BT, what a gorgeous cat! And that little baseball cap is adorable.
BT, what a gorgeous cat! And that little baseball cap is adorable.
Addie,
Ed and Barbara Buchanan are wonderful people, and Ed is a Culinary Instructor and Chef. They care for rescued kits and cats, and work with all the various shelters in Florida ( West Palm & Palm Beach Beach ). Perhaps, they have a contact for you.
Keep me posted,
Have a lovely summer Addie,
Margi.
Our adoption application to adopt a Saint or Newf was 12 pages long, required 2 personal references, a vet reference, credit check, and a trainer reference / boarding kennel. I was often told adopting one of our dogs was tougher than adopting a child or getting a mortgage. There were also 2 home visits prior to adoption, 1-month follow up visit, and every month check-ins for 6 months, then the adoption contract was signed (15 pages). I still know where each of the dog's are, and hear from each adopter regularly. I also am friends with those who no longer have a rescued Saint/Newf from our group, but have moved on. I also am there for the adopters when it is time to say good-bye. It was a lot of work, the dogs were sterilized, chipped, vax'd, hw tested and on meds, trained, groomed, socialized, but most importantly, loved while awaiting a fur-ever home and treasured once they had a permanent place to hang their leashes. I can't do rescue anymore because of the financial drain and because I have to be available to go to MN on a moment's notice. I can get the chickens to the farm, Cliff to his "fosters" but could not get 3-4 Saints to fosters or have kennel help come in while away. I miss it, but I'm also glad that part of my life is behind me. It was emotionally very, very draining. But, some of my closest friends are those I met because of the dogs.When I got my doggie from a no-kill facility (Safe Haven), I told my mother that I'd spent the money she gave us for our birthdays on a new dog (my husband fell in love with a photo in the paper). Mom said, no way you got a dog for $150, even a mutt from the shelter costs more than that.
I told her $180, and I tossed in $20 as a donation. Are you ready for this?
She was bathed just before we picked her up.
She had been chipped.
All her shots were done.
She'd been Frontline'd
She'd been recently fixed.
Safe Haven asked for references. They called 4 people and asked if we were good pet parents.
I agreed in advance that if I couldn't keep her for any reason, I was to contact them first, to take her back (I actually came close to doing this because she was quite aggressive at first). With a lot of help from my DC friends and some trainers who read my column, it worked and we were able to keep her.
I worked with a vet for a year, and my sister worked for a vet for many years. People need to know there is no such thing as a "free" pet. It's irresponsible to keep a pet without "fixing" it, unless you are a real breeder. My own vet looked at Rosebud's paperwork and accepted her, because she knew the volunteer vet who had done her workup.
All of the things that were done for her, I'd have done immediately. Trust me, it would have cost well over the $200 I paid for her.
People mean well when they adopt a pet, but often they don't think about the expenses. To me, "fixing" a dog or cat should come before feeding, even. Especially if it is a male. Once upon a time, many years ago, I decided that I wouldn't have any male pets. All of ours wandered. I only recently learned that Mom never fixed male dogs/cats. I guess it's sort of, well, it can't get pregnant, so it isn't my problem. As a result, I only have had girls.
Another thing is that many people have a "thing" about large dogs as opposed to smaller. We're talking expenses here, right? Some things go by the pound; anesthesia, Frontline, Heartworm meds. You should remember that when deciding on a pet. Can you afford an 80 pound dog?
Training. You can, if you wish to, get away with bloody murder with a small dog. A large dog needs to be trained (yes, the smaller ones should be, but if a 20 lbs dog bites your ankle, it is not the same as a 90 lb dog biting a child's face). ... and I might add, really, really trained. A big part of the reason I almost returned Rosebud was that she can jump 4+ feet and was jumping and snapping at my and my husband's faces. We trained her out of it. If she was a large dog, I don't think I could have done that.
Just remember, think of the expense when you adopt. The $200 I spent to "buy" Rosebud from the shelter was a fraction of what I'd have spent had I just picked her up on the side of the road. I just think people should bear in mind that you may well mean well, but it is a life-time commitment. And it is not cheap.