Dogs

[Dáire]

Surely you can't approve 57 people in a few hours, though? I mean there's all the homechecks, right, the interviews, the lengthy questionnaires, weeding out the resellers, the chancers, the people who haven't ever considered dog ownership...? It's not like it should be first-come, first-served.

I'd have thought there'd be a bit of a waiting list and as they whittle off the unsuitable, they've got interested parties... but then who knows. It all seems next to impossible. I saw some comments on their FB post from some pretty gutted people who also noted this felt like 'their only chance' to adopt a dog, as they're always told they're not experienced enough, house isn't semi-rural enough, got kids, got jobs, and always get turned down.

We had a look through some other shelters. One had a beautiful dog who's been fostered in a family with children since puppyhood. She was good on a lead, house-trained, crate-trained and good with cats. They want a large home with people home all day - done, we both WFH. Oh, but they'd like her to live with another dog in case we go out. Um. OK. So... I cannot adopt this perfect dog because I do not already have a dog when it is pretty much impossible to adopt a dog...

[Lily]

The dogs had been up available for several days I think. They reserve a dog, but then they'd go through all the checks afterwards. I think these dogs needed to go to quite busy homes, ideally with several dogs (that's from what I read on the couple that I applied for), so I imagine they went to quite specialist homes.

I have noticed a lot of dogs need to be rehomed with a dog, but it is worth putting an application in any way, in case they don't find a home with a dog.

[Morganna]

We went through something similar a while ago when we rang about a Newfoundland puppy. He was adorable, and about a year old. We had a long chat, and they took our details and asked us to call back after Christmas as the ad went in a week or so before. When we did (a minute after they opened) they said he was already homed. He must have been on the trial fostering period when we spoke to them. I was so disappointed, and the experience has further put me off getting a rescue dog. If they'd been honest I would have understood, but I think that leading us on like that was cruel. They seemed to think that if we wanted a dog we should be happy with any dog, but it doesn't work like that.

S had no joy in adopting before they got Loki, either. They have a house with a garden, both of them have been dog owners before, and they could have worked their hours so that a dog would only be alone for short periods (this was before Covid - now one of them is always there with L). You couldn't ask for more caring owners, but they were turned down because they both worked and couldn't guarantee that someone would be there 24/7 in perpetuity. Seriously - how many younger people can offer that? Most will be working (and if not they might struggle to afford the upkeep of a dog), and anyone's work situation could change overnight.

[Scooter]

We’ve looked at adopting after losing the big hound last year. I’ve given up. We’re on a breeders list and should be getting a puppy in 3 months or so after turning down a new year puppy (timing didn’t work for a puppy and we want to get it right)

[Lily]

Morgs, I'm sorry, that is rotten. There does seem to be an assumption that "any dog will do" and it's understandable that the checking is stringent, but it does make it well nigh impossible for people who would be very decent dog owners to adopt. I'm finding it hardgoing and I'm only just starting!

What are your experiences, Scooter?

[Toast]

Ziggy came from Many Tears. It's an amazing place. They work very closely with a lot of breeders and have an "ask no questions" policy so that the breeders will continue to drop dogs off with them rather than euthanise.

They're very open about the fact that they almost only rehome dogs from breeders into homes with a resident dog and explain why:

PLEASE NOTE: We nearly always home dogs who have come from breeders where there is ALREADY A RESIDENT DOG living in the house. They have usually never lived in a house before and are only used to canine company. They usually get their confidence and learn faster with another dog to copy from. This also helps with house training and learning how to walk on a lead. They will make lovely pets but do need a lot of love, time and patience. If the ex breeding dog you are interested in can be an only dog it will say so in its write up.

[Dáire]

I noticed a few ex-breeding dogs who had 'never lived in a house' and that was upsetting. What an awful life. I know people who've adopted dogs like that who were dumped in terrible health. When I've looked at or followed KC/champion breeders they're in the home and treated as family pets because they only have 2 or 3. But I don't know. Could all be fake too, couldn't it.

