GUIDELINES FOR FINDING
A RESPONSIBLE HOME FOR A PET
This page is to bring you into our world
a bit. We are going to get candid, and give actual details of some
of the issues we have had to deal with in rescue and will continue to do, all
for the sake of the animals. Everything on this page is straight from this
rescue's past. No names are given and will not be given for privacy
reasons.
Being in rescue, we have seen a lot and heard pretty much every reason in the
book, that a person has to give up a dog. I am moving and can't have a
pet, I am divorcing and we both don't want the dog (in rare occasions, we are
divorcing and we are being forced to place the dog in rescue), my loved one
passed away and left her dog behind, I can't care for it, I have a child that
has allergies, etc.
All valid excuses but disheartening nonetheless. Don't get us wrong.
We appreciate the animals being turned over to us, as we know that we find them
great forever homes and will continue to do so. However, there are the
occasions when it is very disheartening to hear excuses such as, "we don't want
him anymore because we want to go and buy a puppy, this one is too old at 5
years old". Bet you can't guess what will happen to that puppy when he
grows to be about five years old. The example of Biscotti. He was
taken to the cold shelter and told to put him down, adopt him, they didn't care,
they wanted a puppy so they didn't want him anymore. Thankfully, "most"
shelters are in contact with us They missed out. Because Biscotti is
the most adorable, loving dog.
Biscotti
Ray and Daddy Steve
Click to
Enlarge
The most common we see is people moving, or a loved one dying and leaving a dog
behind with no family wanting to care for it. It doesn't matter to us, we
will care for them no matter what the excuse is. Take Baron for an
example. He had the same parents for over 10 years. Both mom and dad
got sick and had to go into the hospital. Therefore, Baron was placed in a
boarding house until they could get out. When things didn't look good for
Baron's mom and dad and they found they had to stay in an Assisted Living
facility and could not take Baron, his family left him there for over 40 days.
The Boarding facility was the one who contacted rescue, and we tracked his
family down, who, could not take Baron in, they relinquished him to us, so that
Baron, who was loved all of his life by the same parents can find a new home,
which we are still looking for.
10 Year
Old Baron Currently Up for Adoption
See the
Available
Dogs and Application
On
rare occasions, we have people turn over dogs, because they have medical issues
that they don't want to deal with. Here at rescue we see the little ones
as "furkids". They are animals, yes, we see that and recognize that but
deep down, they have perfect souls and feelings. Anyone who doubts this,
should look in the eyes of a dog. Would you give up a child because they
were sick. If that was the case, my mom and dad would have dumped me in a
foster home a long time ago.
One bad thing about dachshunds is that they are prone to certain ailments.
That is not to say that every dachshund will get these ailments, but just as
labs and others dogs are prone to cancer etc. Dachshunds are prone to
Cushing's disease, epilepsy, thyroid issues etc. Not all of them get it of
course, and even if they do, a pill a day or a simple treatment in some cases is
all that it takes to care for these guys, yet for the people who turn them over
to us, it is too much for them to care for. And that is okay. To
each his own. Again, we are happy, that a person that has a problem with
these issues with their animals, turn them over to rescue where a proper home
can be found for them, and they are not placed in a shelter where 9 times out of
10 they are euthanized, if rescues are contacted. Or in other horrible
circumstances, these owners, don't take the animals to the vet and tell them to
put them down. (Thankfully, there are a lot of vets out there who do not put
down animals just because).
Toby is a good example of this excuse...Toby is a double dapple. Certain
breeders whether by accident or purposely, breed dapples together, which is a no
no. Since they come out as "Double Dapples". Which although very odd
and kind of weird looking, is a serious genetic problem. Most DD's as we
call them, are born without eyes, ears, some are born deaf, blind and with
medical problems to come.
