How did you get your dog?

[RachelJ]

I've related a couple times how I arrived at adopting my little Tucker, and it was so interesting to hear about how Smokey found his new home with Phred and what led Aly to find and take in Harley and Reece and DoggieMom's adoption of Maddie, so I'm wondering if some others would share the contemplation or events that led them to adopt the pups that now are part of their families.

[I Love My Aussie]

I got my dog for the same reason most other people did, because I wanted a puppy so my dad went out and bought one! I am hoping this will be the story with my future dogs, I am hoping to rescue a retired racing greyhound, and I'm hoping to rescue this dog I see every day thats chained up all the time. He's a sweetie. The owners put his food on the ground and let it get wet. He has trash all over his yard. I saw his owner out there once just walking around where he was about 6 inches out of his reach and teasing him a laughing as he ran around so the dog couldn't get anywhere near him. I pet him every day. I will post a pic of him in a couple days.

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*Whoever said you couldn't buy love forgot about dogs.*

[*BaSim*]

well i had begged my dad for months to get a dog. So one day he finally gave in and we took a ride down to the kill shelter and looked around. We walked down each kennel about 5 or 6 times and we stopped in kennel C were the cutest lil 8 month old gsd\pit mix was. every other dogs was jumping and barking but this lil cutie was just sitting there straight into my eyes. he just sat there even while his kennel mate was jumping up and barking and even landed on him a couple times. After bringing him out and walking him and hi just sittign there by our sides we adopted him. Everyone askes us WHY we picked Simba for a dog. WE just smile and say "how could u resist this cute lil face?" I know of 9 people who want to trade dogs with me because how well trained Simba is. I would not give up Simba if it was for my life.
Well now the fatty boy Simba dog wants to go for a walk so talk to you all later!

[This message has been edited by *BaSim* (edited May 04, 2001).]

[Sudilar]

After my Great Pyr, Avalanche, died in 1996, I went searching the shelters in the area for a dog. I visited very often, but none were just right. I got a call that a Great Pyrenees was brought in at Animal Welfare League. When I went to go see her, she was not exactly a Great Pyr, but a Pyrenean Sheepdog. The hair is more wiry. She was a nice dog, but I was afraid that my asthma might kick in with that type of coat. A few weeks later, I went to visit again and low and behold there was a beautiful GSD named Duke. I rushed home to get my husband and by the time I came back, he was adopted out. I missed him by about 10 minutes. My daughter was in tears! I told her that he was not meant for us. The right dog will come along. Again, a call came in for another Great Pyr. I ran down to meet her. She was a nice dog, but then my daughter saw this 69lb. horribly emaciated GSD who was loosing his hair in the cage at the other end of the shelter (I believe it is the end of the line section). She dragged me over to him. The shelter worker told my daughter to come with for a walk with the dog. As they were walking, they stopped to glance at the cat area. The GSD put his paws on the glass window, turned and gave my daughter the biggest, wettest kiss she ever got!! Well, here I am with a big decision. I was called in for the Great Pyr, but here is this GSD in need. What do I do. I decided to adopt the Great Pyr because I figured she was huge and not too many people knew the breed and would be willing to adopt her. Again, I ran home to get my husband. We came back and met her. She was a very nice dog, but....I had to go back to the other section of the shelter to say goodbye to the GSD and hope that he would be adopted. I left my husband and went to say goodbye. All of a sudden, I knew that this poor sickly GSD NEEDED me. Who would adopt such a mess! I could see his hip bones just sticking out! He looked at me with his big sad eyes and ....the rest is history. I brought my husband over and said that I was taking this GSD. He agreed that Killian needed us. I spoke to the adoption lady and told her all about the Great Pyrenees breed and how great they are with kids and that if no one adopted her in a month, I would come back for her, too. Luckily, she was adopted out to a family with kids. After a lot of vet bills and prescription fish and potato dog food and cans of salmon, my beautiful Killian is 110lbs. with a full shiny coat. Sorry that this is so long. In a later post I will tell about Shiloh!
Whew! Kinda long....
Sue

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***Save a life, ADOPT***

[This message has been edited by Sudilar (edited May 04, 2001).]

