Anonymous wrote:We got our doggie from Rescue Angels. They were so easy to work with - even let us take him home overnight to make sure he'd get along with our cat before we finalized the adoption. (He and the cat got along just fine. They're awesome brothers now.)

http://www.rescueangels.org/

Arlington and Alexandria Animal Welfare Leagues are also both very nice, and you'll find a mix of different kinds of dogs there.

WARL, of course, is amazing.

And WHS does have a lot of pits - I happen to love them, but if you're skittish you're skittish, and their primary goal is matching the right dog with the right family. You can work with their adoption coordinators to find a dog who you think will fit in well with your household. I don't think they'll evangelize to you about getting pitties (though, again, I happen to love those dogs).

Good luck, either way! Hope you'll report back when you have your new pup so we can all ooh and aah over him/her.

Skittish? Perhaps some of us are experienced dog owners of large breeds. We have dogs in our family for well over a decade. I'd rather spend those 12-15 years with a lab or GS, etc. It was only after spending time with several rescued pitbull/mixes who have loving homes and proper care and training that we decided no. When family has a dog and they can no longer care for them permanently or temporarily it says alot when dog lover relatives refuse to take in the dog.

We got our doggie from Rescue Angels. They were so easy to work with - even let us take him home overnight to make sure he'd get along with our cat before we finalized the adoption. (He and the cat got along just fine. They're awesome brothers now.)

http://www.rescueangels.org/

Arlington and Alexandria Animal Welfare Leagues are also both very nice, and you'll find a mix of different kinds of dogs there.

WARL, of course, is amazing.

And WHS does have a lot of pits - I happen to love them, but if you're skittish you're skittish, and their primary goal is matching the right dog with the right family. You can work with their adoption coordinators to find a dog who you think will fit in well with your household. I don't think they'll evangelize to you about getting pitties (though, again, I happen to love those dogs).

Good luck, either way! Hope you'll report back when you have your new pup so we can all ooh and aah over him/her.

What happened to freedom of choice? I'm so sick of these people who try to force everyone to get a rescue dog. Should all pre-adoptive parents be shamed into adopting a child from foster care because there are so many available, when they want to do international adoption, or adopt an infant domestically? This shaming is rubbish. Go adopt those rescue dogs yourselves, then. We went to a breeder of an uncommon breed as there were NONE in any rescue, and were happy (and guilt-free) doing it.

Anonymous wrote:This is 21:41, Yes I believe what i wrote, what does it mean to "better the breed" ? who cares if a breed is better than it was. Dogs are suffering because there are just too many of them. If you want a specific breed you can get it from a rescue that works with that breed.
If a breeder was doing it for the love of a breed and the love of dogs they would be gi ving them away. Theyre doing it too make money.
I personally think that thats wrong when we have so many dogs being put down every day because no one is available to adopt them.

In an ideal world, reputable breeders breed healthy puppies and responsible pet owners adopt/buy them and keep them forever or rehome them privately (or through breed-specific rescues). You're saying that because there are many unwanted dogs out there, purebred and otherwise, that this is the fault of reputable breeders and responsible pet owners.

Reputable breeders, who seek to reduce or eliminate faults in the breed (such as hip dysplasia, eye problems, skin problems, etc.,) as well as producing puppies with good temperaments, have costs including showing and, more basically, feeding the bitch and puppies, vet bills, etc. Certainly, we can comment on whether prices for purebred puppies are too high, but you're saying that purebred puppies, from the guy down the street or from AKC champions, should be sold for $0. Why should they give them away rather than recoup costs?

I understand the feeling that you shouldn't get a healthy purebred puppy from a breeder when you can get a pound puppy. But there are enough pet owners that some people can do one and other people can do the other. At least that's my opinion. I also think that, the logical conclusion from the idea that you shouldn't get a puppy from a breeder instead of a pound puppy is that, if your circumstances in life change so that you can no longer keep the dog, rather than rehome it privately or through a rescue (or send the dog back to the pound), you should euthanize it rather than sending it on to someone else. If you rehome your adult dog, you are taking up the place in someone else's home that could be taken by a pound or rescue dog. (But many vets will refuse to euthanize healthy dogs. So don't worry, you can't do this in real life. It is something that some people advocate for horses, though, since they are so much more expensive to keep.)

This is 21:41, Yes I believe what i wrote, what does it mean to "better the breed" ? who cares if a breed is better than it was. Dogs are suffering because there are just too many of them. If you want a specific breed you can get it from a rescue that works with that breed.
If a breeder was doing it for the love of a breed and the love of dogs they would be gi ving them away. Theyre doing it too make money.
I personally think that thats wrong when we have so many dogs being put down every day because no one is available to adopt them.

Anonymous wrote:Many (not all but a darn good number) of people who work in the rescues do the animals a huge disservice by being crazy people. Cat rescues are often just fronts for cat hoarders. My friend was told by a rescue worker that she could adopt a cat because she worked full time.

