Why A Rescue Dog?Top 10 Reasons You Should Consider
a Rescue Dog
By Mary and
Doug Clark, Labrador
Retriever Rescue, Inc.* Why on earth
would anyone want to adopt a rescued dog? After all, aren't they like used
cars? Who wants someone else's problems? "If the dog is so wonderful,
why would anyone give him away? If he was a stray, why didn't someone try to
find him? I'd rather buy a puppy so I know what I'm getting, and besides
they're so cute!" É Rescues
often hear a variation of this conversation. Many prospective É owners are just not convinced that owning
an older (i.e, 6 mo.+)
"pre-owned" [dog] is better than buying a puppy. But there are a
number of reasons why adopting a [dog] from a rescue that carefully screens
and evaluates its [dogs] can provide an even better alternative. Here are the
"Top 10 Reasons You Should Consider a Rescue." 10. In a Word: Housebroken
With most family
members gone during the work week for 8 hours or more, housetraining a puppy
and its small bladder can take awhile. Puppies need a consistent schedule
with frequent opportunities to eliminate where you want them to. They can't
wait for the boss to finish his meeting or the kids to come home from after
school activities. An older dog can "hold it" much more reliably
for longer time periods, and usually the Rescue has him housebroken before he
is adopted.
9. Intact Underwear
With a chewy
puppy, you can count on at least 10 mismatched pairs of socks and a variety
of unmentionables rendered to the "rag bag" before he cuts every
tooth. and don't even think about shoes! also, you can expect holes in your carpet (along with the
urine stains), pages missing from books, stuffing exposed from couches, and
at least one dead remote control. no matter how well
you watch them, it will happen--this is a puppy's job! an
older dog can usually have the run of the house without destroying it.
8. A Good Night's Sleep
Forget the
alarm clocks and hot water bottles, a puppy can be very demanding at 2am and
4am and 6am. He misses his littermates, and that stuffed animal will not make
a puppy pile with him. If you have children, you've been there and done that.
How about a little peace and quiet? How about an older rescue dog?
7. Finish the Newspaper
With a puppy
running amok in your house, do you think you will be able to relax when you
get home from work? Do you think your kids will really feed him, clean up the
messes, take him for a walk in the pouring rain
every hour to get him housetrained? With an adult dog, it will only be the
kids running amok, because your dog will be sitting calmly next to you, while
your workday stress flows away and your blood pressure lowers as you pet him.
6. Easier Vet Trips
Those puppies
need their series of puppy shots and fecals, then
their rabies shot, then a trip to be altered, maybe an emergency trip or two
if they've chewed something dangerous. Those puppy visits can add up (on top
of what you paid for the dog!). Your donation to the rescue when adopting an
older pup should get you a dog with all shots current, already altered,
heartworm negative and on preventative at the minimum.
5. What You See Is What You Get
How big will
that puppy be? What kind of temperament will he have? Will he be easily
trained? Will his personality be what you were hoping for? How active will he
be? When adopting an older dog from a rescue, all of those questions are
easily answered. You can pick large or small; active or couch potato; goofy
or brilliant; sweet or sassy. The rescue and its foster homes can guide you
to pick the right match (Rescues are full of puppies who became the wrong
match as they got older!)
4. Unscarred Children (and
Adults)
When the puppy
isn't teething on your possessions, he will be teething on your children and
yourself. Rescues routinely get calls from panicked parents who are sure
their dog is biting the children. Since biting implies hostile intent and
would be a consideration whether to accept a "give-up", Rescue
Groups ask questions and usually find out the dog is being nippy. Parents are
often too emotional to see the difference; but a growing puppy is going to
put everything from food to clothes to hands in their mouths, and as they get
older and bigger it definitely hurts (and will get worse, if they aren't
being corrected properly.) Most older dogs have
"been there, done that, moved on."
3. Matchmaker Make Me a Match
Puppy love is
often no more than an attachment to a look or a color. It is not much of a
basis on which to make a decision that will hopefully last 15+ years. While
that puppy may have been the cutest of the litter; he may grow up to be superactive (when what you wanted was a couch buddy); she
may be a couch princess (when what you wanted was a tireless hiking
companion); he may want to spend every waking moment in the water (while
you're a landlubber); or she may want to be an only child (while you are
intending to have kids or more animals). Pet mis-matches
are one of the top reasons Rescues get "give-up" phone calls. Good
rescues do extensive evaluating of both their dogs and their applicants to be
sure that both dog and family will be happy with each other until death do
them part.
2. Instant Companion
With an older
dog, you automatically have a buddy that can go everywhere and do everything
with you NOW. There's no waiting for a puppy to grow up (and then hope he
will like to do what you enjoy.) You will have been able to select the most
compatible dog: one that travels well; one that loves to play with your
friends' dogs; one with excellent house manners that you can take to your
parents' new home with the new carpet and the new couch. You can come come home after a long day's work and spend your time on
a relaxing walk, ride or swim with your new best friend (rather than cleaning
up after a small puppy.)
1. Bond, Rescue Dog, Bond.
Dogs who have been uprooted from their happy homes or have not
had the best start in life are more likely to bond very completely and deeply
with their new people. Those who have lost their families through death,
divorce or lifestyle change go through a terrible mourning process. But, once
attached to a new loving family, they seem to want to please as much as
possible to make sure they are never homeless again. Those dogs that are just
learning about the good life and good people seem to bond even deeper. They
know what life on the streets, life on the end of a chain, or worse is all
about, and they revel and blossom in a nurturing, loving environment. Most
rescues make exceptionally affectionate and attentive pets and extremely
loyal companions. -- Unfortunately,
many folks think dogs that end up in rescue are all genetically and
behaviorally inferior. But, it is not uncommon for Rescue to get $500 dogs
that have either outlived their usefulness or their novelty with impulsive
owners who considered their dog a possession rather than a friend or member
of the family; or simply did not really consider the time, effort and expense
needed to be a dog owner. Not all breeders will accept "returns",
so choices for giving up dogs can be limited to animal welfare organizations,
such as Rescues, or the owners trying to place their own dogs. Good Rescues
will evaluate the dog before accepting him/her (medically, behaviorally, and
for breed confirmation), rehabilitate if necessary, and adopt the animal only
when he/she is ready and to a home that matches and is realistic about the
commitment necessary to provide the dog with the best home possible. Choosing a
rescue dog over a purchased pup will not solve the pet overpopulation problem
(only responsible pet owners and breeders can do that), but it does give many
of them a chance they otherwise would not have. But, beyond doing a
"good deed", adopting a rescue dog can be the best decision and
addition to the family you ever made. Rescue a dog and get a devoted friend
for life.
*Written by Mary Clark at LABRADOR RETRIEVER RESCUE, INC. Permission has been granted to freely reprint and distribute this document as long as LRR, Inc at http://www.lrr.org/ is credited. |
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