Rehoming Pets

[Teacher Terry]

My husband’s ex is dying and is no longer able to care for her 3 pets. Thankfully she rehomed the big dog months ago to friends. My stepson took emergency military leave to visit for 2 weeks. He had good friends that took the young cat and my friends took the 7 year old Brussels griffin dog. What a relief as we have 2 dogs and don’t want anymore. We used to have 4 but as they died decided to downsize. Hopefully all the adoptions last)

 

[ponyboy]

Thats good. Pets have feelings too.

 

[ckelly78z]

We ended up having to take my daughter's blind dog (not getting along with German Shepard), so we now have 4 dogs, and 2 cats in the house...it seems that is all we get done, and are always interrupted by barking, or skirmishes, so as they pass on, we will also downsize back to two dogs, and no cats.

 

[Teacher Terry]

If for some reason the dog doesn’t work out we would have to take it. I am extremely allergic to cats so couldn’t take Jack. I actually don’t expect that to happen. Too many pets equals too much work.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Too many pets equals too much work.

So true. We are at 3 dogs and that's the limit as far as I am concerned. We had *just* two and it was perfect...easy for one of us to take 'em to the vet/grooming/walking/etc. but 3 makes it a challenge.

I was happy with just the two but decided to take in an older Brussels Griffon whose owner had a terminal condition. I think we were fooled though; we were told he was 12 years old, but I am pretty sure he's no older than 4 considering how active he is! We did have 4 at one time (2 dogs/2 cats) and that was quite the adventure!

 

[Teacher Terry]

Flyboy, that breed is very energetic. Helga is fat and can jump high and run. Turns how the owner never trained her at all. Can’t walk on a leash and lunges/growls at people when they walk by. Off leash she is friendly and a love. Her eye is red so now has vet appointment. Also has itchy skin so getting groomed and then is still itchy see vet. She is pad trained which is fine but not using them. Luckily my friends are committed and know how to train a dog. I told them no deed goes unpunished)

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Flyboy, that breed is very energetic. Helga is fat and can jump high and run. Turns how the owner never trained her at all. Can’t walk on a leash and lunges/growls at people when they walk by. Off leash she is friendly and a love. Her eye is red so now has vet appointment. Also has itchy skin so getting groomed and then is still itchy see vet. She is pad trained which is fine but not using them. Luckily my friends are committed and know how to train a dog. I told them no deed goes unpunished)

They are a very hard headed breed, no doubt. If you haven't read the Wikipedia article about them, you should...it's quite entertaining. Ours have had eye issues and one of them (no longer with us) had to have one removed after a scratching incident. The two we have now are excellent when we are out and about and don't really fuss at anyone. Now, our cowboy corgi/mix...he's outta control and isn't a fan of anyone that isn't in our household!

As far as the itching, both of ours are prone to allergic reactions to just about anything outside and have found that Apoquel (prescription medication) works very, VERY well. We tried the Cytopoint injection with both of them at the vet's recommendation but it didn't do anything that I could tell.

 

[John Galt III]

I've noticed a lot of big healthy beautiful cats roaming freely around my neighborhood in the last few weeks. Before that, you never saw a cat (or dog) roaming around, with no collars. They seem like house cats. Some will run away, some will let you pet them. What do you think? Are people adopting cats from shelters and letting them roam? I like seeing the cats around, but some folks think they are eating the birds.

 

[grasshopper]

We took in an adult cat that was supposedly 11 years old. That was 12 years ago. Ollie Mae looks and acts like a 23 yo cat.

 

[statsman]

I've noticed a lot of big healthy beautiful cats roaming freely around my neighborhood in the last few weeks. Before that, you never saw a cat (or dog) roaming around, with no collars. They seem like house cats. Some will run away, some will let you pet them. What do you think? Are people adopting cats from shelters and letting them roam? I like seeing the cats around, but some folks think they are eating the birds.

I wonder if it's people deciding they can't afford the upkeep of a cat and are trying to distance themselves from it, letting it roam free in the neighborhood. I've seen it before during past difficult economic times. I also tend to see it in areas where there is a lot of rental property.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Fly, thanks for the information on the cream for itching.

 

[John Galt III]

I wonder if it's people deciding they can't afford the upkeep of a cat and are trying to distance themselves from it, letting it roam free in the neighborhood. I've seen it before during past difficult economic times. I also tend to see it in areas where there is a lot of rental property.

Hmmm. Maybe they are hoping someone will take their cat home with them, lol. I used to have 2 beautiful fun cats, but after they died, I didn't get any new ones. Vet prices are way out of control. I used to let my cats outside for up to an hour, just to let them have the experience, but kept an eye on them. They never took off, for some reason.

 

[Live And Learn]

I have one dog, one parakeet and one betta fish. My rescue dog has been with me since she was 3 months old. She is now 14 and has eplipsy which is becoming refractory to the meds so her seizures are increasing to weekly I debate if I will adopt another dog once she passes. Part of me feels I can't be without a dog. Part of me wants to be able to sleep through the night without interruption (Prancer gets meds 6 times a day - 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm) and without having to rush home for potty breaks.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

If for some reason the dog doesn’t work out we would have to take it. I am extremely allergic to cats so couldn’t take Jack. I actually don’t expect that to happen. Too many pets equals too much work.

