Help please!

[Sarah3]

I recently wrote to Karen about a serious problem I'm facing. At her suggestion, I'm writing to you all in hopes that you can help us. I have a 2 and 1/2 year old male lab-mix named Wyatt. I rescued him from the pound when he was almost a year old. Wyatt was horribly abused by his first owners and when he came into my life I couldn't even get close to his head or move my hands near him too quickly. He would literally drop to the floor or run away because they had beaten him so often. Thankfully, I've spent my entire life with dogs and my family has owned an abused dog before. I showered Wyatt with affection but also gave him the space he needed to begin trusting me. It didn't take too long before Wyatt knew I'd never hurt him, and he and I were inseparable. Even though his first owners treated him terribly Wyatt has grown into a remarkable dog. He never chewed up anything in the house and the only 'accidents' have been due to occasional illness. (And he gets so embarassed about the whole mess! sorry for the bad pun.) He's learned to sit, stay and catch his frisbee. He loves to play, but also knows when to just relax. So now comes the big 'but'. The reason I need your help is that I have to give up Wyatt. I never thought I could actually say those words, let alone type them. It hurts me so much to look at that sentence. But there it is... I know I might sound dramatic to you all, but if you've ever been through this you're sure to understand. In many ways, Wyatt is like a child to me, and in every way he's my dearest friend. I still can't imagine my life without him; whenever I think that I'll be okay I see his face and just start to cry. (Which of course, makes him come over and try to cheer me up.) But when I rescued him I made a promise to both of us that I would give him the life he deserved. And now, some things have taken a turn in my life and I don't know that I can keep my promise to him. (Please don't think I just adopted a dog without fully understanding the responsibilies first. I waited years until I was financially and emotionally able to provide for a dog.) I can't bring myself to take him back to the pound, I would never forgive myself. And it scares me to think that another abusive person could adopt him. Will he be able to trust anyone again? I feel so bad I don't know what to do. I try to tell myself that this is the best for him, but I never imagined my life without my dog. Anyway, I could really use some help from people who love animals as much as I do. How do I find my best friend a new home? How does someone get over giving away...

Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm so sorry

Sarah

[Logan]

Sarah, I'm so sorry that you are having to make this choice, but I can tell by the tone of your message, that you have no alternative.

Where in Florida are you? Geographically speaking, that is. Maybe we have some members in that area who might be able to help you by either adopting him themselves, or pointing you to a good organization to help. And give us some insight about Wyatt, like how he does around other dogs, cats, children, etc. That will go a long way into finding him just the right "forever home".

Wyatt sounds like a wonderful dog, and if I had room, I'd just drive down there and get him for myself! But my home is full, so I'm not much of a help. I'd try all the internet "boards" you can find. With your permission, and some additional information, I'll post it on several of the dog boards I know of. I recently posted a message for a friend in Florida, about some kittens she had rescued, and two were placed immediately because of my post.

Good luck to you in all respects. I know this has to be a difficult time for you.

Logan

[ July 02, 2001: Message edited by: Logan ]

[AdoreMyDogs]

Oh Sarah. I am so sorry My eyes have swealed up with tears at reading your post. If it helps any, I have had to rehome pets before, the hardest being a Goffins Cockatoo due to my terrible alergies. Some things just have to be done no matter how much it hurts your heart.

Gee, if you lived in MI I would offer to take Wyatt. I currently have a past abused rescue dog, and aussie mix named Graham. He was the same way as Wyatt was when I first adopted him nearly 7 years ago. He wanted so badly to be loved, but he expected that he would get beat every time he cowered up to people for love. I also had to work with him to get him to approach people with more confidence by showering him with love.

I don't have much advise but I do recomend you avoid taking him to a shelter. It's aweful scary for the dog, and you will never really know what happened to him...you will have a harder time healing and you may have more regrets and "what if's". Go to www.petfinder.com and put his info on that site...and try to foster him until someone is interested in taking him. That way you can meet the new owners and you may even be able to visit or at least keep in touch with them to help you get through this.