[Dixie Belle]

A lady my mom worked with had three puppies to give away. I talked my dad into it, and that is how I got Justin. My husband's mother gave him Blue. Mama just showed up at my parents house and stayed. And Belle we bought. If you want to see pictures my web page site is: www.angelfire.com/al3/cherylsbabies

[This message has been edited by Dixie Belle (edited May 04, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Dixie Belle (edited May 04, 2001).]

[jackiesdaisy1935]

At the time we got Kona, schnauzers were all but impossible to get. We saw an ad in the paper and we went to look at some puppies, my daughter fell in love with the runt and we said o.k. She turned out to be the one that got into everything. Pulled out all my plants, when I got home they would all be on the patio etc. She turned out to be the best companion ever, she followed me all day through the house and would lay on me at night.
Next we got Daisy. I looked at Schnauzer rescue at that time, and they were either at the other end of the country ( they won't fly them and I am glad of that) or none around here. We saw another ad in the paper that a lady put in who bred them on a Champion race horse farm. Her husband was the manager of the farm. Daisy was the last pup and no one had picked her because she had an underbite. The lady had two little girls who used Daisy as a doll, they never put her down. I asked them to put her down so I could see if she could walk. I told my husband I want her. She was little and scrawny and black, when we took her to the groomer Neena, she laughed, but she loves her she calls her little baby. After being carried by the little girls all that time it has taken us two years for her to sit next to us or come on our lap for a few minutes, but she is doing much better.
Then came Perry. I talked to rescue in Los Angeles and they had no schnauzers, but the lady said there was a breeder who had a male that she would let go. I didn't want a male and my husband did, so since he was good with Daisy I agreed. The breeder and her husband came down to our home in San Diego and brought Perry with them, to check us out, our home etc. Daisy immediately attacked him. I thought oh no. He didn't even know how to walk up stairs, he was being groomed to go in the ring. My husband fell instantly in love and to tell the truth I did too. Perry is a joy to us and he loves Daisy so much, sometimes he kisses her and she will lick his ears and eyes, she loves him too.
Of course we had them both neutered and spayed, if they had puppies no matter how many, I would have had to keep them all. I could never have been able to part with them



[This message has been edited by jackiesdaisy1935 (edited May 04, 2001).]

[Sudilar]

Part Two
We acquired Shiloh at a dog Walkathon by chance. I had been talking about a second dog (after we had Killian for two years), but hadn't convinced my husband yet. We went on the Animal Welfare League annual Walkathon. Walking the wrong way on the trail was a lady with a 9 month old GSD. She stopped to admire our Killian and I told her his story. She said that she had been fostering Shiloh because she had kennel cough and she didn't want them to put her down (especially since she was a GSD-her favorite dog breed). She said she was cured and she was supposed to return her to the shelter. She really didn't want to let her go back to the shelter. We visited for a while and Killian and Shiloh liked each other. We decided right then and there that she would be a new addition to our family! We finished the Walkathon and went back to the shelter to adopt Shiloh!
Sue

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***Save a life, ADOPT***

[Angels3]

I got my sable shetland sheepdog, Shelley, from a sheltie breeder who sold her as a pet when she became too tall for showing. I'd always wanted a 'Lassie' dog...& that's exactly what she looks like, being a little larger than most shelties.
I got our second sheltie, Danny, when I found him lost & in a poor condition when he was 18 months old. Sheltie Rescue helped me clean him up, but he had become bonded to me in that short time...so we didn't have the heart to pass him on for rehoming. He's now 15 yrs old.
I got our little tibetan spaniel when I missed our elderly small mixed breed dog called Grandma...because she had lived happily until she was 22 yrs old. I went to a dog show to look at the papillons but walked into a row of tibetan spaniels. I'd never heard of the breed before, but it was love at first sight...they are so self-assured, intelligent looking, calm-faced, reflecting their background in buddhist monasteries.
I talked to one of the tibbie breeders who said she was thinking of retiring one of her showdogs (aged 4 yrs). I thought that this tib must be not up to standards for showing...but I didn't care, I loved her immediately. When her breeder delivered the tib to us, she brought all her prizes, too. She was an Australian Champion! Her breeder was retiring her because the little dog had major problems having puppies. So she became our Angel.

