If your looking to adopt a pet please look at www.petfinder.com//index.html

[debden]

We found our dog's rescue group through Petfinder 5 years ago and last year we used it to help my Dad find a senior dog. We both have lab mixes that are wonderful dogs.

My children were 5 and 7 when we adopted our dog. The volunteer who worked with us from our rescue group would only let us see dogs that had passed a specific temperment test and had the right personality for am active house. I too was surprised by the amount of info on our application but I now understand why.....placing a dog in the wrong type of situation is bad for everyone. My dog was 7 months old at the time and he thrives on an active lifestyle of kids, visitors, etc. My dad is widowed and adopted an older dog whose owner had passed away. She is a great dog but she would not do well in my busy household.

Many of the rescue groups here in Boston work with volunteers in other states to bring up dogs from high kill areas. Our dog came from WV and my dads from AL. They seem to have a high success rate of being adopted in this area.

It requires some patience with applications, etc. but it is so worth it!

I agree 100%.The adoption process does take awhile but it is so worth it in the end.It took about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to adopt each of my cats and it was worth every minute and every penny I spent.I love each and every one of them and would not give them up for a million bucks.Pets bring so much happiness and joy into your life.
Please keep the stories coming....
Thanks for your support.
Debbie

 

[louey]

Maryann, I just wanted to say how cute Shadow is. I love her droopy eyes

 

[debden]

Hi,Just trying to keep this post within the first few pages so people who have not seen it yet have a chance to read all the great stories of pet rescue/adoption and see the wonderful pictures people have posted of their furbabies.
So: TTT
Debbie

 

[FloraFauna]

We adopted Barq's, the dog on the left. We found him on Petfinder, and then visited the rescue group to meet him. My daughter who was eleven at the time, saw his picture and said "Mom, he's not too cute" , but I thought he was a cutie. We then set up an appointment to meet him, and it was love at first sight. He's such a character.

 

[debden]

We adopted Barq's, the dog on the left. We found him on Petfinder, and then visited the rescue group to meet him. My daughter who was eleven at the time, saw his picture and said "Mom, he's not too cute" , but I thought he was a cutie. We then set up an appointment to meet him, and it was love at first sight. He's such a character.

Oh he is a cutie!I'm sure your daughter thinks so now too! I'm so glad the little guy found a forever home!
There are soooo many like him just waiting for someone to come adopt them and give them a loving home.
Debbie

 

[famofsix]

Okay so today I found a sweet terrier mix but we couldn't pick her up becuase the dog license place was closed. Meanwhile someone else adopted her...so then I found a black lab puppy and she was also adopted.............................BUT her sister is available and she is not even on petfinder yet so I might have a good chance of adopting her and her fee is reasonable (125.)

Wish us a blessing!

We even got a crate this weekend so we are good to go!

 

[famofsix]

Here's a picture of her!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

We adopted our beautiful girl via Petfinder 5 months ago! We gave vet references, filled out a very comprehensive application, and had a home visit. The fee was $90 (she was already spayed/neutered, whatever is the correct term for a female! ).

Our dog was in rescue for almost a year and a half--in fact, the first rescue group turned her in to the kill shelter as "unadoptable" after about 6 months, because she was so shy. A kind heart at the pound took her home and turned her over to a rescue group that specialized in pitbulls. They really helped her become adoptable (although she is still very, very shy) and I'm so happy I found her after my previous pitbull mix died at the age of 14 1/2.

As I've posted before, she is just GREAT with my 19 1/2 year old cat--very sweet and gentle--likes to nuzzle the cat, sniff his butt and his face, and lick his ear. The cat likes to grab the dog's face and gently bite her.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I don't think I'll be allowed. I live in a condo complex so I have no backyard and the dog would be left alone during the work day (except when I come home at lunch and walk it). I want a dog so badly though!

We're in a house without a fenced yard, and the rescue group we adopted from specifically mentioned in their blurb that our particular dog was very quiet and did not need a fenced yard. They did a home visit and were perfectly fine with us coming home at lunch to walk her. We assured them we would be taking her on exercise walks in the evening and/or on our days off.

If you want to adopt a dog, the fact that you can come home at lunch to walk him/her is a plus! Emphasize that, rather than the "alone all day" part. Many dogs are fine with hanging out in the house all day! Good luck!

 

[burberryplaid]

We're another Petfinder Happy Ending. We adopted Tigger and Bailey in 2003!

 

[famofsix]

Sweet kitties!


I am so excited to see if our petfinder adoption will work out.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Sweet kitties!


I am so excited to see if our petfinder adoption will work out.

Good luck! Such a sweet pup!!

I remember waiting on Lucy's application and was so nervous. I actually didn't tell anyone that we had applied for her just in case it didn't work out. Thankfully, it did!

 

[mumzie2three]

We adopted Ruby, a female plott hound mix, from a place we found on petfinder 5 years ago. We were looking at a different dog initially but found out after the home visit that they had been adopted. Ruby was much younger than what we had planned but we loved her as soon as we met her, which required us to drive to another state.
She was staying in a foster home. We were told that if we wanted to adopt her we had to take her right then. They wouldn't allow us to put down a deposit and come back for her. I had 3 children with me and no crate, no food, no toys or anything at home. But we caved and took her home. I ran out over the next couple of days to get everything we needed and scheduled her first vet visit.

She had worms and mange. It turns out that all the vet paperwork for her was falsified. She came from GA and the vet there was in cahoots with the kill shelter. (I don't think the NH vet was any better since they didn't catch any of her health issues.) So I called the adoption place and told them what we had found, at this point we have our vet treating Ruby. They tell me I should've called before having her treated and I could've driven her to their vet, in NH, the one who didn't catch these problems before OKing her adoption. NO THANKS.

I would always recommend adoption from a shelter/organization over buying from a breeder. But not all organizations are created equal. Buyer beware still applies, especially since no one wants to return the newest member of the family. I also noticed in the adoption paperwork that they reserved the right to take the animal back if they felt they weren't being cared for properly. That freaked me out for a while, but they never called to follow up even after I had called them to let them know what we had discovered.

It had a happy ending but we were out a lot of money that we hadn't planned on. We assumed the paperwork was factual and our dog was healthy. I would never assume that again.

 

[Planogirl]

Could someone tell me about these home visits? What exactly do they look for?

To be honest, I've never liked the idea of some stranger inspecting my home.

 

[louey]

Could someone tell me about these home visits? What exactly do they look for?

To be honest, I've never liked the idea of some stranger inspecting my home.

Basically they just want to be sure the dog/cat is going to a nice home. If you have a fenced yard they usually want to be sure that it is secure. As far as your home they probably will ask where you plan to keep your new pet and where it will be sleeping. They also want to be sure that it is a perfect fit for you, especially if you have other animals or even small children. I totally understand a home visit I have had two myself and having nothing to hide I don't mind at all. Adoption is a great way to go, your saving a life and gaining a new family member what could be better than that

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Could someone tell me about these home visits? What exactly do they look for?

To be honest, I've never liked the idea of some stranger inspecting my home.

They didn't inspect my home, although it makes perfect sense that they would look at the fence if having a fenced yard was a requirement.

I think they were basically making sure my DH and I were nice people who would treat the dog well. Especially since we were adopting a pitbull mix--they need to make sure they are adopting out their animals to someone who will love and care for the dog, not use the dog for fighting, or tie it out in the yard and neglect it, or whatever.

They wanted to see where we would keep our dog and where she would sleep at night. Our plan was to give her free rein of the house (since she was already house trained) and we had a comfy folded comforter in the dining room for her to sleep on.

Since we already had a very old (19) cat, we also introduced the cat and the dog while the representatives from the rescue group were here. The cat-dog meet actually went well, and the rescue group owner (who is also a trainer) gave us some recommendations on helping them get along.

The rescue group left the dog with me during the home visit and that was it--she was ours!

 

[HollyJoy]

This is how we found our black lab puppy, Miley

 

[famofsix]

Here's a picture of her!

She might be coming this weekend!!!!

The rescue emailed and asked if we would be ready to take her this weekend......so of course I said YES but I wanted to check with all the dog owners here.....

I have a crate (large cagetype), sheets, a blanket, dog bowls, I don't know what food she is currently using , I need to get a leash and collar too. I also have lots of newspaper just in case. I don't know how housebroken she is though.

I don't have a fence but I was thinking of getting a dog run. The yard is pretty big. I figure we can take her out on the leash for now.

Am I misssing anything and if is OK to put the crate in the laundry room or should I put it in the family room area for now?

I am so excited

 

[famofsix]

I am bumping this up for the lunch crowd

 

[louey]

That is so great, best of luck with her. As far as the crate goes, when we had our golden he would only go in it when we weren't home. We also left the door open while we were there incase he wanted to sleep in it. They usually feel safe there. You probably won't have any trouble potty training her labs I bet are pretty easy to train. Basically I would let her hang out with the family as much as possible so she can bond with you. As far as her food goes, they should tell you what they are currently feeding her if you wanted to do a switch just do it gradually and she should be fine.
Did you ever think about an invisible fence, we had it at our other house for our golden and it worked great. Leash walking is fine, but you may want to find a fenced doggie park so she can run some. Best of luck and be sure to post some pictures after you get her