Dogs For The Blind Rehoming

This was posted in the "Best of Craiglist" It was not written by me.

"I am posting this (and it is long) because I think our society needs a huge 'Wake-up' call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will. First off, this is a forum to for adoption and/or rehoming as clearly stated in the rules. All of you breeders/sellers on craigslist should not only be flagged (and I hope the good people on craigslist will continue to do so with blind fury), but you should be made to work in the 'back' of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know, that puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore.

So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are 'owner surrenders' or 'strays', that come into my shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses I hear are; 'We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat).' Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets? Or they say 'The dog got bigger than we thought it would'. How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? 'We don't have time for her'. Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! 'She's tearing up our yard'. How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me, 'We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her, we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog'. Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off, sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy; if it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the 'Bully' breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed, it may get a stay of execution, not for long though. Most get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression, even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles, chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being 'put-down'. First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash, they always look like they think they are going for a walk, happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to 'The Room', every one of them freaks out and puts on the breaks when we get to the door; it must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process, they will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the 'pink stuff'. Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just 'go to sleep', sometimes spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed, waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind, it was just an animal and you can always buy another one right?



I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head. I do everyday on the way home from work. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter. Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.


My point to all of this: DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!


Hate me or flag me if you want to, the truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say 'I saw this thing on craigslist and it made me want adopt,' that would make it all worth it."
FEEL FREE TO COPY AND PASTE IT EVERYWHERE!!! I GOT IT OFF A PUBLIC SITE...

Please, post this morning, noon and night on a daily basis to reach as many of the people that insist on breeding their pets as you can. I applaud you for this. It is a message I try and try to get across. I would like your permission to copy and paste to use over and over. I have 5 pets. 1 dog, 4 cats. All are rescues and all are neutered/spayed.


This is for the person that calls herself "me" your id says it all. What was posted here was a FACT not an opinion. Learn the difference so you won't sound so...............uninformed.

2006-08-14 13:16:09 by deaddeerny

Border Collie Rescue offers long term care for some dogs that are difficult to re-home or need more constant care. Pan - a blind Border Collie is ...

This was posted in the "Best of Craiglist" It was not written by me.

"I am posting this (and it is long) because I think our society needs a huge 'Wake-up' call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will. First off, this is a forum to for adoption and/or rehoming as clearly stated in the rules. All of you breeders/sellers on craigslist should not only be flagged (and I hope the good people on craigslist will continue to do so with blind fury), but you should be made to work in the 'back' of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know, that puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore.

So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are 'owner surrenders' or 'strays', that come into my shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses I hear are; 'We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat).' Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets? Or they say 'The dog got bigger than we thought it would'. How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? 'We don't have time for her'. Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! 'She's tearing up our yard'. How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me, 'We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her, we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog'. Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off, sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy; if it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the 'Bully' breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed, it may get a stay of execution, not for long though. Most get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression, even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles, chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being 'put-down'. First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash, they always look like they think they are going for a walk, happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to 'The Room', every one of them freaks out and puts on the breaks when we get to the door; it must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process, they will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the 'pink stuff'. Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just 'go to sleep', sometimes spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed, waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind, it was just an animal and you can always buy another one right?



I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head. I do everyday on the way home from work. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter. Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.


My point to all of this: DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!


Hate me or flag me if you want to, the truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say 'I saw this thing on craigslist and it made me want adopt,' that would make it all worth it."

Additional Details

21 minutes ago
FEEL FREE TO COPY AND PASTE IT EVERYWHERE!!! I GOT IT OFF A PUBLIC SITE...

This breaks my heart to read it. I have 3 cats that are house cats and I feed an entire neighborhood of cats because the ignorant rednecks around me are too stupid to have their animals fixed... somehow, it threatens their manhood.

