we're still alive! but i have a sad problem...

[JasperD]

In my search of finding a great rescue dog, i have read about a lot of shelters in Canada. Not once have i read about any that have no foster care or feed them junk, and i live in Canada too. I have done a lot of research, and it sounds like you need to do a bit more. Also I have not heard of a shelter here that doesn't find the best home possible. They all ask very detailed questions, and it takes weeks for your application to be approved. They are very thorough. When my parents got divorced when I was 12, They decided to give away my first dog, who I have had for two years. I was heartbroken, even that young I couldn't think of how someone could get rid of a family member just like that. I fought for her, but being a kid, and no money of my own, I lost the battle, and still miss her. Just because neither of them wanted the dog. I still get a bit mad at them just thinking about it. I don't understand why you got a small dog in the first place, with this lifestyle. If you ever decide to get another dog, please think seriously about getting a more active, larger breed. (:

[furbutt]

I could never get rid of Poppy.... when i do decide to have children Poppy will STILL be a part of my family. I would never move somewhere that ment i had to 'rehome' her and never take a job that ment i couldnt give her the care needed. But then again i am not you and you have to do what is best for both dogs. its a really sad situation

[Woogie Man]

I'll just say that I hope the OP's home visit works out and Pooter and Tikka find a wonderful new home. I keep going back to the first post and looking at those pics of Pooter....an absolute darling!

OP, please let us know how things went. If it wasn't a good match, there may be a member here that can help. I'll keep my fingers crossed that Pooter and Tikka have found their new Mom and Dad.

[concretegurl]

Just for the record I personally avoid products with palm oil...

when possible, but shopping at local Co-Op helps (okay makes it easier to be a lazy unresearching consumer)
LOVE the link!
http://www.cmzoo.org/docs/palmOilSho...-March2011.pdf

[Lil Sis]

Originally Posted by kjc

Guess I'm just a bit sensitive to this type of comparision.... seeing so much of it (people deciding to leave their animals) lately with so many people losing their homes to all the traumatic weather events. Seeing the folks who did get their pets out of danger during Katrina, only to be turned away from rescue vehicles. Or people turning horses and other animals loose to fend for themselves bc they were unable to get them out of harm's way. Or the Hospital staff that left patients that could not be moved.... I realize these are different situations... but the decision is the same.

Personally, I would rehome children and pets if I could no longer provide for them. As caregiver to a step daughter who has quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy w/MR, I will eventually be making this decision for her also, as I am getting old. When that day comes, that I can no longer physically provide for her, see that her needs are met, that she is fed and diapered, bathed and such, she will go to an Assisted Living Facility.

What is your question? If one had to make a choice between rehoming a child or a pet, who would get rehomed first? That's hard to think about. I may still be able to care for my dogs when I can no longer care for my child. (Now I'm in tears.) Very hard decision, either way.

Plus one has to take into account the social stigma attached to those decisions.

I am so sorry for the weight you have.

I think none of us should speak in absolutes. It is too easy to judge people without KNOWING what is really happening. I know I have done so, we see the world through our own eyes. It is wrong to "rehome" pets, but there are times when it is the best thing to do.

I rehomed a pet once. I am not proud, but I do know 100% sure he went to a home that loved him totally and he was happier than he was in my home.
Would I do the same now? idk... I think now I would not have let it get to the point that I needed to make that choice.. I would have prevented that.

[yorkiemini]

And poor Pooter is not being ripped apart in the midst of this?

I would not begin to try to tell anyone else what to do...but I can only hope that somewhere in all of this what is really best for Pooter will be the priority.
It does seem that Pooter is not a priority at this time.

When we take on the responsibility of children, dogs, or our elderly parents we are committed to seeing it through for them -- that would be doing what is best for them not necessarily what is best for us. It is all about the commitment, or rather the promise.

Best of luck to Pooter.

[lady40jay]

[quote=TxVicki;3587472]

Originally Posted by sweet_tikka

WE ALL make mistakes and have to learn... how many of you have bought from backyard breeders... and you're telling me NONE of you have ever had to rehome a dog in your life... I find that VERY hard to believe.
I can honestly say I bought my 1st Yorkie from a Pet Store in 1988, way before I knew about puppymills.
I know my Lizzie came from BYB, but I have adopted 7 that no one wanted. NO, I have never, ever had to rehome a dog in my life and never will.

Well, never is a very long time! I hope you never face a decision that requires rehoming a dog. I did a long time ago and I did it because it was the best thing for the dog, not the best thing for me. I love my dogs like children, but they aren't human children. If it came down to a choice of feeding my kids or my dogs, the kids would win. I would not abandon a dog, but would certainly let it go to a rescue or good home in that instance. I wouldn't insist on keeping the dog while it starved to death. It's easy to say what you would do when you've never been faced with the situation. Life doesn't follow any rules and sometimes you wind up eating your words. I think if someone doesn't want a dog or thinks they need to rehome the dog for their own reasons, the dog would be better off with someone who wants it. A dog living where it isn't wanted isn't going to get the best care. And if someone has decided to rehome the dog, helping them find a good place for it is much more helpful than trying to tell them they shouldn't rehome the dog. I don't agree with most of the reasons people give for rehoming a dog, but I help find a place for the dog just the same. I care about the dog and would rather help find a good home for it than try to talk the person into keeping a dog they don't want. Didn't say I liked it ... have to live in the real world.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by lady40jay

