Question about rescue dogs?

[bbird]

I haven't even begun looking, but I know there is a lot of talk about rescue dogs, and some of you have fostered dogs before so I thought I would ask some questions and see if you can educate me a little.

Say I found a dog that was in a rescue. I understand how each breed has their own rescue. IF the dog is in a different state how do you get the dog. I am assuming that there is a adoption fee, travel fee's, ect.

I do want a puppy, not a grown up dog. Are there puppies in rescue's too? Are they always purebreeds?

Last but not least, lol. Where the heck do I look for a dog? I know the local paper and word of mouth......

My two dogs I have now pretty much fell in my lap, so never had to do an active search for a dog before.

Thanks

[Deleted]

Do a Google search for the breed you're looking for, and "rescue." When I did it, I was looking for a Dobie, so I Googled "Doberman" "rescue" and it brought up a lot of different sites. I found one, just one, locally, but we ended up adopting him.

I'm sure all breed rescues are different, but I'll tell you about the Dobie one and you can get a general idea. There are usually more adult dogs than puppies, although sometimes there are litters. You might also get a young (1 or 2 year old) dog. The one we got was 3 and he's just the most loving and devoted dog, PLUS we didn't have to housetrain him! LOL!

The adoption fee will probably range in the neighborhood of $100.00, and the dog should already be neutered or spayed. If not, you have to agree to do that within a certain time period. They generally are not allowed to be used for breeding or showing (you probably don't want that anyway). A rescue representative will likely do a home inspection, because they're very picky about the dog being secure and well cared for. We hit it off with our rescue rep and she did the inspection after we brought Shogie home, just as a formality, because I'd had so many other Dobies before. So that's negotiable, but plan on being inspected first, just to be safe.

Following the adoption, the rescue might want to do follow up inspections. We were told that someone might drop by from time to time, but no one ever did, so I don't know how that really works.

Also, if you ever decide to give up the dog for any reason, you're supposed to notify the rescue and let them have first dibs on taking the dog back to be re-adopted somewhere else.

Now, most rescue dogs have some sort of problem, which is why they're there in the first place. Some might have agression problems, or be very shy about certain things. For instance, Shogie had been hit by a car, and he'd go nuts if he heard a car coming down the road or if he heard screetching tires on TV. He's gotten over that now. But there are a lot of dogs that are in foster homes simply because the original owners didn't know the breed well enough, and they're too big, too active, too something... So it's very possible to get a really nice dog from a rescue.

My personal recommendation would be to get an adult dog, because those are harder to place. Everyone wants a puppy to train from the start. I did too, but I'm so glad I got Shogie. He's a one-in-a-million, and if I'd insisted on getting a puppy, someone else would have Shogie now. He's my bestest buddy in the whole world!

That's about all I can tell you from an adopter point of view. I've never fostered and done things from the other side, so I don't know about that part of it. Hope that helps. ;D

~Lannie

[moongazer]

I do rescue here in WA State.
If you're in WA try Seattle Purebred Rescue.
And
www.petfinder.org
is a great place to look and there you can do a state wide search for the breed you want.
Breed, size, sex, area, etc

It's a pretty cool site.
I have 2 rescue geriatric Harl Danes coming Thursday.
They're really at the end of their lives being 8 and 10 years old and I couldn't see them put to sleep.

Best wishes with your search. Blessings for looking to adopt a rescue.

[bbird]

Thanks Lannie and Moongazer, that answered a lot of questions.
I'll check out the link and google and see what I come up with.

I was afraid that rescue was more older dogs, and abused dogs. I have to admit I am leery of that. I want to be the kind of person that would care for an animal like that BUT with kids I have reservations. We had a dog adopt us that was dropped off and abandoned a few years ago. A beautiful german shephard that only wanted to please us. We all fell in love with it. It came to us with scabs around it's neck, and every once in awhile it would flinch like only a dog who has been hit flinches. A year and a half went by with no sign of aggression with the dog. It got along with all the farm animals, the dogs, the cats and was excellent with the kids. One day my oldest son bent down to pick up his paper plate and that dog ran about 20 feet and attacked him. Luckily Luke was bent over and rolled and only got a bite on his chest. His coat was shredded. I shudder when I think about it, because it was so unexpected. Dh and I were both outside and saw the whole thing. The dog acted like it didn't do anything, but the dog had to go. Dh walked it down the hill with the shotgun. It wasn't just a snap bite, but a full attack, I'm going to shred the kid attack.