I do appreciate the rehoming an ill-used, traumatised dog is a difficult task and only for very specific owners. It does get me down, though, that at the same time adoption is pushed as 'the only right way' to get a dog, when it's clearly not for every would-be owner.

Can't buy a puppy, can't adopt. It does weigh on me. I never thought I'd be an adult with no dog. It would happen 'one day', but one day never came.

[Scooter]

What are your experiences, Scooter?

I found rescues expect an adoption form to be filled out for each dog and wouldn’t keep them on file or pre-approve, but puppies were getting adopted seemingly too quickly to have gone through their required channels, and I strongly suspect dogs are going to friend/family/previous adopters, meaning other suitable families don’t get a look in. We’re experienced dog owners with older kids, dog savvy cats along with someone being g home everyday and a secure dog run, large fenced garden. We ticked all the boxes and still always missed out. I’m a bit jaded towards rescues, to be honest.

I know what I’m getting (within reason) from our chosen breeder and know that the puppy will be checked for hereditary health issues and we’ll have ongoing breeder support. For all of that peace of mind the extra cost for a pedigree is something I’m happy to pay.

Im looking forward to having another hound but am definitely bracing for the puppy months. It’ll be like having a newborn again

[Toast]

They get a lot of ex-breeding dogs, it is upsetting. A lot of the dogs that come to them from breeders have challenges of various types and a lot of that is to do with the way they were born. The births are often unsupervised and the mothers can be left for a long time without any intervention which can cause all sorts of issues. I think what MT try to do is to get the dogs into foster care as quickly as they can so the dogs can start to be socilaised with experienced foster carers who are able to understand their personalaties and assess what type of home they need. Sometimes they'll need to be the only dog but there can then be a challenge around whether you've had a rescue dog before. We had that with Ziggy, E has had dogs her whole life but never a rescue and we were almost rejected as a result. And that's for a three-legged, blind dog with neurological problems so not exactly top of everyone's list when it came to adoption!

I think the thing is that the shelters are looking out for the best interests of the dogs, aren't they? They know that if they rehome a dog into the "wrong" circumstances then the dog will likely come back to them and that's traumatic. Ziggy was returned to them three times before we brought him home :(

[sally maclennane]

This tweet made me laugh, albeit a bit guiltily

https://twitter.com/nialltg/status/1375 ... kMOhA&s=19

[Dáire]

Basically that :lol: I saw one with the usual "no cats, no children" but they also had "no off-lead, no walking in areas where it might encounter other dogs, no men, no visitors", with more detail about its food guarding, attacking other dogs and nipping issues, so um... good luck finding a single lady hermit with her own fields then? I mean, not to be awful but maybe not every dog is suited to being a house-pet once you've got to the 'no visitors' stage...

I think the focus needs to be to stop telling people adoption is the 'only' way or the 'best' way. It's like saying we should all do our own dental work. Yes, we can give it a good shot, but unforeseen problems are likely and it's probably best left to those experienced in the area, and encouraging everyone to avoid dentists and whip out the pliers is an oversimplification. Adoption's clearly not for everyone so maybe shelters need to think about educating, not encouraging. Which is a bit at odds, I guess.

[Morganna]

This tweet made me laugh, albeit a bit guiltily

https://twitter.com/nialltg/status/1375 ... kMOhA&s=19

Sadly, it's not a million miles from the truth, though. I do get a bit arsey when people (often non-dog owners) virtuously say that nobody should buy from breeders when there are dogs to be adopted. Of course 'all dogs deserve a second chance' and all that, but shelters are not doing you a massive favour by allowing you to home a stray dog. I also understand the need to find the right home, but the insistence on such specific criteria is at odds with the message that the dogs are desperate for someone to love them.

(Which is essentially what Daire has said - I thought I'd clicked 'send' before I went out, but I hadn't :)) )

[Luce]

This tweet made me laugh, albeit a bit guiltily

https://twitter.com/nialltg/status/1375 ... kMOhA&s=19

This is exactly what we found back in 2014! Bloody hell, it's funny 'cause its true!