If the rehoming doesn't work out for the Griffon, it appears that an active rescue organization it connected with the breed. My experience with breed-specific rescue groups has been very positive. National Brussels Griffon Rescue, Inc.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

If the rehoming doesn't work out for the Griffon, it appears that an active rescue organization it connected with the breed. My experience with breed-specific rescue groups has been very positive. National Brussels Griffon Rescue, Inc.

This group is fantastic. We got our last one from them and if you are willing to adopt an older one (they call them "paws of winter") they waive the adoption fee. We were told that he was 11 years old, but seeing how much energy he has, I am thinking no older than about 4.

 

[Turbo29]

I wonder if it's people deciding they can't afford the upkeep of a cat and are trying to distance themselves from it, letting it roam free in the neighborhood. I've seen it before during past difficult economic times. I also tend to see it in areas where there is a lot of rental property.

I have a big beautiful cat that used to belong to the people across the street. They moved and just left it; took their dog with them. For some reason people think it's okay to abandon cats.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Mr Gray, my best friend took Helga but if it doesn’t work out which isn’t likely we will take her. My step son still needs to visit Helga wit him going to be losing his mom. He is in the military so not in a position to take her.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I have a big beautiful cat that used to belong to the people across the street. They moved and just left it; took their dog with them. For some reason people think it's okay to abandon cats.

We got our cattle dog from some fool(s) that abandoned him when they (tenants) moved out of the house (my DW was the Realtor). We went down there to take the key out of the lockbox and he was just sitting on the back porch. As best as we could tell, he had been left alone for at least a week. 10 years later, he's fat, dumb and happy in our home. In the world of homeless dogs, he really won the lottery.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

We got our cattle dog from some fool(s) that abandoned him when they (tenants) moved out of the house (my DW was the Realtor). We went down there to take the key out of the lockbox and he was just sitting on the back porch. As best as we could tell, he had been left alone for at least a week. 10 years later, he's fat, dumb and happy in our home. In the world of homeless dogs, he really won the lottery.

In 2008 we adopted an Australian shepherd through a friend who was the Wisconsin rep for the Aussie Rescue & Placement Helpline (ARPH). She turned up on someone's porch in a nearby small town in the middle of a snowstorm.

She was a sweet, beautiful dog, but I'm pretty sure someone dumped her. She liked to bark, and I can envision some college kid trying to keep a lid on her in a Madison apartment. "Dog found" posters went up around town for a few weeks after she showed up, but no takers came forward.

I think I've probably posted her photo before, but here she is with some agility ribbons she earned.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My friend took Helga to the vet and her red eyes and itchy skin is allergies. So she got a shot and eye drops. Helga fits in with her other two dogs and they are crazy about her. They have been taking videos, etc. She got groomed and looks so much better. The vet said that she is not as fat as we all think. She has a barrel chest so only needs to lose a couple pounds. So nice to hear all the rescue stories. We have rescued many old disabled dogs that nobody wants. I am glad others do too.

 

[Teacher Terry]

So I have a funny update to this thread. A week ago I take 2 dogs to the groomer and come home with 3 Maltese. Someone abandoned a 2 year old Maltese and it was in boarding for 5 months until the owner signed surrender paperwork. They know I love Maltese and frequently have 3-4. On the way home it occurred to me that now that I live in a condo I can only have 2 dogs and I am on the board. So the next day I am in search of a good home with someone I know. By day 4 with no success I text a good friend of mine that’s 20 years younger than me.

Turns out that her parents were looking desperately for a small dog since theirs died. So Sara lives a active life with the mom getting 2 walks a day and spends her resting time with the dad who has Parkinson’s pretty severe. They are in heaven with this dog and she is a only spoiled dog. My son asked how I could forget and I told him that my brain was 25 years older than his).

 

[Jerry1]

Yeah, sometimes we're just on auto pilot. Good outcome though.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

Last month we took in a 4 year old Yellow/Lab - Hound mix. His former home was an elderly couple that couldn't handle a big dog anymore. Luckily, they placed him in a shelter and we found him.

We took him to our home in the country and he's warming up to us. It did take a little while, but he's home now.

I'm glad shelters exist so people looking for dogs can find one and people who can no longer take care of one can get help.

 

[Music Lover]

We're animal lovers but have turned down opportunities to rehome pets (for various reasons). We go away in winter and already have 2 mature cats (11 and 12 years old) and it's hard finding care when we're gone for several weeks.

We just turned down a one year old cat that was abandoned. It was hard but I'm going to be 60 in a few months and we can't envision owning a cat until I'm 75, never mind finding a place for it every winter.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I am lucky that I have my sons to take care of my dogs when I go on vacation and I never go longer than 2 weeks. Since I will never be without a dog my plan when these 2 pass is to rescue one very old small dog so our life expectancies are similar).