Quote:
Originally Posted by livingdustmops  ********************
Excellent information and I am a big believer in stats...I have watched people on YT give their opinions on many things in rescue without looking at the total picture but I believe many people on YT have been turned down because of age.
It is a known fact that Yorkies do not always like children...not all but generally speaking it is a view of the breed, Yorkies are very difficult to housebreak, Yorkies are companion animals and need attention and the list could go on.
So a 20 year old comes to rescue and wants a "baby"...the odds are this persons life is going to change radically in the next 5 to 10 years (travel, dating, husband and children) and many of these life changes do not work well with Yorkies and a number of Yorkies are turned into rescue because of no time, house breaking issues and they are nipping the children.
The amazing thing to me is that I never considered getting a dog at 20...I was having to much fun and certainly do not want the responsibility of a dog or picking up dog poop. I also do not have $$$ to take care of a dog. I so wish young people would think out their lives a little longer than what is going on the next day and stop being selfish with an animals life - 62% turned into shelters/rescue.
I realize some young people can handle it but come on, 62% can't and I really wonder what was in the breeders heads who placed these dogs. |
I do agree that MOST young people would NOT be able to care for a dog. I am 20 years old this year and got Jackson in December 2008 at 18 years old. It was the BEST decision I ever could have made. Yes, I am young but clearly this dog is the love of my life and not just some puppy I thought was cute and passed it on to my parents to handle. Jackson is my full responsibility, my best friend, my buddy, my pal, I train with him every day, we're hardly ever apart, we spend many days and hours at the dog park, we walk nearly every day. He's truly my pal and I could NEVER part with him ever. He is my first "child" or my first love, whatever you wanna call it. He's my boy and nothing will ever change that. Yes, I am most likely going to get married, have kids, have a different career within the next 10-15 years but Jackson is guaranteed to ALWAYS be a big part of that. I could never disclude him from my life, he means the world to me. However, I think that when most people see my applications I've filled out for dogs in the past, they immediately skip past it because of my age yet I would give another dog a WONDERFUL loving home. When I was looking for a second dog through rescue, over 95% of people I emailed never even responded to an application OR email I sent about a specific dog. I would send a long detailed email describing me and Jackson, our life, what we do, if that dog would fit in, etc.
I do totally agree that most people my age would in no way or form be responsible to own a dog. None of my friends would. I put a lot of time into this dog but he's all worth it to me. So I do totally understand why rescues have to be strict with this. I just wish it was looked upon more as a case by case basis thing, but a few yorkie rescues I've seen are "must be 25 years old" etc. Alot of people are married and may already have a child before they're 25 so sometimes I think that's really unfair to just make that a staple rule. I know a ton of adults in their 30's who don't treat their dogs half as good as I treat Jackson at 19 years old.