife trains by paddling. I do not. He has no use for her.
Nordberg was kept in a yard with a chain around her neck. She had a streak of hair missing from around her neck and was being treated to clean up the infection. She was stanfoffish in the beginning ,but now is the sweetest and most loving dog I have ever seen.
We got our Max, a corgi mix, from PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving) Chicago. They’re a no kill shelter and it looks like they have locations other cities. They do behavioral evaluations on their dogs so you can do your best to match up your lifestyle with the dog’s. They also require you to attend a 6 or 8 week behavioral training class with your dog.
Max was described as a “couch potato,” and while he loves to lie around the house, it turned out that he had a lot of aggression and dominance issues. This came up after he bit his walker and a friend of ours, and my mother-in-law’s dog. None of this was part of their evaluation, but we were thankfully able to afford the time and money to do private sessions with dog behaviorist and now have Max in an aggressive dog class. So expect the unexpected, I’d say. Getting Max was one of the best decisions we have ever made – we adore him and at times question what we talked about before we got a dog. But with any animal, there may be some things that come up after a few months you might not have anticipated. But that’s the responsibility of pet ownership, I suppose.
My parents got their dog, Bob, from a shelter with a prison training program. The prisoners get a sort of rehabilitative experience out of learning to train dogs, and the shelter, in return, gets to advertise well-behaved dogs (that sell at a bit of a higher price). Bob was already named when he went home with Mom, but he was also already housebroken, and he would come when called and such. I think it’s a wonderful idea, and my parents are extremely happy with Bob. Glad to hear you’re looking to adopt from a shelter–maybe you can find one with a similar program?
The Good, the bad and the furry.. I cannot recommend it enough to give people a better clue on what to expect from the breed. They interviewed breeders and rescues.
Some dog purists get their panties in a wad when they read about their particular dog they raise ( read the comment section for the above link.) and these are people that probably think their dogs should have the right to vote, shouldn’t they, Miss Poopsie?
I am constantly amazed on how many people get a specific breed because it looks cool and don’t know jack about the hassles of that particular breed. Getting a dog because * GOSH, it looks purty!!!111!!!* is a reason why you should never be allowed to have a pet. Same goes for the morons who want a MACHO Dog. These idiots have tiny, tiny peni and probably drive a hummer, too boot.
Every breed is going to have its own special quirk ( headache.) As an example, Labs are awesome all-around dogs. They also are hardwired to play fetch, are clumsy and when they blow their coat twice a year, it is like having free range hair balls rolling across your flooring.
As a humane society volunteer who sometimes (most of the time!) feels like we are fighting a losing battle trying our best to keep our four-legged friends with us, I just wanted to say how gratyfing it is to read all of these posts about how y’all too are working so hard to keep them alive and cared for.
Working in a small county as ours, it is very easy to lose sight of the fact that it isn’t just us - it’s this way nation and world wide.
God! Can y’all imagine what chaos and disease there would be if it weren’t for animal shelters and humane societies???
Thanks for spreading the word about “Spay, Neuter and Adopt”.
My dog came from a shelter - Save-A-Pet in Grayslake, Illinois.
It took us awhile - we saw him on late night TV (Public Access - they were showing the dogs available) and asked a friend of ours who worked at Save-A-Pet if he was available. She said nope, he had been adopted.
Two weeks later, Baron was back, for the SECOND time it turned out. The first people who adopted him brought him back because he chewed on their leather couch. Which, if I was a puppy and LEFT HOME ALONE WITH NOTHING TO DO FOR 12 HOURS I would probably do too. :rolleyes:
Second people who adopted him couldn’t figure out why he jumped the fence - see they had a “fenced yard” and he jumped it because the neighbors had a dog out too. A four foot tall picket fence. THAT OUGHTA WORK! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Finally, we got to adopt him (that was a trauma in and of itself but it’s a long story and frankly, you’d be bored) and when we got him home, the poor thing didn’t know what a dog treat was!! He was down with the dog chow, but he had no idea what to do with the rawhide we had bought him…now he’s a bone whore. And don’t say “beggin strips” if he’s in the room - he goes batshit.
Now he’s probably 120+ pounds, I can’t even walk him (he will yank me off the deck - he’s way way stronger than me), and he is the boss of the house. I don’t know how we did without him!! He’s my precious doglet of love.
