I did dog rescue on and off for about 35 years. What I learned was that most of the time, when people said they could tell their adopted dog had been abused by its previous owners, it was more likely the dog had received no socialization to humans during its critical learning period from birth to about 4 months old. FWIW…
One of our cats was a give-up–apparently as a kitten she liked to climb curtains and the owner couldn’t deal with this. I imagine it was a house-proud, clean freak stuffy old lady because climbing curtains is so low on my radar of potential cat misbehavior that it doesn’t even register.
The other cat was a stray that the shelter picked up, and she’s extremely sweet, but I have some unsavory ideas about wherever she used to live because any time you lift certain kinds of objects near her (fly swatter, violin bow, tennis racket) she visibly cringes and shrinks away like she thinks she’s going to be struck with it. We are not in the business of hitting pets in this house, so she didn’t get it from us. Grrr.
Khuno came to us at about six months old via the rescue we foster for. He was a stray on a reserve and had spent his entire life scrounging for food - he was not anyone’s dog.
He seems afraid of men in hats, but I’m not sure if he’s partially blind and the shade over the face freaks him out (he has one blue eye, one brown, and some say that the blue eye may lose it’s sight early), or if he had a run in with someone on the reserve. In general, he’s a good, happy dog with most people, so we don’t think he had too much interaction with people early on. We do notice he has an affinity for Huskys, but that’s likely because when we adopted him we had a Siberian Husky, and they spent three years together before she passed away.
He does have a stomach of steel though, which makes sense because I can only imagine that the food he did find was probably rotten, so he had to adjust to it.
He’s the best dog I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing and I love him so much. We are very outdoorsy, so he skis, bikes, runs, etc. almost daily with us, and he’s built for it. We have no problem getting family to watch him while we’re away because he’s so well behaved. People ask us if they can bring their new dogs over so we can use Khuno to help teach them manners! 
[=12664435&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=51"]Ginger](Photobucket | Make your memories fun![user) and Holly were born in foster care and came to us when they were 3 months old so any personality issues they may have are our faults.
Poor [=12664435&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=116"]Iggy](Photobucket | Make your memories fun
Owner #2 was just stupid. Their previous dog had just died and they wanted a replacement so they adopted Iggy even though they wanted a big dog. He was so small at that age that their cat beat him up on a regular basis. Instead of separating them, they shoved Iggy in a crate 24/7 but didn’t prevent the cat from harassing him while he was locked in the crate. They then surrendered him back to the rescue.
We were the emergency foster home after he was surrendered. There was no way we were ever going to successfully foster him. I knew my fiance was a goner as soon as I saw him watch a video of Iggy and his first foster mother playing. He didn’t even last as a foster for 24 hours and that was only because we couldn’t complete the adoption paperwork at night.
He has a scar on his leg from the frostbite and he has an intermittent cough that our vet isn’t worried about. He has really bad attachment issues, to the point that we plan our lives around how long the dogs will be home alone. He occasionally gets defensive with Ginger and Holly but they don’t let it bother them. He is completely and totally bonded to my fiance and he loves me and all 4 of our parents. He’s standoffish with most other people and definitely with kids but as he gets to know kids he starts to accept them and let them pet him.
There’s something special about Iggy. Everyone loves him, even if he hates them. Everyone who meets him wants to do whatever necessary to make him happy. He knows this and he milks it for all it’s worth.
[=12664435&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=142"]The loves of my life](Photobucket | Make your memories fun
My cat’s a racist mysandrist.
He isn’t a rescue cat, but I was his fourth owner and he was only eight weeks old (I took him to the vet a few days after I got him so I’m pretty sure about his age). The woman I got him from was a nice French lady in her thirties. She’d got him from friends who’d got him from someone else who’d got him from a friend whose cat had kittens.
And he is TERRIFIED of white men. He’ll go and hide under the sheet - not just the covers, but the actual sheet - of my daughter’s bed and stay there, a little, hilarious, cat-shaped lump mentally sending out “you can’t see me!” vibes.
