Ad in the paper that made me mad....A rant!

[Tonya]

Although it irks the **** out of me...I'm thankful that they acknowledged that they were not good pet owners and are seeking a better home for them. My neighbor has neglected her dogs for years, I wish she'd give hers away to a loving home.

Here are two that have been irking the hell out of me all week...

PINCHERS MINI 1 red Male, 6lbs., 2 black/tan Females (1 pregnant)(1-5lbs., 1-9lbs.) Must see! $350/$450/or best offer. Must sell! 968-xxxx

Oh, the other one is gone...it said something like...

Just might be genetically a new breed! Lab, pitbull, rott mixed pups a new beautiful breed created! Call xxx-xxxx

[K9soul]

I'm getting slightly off topic here, but wanted to say a couple things.

You made a good point Sandra about the 'free to good home' part. I guess when I see that, at least I know they aren't a BYB, although sometimes they can be even worse. I guess I'm recalling a pup my mom and I rescued off the streets when I was younger. We were afraid to surrender him to the shelter because it was a high kill shelter. We ended up as unofficial foster parents for him for six weeks, naming him Bingo. We think he was a lab chow mix, he definitely had some chow in him.

I do think I remember my mom putting an ad in the paper, and she didn't charge a fee for him, but she did carefully screen who he went to. The people drove from a rural area about 40 minutes away to come see him. He went to go live on a farm, and Mom kept in touch with his new family for awhile. I never saw him again, but heard good reports about him. I think my mom handled things as responsibly as she could with him. I can't remember if she put in the ad that he was free, she might have. Where I grew up, there were so many dogs running around unaltered, the shelters were overflowing. Three different times we rescued puppies, once with Bingo and twice with litters, which we took to the shelter. One was a litter from a stray female who had gone wild. One was a litter in a box dumped on the side of the road. This was in the Missouri Ozarks. People with boxes of puppies sitting outside of Wal-Mart was something you saw every weekend.

Anyway, I just have to repeat and echo the sentiments that this pup's best chance would be from a rescue. This, and the hundreds of thousands of stories like it, are so tragic.

[tatsxxx11]

I completely understand what you're saying Jessica Honestly, until I started doing rescue work, it never woud have dawned on me to ask for money if I needed to rehome my dog. O\n the contrary, it would have upset me to think that anyhone would ask for money for a dog they loved but couldn't keep. But I understand the other side too. Good, caring, responsible people like your mom know how to pick out that family that will provide a loving home. For some others, I would worry that they would be so anxious to get rid of the dog, they'd take the quickest route. Your mom sounds like a wonderful lady. (Like her daughter)

[Miss Meow]

As Tonya said, at least they acknowledged fairly early that they're not good dog owners. There are too many dogs that are left in backyards to rot for years

They do sound like right tossers, though.

[guster girl]

Originally posted by K9soul
Guster I know what you are saying, but I sure think a more responsible thing to do would be to forget about the money they've 'invested' and make sure this pup goes to a good home. Contacting a rescue organization would have been a much better step. They are still treating this pup like a commodity, not a life.

Also, to me it's not much better than 'free to good home.' Whether someone pays $600 or takes the pup in free doesn't guarantee it a good home at all. If someone says 'free to good home' and actually truly screens where the pup goes to, it's different. I am not saying that people who advertise this always make sure that they properly home the animal, but I imagine this family won't be screening anything and will sell the pup to the first person who offers up what they want.

I'm certainly not saying paying money or getting a dog for free guarantees anything. But, I do stick to my guns that "free to a good home" is just asking for trouble. If a person screens the prospective owners, that would be awesome. But, there are a lot that don't, and, the animals end up being bait or lab animals. I don't claim to know what they meant by "sacrifice" and I don't claim to know why they're asking $600. I think the best would be to take him to a breed rescue, but, the majority of people don't know that those places even exist. It's not stupidity, it's just not knowing. Did anyone call the number and give them numbers to breed rescues?

[lovemyshiba]

That is a shame.
Poor puppy

The ads in the paper here are just as infuriating--just today I saw "golden retriever pups, great Easter gifts"--that made me so mad. I want to call them and tell them that a puppy is NOT a great Easter gift, but a lifetime committment, but I think I would be wasting my time.

I hope this particular pup finds a wonderful home.