2006-08-14 13:50:47 by deaddeerny

My mom has two coonhounds, Ellie and Dori, who are almost equal in age. We got both of them as adults, one from a shelter (Ellie) who had no training and the other from a family member who treated her badly (Dori). I also have three dogs, Hooch, Cody, and Sasha. All spayed or neutered!Other than Sasha's lack of confidence and there fore some aggression to strangers (which I can control and have worked on since I brought her home), they are well behaved, do what they are told, and know their place in the household.

A few months after we got Ellie (we'd already had Dori for a few months), Ellie and Dori started fighting for dominance in the pack. We brought in a trainer and he told us how to deal with and fix the problem. Things were working and then my mom and dad started changing the rules, resulting in conflicting messages and eventual disbandment of the training "because they were fine now". Well in actuality they weren't, they just weren't trying to tear the other apart. Then about a year ago, Ellie began tormenting Sasha. She has a hard, intimidating stare and she would stalk Sasha for HOURS with this stare. Sasha would try avoiding her, hiding under a desk or table, behind a chair, or even behind me. When I would try to break her stare and correct her nothing would change, short of hitting her till she saw stars, there was no stopping her staring. And when Sasha would get fed up with it and growl or snip (never out right attacking her), because my parents are blind to anything Ellie or Dori does wrong, Sasha would get the punishment. I have tried since then to get them to see what's going on, but it doesn't matter, Sasha is the bad dog.

Then about two months ago, Ellie was attacked by Dori. Being a pack, Sasha, Cody, and my brother's dog Max jumped into the fight. When we broke them up, my dad grabbed Sasha and instead of opening her mouth (yes, I know it's dangerous, but what else are we supposed to do?), he just yanked and Ellie's shoulder was torn open. She was put in a crate for healing after two weeks we let them out together again, because my dad was getting angry that Ellie had to be contained and he didn't want to bother with any kind of proper reintroduction. Things were OK and rather peaceful, until one night Ellie and Dori just saw each other in the backyard and went at it. Putting Ellie at the vet's again. And my parents are pissed. Somehow, now it's my brother's dogs fault and Ellie and Dori are still victims. Just to show a bias, Max can be very aggressive, he's started many fights. And about a year ago, he was banished from the house and made to live at my brother's girlfriend's house. With no option of trying to fix the things (while I don't think he could have been "fixed", it just never came up as an option).

Well now, my mom is hellbent on fixing Dori and Ellie. My brother and I have told her that for the peace and safety of everyone, Ellie should be rehomed. Normally not my first reaction, but considering the background, that's where we stand. Somewhere were she doesn't have to worry about being attacked and somewhere she doesn't need to be in a crate 50% of the time. But she won't listen. She has put up ONE flier in our vets office, but has turned down anyone who has asked about her. She is only making a guise of rehoming her so that she can avoid my brother and I. The way she wants to fix them, is to get on Cesar Millon Dog Whisperer. She is convinced it will make everything better. And she also wants MY dogs to be included. I don't. I have worked hard with them training them and letting them know their boundaries. I feel that having Cesar work with them, might erase all the progress I have made with Sasha and her socialization. And I don't want it to happen. But my mom sees it has an attack on her and my being not supportive. I don't care what she does with her dogs and I'll help her (even though I don't agree with her) I just don't want my dogs dragged into it. But I don't know what to do. I hate these dogs because of what they've done to my family and I hate being treated like it's my fault and having Sasha blamed as well. I just don't know what to do anymore.

Can anyone give me any advice? Oh, and sorry it's so long (there is just a lot of information to be given)and even if you don't help me, thanks for at least getting to the bottom.
I'm 18. But I do not have job and it's so hard to get one right, I just don't have the money to move out. But I would if I could. It's just too stressful living here. It started out with us having to be "patient and tolerant" of Dori and Ellie's bad behavior because they were poor shelter dogs. So my brother and I were not allowed to really correct them. Eventually they got it into their head that they could do what they want, when they want. And i think that's what lead to all of this. And anytime you mention NOT doing it the way they want it.. It starts a yelling match that goes on for hours. I'm just at my wits end.. And I feel trapped.
I would move out in a freaking heartbeat if I could, for mine and my dog's well being, but that isn't a choice as I would be homeless.