It’s actually kinda interesting to see who he considers white or not, and man or not. There was one white woman he had the same reaction to; she’s not trans, but she must have smelt of white man or something. OTOH, my daughter’s best male friend who’s darkish, half Cypriot and half something that looks a bit mediterranean (his Dad’s a foundling and doesn’t know his race) is, my my cat’s reactions, not white.
My friends always speculate that one of his previous owners must have been an white man who was mean to him, but I think it was just that the only time he’s ever been away from home was to stay with my mother and stepfather. Going away from home was terrifying for him, and my stepdad, while I doubt he would ever hurt a cat, is fucking LOUD. He always TALKS LIKE THIS and has a deep, rough voice. That would be scary for a cat in a new place who had possibly only had female owners before.
Said stepdad once drive towards the house without me knowing and the cat went and did his sheet-form thing a few minutes before there was a knock on the door - and it wasn’t my step-Dad; he sat outside in the car.
My dog had a kink in her tail, and was also very easily startled by the sound of metal gates in fences, and if we had to go through one, would charge through as quickly as possible as not to spend much time in the vicinity of the gate. So I imagine that in her early life she got her tail caught in that kind of gate.
Ha!
We’ve had a rescue cat for probably 7 years now, aquiring her when she was 1 or 2. It’s clear that a man and some kid(s) were abusive toward her. It took a year before she’d come out from under the bed and she still freaks sometimes when she sees me, then I talk to her and she comes over to be petted but remains slightly skittish. Whenever other kids come over again she disappears like a shot.
She’s strictly an indoor cat but the one time she got out for 2 days when we finally found her she’d pretty much completely ‘shut down’ cognitively, wouldn’t come when we called or put food out, just had curled up under some vegetation, closed her eyes and wouldn’t move.
I don’t know what happened to her before but it was bad and she’ll never get all the way past it.
Kaia’s previous owners surrendered her willingly and that’s the best thing we can say about them.
We got her when she was 10 months old and she’d been in foster care for 2 months before that. They did a lot of damage in the 4 months they had her.
She wasn’t interested in humans when we first got her, she only came to us because she bonded with Mojo and the rescue group was looking for a home where she could be with another boxer. Since we were essentially looking for a companion for him this was perfect for us.
Her foster mother spent some time with me while the dogs were playing together and explained her history. The couple that bought her crated her at night and all day while they were at work. Since they had very demanding careers she was out of her crate for an average of 2 hrs a day. When she first came to the foster house she was afraid of the wind in the trees, birds chirping and the sounds of traffic through their side fence. She was terrified of their swimming pool and all forms of water not in a dish.
Now she’s a racing ball of insanity, swims like a fish and spends her days finding ways to snuggle with any human who will sit still long enough to be snuggled with. She sleeps on my feet and any separation from her brother makes her pace and whine. When he had to spend the night at the vet’s due to a scratched cornea none of us slept because she had to check the door every 5 mins and then announce to us that he wasn’t there. Luckily they are only about a year apart in age because like an old married couple neither of them is going to last long without the other.
We got our basenjis, litter sisters, from a rescue in southern California, soon after the economic collapse. The rescue was full to bursting, they must have had 50 dogs there. It’s always hard to see pets in intensive kennel situations. Our girls were quite shy and nervous. They were two years old, perfectly healthy, and BEAUTIFUL - so of course we asked why they’d been surrendered. The rescue staff were a bit hesitant to tell us, but it turns out their prior owner had been committed to a mental institution. No, the dogs hadn’t driven her to it!
We learned more when we got them home. They’d been outside dogs, so we had to housebreak them, quite tricky with 2 yr old dogs and both of us working. They didn’t know how to climb stairs. They didn’t know about sitting on sofas or laps, but quickly learned. There were some separation anxiety incidents, especially when we started leaving them uncrated during the day. Our leather couch is missing 2 sq ft of the back when one of them ate it while we were out for an hour or so in the evening. They were terrible on the leash, probably seldom if ever been walked before - they only really improved when we tried Easy-Walk harnesses, which we still use today.
But now, they’ll be 8 this year, and are no trouble at all. They fit our life perfectly, and I’m thankful for them every day.
