Posted on 08/11/2011 5:08:33 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Shaking at the vet isn't all that uncommon though, at least not to me. My boy used to shake like crazy at the vet until the exam started and then he was fine.
He liked going to the vet until he was neutered. After that, he just wasn't all that fond of vets. Always perked once he knew the exam was over.
So are we talking or not? You’re sending me love letters, posting kitties to me...Don’t tease me, joe. Speak plainly.
The dog was older, maybe 8 or so and had mostly kept in a cage at the puppy mill (as the puppy mill?) she had been rescued from.
But, she was in a different sort of cage this time. They don't keep animals very long at the pound and her time was almost up. People want puppies and at her age, it wasn't likely she'd find a home of any kind, let alone a forever home. Unless someone wanted her, they would put her down in a few days.
That's not something my sister could live with. She had one dog, a very laid back girl about the same age. Dogs are usually happier with another dog rather than being the only dog and my sister was sure they'd get along.
Long story short, she now has two dogs. And that shy, old girl, has gone from being alone and caged to belonging to a family. It didn't happen over night, but she slowly came around. When I met her, she was very wary and afraid of men. Now, she's as normal and friendly with me as my sister's other dog. She's a smart, little girl who was finally given a first chance at a happy life. She's now with family who loves her. And she gives it back!
Thanks for that story with such a happy ending. I can imagine how pleased your sister is for having rescued a dog from a sure death and having a new dog whom she loves.
I agree with you that dogs are usually happier with another dog in the house. That is part of the reason I am looking for another dog. The other reason is that I would be happier with another dog in the house.
I am looking for a senior female medium size dog and it’s a difficult process. If I had the resources I would take all the dogs home, but given that that’s not the situation I am having a hard time choosing, knowing that those not chosen may never have a forever home.
Let me say, I can never understand someone who discards an older dog. I have worked with rescue (my first golden was a rescue of sorts, altho she did not come from an official rescue, but came to me via another friend who intervened when a neighbor was moving and was going to take her to the animal control instead of taking her with them. She was 18 months old and had a lot of *issues* but we both learned, the dog and I and she ended up being a wonderful companion). If not for her I don’t think I would have discovered the breed.
Because I breed, (much less at the current time because of my current living situation) and because I always take back dogs at any time, I have ended up with dogs at later times in their lives myself, so I know that older dogs can be awesome pets. I don’t discourage anyone from adopting older dogs. But there are legitimate reasons someone might not want to (especially families with children, not the least of which is, they are simply not going to last a long time, and while that’s one of life’s lessons, it’s also one of the tougher ones—I leave that to them to decide if it’s one they want to face so quickly).
I’m with you, it’s heartbreaking. My current golden just turned 6. Not old, but she’s now officially middle aged. It was a jolt to me to realize. Drat. I’m not ready for that again. Seems like she was just a puppy.
God bless you. I have thought if we end up living in a different place while I”m still young enough to do it I will do fostering now that I have fewer dogs of my own. In the past I’ve done my support financially (and I take the photos for our local golden retriever rescue every year). There’s always something to do tho.
I would agree. I think too many people are too stupid and ignorant to make IDs, no matter their profession. I think many are misidentified, and there should be no breed-ban based on that alone.
However, the IDs of “PBT” (type, not breed, which makes it a much bigger pool) are so large compared to others, that if you weed out half of them and part them to other breeds it’s still too large comparatively (hyperbole, but the principle is still there).
And when you consider that there still aren’t that many “PBTs”, period, of any kind, that means a huge % of PBTs are unpredictably dangerous.
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