How recently have you tried to aquire a pet? Specifically, a dog? (breeds, veterinarian)
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... Other dogs/other rescue groups are like "must have fenced in yard, no other pets, must have vet references, and we will come check out your abode, and we will charge you $300, $400, $500 rehoming fee on top of all that." ...
The rescue group we got our dog from had similar requirements except for the "no other pets". The requirements made sense to us. They seemed a bit extreme at first, but if you consider these people consider a pet to be the same as an adopted baby, it makes sense. They really are concerned that the pet gets a good home, as opposed to a pet shop or breeder who could care less. Fenced yard so your new dog can't run away or run into the street and get hit by a car. Home inspection and vet reference to see if you are a legitimate adoptive owner. We paid $400 for their expenses (nothing is free, there are back office costs, website costs, transport costs, in addition to what volunteers provide for free). Plus they sent $150 back to our vet towards spaying our puppy. And pet stores generally cost more than that. We also signed a pledge (probably not enforceable) that if we ever didn't want the dog for any reason, we would contact them so they could re-home the dog. I could be wrong, but the group we got our dog from seemed to be sincere animal lovers pure and simple. If you consider the expense and care required for a pet over their lifetime, the procedure seemed reasonable and the time and money spent was minimal. Our dog was a chihuhua/mini pinscher mix. The face of a chihuahua and the body of a mini pinscher. She weighs 9 lbs and is a spitfire. My wife trained her to use a wee wee pad in a plastic frame that we keep in an alcove in the kitchen. She does her business there and only poops on the pad, never outside. When we go out we leave her in her crate and she rarely has an accident. At night she is anxious to sleep in another crate in our bedroom. When she wants exercise she runs laps around the dining room table and living room at full speed for a few minutes. I read that mini pinschers can run at 26 miles an hour, faster than any human.
So, I was texting back and forth with my son yesterday, telling him the frustrations we've been having. So he checks Craigslist, and lo and behold, a lady not too far from us, had a lone 11 week Shih Tsu little boy for sale. His mom is a family pet, and he was raised in their home, and he was the only puppy. I would've been happy with a mix. But the little dude is pure bred and AKC registered.
The lady had just posted the ad that morning.
He came with a couple of his shots, and he's been dewormed 4 times. We paid $700 for him, which we did not think was extreme. I just got him last night, so not even 24 hours. Some observations...
1. He follows me and my husband everywhere.
2. I know what they mean about having a bit of a stubborn streak
3. He's playful and bouncy. When I take him outside to hopefully do his business, he'd rather attack leaves
4. He's fairly quiet. He's only 4 pounds, so he's pretty light on his feet, and he doesn't bark much, but gets a little growly thing going when he's playing.
5. He likes his kennel. He goes in there on his own, just to chill out. I think it's kind of his 'home base'.
6. He likes to be where the people are.
We'll go up to Petco in a little bit to get some essentials, and some toys. And lots of puppy pads.
The rescue group we got our dog from had similar requirements except for the "no other pets". The requirements made sense to us. They seemed a bit extreme at first, but if you consider these people consider a pet to be the same as an adopted baby, it makes sense. They really are concerned that the pet gets a good home, as opposed to a pet shop or breeder who could care less. Fenced yard so your new dog can't run away or run into the street and get hit by a car. Home inspection and vet reference to see if you are a legitimate adoptive owner. We paid $400 for their expenses (nothing is free, there are back office costs, website costs, transport costs, in addition to what volunteers provide for free). Plus they sent $150 back to our vet towards spaying our puppy. And pet stores generally cost more than that. We also signed a pledge (probably not enforceable) that if we ever didn't want the dog for any reason, we would contact them so they could re-home the dog. I could be wrong, but the group we got our dog from seemed to be sincere animal lovers pure and simple. If you consider the expense and care required for a pet over their lifetime, the procedure seemed reasonable and the time and money spent was minimal. Our dog was a chihuhua/mini pinscher mix. The face of a chihuahua and the body of a mini pinscher. She weighs 9 lbs and is a spitfire. My wife trained her to use a wee wee pad in a plastic frame that we keep in an alcove in the kitchen. She does her business there and only poops on the pad, never outside. When we go out we leave her in her crate and she rarely has an accident. At night she is anxious to sleep in another crate in our bedroom. When she wants exercise she runs laps around the dining room table and living room at full speed for a few minutes. I read that mini pinschers can run at 26 miles an hour, faster than any human.
Our rescue was part chihuhua and part terrier. She'd get the zoomies, and run around outside full tilt. Sometimes, she'd play 'tag' with our other dog. She'd run around the yard like crazy, and then 'tag' Jake, and take off again. Jake had no interest and it always seemed like she did it just to aggravate him. LOL
Again, why adopting already trained and calmer adult or senior dogs should be considered.
Good luck!
Well, to be fair, we DID consider. I was looking at lots of rescue groups, the Humane Society, etc. I wanted a dog no younger than 9 months, and no older than 5 yrs. Didn't really WANT to potty train a puppy...but the opportunity to get this little guy was just...well, it kind of fell in our laps. The stars aligned...however you want to put it.
We almost named him Lucky, because we felt lucky to get him. But we named him Ziggy, instead.
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