Reply With QuoteWow! that seems way over board.
Adopting a puppy
My wife has been asking to get a dog for a long time. I personally did not think we were ready for one, but the time has come and I've begun looking around. Just as a little background... I have had 3 dogs in the past. I even worked briefly (very briefly) at an animal hospital when I was in college. Although our backyard lacks any grass, there is enough room to enjoy and we have a very nice dog park within walking distance. We already take walks to the park several times a week so taking a dog along with us fits right into our lifestyle.
The rant part of this thread goes like this... My last dog was purchased at the local city shelter. Back then you just walked around, picked out a dog, filled out some paperwork and laid your money down. You left with your new friend and everyone seemed happy. Now, the local shelters seem to farm out the majority of puppies to this whole cottage industry of "rescue" families that tend after the puppies while arranging for their adoption. The up-charge for these puppies is not what bothers me. What bothers me is that a majority of them want you to go through an extensive application process, they want to visit your home and do a "site" survey in order to ensure you have acceptable living quarters for your pet and then, if you're approved they want you to allow them to come and view/inspect how things are going anywhere from 6 months to a year. This is not only frustrating, I take offense that they want to remain a part of the dogs life and for some reason anticipate that I may be a bad owner. To a degree I understand their reasoning. But to imply that without coming to my home and assuring themselves that I will be a good "parent", I find very offensive.
Wow! that seems way over board.
My thoughts in general (Great topic, Easto!, however my time is short this morning so I will add depth later)...
Many pet owners are irresponsible. They have a large fenced in yard and feel that is all the dog needs. IMHO, dogs need more than that. I view it as raising a child.
More to come, time permitting!
Yes, they do require a lot of attention. I'm lucky, my wife doesn't work so she can give him lots of attention.Originally Posted by Ken
My thoughts in general (Great topic, Easto!, however my time is short this morning so I will add depth later)...
Many pet owners are irresponsible. They have a large fenced in yard and feel that is all the dog needs. IMHO, dogs need more than that. I view it as raising a child.
More to come, time permitting!
Becoming more and more common. I have mixed feelings, as I assume/hope the majority of the people adopting shelter/rescue dogs fully intend to offer the dog a good home.
I also assume there've been enough instances of that not being the case that adoption agencies have decided to take things a few steps further in terms of vetting (no pun intended) the applicants and making follow up visits to ensure the dog's well-being.
Overkill most of the time, and I'd be quite pissed off if in the same situation, but I understand where they're coming from.
All my dogs have been rescues, but hell, I got one of them because the woman in charge of adoptions at the local shelter brought him to my store and begged me to take him.
I'd suggest that if one local shelter is asking too much, check out another shelter or private adoptions.
There's no shortage of dogs out there unfortunately.
Best of luck.
Other than the shelter or one of these rescue homes I can always adopt from C/L or somewhere else but I worry about getting a dog with excessive health issues. I don't want to support a puppy mill. Although, there are several private party adoptions that say they will provide vet documentation showing they've been dewormed and have had their 1st shots. At least in those cases I can feel a bit more assured that I'm starting with a healthy animal.
I am retired and my wife currently works, so this means I have a lot of free time to spend with a dog. Also, my wife has been begging for a dog for years. This dog would probably get too much attention, lol.
Pain in the ass but sometimes looking at a shelter even a county away can have different results.
That's basically what I've been doing. Fortunately most of them have websites which makes it easier. It's just that I hate it when I see a puppy that we would like to get and then they either want a ton of money for it or they have you jumping through hoops. I don't mind spending several hundred on a puppy, I just don't want to take it to the vet and then find out it's terminally sick or needs a $5k operation. You just hear a lot of horror stories like that. I guess there are a ton of puppy mills just churning out sick pets.
There are.
I guess I rationalize what these agencies are doing in terms of home visits, etc...is dealing with worst case scenarios.
Hopefully if you adopt and get even a single visit they'll decide the dog is in a perfect home and needs no follow up.
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