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the issue with the rescue center in my area, and it has been for years, they are almost 100% pit bulls. I dont want an aggressive dog. Those beagles. none of them will come to my area but if you are rich and famous you can get the pick of the litter
Right- there are lots of reasons people can legitimately be rejected for adoption. The dog won’t do well with kids, other pets, or someone who has to be out of the home a lot; or the pet may do better with another pet, kids, etc. I’ve lived in multiple apartment complexes where renters have gotten puppies and immediately started leaving them home for long periods. I had one who would leave the pup in a crate overnight for at least 12 hours, which was so cruel. I don’t know why a rescue organization or breeder should be compelled to adopt to people like that- that’s not a good environment for a puppy.
IMHO people who lock their dog in a crate overnight are control freaks. It's not about the dogs safety it's all about control.
There was a comedian I heard on the radio the other day, talking about pets. "Oh my ____ loves me" people say. Well no, he said. Open your door. Open the animal cage. See how long it takes before your pet leaves and doesn't come back (with the exception of dogs).
My cats are free to come and go, since I have a pet door... not only do they always come home (unless something terrible occurs), but they still choose to be inside about 80-90% of the time. As for my dogs, one won't wander off even if you leave the doors wide open. It's happened, like the one time when a gardener left the gates open - and he was still there when I got home, waiting patiently as the loyal Shepherd he is. My other dog is a husky, soooooo yeah. He'd probably go on a walkabout, but would eventually come home. I think.
Even my snakes don't go far when they're let out of their cages. Usually end up squished under the sofa, or behind their cage because it's warm. Most animals are territorial, and it only takes from a few days to a few weeks to "imprint" on their home. I've moved 25+ times in my adult life, always with pets, and they always know that home is where I am.
the issue with the rescue center in my area, and it has been for years, they are almost 100% pit bulls. I dont want an aggressive dog. Those beagles. none of them will come to my area but if you are rich and famous you can get the pick of the litter
Yeah, that's the elephant in the room. It's pits/pit mixes too in my area along with cattle dogs and huskies. These aren't appropriate breeds for many people/living situations, and insurances issues can complicate it further.
I heard that they're sending the beagles to Humane Societies all over the country. Maybe there's one close to you?
Most dogs are visibly happy around people. Does an unleashed Golden Retriever, with its tongue dangling 3" out of its mouth, happily run towards a beachcomber without food to offer, merely to get a head scratch and perhaps a ball toss, if that's not what it wants? We are its pack!
Granted, cats are a bit harder to understand, and the keeping of exotics like chimps is downright heartless.
I have "pets." When I look at my crittercam at night, I see deer, foxes, groundhogs, raccoons, armadillos, all wandering around. There are feral cats that also visit. If there are coyotes or skunks, I take action to protect my pets. None of my pets would ever come up to me and be submissive in hopes of ... whatever.
As I write, I hear frogs. They like to eat mosquitoes for me. Fireflies are now coming back. It is a safe place for them. I do not know what I think about the hummingbirds. They can be complete jerks and aggressive, but I understand their point of view. Butterfly caterpillars ate my parsley, but whatever.
Yeah, I have pets. Watching them live their lives as real members of their species gives me pleasure, but more than that I appreciate them as who and what they are.
I've said many times, to the horror of animal loving friends, that I often wonder, to my own horror, if dogs really have a place in modern society. Let's face it. We're pretty much all busy running around like chickens with our heads cut off all the time. Everyone in the household working, usually with a commute, eating lunch out, the kids in school, then after work it's extracurricular activities or socializing and the same on weekends. The dog is left home alone 12-16 hours a day, too often crated so they don't destroy things out of sheer boredom and/or separation anxiety. Even having a doggie door to a fenced back yard is risky since pets are sometimes stolen to be sold, like Amazon deliveries off the front porch. When vacation times comes, the dog is either left with a pet-sitter or boarded.
And pet-sitters don't actually "sit" with your pets; they run in, throw food at them, clean up if necessary, take them outside for a potty break, and then it's off to the next house.
Contrast this with how life was for dogs just a few short generations ago: Mom home all day along with other mothers in the neighborhood, socializing among themselves when not working around the house, kids home from school early to run around and play with each other AND the dogs who were free to roam around playing with the kids AND with each other. Only dad worked away from home, and not even then if in a rural setting. "Sports" were whatever games the kids arranged for themselves. No driving off to dance or music lessons and dinner being a fast food stop. A vacation, if it happened, was a rare occurrence, and no doubt some neighbor was happy to put out an extra bowl for your dog.
