Friday, June 27, 2014

forever means for ever

bailey and i would like to point out the obvious. while we are both advocates for adoption, if you aren't 100% committed, then just say no because adoption is not temporary, it is forever.


a dog requires attention and training. do you have the time? they require food and medical visits. can you afford it? they will get old. they might have medical issues. vets can be expensive. are you ready for the responsibility of being a good pet parent? think long and hard before you commit. if you aren't in it for the long run, then just walk away. you will both be better off. if you are ready, then go for it! your local shelter is filled to the brim with possible adoptees. we wish you all the luck for a long and healthy relationship with your new family member.


until we meet again my friends-

4 comments:

  1. I am all for encouraging people to understand and be serious about the responsibilites of adoption. I do have concerns when people make bad choices about what they choose to if they do make a mistake when we create a huge culture of shame around surrendering dogs. Prevention is always the best choice and I think that can be done in a way that reaches people before they buy or adopt. However, my concern is that when we go too negative, we hurt the dogs that already are in bad situations and do need to get out into safe forever homes.

    For instance, in our case we have two rescued dogs. They both came from homes that shouldn't have brought dogs home. However, once that bad decision was made, the next steps were crucial. After realizing it was a mistake Bailey went directly to a breed rescue where as a puppy he was evaluated, house broken, and made ready for a new home. He had some issues with being abandoned, but for the most part he lived the life most puppies do growing into adulthood. While I've been critized for saying this, I am grateful his owners recognized the mistake they made early and were responsible in getting him to a good breed rescue for rehoming before they did damage to him and made his future life harder. Perhaps they could have tried harder, but if they weren't willing to do the job, I'm glad they did no further harm.

    Katy's story is different. Someone held her for a couple of years and clearly didn't want her. She was barely housebroken, she had little exposure to play, and it while she showed no signs of physical abuse or medical neglect, she had been ignored for most of the first two years of her life.

    I truly wish the person who owned her had surrendered her as a puppy. Yes, we would have missed out on an amazing dog in our life, but her life would have been so much better with a family that truly did understand the commitment. I suspect there was a stigma with admitting defeat and rehoming her. I am grateful she ended up in breed rescue. I can't imagine her continuing in that situation for the last several years because someone was afraid to admit they'd failed.

    I have heard other stories recently that have concerned me of people trying to go around rescue and rehome because of the stigma related to surrendering their dogs. I know of two specific cases where the rehomings went very badly. There are other stories I can't personally claim knowledge of but based on what I know is happening, they sound possible.

    The benefits of using a rescue/shelter to rehome the dogs is that they do provide screenings of the pet and the new owners. In one instance the owner surrendering the dog to a friend knew the animal was not good with children, but in desparation failed to disclose. This created a huge problem. A rescue/shelter that did do dilegence would have screened the dog and known the animal should only be placed in a home without children.

    Our actions have consequences we don't intend. We want to emphasize education before adoption. We want to encourage people to work through the challenges of owning a dog. However, in the best interests of the dog, when it isn't working, I want that animal to have the best chance at finding a good home. That is working with a rescue or shelter, not being stuck in a home where it is neglected. It is having people evaluate and place the dog, not having it in the rocky situation of underground rehoming where the best interests of the dog is really not the focus of the placement.

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  2. Spoken like a REAL parent. God bless you

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  3. Well I am happy to say we also have adopted a dog just a month ago. She was dodging traffic and everyone honking at her, we saved her and we could not be happier. Just like Bailey she is now a princess and a terrific watch dog.
    She loves us and we love her, she found a loving home, also I feed feral cats, have about 12 right now. They come for breakfast and dinner, the rest of the time I don't know where they are. Good post Bailey.

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