[PennysMum]

That looks like a lovely little dog.

All six of my current pets came from rescue situations, including my yorkie. She was part of a group of dogs that were living in unhealthy conditions with an elderly, senile lady. Penny wasn't a tiny pup when I got her, and housebreaking has been very difficult. You must also recognize and prepare for even more unexpected medical expenses when you're dealing with a rescue dog, since you really have no way of knowing if the breeder was careful. I am pretty certain that given the conditions she came out of, my dog is probably inbred and gosh knows what else. So far I've been lucky, but one of her brothers had a liver shunt that required surgical correction, and another "cousin" from the same rescue needed to have surgery on his hips at only 1 year of age. Of course, medical problems can pop up even in carefully bred dogs, as can behavior problems, housebreaking issues, and everything else. You have to be ready for that kind of thing no matter where you get a pet from; there's just a lot more room for uncertainty with a rescue.

I've always felt like the rewards outweigh the potential problems though; there's no better feeling in the world than the first time a previously neglected animal approaches you on his own to kiss your hand, or the first time a dog who has spent her whole life locked up inside is put down on the grass in your yard and runs and runs and runs until she flops over exhausted. It's a very precious gift to be able to share love, joy, freedom and security with another creature who has been denied one or all of those things in the past.