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1. I DID NOT WANT A FREAKIN' DOG.
2. I especially did not want a FEMALE dog.
3. I also especially did not want a FREAKIN' BASSETT HOUND. I mean, come on, I need to have something cool and fashionable like a GSD, Boxer, or a Weimar-whatever....
So my mom calls me...tells me she know someone who wants RID of a dog. “SHE” got engaged to this guy who has this dog his kids gave him for Christmas(!!!) and he is a truck driver, and he has raised this dog on route, etc.
And I am like "a FREAKIN Bassett Hound - Oh HELL NO!!!”(see above).
BTW- "she" (see above) hates dogs. Dog - I mean BASSETT HOUND ends up with me.
I cried. Called all of my best friends. "I don't want this freakin' dog!!!!!".
But...she turned out to be perfect. The most perfect dog I have ever been around. Super freaking smart. Totally well behaved. Great watch dog. Can stay in the house for ever without an accident (not that I challenger her here or anything but there are times and I am just amazed). Super freaking smart -did I say that? I swear she understands everything I am saying. Plays like crazy-fetches, anything, makes me stumble over laughing. Super cute. She is six and everyone thinks she is a puppy. Best Dog Ever.
GREAT story, JBnC - the ones we don't think we want seem to wrap themselves around our hearts the hardest...a bassett hound - gotta love those faces and ears!
I work with an animal rescue named A Different Breed and about four months ago a couple picked a dog up in Illinois. He was in the middle of a busy street and was almost hit by a car. Covered with matts and burs he was groomed, but not a goo job. This couple couldn't keep him though. So they brought him up to an adoption and were directed to me. Even though I'm just a volunteer I know more then some of the higher up board members.
I was left with the decision of letting him be taken to the city shelter or take him home and try to find him a new home. I took him home, not in the mind of keeping him, but just three days later I was in love. I tried setting him up in an all Shih Tzu rescue, but I was willing to foster. I couldn't get him in though.
I did a background check because he had a microchip. I later found out he had been on the street twice before this one. He was lucky enough to be picked up this time. His owner(s) picked him up both of the times he was out only because the city shelter in Illinois took him in. They didn't fill out any information on his microchip. He only has one because the city could let him go back without one, but they can't force the onwers to fill it out. I looked hard for his owner(s), but to no prevail I couldn't find anyone. Al numbers were dead and with him getting out and this being the third time I doubt they would ahve driven 10 hours to get him. Even though I would do anything for my pets, but I'd never start out in that situation.. so.
Since I didn't find an owner of any sort and I couldn't get him into the special Shih Tzu rescue I had planned on taking him to; I took him to get his annual shots and to be neutered; out of my own pocket. I was thinking I would get most back when he was adopted and I got the adoption fee.
Well three months later and he doesn't look like he's going any were. All of our dogs love him and play with him which was kind of the selling point with my family. We also have other dogs and Buster, our Lab mix, who needed to loose some weight has lost over 10 lbs with some of Teddies help.
He turns two on Halloween day, one week, and I'll be making a dog safe cake for him and our other pups. He's become my little pride and joy!
So how did your get your dog? Breeder, shelter, stray, give away??? What breed and age too? Want to hear your stories.
I got Rudy at the Peninsula Humane Society, here in the Bay Area - Welcome to Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA!
He and his 2 sisters were found on the side of the road, and eventually brought to the shelter at around 8-10 weeks old... I found them a few weeks later, and it was love at first sight. They all looked nearly identical, but Rudy definitely "spoke to me" the strongest. He's now almost 2 years old (I made his birthday 10/30), and the greatest dog in the world! Of course. As for breed, he's 100% mutt... as I've discussed before, he was DNA tested, and all they could find was a drop of Poodle. Do those Poodles get around or what??
I adopted my dog, Honey, from No More Homeless Pets. She was about 10 months old at the time and was in doggy foster care. She is a Dachshund/Toy Poodle mix....currently about 10 pounds. I've had her about 6 years now. She loves to be outdoors. I think she has separation anxiety to some extent. I work full time but try to always go home for lunch to check on her. She has a fully fenced backyard and a doggy door so she can go in and out all day long. She has a Lhaso playmate named Scampers. They are so cute when they play together.
Couldn't live my life without a dog.....I just couldn't!
I currently have two dogs and I'm looking for a 3rd (OK everyone see big hole in head?)
1. Jack Russell Terrier/Parsons Russell Terrier, Gator, Rescued, I got him from a vet he'd been dropped off because he'd been found rummaging around in the garbage in Mid Town ATL. He has been thru thick and thin with me, he is a true "heart dog", he's brilliant, lovable and if the AKC had recgonized the breed at the time, I would have gotten ILP and shown him.
