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

[Mermaid02]

Seriously- how do you get rid of your 6 year old dog? It boggles my mind. "my family was moving and couldnt' take me with them" where were they going....... MARS??? I should really NOT look at the animal shelter website- but I can't seem to help myself. Our dog is so much a part of our family, I can't FATHOM surrendering her.

Off the soapbox now..........

 

[CathrynRose]

Blah.

Agreed. I'm with you. Charley is stuck with us. I pray it would never come to this, but I'd live in my car WITH him, then surrender him, for any reason.

 

[Mermaid02]

Blah.

Agreed. I'm with you. Charley is stuck with us. I pray it would never come to this, but I'd live in my car WITH him, then surrender him, for any reason.

I know right? I'd cancel the cable- or cut back somewhere else before I gave my dog away!

 

[minechuchie]

That's okay Mermaid I will get on that soapbox with you! When I take on an animal it is for the life of the animal. I can't imagine how these people think an amimal is a passing phase. WTH I can not imagine not knowing where an animal that I have loved and that has been loving to my family is. Is the animal being fed? Is it cold? It would break my heart.

I had eight dogs at one time, I would never dream of giving any of them away. The last of the original eight just passed in August, she was 16.5. My heart was broken. Then again my heart was broken everytime one of them passed. All of them lived to be 14 plus. LOL So you understand why I am on that soapbox with you.

I do have one dog now we found 3 years ago in an abandoned house...her name is Boo. She is very spoiled.

 

[luvmy3]

There were alot of stories of people losing their homes and having to move into apartments that didn't take pets a few months back. Who knos why these people are doing it, I won't pass judgement, if they had the dog for 6 years it doesn't seem as if they are unwilling to take the responsibilty of having him, maybe they just can't.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

There were alot of stories of people losing their homes and having to move into apartments that didn't take pets a few months back. Who knos why these people are doing it, I won't pass judgement, if they had the dog for 6 years it doesn't seem as if they are unwilling to take the responsibilty of having him, maybe they just can't.

As much as it breaks my heart to see things like this, I think this is the reason for a large majority of the pets that are left right now. Not sure I would ever be able to do it, but I'm not in that situation so I can not say never. All I know is I would do everything possible to keep my family in tact and that would include the fur baby.

 

[hentob]

where were they going....... MARS???..

Or a homeless shelter

Or a in-patient hospice setting

etc.

You never know.

 

[Feralpeg]

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.

 

[lillygator]

Or a homeless shelter

Or a in-patient hospice setting

etc.

You never know.

I agree, you just never know...

 

[Mermaid02]

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'm going to flame you but didn't they test him with cats before they gave him to you?

 

[Mermaid02]

Or a homeless shelter

Or a in-patient hospice setting

etc.

You never know.

True- but usually they say, "My owner got sick and couldnt' keep me" or something like that- I guess it depends on who is writing it up and how much time they have.

We already have a back up plan if anything happens to us though- we know exactly who will take Maddy.

 

[npmommie]

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.

Didn't the rescue organization know how he would be with cats? this is not your fault, I place blame with them. They should have tested him with cats, kids and other dogs too for that matter.

 

[ma2jr]

I think they should at least contact a rescue group and foster the dog until a new home can found. So so sad

 

[lillygator]

but what happens if your back up plan falls through? say they lose their home or jobs, it isn't just providing shelter for an animal but food, vet costs, etc...that adds up as well.

 

[Mermaid02]

but what happens if your back up plan falls through? say they lose their home or jobs, it isn't just providing shelter for an animal but food, vet costs, etc...that adds up as well.

You could what if forever- we have a stable home for our dog if we die- just like for our children.
I know there can be extenuating circumstances- but you can't deny that to some people, pets aren't important. Like my cousins ex husband who shot his dogs before he was deployed because the new wife didn't want to take care of them. I guess taking them to the shelter would have been a better solution.......... forget my first post. I forgot about that idiot.

Taking your animals to a shelter- although heartbreaking- is the best solution for a crappy situation.

 

[bumbershoot]

What's the alternative that you want? Because for someone to give up a pet, it likely means that something big has happened, and this is the last ditch effort.


We adopted a cat from a friend (really, a boss). We were her 4th home. She was the sweetest little thing, but she seemed to have a "kick me" sign on her somewhere that only other animals could see. Her second owner's husband died and the woman made the decision to give up the cat b/c her other cats were trying to harm her. Her son found out and drove across the state, just to rescue her. He and his partner kept her for awhile, but after a month they realized that the other animals were trying to kill her. They had to lock her in a crate to protect her from the other animals (especially this one cat named Spike...seriously, name an animal Spike and you're just asking for trouble IMO). That was no way for her to live.