Well, never is a very long time! I hope you never face a decision that requires rehoming a dog. I did a long time ago and I did it because it was the best thing for the dog, not the best thing for me. I love my dogs like children, but they aren't human children. If it came down to a choice of feeding my kids or my dogs, the kids would win. I would not abandon a dog, but would certainly let it go to a rescue or good home in that instance. I wouldn't insist on keeping the dog while it starved to death. It's easy to say what you would do when you've never been faced with the situation. Life doesn't follow any rules and sometimes you wind up eating your words. I think if someone doesn't want a dog or thinks they need to rehome the dog for their own reasons, the dog would be better off with someone who wants it. A dog living where it isn't wanted isn't going to get the best care. And if someone has decided to rehome the dog, helping them find a good place for it is much more helpful than trying to tell them they shouldn't rehome the dog. I don't agree with most of the reasons people give for rehoming a dog, but I help find a place for the dog just the same. I care about the dog and would rather help find a good home for it than try to talk the person into keeping a dog they don't want. Didn't say I liked it ... have to live in the real world.

Wow posts like these make me realize how far apart my concept of pet ownership is with some of my fellow Americans. Very sad.

[ladyjane]

I totally do not understand how anyone could say that any living being deserves less than another.

I really wish that people would put more thought into whether they can hang in for the long haul prior to obtaining a pet.

I personally would live in the woods in a tent rather than say I cannot find a place where my dogs could live. I also would do without a meal here and there to feed my dogs. As for medical expenses, again, I believe that thinking beforehand might eliminate the problem of finding that you cannot afford to care for a dog. All of the other things that people use as excuses are just that: excuses. Housebreaking an issue? Train your dog..or buy another mop. People don't complain about changing diapers on a baby, yet they complain profusely about a pup that does not know where to eliminate. Research, research, research prior to obtaining any animal and think about whether or not this is for you. Too many people just want to satisfy a whim and then the poor animals are the ones who suffer.

There definitely are catastrophic conditions that necessitate the rehoming of animals but they are rare. The surrendering of dogs is sadly not very rare.

[butterfly]

I haven't been on YT for a few months, and the first blog I read is another one where people, passionate people, as you call yourselves, judge and belittle someone asking for help.

The girl was young, her circumstances changed. I do believe she loves her dogs. I do pray that she gets a great home for the dogs and thinks long and hard before getting another dog. Someday, when she is older and more stable in her life, she will be a great dog owner, I'm sure.

Sometimes things happen in life that makes us HAVE to do something that we NEVER thought we would have to do.

I cannot imagine EVER having to give up one of my dogs. They are my life and I hope I don't have to ever surrender because of disaster, sickness, or the other things that life can throw at us.

The old saying 's**t happens' is very true. I just wish some people could just try to put another persons shoes on before ripping them apart! This just happens so much here. Can you just TRY to cool it down?

[Taryn0405]

Originally Posted by butterfly

?

Wait a minute...
In the previous posts, she states that she knew her husband and she would be traveling around the states due to his job. So, this isn't just come out of the blue occurance that crates an emergency placement for the dogs. It's something she knew was coming up and even states that she thought she may have to re-home the Yorkie as well because of it.

Unlike this flooding to which you mention, which is a catastrophic event that no one can control, she knew what her husband's job pretained to long before becoming a dog owner.

And you're right, she is young and I think becasue of age and inexperience, reacted on getting a pet on a impulse or a quick fix for lonelyness as opposed to thinking it through. Should she be shamed for acting her age? Absolutely not, however because of her being 21 a dog, and possible two dogs, may have to be bascially just dropped out of existance because of an impulsive decision...

[107barney]

This is not about me, it's about the OP rehoming her dog for hunting season and convenience of keeping a yorkie instead of the first dog she adopted. You can derail it all you want but the issue at hand is rehoming a dog for hunting season, not for floods or catastrophic damage. It's also about you calling other people belittling and judgmental

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by Rhetts_mama

Wow, that was just rude, IMO.

Before you go spouting off about real life, perhaps you need to take a look at who you are speaking to and see just what composes real life for Cathy and her dogs.

I'm sorry, but I was offended as well. I don't know what real life is for Cathy and her dogs. How would I know? I was JUST trying to point out that circumstances happen that people have to surrender their animals. Was that rude?

[107barney]

Originally Posted by butterfly

I'm sorry, but I was offended as well. I don't know what real life is for Cathy and her dogs. How would I know? I was JUST trying to point out that circumstances happen that people have to surrender their animals. Was that rude?

I don't need to explain myself to anyone especially those who want to sit and pontificate from their thrones. And for the record, since you opened your big mouth and asked, I don't need to walk a mile in anyone else's shoes, my shoes are worn to the soles and my feet are tired. My bank account is perpetually drained, but come hell or highwater, my dogs are with me NO MATTER WHAT. The words "I can't" are not in my constitution and I am not above shoveling s**t if that's what I need to do to make it happen.

That is it for me here.

[Rhetts_mama]

Originally Posted by butterfly

I'm sorry, but I was offended as well. I don't know what real life is for Cathy and her dogs. How would I know? I was JUST trying to point out that circumstances happen that people have to surrender their animals. Was that rude?

What was rude is asking if someone was " really that uninformed".
As has already been pointed out, this isn't about a catastrophic event that puts people in an impossible situation. This thread is all about lifestyle choices being made and what is the most convenient.

I won't blame it on the OP's age, because we've all seen supposedly mature adults making decisions based inconvenience, too. But it does reinforce why many good breeders are reluctant to sell pups to young owners who may not yet be capable of anticipating some of the curves life throws at you.

From "it might as well be Pooter" to " we'll see how it works out with Tikka", this was never about someone making a hard choice, but rather someone trying to make things easier on themselves. And that offends me.