I agree that my parents took on two dogs they couldn't and weren't ready to handle. A trainer helped before, but they just gave up on the training and didn't carry through. If it were one of my dogs, I would be heart broken, but wouldn't hesitate to find them a better home. Because it's not fair. I feel sorry for the dumb dog. But I think sometimes things are beyond fixing and it would be better for everyone if she found another home. But no matter what I say, it's rejected because I'm just dumb and don't know what I am talking about. When I try to calmly talk to her about it, she shuts down and puts me on the defensive.
Fishmom: I am in school, I refuse not to be. So it's not like I'm free loading completely on my parents, any chance I get I'm applying and I am even finding my own ways to make money for gas and food, I'm actually doing my first basic obedience class for a few friends and I am making costumes for friends and families dogs. I don't want to live off my parents anymore than they want me to. But I know where you are coming from. And because I am in school, this is frustrating and stressful for me to. I can hardly do my homework, because they girls are barking at each other through the gate when we let Ellie out. And when I try to shut them up, I get yelled at. It's just so overwhelming and I think it's not only affecting our relationship, but my education as well.

Cesar Millan is VERY expensive, and your parents would quit on the required follow-up training, just as they did before with the other trainer.
..a waste of money.
Cesar doesn't 'fix' dogs, he shows HOW to fix them, and the owner must keep up the training. There is no easy fix here..
A contact of mine was on Cesar's show..Cesar packed up and left before making sure they understood how to follow-up, and the dogs were left as bad as they were before. (although it appeared to be an amazing transformation on the show!) Once the cameras were off, he was rude and rushed.

You and your parents need to get back to square one, as if all the dogs were new to each other, and get back to the training that was working. You must stay respectful to your parents, so this seems an impossible situation, unless you can come to an agreement, and maintain consistency in training.

Living in a multi-dog household only goes smoothly if you set the rules from the beginning..making sure they know who is alpha..and it isn't one of the dogs!
I live with 5 dogs, 3 are intact, ages 2-10, and there is never even a squabble. They know the rules, that I am the leader, and they are comfortable knowing they don't have to compete for leadership amongst themselves. .Your household needs a strong and consistent leader.
Your family structure is mirroring the dog's! The stress of the family dynamics is sure not helping the dogs' behaviors.

This is a good place to begin:
NON- CONFRONTATIONAL DOMINANCE PROGRAM (or "no free lunch")
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/ training.html

Even over the fence, you can begin this training with your dogs and your mom's dogs. Even a little bit daily will make a remarkable change.
When you take your dogs out ( don't send them out, but go with) Take a few tidbits of chopped up oven-dried chicken. Require a task of your mom's dogs, such as 'sit'.and give a treat. Soon, your mom's dogs will begin to look forward to you coming out with your dogs, and 'sit' before you ask it of them.
By doing this, you are giving them something to do besides harassing other dogs, and rewarding their obedience. You are also making tolerance of each other rewarding.
Be consistent, as dogs love routine.

2009-09-29 12:53:41 by Aluka

we rescued a terrier mix from a stray shelter 2 years ago, when we got him home he was ball/toy possessive, food aggressive, male dog aggressive and hyper. since we have had him we flooded the garden with dog toys which helped a ton with his toy aggression, whereas before we couldnt go near his toys, he now, most of the time will let us pick them up. sometimes he does get over eager and will jump and snap at the ball/toy, but we just dont allow kids to play with him and warn adults.

his food aggression, he used to snarl and bolt his food as soon as he got close enough to it, we have gotten him used to our hands being near his food by feeding him a few biscuits at a time dropping them in by hand, so he now associates hands with more food. we still wont allow anyone to go near him when hes eating though.

he is super hyper a lot of the time, people say its like he is on speed! not too much of an issue for us though,but he gets kennel crazy within a very short space of time and had run his claws to the quick in his kennel.

he is extremely dog aggressive, mostly towards males, but sometimes he will take an instant dislike to bitches too, there seems to be no pattern to it. we also have a collie x bitch and they have no issues with each other.