I will keep thinking of options...I really do hope everything is OK. I know it hurts, it hurts worse then anything, but know that everything happens for a reason. Wyatt loves you, but with the right care and some time, Wyatt could love again.

Best of luck, and again, I am so very sorry

[RachelJ]

In addition to the above advice, I want to suggest that you talk to co-workers, friends, relatives, etc. I say this because that is exactly how my Tucker came into my life. My husband and I were finally ready to add another dog to our family and I wanted it to be a dog that needed a home, that is a shelter or rescue dog. My husband happened to tell his co-workers about this decision when one of them said that her family had adopted a dog from the shelter but were going to take him back to the shelter because the teenaged girl whose dog he was supposed to be was not taking care of him. I knew I didn't want a male, but just to be considerate, I told her to "bring him by and we would take a look at him". Tucker (then-named Buddy) did the rest, selling himself in record time. The moral of the story is get the word out. The more people you tell, the better chance you have of helping the fates find Wyatt a forever home. Sarah, I am so sorry you find yourself in this predicament. I can't even allow myself to imagine this circumstance befalling me. Special prayers shall be said for both you and you very dear Wyatt.

[aly]

Hi Sarah. Unfortunately I know what you are going through. It takes a truely good person to look at your animal's quality of life, know that they could have better, and then make the decision. I know that you truely love your baby, just like I love mine that I had to give up. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole life. I still doubt myself all the time, but in the bottom of my heart I know I did what was right. I would give anything to have him back, but I know that wouldn't be right. He is now in a perfect home and very happy. May I suggest contacting either lab or mixed breed rescues? I think that would be the way to go for you. Most rescue groups do very thorough application processes and make sure your baby gets placed in a loving home. If you would like me to, I can post it on a couple great rescue lists I'm on.

PLEASE email me if you need someone to talk to. I just went through this in March and the wounds are still fresh for me. I can try to talk you through each step of the way, or maybe just listen. I am so sorry this is happening to you. It really is the hardest thing in the whole world

[shais_mom]

You have come to the right place.
A situation similiar to this w/o knowing the details, is how I got my cat, Kylie, she has been in our (my greyhound Shaianne) lives for 2 1/2 weeks.
Is there a family member or close friend that could take him? That is how I got Kylie, she was miserable at home due to one of my best friends boyfriends and hid all day and all night. Jodi wanted her to have a better home where she could still see her and maybe possibly get her back someday.
Please keep us posted, we are here to help and I simply can't imagine the heartbreak you are facing and going thru. We are here anytime!!

[Sudilar]

My heart goes out to you! Good luck and please keep us posted.
Sue

[Albea]

Sarah, I wish I could do something to help you, but I'm too far from you We all understand how you feel.
Here are 2 Web sites that have lists of pets for adoption, I don't know how effective they are, but it's worth trying: http://thepoop.com http://web2.petfinder.org.index
Hope you can find a happy,forever home for Wyatt.

[delidog]

sarah, i am deeply sorry for your situation.....but since you are in florida there is an organization called dogs and cats forever located on carlton rd. in pt.st.lucie....they have there own web site...dogs and cats forever.com....they are a no kill facility and will keep wyatt until he is adopted....their facility is very nice and they have a 24 hour caretaker named roger who lives on the property...you can also write to them ..e-mail [email protected]... i would encourage you to contact them for both yours and wyatts best interest their phone num. is 561-489-5454....please call them if you have not found a new home for wyatt............i hope that this helps.....the deli dog

[BPlovebug]

I'm sooooooo sorry you have to get rid of your dog!!!!! But why do you ahve to get rid of him in the first place???? i know how you feel casue if I ever had to get rid of my 2 adorable babes (dogs) I know that I'd never talk again!!!!!!

[mugsy]

Sarah, I would have to talk to Mike but if you can't find him a home and can ship him I would be willing to add him to the brood if he gets along with other dogs and isn't afraid of them...our dogs play pretty rough. I'm truly sorry for you predicament I don't know what I would do if I had to give any of my precious babies away. Remember we have 10 now.