I can understand that rescues need to do some level of vetting but by putting out unrealistic requirements they are keeping animals from good homes. Some rescues are insane in wanting multiple home visits and multiple references plus they want you to sign something that says they can return to your home at any time and take the pet back for any reason. I've heard of them turning down families with children, minorities, people who work, people that are over 50, people that are under 30..the list goes on and on. Its as if only a single`, homely, middle aged white person who looks like they are a rescue worker and obsessed is the "perfect" family. This means that animals end up staying in shelters their entire lives or much too long.

We looked into rescue but ended up going with a breeder. We spent time talking with our breeder but she wasn't invasive or rude. We love our dog. She's part of the family and has a great set up. We don't regret getting her for one second but her home could have gone to a rescue pup if it hadn't been for the rescue people.

OMG, I could have written this post myself. We have young kids, and that basically disqualified us from pretty much every place we looked. It was crazy. If they are so desperate to place these animals, why the insurmountable hurdles? We have the space, the time, someone at home all day, the love to give...but that apparently wasn't enough. Kids and dogs don't mix.

In frustration, we also ended up going to a breeder, and found a wonderful 6 month old puppy (yes, there are older puppies out there, too). OP, I would advise you to ask breeders of the breed that you like whether they have any adult dogs which are no longer having litters, or siring. You would still pay for them, but likely not as much, and they would be housebroken and socialized, and the family and health histories would be known. We found several breeders willing to part with 3 or 4 year old dogs; you just have to be willing to have them fixed once they come home. Good luck!

There are fine breeders. If you do research and not get your pup from someone with 6 litters on the ground, you will be fine.

Anonymous wrote:check out www.petfinder.com

You can put in the breed and approx age you are looking for and your zip code. They will list dogs that meet your criteria in your area.
Some are in shelters and some are with rescue groups.

I had a good experience with lucky dog through petfinder but admittedly they didnt do any follow up. It was our 3rd dog though so maybe they didnt feel the need. Their dogs come from a high kill shelter in SC.

There is no such thing as a reputable breeder. They are churning out dogs to make money. Dogs are killed at shelters every day while more are being bred. I dont call that reputable.

Are you crazy? Read those sentences again and see if they still make sense to you. Do you truly believe that all breeders are quasi-puppy-mills and have no interest in breeding healthy puppies to better the breed?

check out www.petfinder.com

You can put in the breed and approx age you are looking for and your zip code. They will list dogs that meet your criteria in your area.
Some are in shelters and some are with rescue groups.

I had a good experience with lucky dog through petfinder but admittedly they didnt do any follow up. It was our 3rd dog though so maybe they didnt feel the need. Their dogs come from a high kill shelter in SC.

There is no such thing as a reputable breeder. They are churning out dogs to make money. Dogs are killed at shelters every day while more are being bred. I dont call that reputable.

we got our dog from lost dog in arlington about 5 years ago. he is really the best dog ever and just perfect for us. the whole process took like 30 minutes. we just stopped by the petsmart that afternoon and met him. they have never come to our home but did ask us to sign some paper saying they could take the animal back and by force if necessary... so weird. i had no problem signing it becuase 1. there would be no reason for them to do that anyway so it's moot and 2. i highly doubt me signing that piece of paper would allow them to actually break down my door and dognap my pet.

We adopted a dog from the NoVA SPCA--we both work full-time, live in an apartment and were upper 40s at the time. They did do a home visit and called a reference--big deal! We served e her tea and showed her that our cat was alive and healthy and that was it--approved.

Look for more rural places, down in VA or up in PA. We had a lot of difficulties with places in MD. I mean seriously some places are just to much. Petfinder is good because you can find smaller shelters that may be easier to adopt from

check out G.R.R.E.A.T.

The rescue places are way too anal, IME.

Check the DC shelter on NY ave (not WARL). Yes, most dogs there are going to be pits (we had a pit mix for years & she was the sweetest & great with kids btw). But they do get other dogs. We got a lab mix there, so they do end up there, but they are also adopted out very quickly.

Many (not all but a darn good number) of people who work in the rescues do the animals a huge disservice by being crazy people. Cat rescues are often just fronts for cat hoarders. My friend was told by a rescue worker that she could adopt a cat because she worked full time.

I can understand that rescues need to do some level of vetting but by putting out unrealistic requirements they are keeping animals from good homes. Some rescues are insane in wanting multiple home visits and multiple references plus they want you to sign something that says they can return to your home at any time and take the pet back for any reason. I've heard of them turning down families with children, minorities, people who work, people that are over 50, people that are under 30..the list goes on and on. Its as if only a single`, homely, middle aged white person who looks like they are a rescue worker and obsessed is the "perfect" family. This means that animals end up staying in shelters their entire lives or much too long.

We looked into rescue but ended up going with a breeder. We spent time talking with our breeder but she wasn't invasive or rude. We love our dog. She's part of the family and has a great set up. We don't regret getting her for one second but her home could have gone to a rescue pup if it hadn't been for the rescue people.