Araminty, your basenjis are gorgeous! 
I mostly agree with you, but there are definitely exceptions. My mom’s last dog was only an estimated 4 weeks old when my old dog, Jake, rescued him from a busy highway (where all of his littermates had already been squished.) Tebeau was literally the most doted-upon, socialized, spoiled dog on the planet, but a stranger would have assumed he’d come from a bad background, because he remained skittish until his dying day. My current dog is the same way - we acquired her from one of my husband’s colleagues, who’d gotten her at about 8 weeks from a litter his brother’s dog had. Steve only got rid of Pandora because she’s a needy thing, and he’d just had a divorce and had to take on a part-time job, so he knew he couldn’t be home with her enough. I’ve met the other pets in this home, and they are well-treated to the point of being spoiled. 'Dora remains skittish and very, very clingy, so I guess it’s a good thing that I’m an at-home mom.
I did have one rescue dog (Scooby, a German shepherd/lab mix) that I absolutely know was abused, but it wasn’t just his skittish personality. He had scars all over his poor sweet head and ears and back. A few days after I brought him home, I left him alone for the first time, to run a 15 minute errand. While I was gone, he knocked over a table and broke a bowl, and I could still just cry when I remember how he cringed when I walked in and saw the damage. I didn’t yell or fuss at him - it wasn’t his fault that the table wasn’t very sturdy - but he was absolutely petrified. It took a bit for poor Scooby to develop any confidence, but he was the sweetest dog ever, combining the absolute best traits of a good German shepherd and a good Labrador retriever.
My long haired rescue cat pukes. Always has, Stress colon or something, add hairballs and it’s puke city. The vet know, it’s just how the cat is, since I got him. Eats too fast, etc.
Anyway, I got him at about 6 mos. And at 12 yrs., still, whenever he pukes or throws a hairball, which is a lot, he gets a terrified look and runs like hell. Is it possible someone punished him for puking?
Thank you 
I agree!
When one of my cats passed away at the age of 20, I knew I had to get another, as a companion to my remaining cat. So I went to the shelter to check out their kitties. I looked around, not really sold on any of them . . . until I found a solid black one with the most expressive blue-green eyes. Once I saw his eyes, I knew I didn’t have to look at any others.
It turned out he was 7 years old, and due to his age he’d been in the shelter for several months. According to the shelter, the previous owners had a baby who was beginning to walk, and the cat was freaking out when he encountered the kid walking. It must have been a heartbreaking decision, if they loved this cat as much as I do.
He does something that I’ve never seen a cat do: He plays dead as his “Happy Dance.” Whenever I come home (or come downstairs to feed them), there he is to greet me in the kitchen. He lies down on his back, front paws tucked in, and rolls to one side. Then he rolls to the other side. Back and forth, and he watches me the entire time, to make sure I’m paying attention to him. He also does it when i’m putting on, or taking off my shoes and socks. And he does it when I’m on the toilet.
It took him a while, but he started doing his Happy Dance for my partner as well. My partner lives next door and has two large dogs. It took the cat a few months to get used to them. He actually accepts them more than he accepts the other cat; the only time they interact is when they’re fighting . . . which he initiates.
His Happy Dance is obviously trained behavior, but I don’t know what to say to get him to do it. He just does it on his own. He’s obviously the smartest cat I’ve ever had, and one of the most affectionate. He was obviously loved by his previous owner. If I were in that position, I may have considered relinquishing the baby instead.
Ha! My Nikki does the rolling Happy Dance, too, including when I’m using the human litter box. And my old Al looks so much like your Poobah I thought for a second you’d hacked my photo links! (And wow, those are some amazing eyes! You chose wisely.)
On topic, Al was found by Other Shoe’s mother – he started hanging around to surreptitiously grab a mouthful of food from her cats, and she took him in. He was obviously someone’s pet because he was already neutered and declawed, but at some point, possibly when already a stray, someone beat the snot out of him with a broom. He’s terrified of them. Oddly, he’s also intimidated by the sound of a guitar string being plucked. That one remains a mystery to me.
We got Codawhen he was about 3 years old - he’s a Lhasa Apso mix, but must have been well-trained & socialized as a puppy, because he’s good around strangers & I can count on one hand the number of messes in the house in the seven years we’ve had him (Lhasas are apparently hard to housebreak & rather standoffish/grumpy with strangers)
We suspect he was given up because he has epilepsy and allergies - when we got him in the spring, his coat was matted from his shoulders back where he’d been chewing on himself. Poor buddy had to be shaved nearly down to the skin! He’s on meds to control both conditions and is a joy to be around.
I have two rescue dogs: Henry is a greyhound/pit bull mix, and Fiona is a pure-ish pit bull.
Henry doesn’t have too many odd behaviors, but Fiona is the fastest eater I’ve ever seen, and when she’s stressed or nervous, she wants to lean against a solid object. A wall. The couch. The wall of her kennel. Your leg. When we adopted her, she was about one year old, and had just recently whelped.
I believe she was probably removed from the home of people who, if they weren’t intentionally breeding pit bulls, had a bunch of them roaming around un-neutered. I think her behaviors come from having to compete for limited food, and from being used to living in a crowded space.
We were told a lot of things about Baron’s previous owners from the rescue that we adopted him from. And those previous owners adopted him when he was a puppy - he hadn’t had owners until he was about 15 months old - he was a stray that was picked up by the shelter. They adopted him out twice - he was returned to the shelter twice - the first owners couldn’t understand why a 14 month old puppy would chew their leather couches when he was left alone for ten hours a day. The second owners couldn’t understand why he would jump their 4’ high decorative fence at 15 months when he was left outside alone. They both returned him to the shelter. SERIOUSLY???
When we finally adopted him (after a long battle - long story but to make it short the Director of the charity that runs the shelter told the workers to give us the damn dog already - plus we had a close friend who worked there and she helped us) we stopped on the way home at WalMart and picked up treats and toys. He was sitting in the van in the back on the floor next to my son. My son tried to give him a bone - Baron didn’t know what it was. He did not know what treats were, he didn’t know what toys were, he didn’t konw what squeakies were.
I could have drawn and quartered his previous “owners” considering what they did to make him as sad and withdrawn as he was when he moved in with us. He was scared to be PETTED!!
That was about 8 years ago. Now - the doglet of love is a 165 lb. bucket of love and goo and happiness - we play squeaky all the time, he thinks his diet consists of Meaty Bones and Beggin Strips, and yes - he is the happiest dog I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
There is nothing good I can say about either of his previous owners.
Absolutely nothing.
And I’m getting mad just thinking about it. I need to go hug my dog.
My male’s previous owners were asshats. They dumped a declawed cat. Need I say more? :mad:
My female had two previous owners. The first took her to the shelter when she was weaned, and the second returned her to the shelter because of “family problems”. I probably don’t want to know what those were.
By piecing together little bits of history, I think my 24 y.o. Appaloosa mare had five homes before she came to me 12 years ago. She’s a very sweet, easy-going horse with some good basic training, so I think the first several years of her life (maybe until she was about 7 or so) were probably okay. Then it seems things went downhill. I suspect either a youngster who lost interest, went away to college, or family financial problems. The woman I got her from had had her two years and had brought her from a horse dealer who’d had her only a year. Somewhere along the line, her legs had gotten cut up with wire and not doctored properly, she got hit or kicked in the side of the neck and had a permanent swelling, and had foundered.
When I got her, she’d been on a rental string for two years, with no regular vet care, very little hoof care, was six months pregnant and 200 lbs underweight. If you moved the lead rope even slightly, she’d fling her head up in the air, so someone had obviously jerked on the lead rope many, many times. She also wouldn’t let me touch her face, so I believe she’d been hit in the face many times, too. Many horses are very inquisitive and will stick there nose into whatever you’re doing. Instead of redirecting them gently, a lot of people, probably because they’re afraid they’ll get bitten, slap the horse’s face. Which is stupid, really, because horses don’t really bite all that often.
Anyway, she’s now beautiful and healthy and loves to have me pet her face.