Rescue Dogs

I rescued and fostered for over 30 years. Only one foster proved a real challenge. She’d been allowed to run wild / get clobbered for 5 years. I kept her 3 months, taught recall and loose lead walking and took her through kennel club intermediate groups. She was a different dog three months later but was always going to need experienced handlers.

My rescues have all been lovely dogs. You could almost see the relief as the realised no one would hurt or frighten them, they would never be hungry, always sleep somewhere safe and warm , get fun and walks and yes, be loved. They gave so much in return.
I currently have a 3 year old dog who arrived at ten months and a four month old pedigree. He’s only my third pup in 40 years. It’s great to have a well bred boy but I loved all my rescues and all were great dogs

Oh he sounds cute. Our beagle became blind at the age of 8 we bought a giggle ball for him that dropped treats when he rolled it around and I can promise you he never missed one of those treats!

I have had many rescue dogs throughout the years one time my husband went out to buy some wood and came back with a pom called Teddy..the person at the lumber yard had been left the dog but really didn't like it and told my husband if you like it please take it with you you so we ended up with a pom.
I cannot say that my rescue dogs have been anything but fantastic.
yes they need some time to adjust and yes most of them came with baggage but once they settled in in they were perfect housemates.

appoint to think about a dog is not normally in rescue because he has let the owner down, normally it's because the owner has let them down.

We have been looking for a small rescue dog for nearly a year.
Because the centres are all closed to visitors, we can only look at their websites to check availability. Also distance rules that you have to live within 30 minutes of the centre so another restriction,which i do understand.
There are few dogs on these sites and though we have applied fir 2 which we thought would fit with us, we were turned down. I asked why but got no response.
We are really disappointed as we thought there would be plenty of dogs needing rehoming.

My daughter has had similar experiences silverlinings. Most of the available dogs state no families with small children . Despite the fact my daughter has extensive experience with dogs.

One of the reasons breed charities and rescues have few dogs available is that owners sell them on, rather than relinquish. It’s distressing that so many people decided lockdown was the ideal time, bought puppies at inflated prices, often from puppy farms. Lack of research or any understanding on how much time and effort goes into bringing up a puppy has led to pups being sold on like 2nd hand cars.

He sounds lovely and I'm sure he will be very happy with you.
I think France has more rescue dogs and cats for many different reasons.
He is what the French call a "loulou", which I think means sweetheart. Yes it is term of endearment, like darling. It is especially used for dogs because the origins come from the word "loup" meaning wolf.

I think there is a lot more abandonment in France Ellianne isn't there ? Especially at holiday times to avoid kennel fees. Having said that one local SPA makes it so difficult adopt a dog with their checks and counter checks that a few people I know have given up. I am a dog lover and agree prospective owners should be checked out but they take this to another level.

Yes sodapop. We lived mainly in rural French areas where agriculteurs were not prepared to pay to have their dogs spayed or neutered. I won't mention what happened to the various litters that came along.
Abandonment happens all the time. Our SPA kittens had been found in a ditch.
Add to this your observation about kennel fees for holiday times. But worst of all English people returning to the UK and leaving their pets behind.

Oops, sorry, I meant British people ..... expats.

I have also heard form people who have given up the idea of adopting simply because its made so difficult.
One man in his 50s tried to adopt, he was told, your living arrangements are fine and you are active but you work part time this means you wont have enough money to support the dog but while another charity said his working times were ideal but he didnt have a garden so he couldnt adopt.

Another told him, frankly we think your age is a risk factor because youre alone if anything happened the dog would have to come back to rescue.

Another told him they liked their dogs to be in a family setting.

The poor guy couldnt win.

I must admit my beagle George is a private adoption I applied for an ex lab beagle but the people took one look at my surname which is forgien and just ignored my emails , I finally got to go to one of their meet and greet afternoons and spent 3 hours being lectured about caring for a dog..
Then when I asked about adoption explained we were experienced dog owners and expierenced with beagles I was told 'yes lots of people say that but 99% have no clue" So I asked to be put on the list for a home inspection... 3 weeks passed no email and no answer to my inquiry so I looked at private adoptions. Left a bad review on the website of the beagle people at which point they phoned did a bit of back peddeling and asked if I would like to have a home visit oh and would I mind taking down my very damming review. I told them I felt sorry for the dogs because this was who they let down. But no the review stayed and I never want to hear from them again.

Ellianne

Oops, sorry, I meant British people ..... expats.

We are a university town and we get a load of adverts on social media each summer from students who are looking to re-home a cat they adopted while they were here studying but cant take back home..

The students are bad enough but the people who allow the breeding and give away or sell these kittens are worse.

I looked at rescues before I got my recent puppy but, because I have a visiting grandchild it was impossible. I have a friend looking at the moment. She is a single, retired lady with a large garden and no visiting children and she can't find anything either. She was turned down recently because her house is not detached. Meanwhile the dog she was interested in is still languishing in kennels. I appreciate rescue centres have to be very careful but it seems mad to me.

We are home all day, are fit and enjoy walking, with a large garden and country side on the doorstep for walks, and no children, I don’t know what else they ate looking for.
We thought they would be pleased to have more prospective adopters . We just want to give a dog a home!