he has nipped at younger children before, never cutting the skin, but leaving marks and its usually due to them picking up something resembling a ball etc. so ive made excuses for him (i know i shouldnt have) this morning, in front of me and my friend, my 4 and 5 year old and her 7 year old, he casually walked up to her 2 year old who was walking to her mum, hopped onto his back legs and bit her. he drew blood from her mouth. there was absolutely no provokation, she wasnt even talking, just walking slowly to her mum. this has terrified me, as he has nipped before, but never like this and in front of me. he just bit her, hopped back down, and carried on walking. the 2 year old immediately started screaming and there was blood coming from her mouth.

i shut the dog outside, and made sure the little one was ok, her mum said to ignore it-but i cant. i have a 4 and 5 year old, and all i keep thinking is 'what if...' yes they know what they can and cant do around him, but he was totally unprovoked today. if he was just 2-3 inches higher he could have blinded her. my husband and i have always said when a dog bites, its time to go, its not worth the risk.

he has been badly abused in the past, beatings, fag burns and scissor cuts to his tongue. due to his food aggression we also think starved. we talked to our vet, and they said as he has so many issues, they would be fine to euthanise. i feel awful but if i hand him over to rehoming, he could end up biting another child, even if he goes to an older home, they may still have visitors etc. if i give him to dogs trust, he will go kennel crazy again, which is highly unfair on him. my husband wants him euthanised, im in 2 minds, but also, if it had been my child, i would have kicked off and insisted the biting dog be put to sleep.
ok so he was put down at 6pm tonight, he went peacefully. he wasnt from a rescue centre where they are taken in, they only take in strays, so there was no history and they dont carry out checks,he was found walking the streets and taken there, 1 month later he went up for rehoming. we are all feeling the loss greatly. he was such a loved pet. at least his last 2 years were happy ones, lots of treats and no abuse. the abuse he had suffered was obvious to our vet, his tongue was cut with scissors, he had fag burns in his ears, and always had a strange hop as one of his back legs was a bit different. R.I.P. boy :-(

Im sorry, in my opinion I agree with you. Dogs are but are not more important than people. It is hard but what kind of life would the dog have being shut away constantly for fear of harming a person?

I agree with the answer above, too. Our beloved 11 year old golden snapped at my own daughter last summer. She took 2 stitches above the mouth. As gentle as he had been his entire life and as much as he had been around many children, dogs, people - we had to put him down. It was hard but also an important lesson for the children to learn that dogs are not more important than people and if they harm a person - they have to go.

2009-05-11 05:39:03 by kellyljw

2 weeks ago I bought home a small, allegedly 15 month old, cross breed dog probably a Heinz 57 with a fair amount of Staff in her. I understand that there is a lot of stress involved in the whole rehoming situation and I believe she has had in excess of 5 homes already. I have realised that she suffers severe separation anxiety and goes into a blind panic when left for even a few moments. Obviously this has made things very difficult for us and I have sought advice from a dog behaviourist who has suggested a few things to build up slowly and get her used to not needing to be sat on us or following us everywhere we go (even into the bathroom!) but I cannot see even the slightest hint of progress. Other little things we have been working on she has learned very quickly.

Anyway I just wanted to know if anyone else had experienced this sort of situation with a rescue dog and could it just be time that she needs to feel more secure and learn that we're going to come back?

I've had dogs with severe seperation anxiety, training alone helped but would never have cured it - some dogs have panic attacks and need drug therapy for a short while. You use the drugs and training together.
Ask your vet for a referral to a therapist who will work with your vet on this. You need an intensive training program to help the dog adjust.
On the plus side, these dogs tend to be very keen to please you and you should find her easy tor train in other areas! Just use reward based training, also consider doing agility as well as obediance.
She would benefit from a crate (make it her 'safe area'/den) and also a bed in each room - instead of sitting on oyur feet she can learn to lie in her bed with a chewstick, even if she has to stare at you the whole time the physical distance helps!
Best of luck.

2007-04-04 06:07:01 by Lorna H