"My name is Abby and I'm a 6 year old lab looking for a new home"

[clh2]

Feralpeg - so sorry to hear about Bandit. No flames here.

We adopted our furbaby from a local humane society, he was 8 years old. Eventhough we are up in Milwaukee, our furbaby was an indirect result of either Hurrican KAtrina or Rita, maybe a combination of both. The owner lost his "southern" job, and moved back in with his parents. He found a job where he needed to be on the road, and his parents, who had other dogs, didn't understand the concept of basic dog care. Riely ran away from home several times, and got fleas - the humane society took care of that before he was put up for adoption

Apparently, the owner was devastated to give up Riley, but we are grateful. The Humane Society manager had a heart-to-heart with the owner after the 3rd time the dog was brought in to the center. He has been a great addition to our family! Doesn't run away either...we think he likes it here!


So - in our case, on the "receiving" end of an older dog that was given up...this was the perfect situation for our family.

 

[yoopermom]

Wouldn't it be lovely if we just wouldn't judge people without knowing the whole story? People judge us because we choose to have eight dogs, but I choose not to judge the people who "gave" us three of those dogs, all definite rescues. They were smart enough to realize they couldn't deal with these dogs(one child growler/epileptic, one puppymill/rage BT, one just "old"). All fit into our pack just fine, but it's never easy. No responsible choice when it comes to dog ownership is. Stepping down off the soapbox now.

Terri

 

[locolala]

Perhaps the owners were moving overseas and couldn't take her with them? That's always a possibility. One of the reasons we don't want overseas orders is because it would be difficult on our cats. Luckily, if that happens we can leave them with family. The chances of us going overseas is very slim, but it could happen. If DH and I happen to deploy at the same time (I'm getting a gov't position where I could get deployed), they'd be able to go to my FIL's house until we get back. Not everyone has that option.

 

[HelenePA]

Our last dog was 11 (or older) when we adopted her. Her other "mom" didn't just give her up she died. Her son took her (muffin) in but was only able to keep one dog in his rented apt at a time. They already had a dog so they had to find her a new home. She came to us for her last years and got LOTS of love and affection. We lost her this summer she was a VERY sweet dog. We all miss her very much.

What if the family of Abby just had a baby who was allergic to the dog? Do you just let the baby suffer and keep the dog? I was actually very worried about this happening when we had Anthony. By then muffin was already 16. What would I have done with her I would have had to give muffin up as sad as it would be.. My children (human) come first. She probably would have went to my brother but still it would have been a hard choice but a no brainer for me.. Stone me if you will..

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

My ma was having issues with her cat and passed it on to a new forever home, BUT she knew the cat would be better off and happier, and she chose a family member (ME) to share the kitty with. I couldnt fathom letting any of my babies go but I do understand sometimes it happens (Ive had give up a bird and a rabbit). We moved one time to an aparment and were told we couldnt take our cat, we gave it to grandma to hold and when we moved back, well, grandma was TOO in love with my cat so she stayed with grandma.

 

[livie1205]

I am SHOCKED at the people here judging these people without even knowing why! If they have had the pet for 6 yrs and are giving him up I am sure they just didnt get tired of him...I am sorry I have 3 kids and will NOT ever be homeless for a dog!I love our dogs but my kids will come first.what if they have to chose between feeding their kids and the dog?my kids will be eating first...at least they are not letting him starve they are trying to find a good home.

 

[louey]

I really don't think it is right to judge these people. Do you know why they can't take their dog? Perhaps, they are moving because they lost their home. That has happened a lot recently. It happened to the people who had my dog before I adopted him.

By the way, I may as well fess up now. Sooner or later, it will come up and people will be all over me.

A little over a month ago, I adopted Bandit from a rescue shelter. He is a one year old golden retriever. He is a great little dog, except for one thing. He absolutely hates cats. I have two old cats. I've tried everything to socialize him and the cats. I took him to training expert. No good. It is to the point that the cats rarely come out from under my bed. They stopped using their litter box, because they are afraid to come out.