[olive]

That made me laugh too, Sal and this has been very much our experience too. Most rescues don’t like the ages of our children (9 & 11 which is surprising!), want us to adopt 2 dogs together or already have a dog.

We both work from home and would love a rescue but may end with a breeder as we’ve been looking for months without any success.

[Lily]

:lol: It really is true.

I have registered with a couple of rescue homes but my friend who is a breeder has got some older options for me which we are going to talk about later. Ideally I'd have a "mistake" dog - my grandparents' dog was so alluring that the village ladies' man literally bit a hole through the porch door to get to her and the result was our dog and 5 others. She never revealed his name.

[Dáire]

It's taken me years to convince my 'let's just get a mongrel from an ad in the paper' husband that genuine mistake dogs are so rare nowadays - I'd have thought between almost everyone spaying and no one letting their dogs roam the streets at night it must be quite uncommon. It's why we're looking at foreign rescue - they get batches of mongrel pups weekly which can end up going right into foster homes to be socialised. Not entirely risk-free in terms of inbred trauma but probably the best way to get a random mongrel now.

But I'd love that. My dad came home with kittens he found abandoned in a box once. Instant beloved pets who lived long happy lives. He got his childhood dogs as 'just strays we found' and doesn't understand why that doesn't happen now. At the weekend he said "can't you just go and get one from the puppy pound?" No dad, it's not 1979.

[Morganna]

Yes, I've heard that too. Who knew there would be so much dog advice from people who haven't a clue about the issues surrounding getting one :)).

My hairdresser asks every time I go if we've got a dog yet. I assume that that's the thing she's mentally associated with me as a way of making conversation, but she's forgotten the bit where I told her that I can't have one until my breathing gets sorted, as I can't walk a dog properly unless that happens. Then she launches into her monologue about how 'Somethingpoo' dogs are cruel, even though she was cutting my hair when we had Dylan, who presumably qualified as a Somethingpoo by dint of his mixed parentage that included a poodle. Then I hear all about the inbreeding that just makes every problem worse, and there is sometimes a side-order of puppy farms and how Frenchies are almost always from them (and yes, she's seen photos of Loki and knows I love him). The advice at the end is always 'just get a mongrel. They are so much stronger and less likely to have problems. People nowadays just want dogs as accessories, not pets.' I have told her that mongrels are thin on the ground now, for the reasons Daire mentions above, but it's like talking to the wall.

Our childhood pets were accidents. There was Butch, the tiny dog my dad rescued before he was weaned, from a man who insisted that he was a terrier and wouldn't grow too big. My mum took one look at the size of his paws and sighed. He was a collie. Then we got Brandy, who was a boxer/lab cross. A couple of breeders met at a dog show or something, got together, and their respective dogs followed suit. The cat was abandoned as a kitten and was sitting on the doorstep when my heavily pregnant mum went to get in the milk. She was so small her eyes were still closed and mum had to feed her with a bottle she'd bought for my arrival. They were all long-lived and hardy (as mentioned above almost certainly without the benefit of pet insurance) and we all loved them. But you don't get pets in those ways nowadays. The End.

[Lily]

I'm sorry Morgs, I only just saw that post. Accidents really are the best! My mum rescued two kittens from a farmer who was about to drown them in true Enid Blyton style, and they became ours.

I have been doing the odd bit of dog-scouting, and have had some success with Mossmania (Romanian rescues) who are the only shelter who've actually replied to me. I figured I was likely to get a "bitsa" from abroad. I spoke to this little chap's foster mum today. He's 7 years old, good with other animals and children, and an easy-going happy dog who needs someone of his own to love him. So shit's kind of getting real. I've been alone for sooooo long, it is going to be strange sharing my life with something else and having full on responsibility. I'm scared I'm not ready. But I am, I know I am.

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Here is my "mistake" and her mum:

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[Lily]

And our cats. They were so beautiful.

[Luna]

The Rommie rescue sounds ideal Lils. Good luck