I often wonder how some dog end up at shelters.

[vash]

my brother just adopted a great dog. I full blooded blue heeler. that dog is so attached to my brother now. my brother just bought a hunk of land to hunt and camp on, and that dog is in heaven. she loves riding in the CanAm. rides shotgun. typical ranch dog mentality.

"Sadie" was about to be put down in the kill shelter. but they got wind my bro was looking and drove her to his town shelter. he slept on it, but in the morning the decision was made.

where I live, there are only ever mutts. always. . I asked where Sadie came from, and she was just found as a stray in NM. so weird. such a well mannered dog.

I wish they could tell stories.

[oldE]

Same thing with some of our rescues. Breezy was a border collie pup who was to be 'put down ' because she chewed things! I picked her up at the shelter and drove her home in my 924S ( stopping every half hour for breaks, just in case) She was a sweetheart. Casey, who became our kind hearted Alfa dog was an amazing soul.
I'm not a dog lover deep down, but I like them a lot better than some people.

Best
Les

[Seahawk]

I think of this every day I take the two dogs we currently have for their walk, my ride

Of the seven dogs we have owned while on the farm, we "bought" two...the rest found their way here.

After our Red Heeler passed, we went on line looking for a pup to help on the farm and found Dottie on a Heeler Rescue site, which is odd because she isn't, percentage wise, a Heeler...but she is the most interesting, thoughtful dog I have ever had.

The woman who owned Dottie is a school teacher in SC and her kids, based on the "breeders" input that the dog would weigh no more than 30lbs (I know), got their mom the dog during COVID. She lives in a small home in Charleston.

Dottie has a 30lb tail and needed a lot more room and attention, so the Lady looked outward for a solution. That is how we found her. She was pound bound if no one came for her.

Thank goodness. Dottie was a wild child when she got her but is now so in tune and at home it makes me smile. Literally, every animal we have, neighbors and their animals, love the D.

Every time we are out, I wonder what both our lives would be like without each other.

[Seahawk]

A face only an old helo pilot could love:



In repose:

[fanaudical]

I see almost non-stop requests on other social media sites for "have to rehome my dog/cat". Many people seem to get pets on a whim without consideration that the pet needs to be treated like family or they find they don't have the patience to properly train a pet. Sounds like Sadie was super lucky (and deserves it!). I'm glad that instance turned out well; most don't.

[GH85Carrera]

The first dog that I had as and adult, adopted me.

Betty was a doberman, and she just showed up on my front porch one day when I came home from work. I gave her some water, and some meat I had in the fridge, and she was still there in the morning. I later discovered she just loved my front porch as the best place in the world. The postman was not happy however.

After a day, I put her in my backyard, and went to the store to get dog food, and a dog bowl, and a bed. She would climb the fence, and go sit on my front porch. She was a total sweetheart and loved tennis balls. The neighborhood kids would bring over a tennis ball, and play with her in my back yard.

She was smart, and easy to train. After a short time she would see me grab the lawn mower and go toward the gate. She quickly learned to sit, and wait for me to snap my fingers. She would race to my front porch, and watch me mow, and the traffic go by. I could shut off the mower, and go dump the grass in the compost pile, come back and finish mowing, and she ran to the back yard, knowing her front porch time was over.

I never found out where she came from, she just showed up. I still miss her.

[Bill Douglas]

I think some owners get a dog thinking me me me. How great will I look while out walking with the dog. But it doesn't occur to them that it makes even going away for the weekend difficult.

So when reality soaks in they dump the dog at the shelter because it's too much effort.

Speaking of effort. The dogs are lobbying me to take them for their morning walk.

[Monkey Wrench]

cograts on the blue healer they are very smart and loyal dogs. bred to heard cows.
we had a couple belgian shephards, also very smart work dogs funny they will exhibit their bred traits. I remember we took in a starving black lab puppy he was also a great dog.
I remember my dad decided to shoot a duck , he immediately swam out and brought it to him just like it came naturally with no training. It amazed me that knowledge could be bred right in so they would do thigns with no training that reflected their reason to be. No training needed. what can humans do without being taught? fear of heights was about all I came up with. maybe the ability to throw a rock fairly accurately?

my parent had sheep and belgian shephards are bred to control the flock with signals from their master, without training they like to chase sheep and they will also herd a group pf children, they run in circles and can run and jump over things with amazing agility.

yesterday I heard a dog joke,

did you hear of the little boy with a dog with no legs?


Every day he took it out for a drag ;-)

I didt say it was a GOOD joke.

[TimT]

The shelter near me have questionnaires you need to fill out before you are allowed to adopt or take one of the animals... Questions like: Are you able to provide medical care for the animal? Are you able to support the animal for its entire life?

Bobbi and the Strays

And some people just should not be allowed, to have the privilege of taking in an animal..

[masraum]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

I see almost non-stop requests on other social media sites for "have to rehome my dog/cat". Many people seem to get pets on a whim without consideration that the pet needs to be treated like family or they find they don't have the patience to properly train a pet. Sounds like Sadie was super lucky (and deserves it!). I'm glad that instance turned out well; most don't.

I wonder how many of those requests to rehome a pet are also the result of heartbreak.
I have no doubt that there are folks that just don't care about pets the way that a lot of us do, maybe most of them. I don't understand what drives some folks to get pets.

I saw a comedian the other day (maybe Taylor Tomlinson) saying that a friend had said something like "in the next year, I think I either want to get a dog or have a baby." The comedian, whoever it was realized right away that the friend shouldn't be allowed to have either because they 1 weren't ready, and 2 should have realized that comparing having a child to having a pet dog is crazy, because the two things are not remotely similar.