Toby was born and bred in
Northern California. In Northern California, a couple had purchased Toby out of
the litter of puppies because he was the prettiest dog and as the breeder told
the couple “when he grew up and bred he would throw beautiful dogs”. This
couple bought Toby for a ridiculous amount of money for the sole purpose of
breeding him when he was older. When Toby was taken to the vet to get his
vaccinations etc, the vet informed the couple that he was deaf but healthy
otherwise. The couple’s immediate response was to demand that the vet put him
to sleep so that way they could go and get their entire amount of money back
from the breeder by claiming medical problems requiring euthanasia. The vet
refused. Despite the fact that he was healthy they said that they were going
to take him back to the breeder and demand their money back because “he was no
good to them deaf”. The vet said he would contact the breeder. The couple
ended up getting half of their money back but abandoned Toby at the vet. The
breeder informed the vet that there was no use for him to just put him down.
The vet refused and said he would keep the dog. He kept him and wrote the
breeders name down for future reference in case any problems popped up and then
contacted rescue in the Sacramento area. From there he was shipped down to
Chris, where she was taking care of the then barely five month old boy. Other
than being deaf and having a minor issue when he was fixed (one of his testicles
grew into his stomach instead of dropping a surgery took care of that during his
neuter) Toby is now a happy healthy little guy and rules this house. I
have learned through rescue that most of the dogs that come to us that are
"handicapped", deaf, blind, etc. are only handicapped in our eyes, not
theirs.
I
think the funniest reason we had a dachshund turned over to us, was "he barks
all of the time and wants a lot of attention". As if a dog, let alone a
dachshund (who make awesome guard dogs) would do anything but and deserves
anything but your attention and love.
One other reason for turn over's are children. One is allergies.
Obviously, children's health is number one important. The one that gets us
however, are the parents that contact us and say "when my son grabs my dog by
tail and drags the dog by the tail, it is the cutest thing to see my son
play like that...or sometimes they hit my dog, the dog snaps at them and
I am very worried for his safety, so we want to give the dog up".
Hmmm. Do we need to say it? Unless the dog has been doing something
bad, there is no reason for anyone to hit a dog, playing or not. And how
anyone can think grabbing a dog by the tail and walking around dragging the dog
behind them is cute, let alone healthy for the dogs back, we will never know.
In this situation, getting rid of a dog who did nothing wrong but tell the
little boy that he didn't want to be pulled by the tail or smacked, was much
easier than teaching the child not to treat an animal that way.
The last most common reason we get when turning an animal over is a
"housebreaking issue". The people state they can no longer take the mess,
even though they are crated or there is a doggy door, their dogs don't use it,
and it is ruining the carpet. Surprisingly, however, when they come into
rescue, we rarely, and we mean rarely have accidents here. They all learn
where the doggy door is, and on a very rare occasion given nervousness or fright
an accident may occur. In several of these occasions it is found out later
that even though a doggy door is installed in the house, they found why the dog
was not using it was because it was closed off when no one was home.
Either their spouse would close the doggy door off in the morning before they
left for work, for safety reasons or a nanny or maid who would be in the house
would keep it closed while they were there as well and would not open the door
for them to use it during the day. In a few occasions, we have actually
had people ask for their dogs back, once they found out why they weren't using
the doggy door properly or being crated properly.
All in all, I am noting the stories above mainly because as you will see in the
article, there are all sorts of reasons that you may need to find your present
dog(s) a home. And so many people give reasons for doing so, we know
things change, jobs change and moves happen where you can't take pets. We
know some people don't want to be strapped down with their loved ones dogs when
and if they pass away. We understand and appreciate that they come to
rescue to turn their dogs over. However, when you do have to give the dog
or dogs up, please be safe in doing so. There are resources out there for
you. There are a lot of all breed rescues out there, then there are always
the specific breed rescues out there like this one. If you follow these
guidelines, when you do leave your loved dog(s) behind you will know that they
are taken care of and treated right.
Although we do "NETWORK"
with other dachshund rescues or even general rescues throughout the United
States, we are independently run
and operated and have NO AFFILIATION with other rescues anywhere.
But we are aware of other rescues, as they are of us and occasionally we may
work together on a project or two, but that is usually where it ends.
We are all our own entities. There are times where although we may not
be able to take in your dog there are other rescues out there, if you ever have
any questions about them please email Chris at
CeeJAYS03@aol.com.
