Get a dog?

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Stargazer

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I start this thread in response to a posting elsewhere; don't want to hijack that thread.  To some, this may be upsetting but to me it is important so here goes.

It seems to be popular and The Right Thing To Do now to get a dog from a shelter. I understand that.and even support it, up to a point.  But...  there is a reason that animal is there.  If someone is not very experienced with dogs, they could be adopting a real problem.

I know people who adopted shelter dogs and ended up taking the dog back or euthanizing it.  With one, the owner hired professional trainers and even a dog psychologist to no avail.  When she took the dog back over a year later, the shelter told her she was the third home in which it had been placed and returned.  With another, the animal had a seizure disorder that eventually forced euthanasia; she had not been told before hand. Thousands spent.  In the hospital where I worked, a four year old girl was mauled by a family pet -- german shepard that had never bitten before.  My point is that you never know, even if you get a puppy, what is on that menu.  You may get lucky but be prepared to face the unknown.  A statement to "get a shelter dog...it will always love you" is very wrong.

If you want a dog, yes, check the shelters but do your homework and be prepared for problems that may occur.  THINK about what you want and can handle.  There is a reason why shelters are full of large breed dogs -- pits, working breeds, labs included.  When a large, maybe aggressive dog makes a mistake, it is generally a BIG mistake. Old animals with chronic health problems can cost a bundle of money to treat.  And EVERY animal has the potential to bite.  I have been bitten by my own two shihtzus.  Luckily a small dog bite isn't too damaging.

I am currently waiting for my new puppy to be born.  I had perused several shelters in my area (within 300 miles) and gave up.  I know my limitations and what I want.  I also searched for a responsible breeder.  It didn't have to be a registered breed, a mutt will do. I am 68 healthy years old now. f a big dog jumps on me, it will knock me down.  No. If  it's a breed that sheds a lot,  no thanks.  If it's a dog that requires a lot of exercise, no.  My yard is small and there is snow here on the ground all winter.  The poor dog would be miserable and act out.  And not just now when I may be able to do the exercise thing, but in five or ten years will I be able?  Can I lift 70 pounds of animal into and out of my vehicle or up and down steps, if needed?  Most likely not.  And a breed that has it in his genes to protect or attack, maybe that is with just a few.  But what if it is just the one you get?  Just once is all it takes.  Are you good enough to train/retrain a dog?  Even pros have problems with some dogs.

So, think hard before getting any pet.  Think very hard about your own limitations and lifestyle.  If you like to sleep in some mornings, are you willing to give that up for the next 10-15 years?  In cold, wet conditions, are you willing to gear up to walk the animal?  Before you've had your coffee? Every.single.day, two to three times a day.  For many years.

Here in Colorado where I now live, last winter not only did I have to shovel snow off the walk and driveway, but I also had to keep a path shoveled in the back yard for my little shihtzu.  6:00 am, still dark, six inches of new snow, and I'm out there in pj's shoveling the yard for my old wobbly furry friend.  Laughing and glad neighbors couldn't see.  But I will do it all again with this new puppy.

Please think long and hard before making a pet decision.  Now if I had just done the same with one or two of the humans...
 
I don't travel with pets or have them any longer. I can't afford the vet bills on my retirement income. They need regular checkups, visits to get teeth cleaned, shots, worming, medications to prevent fleas, ticks, heart worms and such. Of course they do get sick and they do get injured and have issues such as anal gland problems and are prone to getting abscess. Many of them develop skin sensitivities. Had one new puppy that was born with what turned out to be an inoperable birth defect that prevented them from being able to keep food down. It was heart breaking to put that sweet baby to sleep. On of my cats climbed up a ladder caught his foot, fell backwards and required a $1,500 surgery to cut the ball of the top of his leg since once it comes out it will never stay back inside the socket. Had another cat get hit by a car and need that same surgery.

So being a realist, no more pets for me. I will make do with pet sitting for other people or go and volunteer at shelters or do some foster care where the shelter pays the vet bills.
 
" Now if I had just done the same with one or two of the humans..."

That made my day....thanks!
 