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I think some owners get a dog thinking me me me. How great will I look while out walking with the dog. But it doesn't occur to them that it makes even going away for the weekend difficult.

So when reality soaks in they dump the dog at the shelter because it's too much effort.

Speaking of effort. The dogs are lobbying me to take them for their morning walk.

It's shocking to me how many folks can't perform any amount of anticipation about the responsibility involved in pets or kids. It bugs me when young folks that work long days, and then are always out doing things on the weekends get pets. I've seen plenty of kids that would get dogs and then the dogs are mostly left to themselves at least 5-6 days a week like they are goldfish in a bowl or something.

I've seen the same thing where a young couple has a kid and is then shocked by how much work a baby is.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Monkey Wrench

I remember my dad decided to shoot a duck , he immediately swam out and brought it to him just like it came naturally with no training. It amazed me that knowledge could be bred right in so they would do thigns with no training that reflected their reason to be. No training needed. what can humans do without being taught? fear of heights was about all I came up with. maybe the ability to throw a rock fairly accurately?

my parent had sheep and belgian shephards are bred to control the flock with signals from their master, without training they like to chase sheep and they will also herd a group pf children, they run in circles and can run and jump over things with amazing agility.

Nope on both fear of heights and ability to throw a rock. LOL!

Yeah, isn't it amazing how dogs have specific innate abilities like that. I've seen enough videos of puppies herding or pointers pointing etc....

[rockfan4]

This is our rescue dog. Supposedly found along side a road with two of her litter mates, estimated at 6 weeks old. Someone found them, took them to a shelter, and the shelter contacted the breeder. The breeder didn't want them back. Didn't meet the standard of the breed, they said. She spent her first 6 months with an foster family, and then we adopted her.
My wife had her DNA tested, thinking she was some sort of lab mutt. She is 100% American Foxhound. She is just about 7. Starting to get a little gray in the muzzle.

6 weeks -


When we got her.


Now.


She's a dork.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rockfan4

This is our rescue dog. Supposedly found along side a road with two of her litter mates, estimated at 6 weeks old. Someone found them, took them to a shelter, and the shelter contacted the breeder. The breeder didn't want them back. Didn't meet the standard of the breed, they said. She spent her first 6 months with an foster family, and then we adopted her.
My wife had her DNA tested, thinking she was some sort of lab mutt. She is 100% American Foxhound. She is just about 7. Starting to get a little gray in the muzzle.

6 weeks -


When we got her.


Now.


She's a dork.

What a great looking dog. Fargin' breeder, must have just dumped the litter. They should be roasted and fed to the dogs.

[LWJ]

I'm hanging out in the backyard with my rescue pup as I type. He is a classic Black Mouth Cur from Sugarland, TX. Total knucklehead. He would give his life for anyone in my family. Difficult. Head strong. Hates Amazon delivery people. And...I adore that guy.

Easily the best dog I have had and I have had wonderful dogs.

Vash, you ask the question that can't be answered. All my pups were / are rescues. All are really wonderful.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

Thrown into a kill shelter for worms.

Unbelievable. WTF?

[varmint]

We are on our third heeler. They are exhausting. I can see how people get overwhelmed and pass them on.

But dumping the, in a shelter in poor condition is unforgivable.

[rfuerst911sc]

We all know how easy it is to fall in love with a puppy . Your heart/emotions take over vs the gray matter between your ears . People that are first time owners rarely do ANY research , the emotions make the decision on ownership . They forget that they go to work , have hobbies that don't include a dog .

The pet ownership suffers and eventually the pet goes to the pound or dumped by the side of the road . Very sad . A dog is a long term commitment . You have to love it , teach it and medically take care of it . The rewards will be 10 times over . The companionship and love a dog provides to a family is priceless . Unfortunately not everyone feels the same way .

We know a couple going thru a divorce . The soon to be ex wife is staying in their house until it sells . Husband has moved out . They have two kids and a dog . Last weekend the soon to be ex wife moved in with her boyfriend . So the husband and his family showed up on Saturday to clean/paint the inside of the house to get it ready to sell . They get there and the dog was abandoned in the house . No food or water was left for the dog ! How can you do this to your pet ????? Some folks should NEVER own a pet .

[wdfifteen]

Our experience with a rescue was not good. The poor dog was so traumatized by abuse she could not relax around humans and was terrified of men. After 6 months of trying and a recommendation from a dog behaviorist we took her back to the shelter. She is now in a home where she lives outside with her brother and another dog and is thriving. She doesn’t interact with people much, but she is finally happy and that’s what counts.

[unclebilly]

We are on our 3rd rescue. This guy was left in the ditch near a rural dump, presumably by some idiot from the city. He was less than a year old and didn’t have any manners yet. Our friends who fostered him worked with him for a couple months before we got him (our last dog had terminal cancer and the deal was that we would take him after the current dog passed).

He is amazing. Incredible with the kids. Loves the cows, maybe too much. His best friend is my daughter’s cat.

For some reason doesn’t like 4 stroke dirt bikes or amazon trucks…

I think he’s a Pitbull - St. Bernard cross.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Gracie was found 8+ years ago by my son and his wife when he was stationed at Ft. Hood. He had just gotten back from a deployment and adopted a cattle dog named Clyde when Gracie joined them on a walk. They did the lost dog routine, Vet visit, shelters, posters, etc. They ended up keeping her. We got her when babies came, more deployments, etc. The folks at the shelters in Killeen said it was common for military families to get orders and just let their animals loose when they moved. Our gain. She's the retriever looking one.