That is the only dog we ever had a bad experience with, but that is what is on our minds when we think of abusive dogs, because I am sure that dog came to us after breaking off a chain (the scabs on it's neck) and I have a feeling it wasn't treated right. Makes me so mad!!!

Anywho....if my kids were gone, we as adults could take on a project like that but I much prefer a puppy to bring up.

[moongazer]

Lots of puppies at
www.petfinder.org

I like it and refer people to it cause you can put in
breed, size, area, sex, baby, youth, adult or older.
And whaaaa laaaa a list of what you may be looking for.
Let us know when you do adopt, and please post pictures.

[Deleted]

Yeah, Deb, you're right about the kids. Sometimes they do things that in "doggy language" is not taken well by the dog. You'd have to be constantly on your guard, and that's too much stress (I know this from experience). My first Dobie, which I got as an 8-week old puppy, was "abused" by my ex husband. He never actually hit him (well, no, once he did), but he ... what's the word... INTIMIDATED the poor dog. He was deep down afraid of him (too much exposure to those killer TV-Dobes). When the dog did something bad (any little thing) he'd corner him and yell loudly, towering over him, you know? So the dog learned to fear bite. Man, I had to watch everyone around him, including myself. He even bit me once when I did something stupid and "trapped" him in a corner.

After I left the ex, taking said dog with me, of course, he settled down quite a bit, and lived to be 15 years old before he had a massive stroke and I had to put him down. That was a sad day, but at least he had a good spell of time with me away from Mr. Intimidator. I would NEVER have kept him if I'd had kids in the house, however.

Good luck with your puppy search! ;D

~Lannie

[bbird]

That is so sad Lannie. That really gets to me, because it is like people who mistreat children. You can't fault a dog for biting, or being aggressive...it is the only thing they know to do to protect themselves. Usually dogs that are like that have soooo much love to give to the right person, like your dog to you.

I would love to be a safe haven for animals that need people. I don't think I have the talent or understanding but in my heart I wish I did.

Moongazer- I looked on the link, but in my area they didn't have the two types of dogs I am looking for. Will keep looking though, because you never know. In some ways I feel that what is meant to be will find me....but I am not very patient, lol.

[bbird]

Just popping on here to say thanks again Moongazer. I figured out what I was doing wrong on petfinder, and there are indeed dogs that I am looking for. Now to do my homework, lol. Hmmm, maybe I should open a dog kennel...decisions are so hard when you see such cute faces looking at you!

[moongazer]

By the way, what two breeds are you looking for?

[bbird]

Right now we are looking for either a Malamute or a St. Bernard. My family had malamutes growing up, and dh's family raised St. Bernards so we both feel comfortable with them and what is required. Both dogs would be fine outside, which is a huge plus because I am a softy and the first time a dog looked in the window and whined I would feel so bad, lol.

I've been reading a lot the last few days, so we are keeping an open mind on other breeds too. :-)

[Deleted]

Ok...Are you looking for a rescue or a foster? There is a saint that is looking for a home ASAP in Buffalo. I can put you with the person that has the info cause I don't know anything about it.

If you are looking for a foster, this probably wouldn't be it.

As for the original question... Just let people know what you are willing to take in and how many. A good place to start is the pound. I only take giants, for instance. The girl that rescues with me does all breed. I just let people know and all of a sudden I had more than I could handle. But I also place them, vet them, etc. I'll take working dogs and ones with problems (no fear aggression). I've rehabed and rehomed 10 so far this year. You may get "stuck" with some for a while but always try to place before you pull them. It's not as hard as it sounds. Just keep a database of names and numbers. Oh, and I don't take dogs from other rescues as a rule. Not that I wouldn't but I try not to...I have enough call without adding to it.

If you're looking to straight adopt and I misunderstood, forgive me...

[bbird]

Cricket- Yep we are looking to adopt. Thanks for thinking of me though. :-) I'm in awe of what you and others do. Getting attached, the money expense, the time involved alone that you are giving to make a dogs life better is very very cool.