Layout:
Home > Dog Adoption Lament

Dog Adoption Lament

May 21st, 2018 at 06:50 pm

So most of you know we've been without a dog now almost 18 months. This is pretty much the longest DH and I have been without a dog but life's been busy. And we've been on wait lists for about a year with rescue groups. But we haven't been proactively looking either other than putting our names on lists.

But on a more serious note. I want to write about how weird this experience has been. This is the first time we've tried to adopt a dog post-kids. Our kids are now 8 and 5. We've finally also moved into a house with a yard. So we seem like an ideal family now right?

WRONG. Now we have kids and a lot of rescue groups or petfinder don't want to talk to me anymore. Apparently when we were young and dumb DH and I were great candidates. Now with 2 "small" children we aren't. We're next exactly new to this rodeo but they aren't thrilled without "candidate" package.

So right now I'm mulling buying a dog. I cringe as I write this because that makes me choke a bit on how expensive it is. Plus truthfully I feel really guilty based on how many dogs need homes. But now what? We need a dog that is hypo allergenic. But other than that age isn't a big deal and type isn't either. A good disposition. We can work with them.

I'm unsure where to go from here. Do we really buy a puppy?

9 Responses to “Dog Adoption Lament”

  1. Rose. Says:
    1526925802

    I have all rescue dogs. 4 were from the street I live on and 1 is a shelter dog. I will always say adopt don't shop. Check out your local shelters. You never know what you will find. Here is a list of hypoallergenic dogs. So many dogs are euthanized every day because there isn't enough room at the shelters. I hope you find what you are looking for.

    https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/characteristic/hypoallergenic-dogs/page/2/

    https://www.petfinder.com/pet-adoption/dog-adoption/hypoallergenic-dogs/

  2. MonkeyMama Says:
    1526930718

    Our local shelter would give you a dog. For free. (SO overcrowded, most of the time. They do often give away the animals for free). Is it because of the specific breeds you are looking at? (That they don't want to give to a family with kids?) OR are these rescue situations that just need a quieter home?

  3. rob62521 Says:
    1526934300

    That is sad that they don't want to talk to you now that you have kids. Guess they haven't read the literature about having a pet helps kids.

  4. Butterscotch Says:
    1526935253

    Try going down to your local shelters in person. Get to know the people there so they will think of you when that kind of dog becomes available. Ive never heard of people being denied dogs because of kids. It’s not like your kids are babies or toddlers. That doesn’t make sense. I would put more effort into it before bbuying a dog. Actually, I would never buy a dog or cat knowing how many need homes.

  5. livingalmostlarge Says:
    1527115908

    We are looking at specific breeds and so I haven't really gone looking at shelters. We need a non shedding breed or its not going to work. Thus why we've always used rescue groups for breed specific rescue. Before we were very specific because we knew we lived in condos/townhouses so we've always gotten Bichon Frises which work for us based on lifestyle and allergies.

    Now we are leaning towards a bigger dog but still needing to be a non shedder. So honestly it's a bit difficult going to a shelter because of it.

    Shetlers would work with us but not many non-shedding dogs come in. But rescue groups don't want to talk to us with kids. They don't think we're a good placement.

  6. AnotherReader Says:
    1527220848

    Buying a dog usually means a puppy mill product or a back yard breeder that may not apply breeding standards. These dogs often have health or personality problems. Much better to adopt from a shelter. Not all rescue groups dislike homes with kids. Use the searches from multi shelter and rescue sites like Petfinder or Petharbor. Visit all of your local shelters.

    You can find poodles and other dogs less likely to cause allergies in shelters. You can also ask friends and neighbors. You just have to work at it and be patient.

    No support for buying a dog here. You are supporting an industry that exploits and harms the dogs.

  7. PatientSaver Says:
    1527447613

    Maybe you haven't found the right shelter? I would urge you to adopt, don't support a terrible industry.

  8. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    1527617764

    Will keep looking. AR have you tried petfinder? Do you say where it says No small children for almost every dog? I have been looking so don't make me a bad guy. I've been looking intermittently for almost a year. And yes most rescue groups don't like kids. Have you ever worked with one? I have multiple friends who do breed rescues and they also dislike this no kid policy.

  9. AnotherReader Says:
    1527630763

    I have worked with rescues since 1991. I am very familiar with how shelters and rescues work.

    I know a lot of rescue dogs are sent to Washington and Oregon from California, because I have worked with shelters here that send their dogs on transport up there. I suspect Seattle and Portland are short on shelter inventory because there just are not as many dogs there. I have heard that there is even a shortage of kittens in some areas, primarily because of the effectiveness of spay neuter programs.

    My first suggestion would be to expand your search to other nearby states. California has an oversupply of just about every breed, especially in the Central Valley. Purebred shepherds and labs are killed every day because there is not enough space in the shelters or enough homes to adopt all the dogs.

    I would also let all your friends, coworkers, and neighbors know what you are looking for. Someone out there is moving overseas, getting a divorce, or shipping out to active duty and needs to re-home the dog you want. Facebook can be your friend here as well.

    What breeds are you considering? I bet I could find five or six in less than an hour. The only exception would be a designer dog, such as the labradoodle.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]