Yesterday, Ginger finally came out. I guess she was just desperate for affection. Before I could grab him, Bandit chased her down and jumped on her. At first, I thought he'd killed her. She didn't move after I pulled him off of her. I locked him in his crate and went to her. After a couple of minutes she got up and moved. I took her to the vet and he said she was probably just stunned.

Tomorrow, I take Bandit back to the rescue group. Fortunately, the lady who runs it understands that I cannot sacrifice my cats that I've had for years (the 17 year old cat belongs to my daughter) for a new pet. My heart is breaking over this. He is a sweet dog and I am not over losing my Griffin. This is very hard. So, I guess I am not a good person because I am giving him up. I do know that the rescue group will make sure he goes to a good home. They said they would have no problem placing him.

So, you see, sometimes there are extenuating circumstances.

I don't think this was your fault, the rescue knowing you have cats should have perhaps cat tested him. I just hope you don't give up on rescue groups, there are so many cats and dogs that need homes. This situation will help you if you decide to adopt again with choosing another homeless dog that like cats. Good luck

 

[Teresa Pitman]

We got our dog Jack (a beautiful black lab) when he was four years old. He had belonged to a family with four young kids where the father one day announced that he was leaving for another woman. The mother ended up having to move her family into subsidized housing and pets are not permitted there. She called everyone she knew and fortunately talked to a friend of mine who suggested that I might take Jack. I fell in love with him immediately, as did my kids, and we had him until he passed away a few years ago. He was the best dog ever.

This was not a family that didn't care about their dog, but they were facing very difficult circumstances.

Teresa

 

[barkley]

the alternative far too many choose can be horrendous.

we live ruraly and people 'drive and ditch' family pets far to frequently. i don't know if it's a mindset that since you can see dog runs or barns or stables on lots of the properties that the homeowners will just automaticaly take these pets in, or that the pets have some kind of natural instinct that will allow them to fend for themselves upon the 'lower food chain' critters and the ponds.

the reality is the pets are put in tremendous danger-they are lucky if the coyot's don't get them the first night. the dogs don't know to lay low and steer clear of the moose-they start barking and running at them (moose wil stomp or gore a dog to death). those raised in housing developments see the dirt roads as something to lay down on or roll around on and run the risk of getting hit by cars. the housecats get attacked by the feril cats or get the same treatment the chipmunks, squirrils and bunnies recieve from the numerous hawks and owls.

the homeowners would love to be able to call an animal rescue group or even animal control to pick these pets up, but 9 times out of 10 by the time you call and one of those groups can respond the animal has disappeared into the wooded acreage.


our cat of 10 years (this month) was likely left to fend for herself when her previous owners moved from the subdivision we used to live in. when she would'nt leave our yard after several weeks and we saw no ads/posters about a missing cat we took her in with a preliminary visit to the local vet. he said by looking at the condition she was in she had received regular vet care and he suspected someone had moved and just left her (said it was a sad but regular occurance in the area we were in-and the lack of a lost pet sign anywhere in town or his office-only vet in town-pretty much confirmed it in his mind).

i dread what will soon happen when dmil has to move into a greater level of care arrangement. she's had her dog for several years and the places she would need to move into just would'nt allow it. the dog is terribly spoiled and is not child or cat friendly. i doubt there will be anyone in the family capable of taking her in (either have kids, cats or work and that dog goes nuts without constant companionship). i hope noone would think ill of us if we try to get her a new home through an animal group (i'de rather not consider the alternative).

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Trust me, it can happen that someone has a dog and they get rid of them because they just don't love or care for them anymore.