[AdoreMyDogs]

I got Graham 7 or so years ago. He was about 9 months old and had been picked up as a stray by a no kill shelter in the U.P. of Michigan where I went to College. I had been volunteering at the shelter in my spare time and one day I went there to walk dogs and chained up outside and starving for love was this beautiful creature with the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen on a dog...ever. I decided to take him for a walk. His name was Rufus. I decided in about 60 seconds that I could not leave without him. I was hooked. I named him Golden Graham. Graham for short. He was so severly abused that he flinced with every movement, but yet he still wanted so badly to be loved. He was the most starving-for-love dog I have seen, he bonded to me right away. I took him home and it took 3 days of much coaxing to get him to use the bathroom, he was housetrained by someone evil because he was terrified to go to the bathroom even outside. He finally exploded (outside), ran away from me crying, and with all my praise and love he soon learned how to be a normal dog. He's truly my best friend and I was blessed beyond belief to have him in my life.

And as for Cassie...I was in line at a restauraunt in the same building where I work and there were some of my co-workers chatting behind me about a pug. They were saying "I can't seem to find anyone who wants her, I am afraid I am going to have to take her to the pound if no one will take her soon". I turned around and asked for specifics. The woman said she has a 7 year old pug female who she just does not have time for, the poor dog is always home alone and her kids had no interest in her at all. They actually seemed annoyed by her and did not want to pitch in with the caretaking. Cassie spent aprox. 10-12 hours every day locked in their laundry room, including weekends. Because they were a very busy family and they had white carpet so they did not want Cassie getting it all dirty, which is why they locked her in the laundry room. It broke my heart to hear of Cassie's neglect. Dogs need love and Cassie spent her first 7 years isolated from proper human contact and love. I agreed to take Cassie for a weekend to see if it would work out with Graham. There was no way that after that weekend I was parting with that adorable girl. On Sunday I spent a portion of the day shopping for all kinds of toys for her (she never even had a toy in her old home) and bought her sweaters and a new collar and an ID tag. On Monday I told her old owners that I was going to keep her and Monday after work I took her to the vet for a past due checkup and changed the ownership and mailing address at the vet's office from her last owners to my name. I feel that I saved her, because that poor little heart was aching after 7 years of isolation and neglect. I absolutely adore her to pieces! She's my beautiful, doll face girl.

[shais_mom]

I went to the Humane Soc looking for a small dog, but when I went into the big dog area, the most beautiful greyhound (which I had never seen before) looked up at me with these liquid brown eyes, and I was hooked. She was so regal and such a beauty, she laid down in front of the cage and twisted her head around to just stare at me with these beautiful eyes. I said"Oh don't look at me like that - you're to big!!!!" But the more she stared at me the more I thought "How can I say no?" and when I found out she was rescued from the Hardin County Coondog Trials, I knew it was destiny, b/c that was where I grew up. Everyone told me "Your house is too small," or "Are you sure about this?" And I said "Yes, this is what I want to try."
And she has followed me at my heels from day one, when I went to pick her up, the girl at the H.S said " She drug me all the way up the hallway, I think she knows she is going home." And she has been loved and spoiled ever since.

[Sudilar]

I just love hearing all of these fantastic rescue stories!!!!! Rachel, what a great idea for a subject!! Why don't you relate how you got Tucker for the new folks here!
Sue

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***Save a life, ADOPT***

[Rottie]

We currently didn't have a dog when we got "Sharky", and we didn't really have a specific breed in mind either. There was a flyer up at the grocery store, "Free Rottwhiler, Very Kind Dog". We went to go see this Rottie, who just licked our faces. And then we brought him home. The next thing to do was change his name; "Sharky" didn't really fit his personality. So we chose the name Carl, after the books.