"...My point is that you never know, even if you get a puppy, what is on that menu.  You may get lucky but be prepared to face the unknown.  A statement to "get a shelter dog...it will always love you" is very wrong.''
A friend who long worked at a shelter told me it's not uncommon for one place to send a dog to another shelter and not tell about the more negative aspects.  Like a teacher passing a bad kid just to get them away.
As you say, you just never know....  I now have the most loving dog of my life, mostly a Golden, rescued last year.  Could bring myself to adopt her the day she was given up to the local humane society, looked like a model of neglect, glued to the floor, would not interact, fat as a pig, and all her hair had been cut off.  Shelter thought she'd been kept inside all her life and unloved.  Did not look like any Golden I'd ever seen.  Thought it'd take someone with special dog skills if she was to have any chance of normalcy. 

And though my last rescue adoption did not work out (was one of the dark unknowable history, Jekyll/Hyde flip/flop, and sent me to ER) I felt I had to give to at least get this Golden out of the shelter for a while.  Was a quality facility, but she was next to an angry nonstop barking dog which would drive me nuts, so I went back two days later and asked if I could be a foster home (which I'd been once before) with an option to adopt.  They agreed.  And within days I could not believe what a change was coming in this dog, simple caring was enough for her to start to come around.  She's lost the fat, now lean healthy, all that lovely golden hair has come back, and she's even a bit social.  Blessed that so many on my trail walks like to interact with her.  Often share her story as maybe it'll be a difference-maker for someone else who sees a dog that feel something for but don't have full clarity about at first glance.
 
I understand where the OP is coming from in cautioning folks about rescuing pets. I don't agree. The number of animals discarded is astounding, that some of them may have problems is not a reason to not consider a rescue. I have problems, it is very likely that you do also. Thankfully, no one has put me down because of them. The reality is there are perfectly wonderful animals waiting in shelters for you to consider. If only this were a perfect world.
 
Hoot:  what a wonderful idea to foster before adopting.  If my planned puppy doesn't happen, I will see if the shelter here will do that.

GypsyJan:  lol!  Sometimes the truest things are the funniest.

Maki2:  you are so absolutely right.  I recently made some financial changes that will help make those inevitable expenses manageable. 

Dawnann:  you're welcome.  And thank you.
 
Good things to keep in mind no matter how you get a dog. Breeder or shelter. Please be prepared for some expense and some work. We have had great luck on shelter dogs and the one we got from a breeder. But go in with your eyes open. The shelter dog we have now is a puppy mill rescue. With many of the problems that brings. The shelter didn't tell us that. One of the rescuers did. We got one from a breeder and she was great, exactly what her breed description said she would be. The mutts we got at the shelters have all been wonderful loving dogs. This last look for a dog I took 4-5 months looking for the right one. The shelters were full of I'm sure great dogs, and I'm sure I passed many that would have worked out great. But I knew I needed to be picky and would not have as much time to work the kinks out if needed. As it is he is great and had a few kinks to work out but not too many, and not hard ones. If you need, talk to the shelter people they usually will help if they can. They don't want the dogs to bounce back either.
 
Fifty plus years of shelter dogs here. They seem to have more health problems now than in the past and the Pits ( I’m now on my 3rd) are brutalized and terrified. But they have brought tremendous joy and love to my life. Sorry I totally disagree with you. People who don’t know dogs and don’t want to learn and can’t afford the vet bills shouldn’t get a dog but that’s not right to say across the board. Locally Captain Care works with low income people and provides free vet care and specialized vet care, diets etc.
My Cairn and Westie had terrible genetic illnesses. Those were the two I bought from Pete store because they were both 6 months old and no one wanted them.
 
I can’t edit but if you are living on the road you may qualify for aid to homeless pet owners or if there is a local low income organization in your hometown and many food banks have animal food, treats and extras. I always buy some canned food and donate it at my local Petco.
I just took on a family member’s dog but it was agreed that all expenses would be paid for. So I get the best of all worlds.
 
As coincidence would have it I just had met another dog owner on a trail, and he spoke highly of this group in Kanab, Utah where they got their dog.  He said they encouraged "sleep overs".  Maybe of interest for those in the southwest.  https://bestfriends.org/
 

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