Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it sucks to use the label ‘quarantine dog adopters’. Implies that anyone who adopts during this time is somehow irresponsible or a lousy pet owner.

I agree, although I call my dog a covid dog . He’s very loved.

+1, I call ours a pandemic puppy. We are 3 1/2 months in and adore him. It is simply an unusual time where people have time and a need for companionship. It has been wonderful for our family and we likely would not have a dog absent these circumstances.

That’s great! When life returns to something close to normal, you will make arrangements to care for him (midday dog walker, etc.), right? I think people like OP are concerned that owners will just no longer want the dog.

Covid dog owner here - yes, of course we thought through the financial implications of owning a dog. We fortunately can afford it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adopt a kitten! We are in kitten season right now and they’re much easier than dogs!

No thanks, they stink!

Dogs don’t stink?

NP here. Dogs can be washed, cats licking themselves is not the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every now and then there is someone on here complaining about people returning dogs. Does it really matter if a small percentage of dogs are returned?

What's the alternative for the dogs if people don't at least try with a rescue dog, lethal injection?

NP. About 50% of rescues are returned. So I suppose "small percentage" is arguable.

I work with several rescues and that number isnt anywhere close to the return rate. I am curious where you got that?

That does seem high. I would assume that it includes or is specific to open admission shelters which don't typically screen adopters or have much background information on the animals. If a rescue ( here referring to a private organization not a state or county shelter) has a return rate anywhere close to that, their adoption policies need some serious reexamination.

Open admission shelters do not have a 50 percent rate of return! I think OP made this stat up - or thinks she read it somewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it sucks to use the label ‘quarantine dog adopters’. Implies that anyone who adopts during this time is somehow irresponsible or a lousy pet owner.

I agree, although I call my dog a covid dog . He’s very loved.

+1, I call ours a pandemic puppy. We are 3 1/2 months in and adore him. It is simply an unusual time where people have time and a need for companionship. It has been wonderful for our family and we likely would not have a dog absent these circumstances.

That’s great! When life returns to something close to normal, you will make arrangements to care for him (midday dog walker, etc.), right? I think people like OP are concerned that owners will just no longer want the dog.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it sucks to use the label ‘quarantine dog adopters’. Implies that anyone who adopts during this time is somehow irresponsible or a lousy pet owner.

I agree, although I call my dog a covid dog . He’s very loved.

+1, I call ours a pandemic puppy. We are 3 1/2 months in and adore him. It is simply an unusual time where people have time and a need for companionship. It has been wonderful for our family and we likely would not have a dog absent these circumstances.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adopt a kitten! We are in kitten season right now and they’re much easier than dogs!

No thanks, they stink!

Dogs don’t stink?

Anonymous wrote:I will admit we got a puppy and had no clue what we were in for. We had adopted 2 older dogs in the past, but couldn’t find one that was ok with other dogs and young kids. I feel like the rescue could definitely have better prepared us for what to expect. The first month or so was brutal and I seriously thought about returning him. However, it’s now been 2.5 months and I am so glad we didn’t. He’s becoming quite an adored member of our crew.

Awww, I'm glad you made it through a super-rough puppy stage. I've always adopted slightly older dogs.....and we just got a puppy. My son is so sad that he's so much work, and nips all the time! I knew it would be rough -- which is why I've always gotten older dogs in the past.

But this too shall pass, and that investment will help make your pup a happy, well-behaved member of your family.

Anonymous wrote:"I think it sucks to use the label ‘quarantine dog adopters’. Implies that anyone who adopts during this time is somehow irresponsible or a lousy pet owner."

That's our problem. We're long-time, responsible dog owners. Our dog died last month and we can't for the life of us get a breeder to respond to queries - they all assume that we've flippantly decided to get a dog due to quarantine. It sucks! We really miss having a dog in our house.

They likely don’t have any dogs to place. I foster and people got up at 5 am to sign up just for a slot to meet potential puppies.

"I think it sucks to use the label ‘quarantine dog adopters’. Implies that anyone who adopts during this time is somehow irresponsible or a lousy pet owner."

That's our problem. We're long-time, responsible dog owners. Our dog died last month and we can't for the life of us get a breeder to respond to queries - they all assume that we've flippantly decided to get a dog due to quarantine. It sucks! We really miss having a dog in our house.

Anonymous wrote:OP,

What do you suggest for people who wish to adopt a cat but have a cat-allergic person in the family? My son is not allergic to all cats, but we don’t know which ones he’s going to be allergic to. Obviously the best solution is to never have a cat. What can we do if we want to see if a cat will work for our son? He loves cats.

Don’t adopt a cat if your child is allergic to it.

~your friendly neighborhood pediatrician

Anonymous wrote:Adopt a kitten! We are in kitten season right now and they’re much easier than dogs!

No thanks, they stink!

Adopt a kitten! We are in kitten season right now and they’re much easier than dogs!

Anonymous wrote:I think it sucks to use the label ‘quarantine dog adopters’. Implies that anyone who adopts during this time is somehow irresponsible or a lousy pet owner.

Agreed. OP is being a hater. Reminds me of all the smug gym-goers who boo-boo every Jan-March about how "their" gym is being taken over by New Year's Resolutioners. It's all good! Stop hating because you did it first (or so you think)!

We had decided to adopt a dog and had done a ton of research before the quarantine, but hadn’t submitted any applications yet when the quarantine started. The breed-specific rescue we went through required a thorough application, multiple reference checks, reading 2 specific books, a 2 1/2 hour phone interview that had to include all adults in the household, a committee approving us as adopters, and a 1 1/2 hour home visit (virtual during quarantine) that had to include every member of the household. Only after all that would the rescue then recommend several dogs they thought would be a good match for our family (they won’t let anyone adopt a dog that they think won’t fit in well in that particular household).

There was a virtual meet-and-greet where potential adopters could see dogs they were interested in and ask questions of the dogs’ fosters. Finally, once we chose a dog, every member of the household had to meet the dog in person in order for the rescue to process the adoption. We met the dog at his foster home (outdoors, and masks required), where he’d been living for a couple weeks, and his fosters were able to tell us a lot about him.

When we adopted, we were given contact information for a volunteer behaviorist in case we had any problems and invited to join the rescue’s online community for adopters. The rescue called us to check in 7 days after the adoption and then 6 weeks after the adoption. They’ll follow up again later this year. I had a question about my dog and received responses from the rescue’s President, another volunteer, and 5-6 other adopters less than 24 hours after I posted to the online community.

I think very few dogs would be returned if everyone had to go through this much to adopt and then received this level of support, but I can definitely see why a lot of rescues just don’t have enough volunteers and resources to operate this way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every now and then there is someone on here complaining about people returning dogs. Does it really matter if a small percentage of dogs are returned?

What's the alternative for the dogs if people don't at least try with a rescue dog, lethal injection?

NP. About 50% of rescues are returned. So I suppose "small percentage" is arguable.

I work with several rescues and that number isnt anywhere close to the return rate. I am curious where you got that?

That does seem high. I would assume that it includes or is specific to open admission shelters which don't typically screen adopters or have much background information on the animals. If a rescue ( here referring to a private organization not a state or county shelter) has a return rate anywhere close to that, their adoption policies need some serious reexamination.