[RachelJ]

Ha! I love telling this story. Please forgive me. My sweet Tizzie went to the Rainbow Bridge in January of 1999. She was almost 15 years old. I took her passing much harder than I expected. At age 3, things were starting to settle down with Hannah The Horrible Puppy, but we were going to be one dog family now. Yet after 5 months I started to feel like something was missing. A feeling washed over me that I should give an unwanted dog a home. I was quite anxious about it because I wanted the new dog to relate well with Hannah and also to bond with me. Was it possible for grown dog to do both? Being new to the internet at the time, I started to surf various shelter and rescue websites. I didn't even know what kind of a dog I was looking for. There were so many animals and I was so confused and anxious. All I knew for sure was that I wanted a female. I did a lot of praying that we would find the right dog for us. My husband, who had finally accepted the fact that we were getting another dog, started to tell the people at his work about how we were looking for another dog. One of his co-workers came up to him one day and said that they had adopted a dog from the animal shelter six weeks previously for one of their daughters, but that the daughter was going through some problems and she wasn't taking care of the dog like she had promised and they were going to take the dog back to the shelter. The lady said they felt kind of badly about doing that because it was a nice dog. Did we want to see if we might want it? The dog was a cocker spaniel and a male. I had never really been interested in a cocker and didn't want a male, but there was no harm in looking and at least we could see how Hannah would relate to another dog. We told the lady she should bring the dog over to our house and we would take a look. When she came and opened the door to her van, out jumped a beautiful tan and white cocker - the same coloration as Hannah as well as the same height. When he stopped to go potty on the grass, he squatted like a girl dog. When he came into the house he did a spring jump into my lap and gave me lots of kisses. Hannah and he, although not instant friends didn't act like they would kill each other either. The lady asked if we would like to keep him for the weekend, no obligation, and then make a decision if we wanted him or not. As she left via the front door, the dog didn't even turn to look in her direction. We went about our activities and prepared dinner, "Buddy" was relaxed and acted as if he had been in our home all along. It was only a hour or so, when I suggested to my husband that we needed to go to PetsMart as there were lots of things I needed to pick up for our new dog. I took Buddy (soon to be Tucker) in my lap and told him that I wanted him, not just for the weekend, but forever. Yes, there were hurdles to cross - extreme separation anxiety - and lessons to learn - at approximately 2.5 years old he didn't even know "sit", but he is truly an example of prayers answered. He needed a home and he was the right dog for us.

[Pam]

Rachel what a wonderful story! I never knew Tucker's tale except that he was adopted after living with someone else. I really started to fill up when I read the line about you telling your hubby you had to make a trip to get supplies for your NEW dog and also that he never looked back when his former people left. It is such a "MEANT TO BE" story! I also love the name Tucker. He is much too cute to be just Buddy. (Forgive me folks if anyone out there has a Buddy, but Tucker just looks like a Tucker! )

Lots and lots of kisses to sweet Tucker! You are so precious!

[Pam]

Here's my story of adopting Bella.....My last sweetie went to the Rainbow Bridge on June 4, 1998. On Feb. 1, 1996 my other sweetie had gone. I was now dogless but fortunately had my two kitties to help me through it all who I love with all my heart. After maybe 2 years I started to get a yearning for a dog. My hubby said "No more dogs! I can't go through the sorrow again when they die!" I didn't push but yearning continued and I kept missing the click click sound of nails on the kitchen floor. Also the winters were hard because we no longer had to shovel paths in the back yard for anyone to go potty. Finally about close to a year ago I knew I had to have another dog.

I originally approached hubby about adopting a pug. I just love their little faces and personalities. He is a die hard poodle man (we have had 4) and really didn't want to even commit to another dog, let alone a non-poodle. I searched the internet and found breeders and had my heart set on a cream colored puppy. He wanted another black (like our precious Whitney). I secretly went to the breeder's one day (about an hour's ride away) who had a litter of creams. I fell in love with Bella there. I called hubby at work and told him where I was. I asked if he would prefer Bella or her little brother. He said "Go ahead and get the female." I almost did somersaults in the breeder's living room. The rest is history! Sometimes hubbys need a nudge!!