OregonLuvr wrote:Most of their kittens get adopted after being vetted and they charge $25-$100 reasonable in my mind. This is a kind of pet peeve for me how much rescues charge. I understand there are costs involved but if you really want to get these dogs a home then price them accordingly. Would I pay $800 for a rescue NO NO NO I would rather buy a dog where I know their health history and background for that money.
Both our shelters are full and not taking anymore intakes right now and so people (who should be shot) are just turning the dogs loose in the country. Terrible. Some of the homeless take way better care of their dogs. Martha is right the shelters are FULL of Pits, Labs, Large dog mixed breeds. The smaller dogs are snatched up right away. I dont know the answer but it is a sad situaltion
Well. Interesting how this thread has evolved. As many threads on here do!! Definitely a sad situation, with no easy solution.
I don't wish this thread to devolve into "purebred" vs. "shelter dog". I don't intend this to be part of this current discussion. Thank you.
Karen, I agree with you 100%. Can I agree with you 1000%? I dunno, I was never so good with math and those percentage thingees - but if I could, I would. Heh.
I understand there are costs involved but if you really want to get these dogs a home then price them accordingly. Would I pay $800 for a rescue NO NO NO I would rather buy a dog where I know their health history and background for that money.
Oh
YES,
absolutely. I would definitely BUY a dog that I would know their health history, background,
TEMPERAMENT, previous situation, etc. etc. etc. before I would pay that kind of money for a rescue that was just one big giant total
UNKNOWN.
Here's the thing: A lot of people do the show dog thing. What often happens when a dog's show career has "run it's course" is that the dog is generally responsibly re-homed. There are two-hundred named dog breeds that are registered by the AKC (American Kennel Club). There are other breed registries as well, I'm just speaking of the AKC at the moment. So if one is looking for a specific breed, this might be a good route.
A person that has searched and familiarized themselves with their chosen breed (whichever one it is out of these 200 breeds), and can show themselves to be knowledgeable and caring (although this might take a while - it CAN be done) can often? Sometimes? acquire a retired show dog for little cost.
A retired show dog has some training on them (else they could not be shown in the ring) they are adult dogs when they are retired, they are well socialized (they are used to the noise and commotion of being around literally hundreds of other dogs at any venue where any dog show is being held) and etc.
They are trained to walk on leash (a dog in a show is on a leash) they are trained to be poked and prodded (by the dog show judge, who must "feel" that a male dog has all of his "equipment"), the judge must be able to open the dog’s mouth to check on the dog's teeth, etc. A retired show dog has generally learned to put up with quite a lot - and still be friendly and obedient - and still show that spark of joy that makes (or breaks) a show dog.
Karen mentioned in another thread that it might be fun to create a thread where we all share how we found our dogs. I intend to do this later, but I'll share a little bit about my Joe here.
(Short Version – longer version to come): My breed of choice was and is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I have had this breed of dog for more than forty years.
When it came time for another dog, long after I had stopped showing, and long after my own show dogs had gone to the Rainbow Bridge (advanced age - one of my last girls made it to nearly seventeen), I contacted a man that was prominent in the breed. He responded that he had a dog he was retiring, looking to be placed in a home. After a bit of back-and-forth my sweet boy Joe entered my life. He was about three years old at that time. The only thing it cost me was $450.00 for his plane fare. Joe was in Atlanta, Georgia I was near Sacramento, California.
I got Joe sight unseen.
How could I even consider this? I knew the breed, their characteristics, their temperament, I knew something of Joe’s background, his training, his health, his handling, how he was likely to act and behave if he was typical for the breed. And a show dog
must be breed-typical in order to be successfully shown (Joe had been shown to his Championship).
Did I have qualms? Yes. As always when acquiring a new dog – and I had never before acquired an adult dog of this breed. Joe has turned out to be a match made in heaven - closer to me than even my old dogs, that I had raised from puppies.
All of this just above goes back to what Karen has just said: (rather than rescue)
“I would rather buy a dog where I know their health history and background. . .” YES AND
YES!!!Enough on that part of the story.
Now a bit about the (sometimes) costs of Rescue. . . I was quite active in the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of America for about twenty years.
https://sbtca.com/As in all breeds, there are, unfortunately, always rescues. Most breed clubs have a rescue arm of each club (remember, 200 AKC breeds), who are devoted to rescues of their club's own breed. If a person is looking for a rescue dog of known background, of a specific breed, this might be an option.
Now a bit about the - sometimes - "hidden costs" of rescue.
I contributed generously each year to the SBTCA’s rescue fund. I loved the breed. I still do. I felt it was the right thing to do.
That is, until one year, when the Club Board granted the Rescue Chairman (who lived in Washington State) the funds to travel to England to participate in the British Club’s publicity-generating “Rescue Walk”. (Staffordshire Bull Terriers were originally – and still are - primarily a British breed)
This was done without the knowledge or consent of the club members at large, nor of those who had generously contributed to the rescue fund (in order to rescue dogs - not fund international travel for people!!). This trip only became known later, when an article about it was published in the club magazine.
I never contributed - not one penny - to the SBTCA’s rescue fund ever again after that.
Anne
. It kind of looks better this way anyway! (click on the link):
although I have become pretty skeptic about the weather reports... so far those big storms have not been a fraction of what was predicted 