So they offered her to us. I was newly pregnant, I was not working, I was bored when I wasn't sleeping...a cat would be perfect.

And the first night we had her, I had my very first non-exercise-related asthma attack; it was scary.

But I'd already fallen in love with her, and we just couldn't give her back, so we kept her. She wanted to sleep on us...my lungs couldn't do it and we had to bar her from the room. She slowly was moved to smaller and smaller spaces, especially after DS arrived, b/c even DS could read the "kick me" sign, and I spent a good amount of time keeping her protected from him.

Then we moved to a new place thinking how wonderful the bigger space would be for her...and a week later our landlady (who had been our apartment manager) realized we had a cat and said she had to be kept in the garage or we had to break our lease.

While we figured out what to do, we did keep her in the garage, making it as cozy for her as possible...

During all of this time, she developed behavioural problems, she developed licking problems, she had a horrid sore on her leg that lasted a YEAR despite our having veterinary care for her...it just kept going and going b/c she would lick it (I later realized that the behaviour can go along with vaccines, which she had had shortly before it appeared)...it finally took a holistic vet who did a double whammy of a special natural wash AND a big shot of antibiotics (the antibiotics took it halfway, the wash finished it off over time).

When I clipped her nails I had asthma attacks. She stopped pooping all the way and would walk around with stuff hanging off of her. She started peeing in wrong places.

And we kept her, despite being absolutely at our wits' end, because the alternatives sounded so bad and we didn't want to be the people that dumped their pet of 3 years. She had food allergies (allergic to poultry, it turned out) and we were about to change to a raw food diet for her, she could NOT be around other pets, she shouldn't be around young children, she probably shouldn't have more vaccines given her reaction, etc etc etc...m friend kept urging me to give her up, but SHE wasn't offering to take her, and I couldn't find anyone who would do for her what needed to be done....

Sadly, she chose for us. We had MIL and FIL watching our house and feeding her while we went to my brother's, then FIL fell ill and hubby was called back home. He was at the house and found that the cat had been belly sick all over her area (still in the garage), and while he cleaned it up and fielded calls from his mom, she ran away.

It was sad. I still mourn her, and it's been as long since she went away as we had her in our lives. If we could have brought ourselves to be the people who gave up the pet, I would have been more healthy, and she might be alive today.



Of course not every case is like ours or feralpeg's. I'm sure there are cold-hearted people out there. But I just think it's wrong to assume that everyone giving up a pet is doing so coldly and as their first choice...

 

[smkiss02]

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'm so sorry I remember when you lost Griffin and were getting Bandit. I'm surprised the rescue didn't test him with cats beforehand.

OP- I understand where you're coming from as well. I've seen ads where people are getting rid of their older pets. My dog is 8 and I can't imagine giving her up. She's part of the family.

There are extenuating circumstances too though which I understand. It's the people who "don't have time" or something similar who I can't understand.

 

[Scurvy]

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'm really disgusted by the people in the OP. After 6 years they just give up their pet to a shelter - that seems irresponsible to me. I would have to literally be homeless before I would give up my pets. Maybe those people were, and in that case I'm sorry for judging them harshly. But I've run into so many people lately who just give up their pets because the alternative is just too much work, or the pet friendly apartments would cost too much more and they wouldn't be able to afford as many vacations, or they don't feel like fencing in their yard and the dog got out and bit someone, or. . . one reason after another, none of which are good.

Your case is different. You tried to give Bandit a loving home - but your first priority has to be the pets you already had. It isn't fair to your cats for you to keep a dog like that. This isn't your failure. The shelter failed when they let a cat owner adopt a cat-aggressive dog. You didn't keep Bandit for all of his cute puppyhood and then turn around and abandon him when he turned out to be too much work. You tried to give him a chance, but he can't fit in to your household. He needs to be put in a home with no cats. That isn't your fault.

We already have a back up plan if anything happens to us though- we know exactly who will take Maddy.

We figured out who would take our pets as well. I really think that's the smart thing to do. If you're going to take on the responsibility of a pet you need to consider who will care for it if you become unable to for whatever reason. People really need to think about that more when they choose to adopt an animal!

 

[Feralpeg]

I'm going to flame you but didn't they test him with cats before they gave him to you?

They told me that they were not sure, but thought he would be okay with cats since he was so young.

 

[eduk8r26]

My daughter and her family had a mixed Lab for 5 years, then she and her husband split and had to sell their house. She looked and looked for a house with a yard and could not find one before she had to move out. It broke their hearts to give up the dog. She went to a rescue place. So you can't judge someone for what they do.