Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if you achieved 100% spay/neuter in the pet population you would have full shelters because people abandon or give up their dogs all the time. It's not limited to "bully breeds" or greyhounds, either.

I think a situation where you have to really search or wait for a breeder puppy is healthy: if you work for it, maybe you're less likely to dump the dog in a year.

You would vastly underpaid demand though, as is already the case in the NE. That’s why we’re importing unwanted dogs from the South.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is a home check burdensome?

One home check is not and last time I adopted a dog from the humane society they were only interested in making sure I had a fence and pulled up the house on google maps to see the fence from the satellite image. A few years ago I tried adopting a small shih tzu from a private rescue and was happy to pay the $400 fee to adopt a middle age shih tzu to further support the organization. They also had a long application and wanted 3 personal letters of recommendation plus one from a vet which I was happy to provide. What stopped me was they wanted to do multiple and possibly surprise home checks after the adoption and had the right to remove the dog at any point. They had requirements about feeding the dog only a certain brand of food and using a crate which if it wasn’t seen during the inspection they would take the dog (I don’t like or use crates for my pets) It felt like I would be more like a foster who was responsible for vet bills than an owner so I didn’t move forward.

I’ve read a lot of stories like this and I can’t understand why some people defend this. It’s a dog.

Anonymous wrote:My sister bought an expensive trained dog from a breeder and it needs all kinds of drugs for its mental illnesses.

Adopting a dog from a hoarder who let their dogs knock each other up, or adopting one of your expensive dogs after it played roughly with your new baby, or you didn't want it to make your new house dirty, isn't promoting breeders, it's cleaning up a mess someone else made.

Anonymous wrote:I hate it when rescues are not being transparent with the adopters. It is setting everyone up to fail, gives rescues a bad name, and opens them up to liability, which they really should not want.

DH tells me that I'm maybe a little too transparent with potential adopters, and talk of anal glands and loose poop will scare them away. If it does, so be it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I definitely judge people who buy their pets. You don't actually "love" dogs or cats if you buy and order them.

My sister bought a cat from a breeder. It's had frequent accidents, plays very aggressively, and is an all around tough cat. Your designer pets can have loads of issues.

My DSH shelter cat has never had an accident, doesn't play aggressively, and is a cuddly sweetheart. He's just the best.

I judge aDoPt DoNt ShOp activists because they don’t realize they’re contributing to the puppy-mill-to-rescue cycle.

People who purchase digs from responsible breeders are the ideal.

Half of you “rescue” folks are keeping dogs that are beyond rehabilitation. Your dogs are often a menace to the neighborhood. No one will tell you, though, because ”He’S A rEsCuE.”

Anonymous wrote:I definitely judge people who buy their pets. You don't actually "love" dogs or cats if you buy and order them.

My sister bought a cat from a breeder. It's had frequent accidents, plays very aggressively, and is an all around tough cat. Your designer pets can have loads of issues.

My DSH shelter cat has never had an accident, doesn't play aggressively, and is a cuddly sweetheart. He's just the best.

Anonymous wrote:I definitely judge people who buy their pets. You don't actually "love" dogs or cats if you buy and order them.

My sister bought a cat from a breeder. It's had frequent accidents, plays very aggressively, and is an all around tough cat. Your designer pets can have loads of issues.

My DSH shelter cat has never had an accident, doesn't play aggressively, and is a cuddly sweetheart. He's just the best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We rescued a miniature pincher from a large rescue in northern MD that turned out to be extremely aggressive to men and boys. He tried to bite my husband and would snap at 3 sons if they tried to get near me. We suspect the poor guy lived with a woman and a man who abused her. He literally would sit behind me on the couch, around the back of my neck. After several weeks of not being able to modify his behavior, we contacted the rescue, per our contract, and they told us to bring him back, which we sadly did. It was heartbreaking. We saw later, though, that the poor pup was back on the rescue's website being advertised as a dog fit for a family with children. This made me question the rescue's good reputation because I have no doubt that poor dog would bite a boy or young man who came between him and a female in the family.

Last year, we adopted an elderly (15 or 16 year old) shih tzu from a friend of a friend. She'd taken the little guy after one of her elderly patients died and left him, but she was being transferred across the country and couldn't take him. He's been such a little love and nice addition to our family. We just hope he feels loved and comfort in his final days.

I'd have a hard time adopting from another rescue unless the dog had been fostered in a family similar to mine.

+1 we fostered a Great Pyrenees/brittany spaniel. he was a resource guarder and extremely protective of me. he went after and bit my teenage daughter (she has a scar on her leg and it was 6 months ago) as she hugged me and the rescue told us to "keep introducing him to new situations and people." um, what? He was returned to the rescue, I believe is being fostered by someone else, and as of today is listed as "engaging in some guarding behaviors, as is typical of Great Pyrenees." That's it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The amount of mental energy and gymnastics people do over dogs these days is really not to be believed. They are animals. Point blank. Just like the chickens, cows, and pigs that most of us eat on a daily basis. And yet people will lose their minds over the treatment of dogs and how they should be bred or not and blah blah blah. I feel deeply sorry for anyone who has wasted their life working on "animal rescue" or the like. Please, fine a life doing something to benefit your fellow humans.

This is exactly my position on dogs and cats. The amount of resources wasted on these animals is absolute insanity and probably really bad for the environment (feral cats killing birds), wasted energy (water, food, transport) of all these rescue operations. Frankly, we need to be euthanizing the vast majority of these animals. is it "fair" to a dog that was irresponsibly bred and then abandoned to be put down? No, but the dog should have never been bred and the amount of resources wasted on keeping these unwanted and unneeded animals alive is sick when there are millions and millions of HUMANS in need of charity and efforts toward making their lives better. Only in America are people so obsessed with saving the animals while we criminalize homeless humans.

People will step over a hungry person in the street to check on a stray dog. I've seen it.

fwiw, I don't hate animals, have had pets throughout my life and my family is likely getting a new dog in the next year. I just don't put pets and humans on the same level. Humans come first.

Anonymous wrote:I have had 3 rescue dogs over my lifetime. All were beloved. 2 out of 3 had severe behavior issues that developed despite tons of love, training, exercise and vigilance. I will never rescue again. My heart has been broken too many times. I have spent too much time afraid in my own home, not able to have visitors, constantly worried about an unstable temperament. I know plenty of people get lucky but I think we ignore how many do not. Many of these dogs have problematic genetics and/or no socialization as puppies. And by the way none of my rescues were pit mixes.

I will always support rescue for the good work they do but there needs to be a better process for adopting out. A more realistic view of what a family with kids can or should handle. And there is nothing wrong with a reputable breeder, one who health tests, who socializes and loves their puppies from day one. It’s obviously going to give them a better chance in life…

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised at how high some of the adoption fees were. Almost as much as a breeder.