Reprinted by permission of The Humane Society of the United States."
The
Humane Society of the United States
***{Please note that we make no representation that The
HSUS endorses the owner of our site, or our site's content, products, or
services.}
***{Dachshund Haven of Garden Grove or anyone involved with them
are not affiliated with the HSUS and they are not affiliated with us.}
GUIDELINES FOR FINDING A RESPONSIBLE HOME FOR A PET
Do you feel
you can no longer keep your pet and want to find a new home for him or her?
Perhaps you are frustrated with a behavior problem. Or your child has pet
allergies. Or you are having trouble finding rental housing that accepts your
pet.
Many pet-related problems can be frustrating, and you may feel that
relinquishing your pet is the only solution. But before you take that drastic
step, be aware of the wealth of resources available to help pet owners such as
yourself deal with problems that can seem overwhelming.
Behavior Problems
If you are dealing with a pet behavior problem, consider first consulting with
your veterinarian. Many problems may be due to a treatable medical condition.
For example, a housetrained pet may begin urinating in the house due to a
urinary tract infection rather than a behavior problem. Your veterinarian will
be able to rule out any physical cause of the problem and may also be able to
refer you to an animal behaviorist or trainer in your community who has the
experience and expertise to help address your pet's behavior problem.
There are also several sites on the Internet that offer
helpful tips on solving pet behavior problems. In fact, The HSUS's
Pets for Life campaign
has over 43 informational web pages addressing common pet behavior problems.
Housing Problems
In a recent study, "moving" and "landlord won't allow"
were among the top reasons for the relinquishment of pets to shelters. If you
are moving and are having trouble finding animal-friendly housing, or are
experiencing other pet-related housing difficulties, please visit the HSUS's
www.RentWithPets.org.
Health Problems
Do you or a family member have a health problem (for example, an allergy or an
infection that weakens the immune system) that makes it difficult to keep your
pet? Has a physician actually recommended you give up your pet? Before taking
such a drastic step, read our information on how you can help an allergic or
immunocompromised person keep their pet without sacrificing their health or
comfort.
Finding a Good Home for Your Pet
If you ultimately decide that you cannot keep your pet, you have several
options.
Your best resource is your local animal shelter.
Most shelters screen potential adopters to make sure that they will be able to
provide a safe, responsible, and loving home for your pet. The easiest place to
start your search for your local animal shelter is online at
www.Pets911.com
or
www.PetFinder.com.
Here you can enter your zip code and find a list of animal shelters, animal
control agencies, and other animal care organizations in your community. You may
also want to look in your phone book. Animal shelters are called by a variety of
names, so look in the Yellow Pages under listings such as "animal shelter,"
"humane society," or "animal control." Public animal care and control agencies
are often listed under the city or county health department or police
department. You can also call information at 411.
If you have a dog of a specific breed, there may be a
breed rescue organization in your area that will accept him and work to find him
a new home. Purebred rescue groups are usually run by people with in-depth
knowledge of a specific breed. Rescue groups keep adoptable animals until they
can be placed in loving, permanent homes. To locate a rescue group that
specializes in your dog's breed, contact your local animal shelter go to
www.Pets911.com
or
www.PetFinder.com.
You can also call The HSUS at 202-452-1100 (ask for the Companion Animals
section), and we can help you find out if there is a breed-rescue group near
you.
In some cases, breed rescues only work with animal shelters and may not accept
pets directly from owners. Be sure to find out as much as you can about the
rescue group, and always carefully screen a breed rescue organization before
relinquishing your pet. You should make sure the current animal residents appear
well-cared-for, that the group screens potential adopters, and that the group
offers post-adoption support services. Do not be afraid to ask questions.
If you decide to try to find a new home for your pet yourself, rather than
relying upon a local animal shelter or rescue organization, be sure the animal's
best interests remain your top priority. Finding a new home for a pet can be
difficult. A "good" home means a home where the animal will live for the rest of
his or her life, where he or she will receive attention, veterinary care, proper
nutrition, and be treated as part of the family.
If you choose to find a home for your pet yourself, follow these guidelines:
