Is this a good idea (dog rescue related)

[Mickey'snewestfan]

My son wants a German Shepherd Dog so badly. We live in an apartment with a 35 lb. limit for pets so there's really now way this will happen until he's an adult and has moved out on his own. He knows this, but of course he still wants one and gets excited whenever he sees one out in public.

He needs to volunteer to earn service learning hours for school (middle school, he starts 6th grade next week), and so I thought maybe he could work for German Shepherd Rescue. My questions are:

1) Would they even want an 11 year old volunteer? What would he be able to do to (or rather would we be able to do, since they're pretty far away so if I drove him I'd probably stay and volunteer)
2) Is it safe? I admit that I'm a little afraid of big powerful dogs.
3) Would this make him want one more or satisfy some of this desire?

What do you think?

 

[Ceila]

I have an eleven year old son, too, and I know that he would want to take every dog home with him. For my son I think it would end up being torture being around them while knowing he couldn't have one.

Are you willing to think about getting another kind of dog that your apartment allows? Maybe your son could volunteer for a different kind of rescue organization and perhaps he would see that smaller dogs can be great pets, too.

If volunteering for a rescue doesn't work out, I know that shelters and rescues are always in need of donations. When DS was a Cub Scout his den organized and ran a collection one morning at PetSmart. They obtained a wish list from our local shelter, printed up copies, and arranged with PetSmart to man a booth one Saturday morning. They also had a jar out for monetary donations. They did very well and delivered the items personally to the shelter later that week. In all it took quite a few hours of work, so maybe your son could do something similar for his service hours.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

We actually did rescue a dog, a really wonderful 25 lb mutt whose been with us about a year and a half. He understands that one is all we can handle, and that the one we have is a better choice for us, and he does love our dog. This doesn't stop him from planning for the day when he'll be grown up and have his own GSD named Aro, preferably a police dog with him as a K9 officer.

 

[ThePetLady7]

Outside of collecting donations, I'm not sure what he could do for GSD rescue. The hands on care of these dogs is generally done by fosters in their homes. Possibly they could find a job for him at an adoption event?

I have taken my now 12 year old DD to volunteer at our local SPCA. We first did this when she was 10, but the deal is that the child must be with a parent that is volunteering. Mostly, we just took the dogs outside and played with them. You would have to check around to see what the policies are where you live, I know there are several around here that have an older age requirement.

I own 2 GSDs myself, one since she was a puppy, another through rescue. Our rescue boy is completely devoted to our dd, and is a sweet, loving dog. Unfortunately though, many dogs end up in these places because they have been neglected or mistreated, and often not socialized properly. Any reputable organization would screen these dogs, and only allow contact with appropriate volunteers.

Good luck finding something for him to do!

 

[Luvchefmic]

We actually did rescue a dog, a really wonderful 25 lb mutt whose been with us about a year and a half. He understands that one is all we can handle, and that the one we have is a better choice for us, and he does love our dog. This doesn't stop him from planning for the day when he'll be grown up and have his own GSD named Aro, preferably a police dog with him as a K9 officer.

Back in NY I know the county p.d had an Explorer club I think it was called..maybe you can find out through them or the Police Athletic League since he wants to be an officer one day what they can suggest? Maybe there is a youth group affiliated in your area?

 

[tammymacb]

From my experience in rescue ( greyhound though ) I'd say the same as the PP. Besides raising money, he couldn't do much.

Most breed specific rescues are on a volunteer basis with private homes that foster dogs until they are fit for adoption. I've not heard of breed specific kennels ( except for greyhounds ) that are for rescue.

Volunteering to love on/play with and walk dogs at the SPCA would be a great experience for you son. He'd learn about, and be able to appreciate many breeds. And get a great education about pet responsibility and empathy also.

Good luck.

 

[kacaju]

we yuo consider raising a guide dog for the blind? Would your apt complex make an exception if they knew why you had a big dog there?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I hope he can get a GSD someday.

Rescues need volunteers to do lots of things, but not many allow children below a certain age to work directly with the animals, usually around age 16-18. (I've tried to find volunteer activities in shelters with my kids but what we could do was very limited until they're older.)

And GSD rescues are different from regular shelters for a few reasons. First, many have no "buildings". Dogs are fostered in private homes. And secondly, and perhaps most importantly, they often have strict rules on ages of children in homes (even of regular visitors to the home) and other things when you adopt a dog, like 5 or 6 ft fencing surrounding the home, previous GSD experience, etc. They're strict because they know from experience that there can be problems when the dogs are put into the wrong hands and that these dogs often come from horrendous backgrounds so they feel they deserve to go to homes that are the best possible homes out there that will be their "forever homes". Generally, they match the dog to you.

But there are other things rescues need besides direct animal work. If he puts in his time doing whatever he can to help, I'd think that gradually he'd work his way into working with the dogs eventually, and he'll have lots more experience with a variety of things, all of which will have meaning and worth to him in his work with dogs in the future.

Good luck to you both.

 

[clutter]

My dd is 13, 8th grade and REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to work with the animal rescue groups for her civics hours. No can do, other than (maybe) collect donations. My boss works Sundays at one of the local pet shops and she is welcome to come help me help them, but won't get any hours for it because their minimum age is 14 or 16. I saw someone post recently about having their child (don't rmemeber the age but it wasn't higher than my dd's) volunteer at an animal shelter. Nope, can't do it around here.

 

[Pigeon]

My dd13 has been volunteering with a rescue for over a year now. They absolutely love having her help. This rescue holds clinics every week at a local pet supply store. She helps do the set up and tear down and she supervises the puppies (and the other young volunteers) in a pen they set up for the puppies. She interacts with potential adopters and tells them about the pups. The folks in charge tell me all the time how much help she is, and they miss her when she skips a week due to family commitments.

One parent has to be with her the entire time. Dh or I usually have one of the older dogs on a leash and interact with potential adopters.

In terms of getting a smaller dog, we adopted a GS/Basset Hound mix, which is how we got to know this rescue in the first place. She's under 40 lbs, and has some characteristics of both breeds. Funny looking little thing and she sheds like a GS!

 

[pixiewings71]

My DD22 wanted to work for our trainer when she was 17 but she couldn't...until she was 18 she was not allowed to work with animals for insurance reasons. Good luck to him, I hope he can find something that will let him be around bigger dogs.