2. Pem Welsh Corgi, Tucker, aquired from Breed Rescue, the intent was to show in obedience ect. Unfortunately, he was not as advertised way to many issues that we work on daily. His temperment is not typical outgoing Corgi, so he'll remain at home.
3. The next dog is on the way, I've been doing breed research for quite a while, I wanted a dog good at tracking and Obedience/Rally. IF I could find a European bred Dachshund (shorter backs and more leggy). But the only breeders of dogs I like in the USA will only sell to deer hunters. Soooo, back to the drawing board. Then a light bulb went off in my head and I realized that I loved my Jack so much that I really needed to look again at the breed, so I started looking at Parson Russell Terriers and liked what I was reading, I then started contacting the breed association and breeders, TOMORROW, I go to meet a puppy that will probably be right.
These dogs are NOT for everyone and are NOT apartment pets. I live on a farm so there's plenty of room.
This breeder and I have email and talked via phone, she will be bringing the puppies to a show Sat., I also will be having a two way interview. Then the following weekend I will visit her farm for a prolonged visit and make a decisison. The breeder wants to make sure I'm correct person for the breed and one of her puppies (sign of a good breeder). I want to make sure that she had done all the things I want from a breeder.
These dogs are long lived, middle to late teens. So it's a huge commitment. This particular breeder has the best of American and European bloodlines so her puppies are quite high $1000. I want to make sure I'm getting the puppy I want and the breeder wants to make sure the puppy is placed in a correct home. She's been breeding for over 20 years and has only had one return. BTW, when looking for a good breeder, if they are willing to take back a dog anytime during the dogs life, this is a real good indicator of a good breeder.
Why not another rescue you ask, I have two right now, neither are show prospects...the JRT is too old now and the Corgi has too many issues. I feel I've done my duty with rescues for a while and I've always wanted a competition dog and since I'm not getting any younger (late 50's), I've decided to do it now. Keep in mind, I've been breed researching for over a year. My job is flexible and most days I won't be gone for more than 4-6 hours as I can do some of my work at home.
Soooo, this is how I aquired my current dogs and how I'm going about getting my next dog.
Greta--a shepard/chow mix that I adopted from the local humane society. As I was walking through I saw her and her sister in one of the runs and actually had my eye on her sister. I went in and was petting on the sister when Greta deliberately pushed her sister out of the way and sat down in my lap. OK, I thought, it's a deal. I agonized over leaving her sister there but didn't feel like I could afford or take care of two dogs at that time. As we walked away Greta never looked back. She was a good girl and a very loyal companion. Unfortunately she grew huge fatty tumors all over her body and eventually was crippled by them. When she was about 13 we had her euthanized because she could no longer walk or stand up by herself.
Cali--About a year and a half after Greta died I was having a bad case of dog-itis. We'd gotten two cats in the interim but it wasn't enough. I started going to all the shelters and looking at Petfinder.org. I wanted a mellow but smart dog who could get along with cats and a five-year-old. I saw a picture of a dog who had the smart look I was after. I called about her, but she was in foster care and being treated for heartworms. They told me to call back in a few weeks and I did. I talked to her foster mom and she told me that they rescued her from the pound when she was pregnant. She'd had 5 puppies of her own and had raised 3 more who needed a mom. She assured me that she got along with everyone but that she had to stay inside because she barks when she's outside by herself.
When she was ready her foster mom met me at a Dairy Queen so I could make the final decision (Not sure about the DQ location...that was her idea). Cali was perfect--eager, smart, beautiful. A perfect internet match! She gets along well with our cats but is happy to chase after the neighborhood cats. She's the smartest dog I've ever seen and seems to understand every word we say. When we first got her she ran every time anyone picked up a stick or a broom, but now she's happy to lie in the middle of a doorway and let us all walk around and over her.
Here's the really interesting part. The foster mom called her a Brittany Spaniel mix, but I didn't think that was right. As it turns out, she's actually a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, which is a very rare and expensive breed that originated in Canada. I've had it confirmed by a member of a Toller club. We figure she was born in about 2000 and that year, there were only 200 of those dogs registered in the United States. How did she end up in a pound in South Texas???? Don't guess we'll ever know that, but we're lucky to have her.
Here's the really interesting part. The foster mom called her a Brittany Spaniel mix, but I didn't think that was right. As it turns out, she's actually a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, which is a very rare and expensive breed that originated in Canada. I've had it confirmed by a member of a Toller club. We figure she was born in about 2000 and that year, there were only 200 of those dogs registered in the United States. How did she end up in a pound in South Texas???? Don't guess we'll ever know that, but we're lucky to have her.
Marlow, I've never heard of this breed - do you have a picture of Cali to post?
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He's become my little pride and joy!
As for breed, he's 100% mutt... as I've discussed before, he was DNA tested, and all they could find was a drop of Poodle. Do those Poodles get around or what?? 