I do think that when the Country opens up again and gets back to some kind of normality we will find Charities over run with unwanted dogs and cats,when people return to work full time and find that they can't cope anymore.
We have always adopted from a rescue close to our hearts and we have had two rescues over the past 14yrs and supported all their funding appeals when ever we can.
Three weeks ago I had to have my loving Lhasa PTS and it broke my heart so within 12mths I lost my darling husband and then my lovely little pal Poppy.
I cannot get any positive answers to my requests for adopting another little dog as the Charities say visiting DGCs may cause stress to a rehomed small dog,all my AC & DGC have been brought up with dogs & cats do they think I am that irresponsible that I would allow my DGCs to cause stress to a little dog ?

My DD1 took in a rescue dog who was very lively - a Capheaton Terrier, about 12 years ago. When she had her first baby she decided it wasn't fair on the dog so handed her over to us where she is the ideal companion for my DH. She does bark a lot - when she feels threatened, either by people passing the house. She is terrified of people with walking sticks, so think she was beaten with one as a youngster. Apart from the barking she is the perfect companion. My DH loves her to bits and if we go away, she goes back to DDs where she is happy.

My rescues have all had beautiful natures. Some if not many rescue dogs have been strays. This means that if they have survived they have become accustomed to making their own decisions and can be hard to teach recall to.

Galmmanana, your grandchildren may be sensible but many children regard dogs and puppies as if they were toys.

Can I give a shout out for the Greyhound Trust, they have centres all over the country.
Last year I too tried lots of rescue places and was looking for a smaller dog, I've only had shih tzu. Then I started looking into greyhounds, please read up about them and what wonderful pets they make.
I got Cassie last August at 4 years old, she is the sweetest gentlest dog it was months before I even heard her bark. To begin with she was unsure about other breeds but now is fine and totally ignores any growling yappy dogs. Totally clean and polite in the house and great with children who call her the tiger dog because she is a blue brindle.
I highly recommend them.

sf101

Can I give a shout out for the Greyhound Trust, they have centres all over the country.
Last year I too tried lots of rescue places and was looking for a smaller dog, I've only had shih tzu. Then I started looking into greyhounds, please read up about them and what wonderful pets they make.
I got Cassie last August at 4 years old, she is the sweetest gentlest dog it was months before I even heard her bark. To begin with she was unsure about other breeds but now is fine and totally ignores any growling yappy dogs. Totally clean and polite in the house and great with children who call her the tiger dog because she is a blue brindle.
I highly recommend them.

Absolutly, greyhounds are great dogs and they are real couch potatos so ideal for people who might not want to trudge for miles across the country.

Dinahmo I am glad for those of you with happy outcomes. Years ago we were looking for a rescue dog and visited several kennels to no avail. The dogs all seemed to have problems and one we took for a walk had been rehomed 9 times. I asked why and was told she didn't like children or other dogs!
At another place we were told they only allow you to have 2 dogs as they need company. Whatever happened to Man's best friend?
In the end we didn't get one and much later, bought a puppy.
DD is looking for a new dog at the moment because hers died in the Summer. She would like to take a rescue dog but has heard many bad stories and she has 2 young children.

I have had two rescue Great Danes, who were both perfect, the first one had been brought up with children, so was fantastic when my grandchildren were born. The second one didn't have any history when we got her, she had been dumped in Aberdeen, we assumed over Hogmanay as she was terrified by fireworks. When DHs grandchildren came along she was as good as the previous dog with the children. I agree, there will be lots of dogs for rescue when life is more normal, a lot of dogs will have separation anxiety.

The specific breed charity I volunteer for is very careful about placing with children under 5 for good reasons. It does place with older and retired, people who work, providing proper arrangements can be made so the dog isn’t left over four hours without human contact.

When I was looking or a new dog, the notes varied for each dog. Some not if young children, some with other dogs but sex specified. Ronnie was no children (because blind) and shouldn't be with another male. My other dog is female and they get on fine together. I think that she is top dog and has demonstrated it a couple of times.

The first dog I had as an adult was my mother's Westie, after mum went into a home. Hattie wasn't used to children and, whenever friends came with small children I kept her under strict control because she would growl at them. We had one family with a small boy who used to stay over night when they visited. He would not leave her alone. In the end I resorted to putting his hand in my mouth and pressing gently with my teeth to show him what she could do, except that she would hurt him. Small children are often incapable of approaching or touching a dog in a calm fashion.

I remember seeing a tv series in which families were choosing a pet. Those with small children wanted a dog that the children could play with and the children wanted a pet they could cuddle. Some of the children just would not leave their puppy alone. They didn't realise that puppies sleep a lot. When we brought Ruby home, we also had her brother for a few days until his new owners came to collect him. Those few days were filled with 10 to 15 minutes, every now and then, charging about the room, followed by a quick play fight and then a long sleep. Then the cycle started again.

I would love a dog again. My profile is impeccable to take on a dog but the rescue sites are very tight on who & what they will accept. I regularly trawl all the sites and being an experienced dog owner could accept many of them but the kennels are very rigid. It makes me sad but I'm hoping when lock down eases I will find a little four legged companion.