[QuickSilver]

Okay, here's the dilly:

1) I would like to get another dog to keep my current one company.

2) I would like to get a puppy because I believe that maximizes the chances of strong bonding between the two dogs.

3) I would like to be sure that the grown dog is around the size of my current dog, who is tiny -- 3lbs.

Here's the kicker:

4) I would like to get a rescue dog.


Now, I don't care about whether the second dog is mixed breed, other than having some confidence about his size when grown.

The problem of course, is that I will NEVER be able to get a dog that fits that criteria! The other problem is that I adopted my boy from a friend and thus have almost no veternary history to speak of. I wonder if I would even be able to get a dog, period, if I didn't own one currently.

One of my friends wanted a Catahoula (sp?) leopard hound, and he waited months to get a dog - his family met three dogs and the first two went to different homes.

I'm posting partly to vent some frustration, and partly because I see the statistics on how many stranded dogs there are out there, and I wonder if it makes sense for rescue shelters to have such stringent standards. I understand it in one sense, because I volunteer at a shelter, and it is terribly sad when a dog is returned to us, and obviously that should be minimized.

On the other hand, I think of course people go to pet stores, because that's the only way they can get a dog. I would almost rather have a mutt, so it doesn't make a ton of sense to go to a breeder, though I might.

I remember growing up, everyone had dogs, and while there may have been some behavioral problems, I'd say all these family dogs were happy and loved. I wonder if shelters have swung in the opposite direction, to where it makes it impossible for decent people to responsibly aquire one.

Shouldn't the goal be to squeeze out puppy mills? It seems to me like the most effective way to do this would be to make it reasonably easy for people to get dogs through other means. It seems like some animal organizations have more standards around pets than children.

Thoughts?