In the 1980's our neighbor (the husband was very good friends with my Dad) had the nicest springer-mix, then they had three kids and dog moved to the garage, developed terrible arthritis and couldn't sleep on the floor so they tied to a tree in the back yard. Then they just let her roam the neighborhood. It was never a money issue, he was a CPA and they could afford dog food, grooming and the vet. It wasn't an issue where the dog wasn't good with kids or kids having allergies. We started feeding her & giving her water, then she started sleeping on our porch, when it got cold we made her a 'dog house' on the porch out of a appliance box filled with old quilts. Then it got colder and she would be crying at our door during snowstorms we would just let her inside. Well, her owners inherited a lot of money and moved to a very upscale neighborhood and the dog was gone, it was the worst weekend of my life (Thanksgiving 1986). My Dad finally said if I call them and they said it was OK, I can have her. I called them and they said she was at the local fire station HOPING THEY COULD FIND HER A HOME! I was floored (and my Dad was furious), I fed and loved that dog for several years and they were going to dump her off on anyone that would take her. That Sunday night the owner picked her up from the fire station and brought her to her new home.

Several years later we moving and our old house was empty, we had a few errands to run and tried to leave her in the house just for an hour. She was terrified that we were going to abandon her. I have never seen her react the way she did, shaking and whimpering. Of course we didn't leave her in the house alone.

She was approx 7-8 years old when she moved in with us permanently, we eventually had to put her down at 15 because her body was failing you could tell she was miserable (poor vision, bladder failing, weight loss). She was a wonderful dog, great with kids and gave unconditional love 100% of the time. Off to get a kleelex now....

 

[Scurvy]

I am SHOCKED at the people here judging these people without even knowing why! If they have had the pet for 6 yrs and are giving him up I am sure they just didnt get tired of him...I am sorry I have 3 kids and will NOT ever be homeless for a dog!I love our dogs but my kids will come first.what if they have to chose between feeding their kids and the dog?my kids will be eating first...at least they are not letting him starve they are trying to find a good home.

I wouldn't be so sure about the bolded part. I know three different people who have given up their pets in the last few months. The youngest pet was 3 and the oldest was 10. None of these people had to give up the animals (which they had owned since the animals were babies); they chose to because they didn't want to make any effort to properly train the animal (in one case), because they didn't want to pay for a pet-friendly rental when the no-pet places were cheaper, and because they "couldn't keep their dog from running away" without paying to repair their fence, which they didn't want to do. (And that last family, who gave their 3 year old dog to the pound after he supposedly bit a child the last time he ran away, just got a new puppy.)

I hope that the shelter where the dog in the OP was wasn't a regular shelter. If they placed her with a rescue group or a no kill shelter, that's one thing. But if they dumped her in a standard shelter (as the people I know did) then they aren't really trying to find a good home. They are abanding the dog to an almost certain death (or at least that's the case in most areas).

Locolala mentioned the possibility of someone being deployed overseas and having to give their pet up. I live in a town with a large military population. I've heard of this sort of thing happening fairly often, and it makes me furious. I understand that they might not be able to control where they have to live. Presumably, though, they were aware of that before they adopted an animal. If you know that you might have to suddenly move somewhere that you wouldn't be able to take your pet, then I think you have two choices. Either don't adopt the animal, or adopt it and make arrangements with someone else to take it if you become unable to keep it.

 

[luvwinnie]

I volunteer with bulldog rescue. The reasons are mind boggling...like "we had kids and now we have no time for him"...so the dog was just a placeholder until you had kids? How nice for the poor dog who has grown so attached to you. Or "we had kids and the dog is too out of control around the kids"...and whose fault is that? THen there was "he drools and sheds too much"....wow, a bulldog that drools??? NO! A dog that sheds? Inconceivable! UGH.

I will say we are glad they are calling rescue rather than just sticking the dog in a shelter (although we get those too) or abandoning him somewhere. That does show some responsibility.

 

[bjgrazi]

Years ago I used to be involved in Greyhound rescues. I fostered and ended up adopting 2 of them. All was great until the bottom fell out of my world.

I had to give the dogs back to the rescue group due to the fact that I had to move to a place that didn't accept animals. I couldn't believe how people who I thought were my friends turned on me. They couldn't understand at that point my first priority was to my children and myself. I was actually told to put the dogs before my kids.

I have since learned never to judge people when it comes to their animals. Things in peoples lives change and you don't always expect it or plan on it. You do the best you can with what you have.

People who spout a lot of things off, I'd love to put them into some situations and see how they handle it. I'm very sure they'd pick some of the same options.