Even when people DO spend time with their dogs today, such as in a dog park, I see them either talking on or staring down at their "smart" phones instead of truly interacting with their pet. Too often the pet is just yanked along. No doubt it's more of the same at home.
Yeah, I know; "not me!" I hear it all the time, yet that's not what I observe in the world.
Even worse is when people BUY (rather than adopt) puppies or working dog breeds who are even more high-maintenance than others. Dogs are happiest with their people and when they have a job to do. As for other pets? As long as their needs for socialization are met. Even cats aren't happy living entirely alone indoors, and other animals who are pack, herd, or social can languish and even perish from boredom and loneliness if left alone.
It is a problem when people get a breed who is really not suited for their temperament or lifestyle.
I spent much of my time with my late dog (passed away in March at the age of 15) going to dog-friendly areas, often breaking the leash-law so he could trot around in wooded areas since he had a gentle disposition. When he was about 12.5 years old, he lost his hearing, so in order to give him frequent off-leash activity, I took him to fenced dog parks (I don't have a yard; I live in a semi-urban area in an apartment area); two of them quite large and grassy. I would walk around the park, not looking or talking on a cellphone, watching my dog and watching the other dogs, occasionally talking with other dog owners.
Since my dog passed away, I still go to the dog park and pet other people's dogs. I do notice that there is a group of people, very nice people, who sit down at the tables and mostly chitchat rather than walk around with the dogs (though they are careful to always pick up after their dogs). There are other people who do walk around and interact with their dogs, throw balls and frisbees, etc. To me, it's kind of weird to treat the dog park as a human social hour when it's most important that the dogs get out and move around; I've always believed that off-leash activity is important for dogs' minds and bodies.
Just to say, nulliparity (fur babies instead of human babies) has a downside. Breast cancer is 4 - 5X as likely in nulliparous women.
Funny, they never tell ya that.
No; nulliparity means no human babies; it has nothing to do with pets. Please don't blame love of dogs or cats for breast cancer. I speak not only as someone who has lived with and loved dogs for most of my life, but as a breast cancer survivor (for 20 years) who is now living with metastatic breast cancer. Your comment is inaccurate and insulting to me and anyone who has cared for dogs or cats. My reasons for not having had a child are personal and have nothing to do with my having had dogs in my life.
the issue with the rescue center in my area, and it has been for years, they are almost 100% pit bulls. I dont want an aggressive dog. Those beagles. none of them will come to my area but if you are rich and famous you can get the pick of the litter
Many rescues and shelters have access to volunteers who will help transport an adoptee across state lines. Google www.petfinder.com. You can search by breed, size, gender, age, and distance -- but that last item needn't be an impediment to adopting versus buying...
I suspect you've never bought a dog from a legit breeder (or even had one at all?).
You "suspect" wrong. As usual. Never bought from any breeder and never would as long as there are dogs in shelters and rescues, but have been a dog owner.
It is a problem when people get a breed who is really not suited for their temperament or lifestyle.
I spent much of my time with my late dog (passed away in March at the age of 15) going to dog-friendly areas, often breaking the leash-law so he could trot around in wooded areas since he had a gentle disposition. When he was about 12.5 years old, he lost his hearing, so in order to give him frequent off-leash activity, I took him to fenced dog parks (I don't have a yard; I live in a semi-urban area in an apartment area); two of them quite large and grassy. I would walk around the park, not looking or talking on a cellphone, watching my dog and watching the other dogs, occasionally talking with other dog owners.
Since my dog passed away, I still go to the dog park and pet other people's dogs. I do notice that there is a group of people, very nice people, who sit down at the tables and mostly chitchat rather than walk around with the dogs (though they are careful to always pick up after their dogs). There are other people who do walk around and interact with their dogs, throw balls and frisbees, etc. To me, it's kind of weird to treat the dog park as a human social hour when it's most important that the dogs get out and move around; I've always believed that off-leash activity is important for dogs' minds and bodies.
There's a group of seniors with smaller dogs who do that here. I see nothing wrong with it; I think it served a particularly important purpose during the worst of the pandemic when most of these people wouldn't otherwise even see or talk to another person.
My dog likes to run around, and he's a social butterfly who loves to play with other dogs. He's young, I'm not, so I take him to the dog park so he can get his activity/social needs met. We interact plenty at home.
It does annoy me, though, when people sit there with their faces in their phones, their backs to their dogs, or otherwise not keeping an eye on them.
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