Dogs you've had and how you got them.

I really respect the fact you got seniors.  I normally go for the mature dogs since they're harder to place. 

I got Carmy (Caramel) on impulse because the litter was getting their tails chopped off that day.  I don't like that practice (sorry - it's your business if you do it - I understand) PLUS she's a mixed breed!  Why do that???  Any way, all my dogs are strays/rescues except Carmy.  It's her tail I rescued.  :)

 Emma came from the local Humane Society. She was born there. I got her at 9 weeks. Teenie Weenie was given to me by a crazy person, who I believe stole her from a horrifying situation. Ena Bean came from a coworker, who purchased her, and couldn't care for her. Jewel came from a different Humane Society, where she was to be euthanized, due to age. I pulled her as a rescue volunteer, and failed at fostering (again, two failed fosters, in five years, and both were seniors).

 Tootsie fell into my lap. Ex-BFs aunt was becoming a  BYB for corgis, but for some odd reason, I was given a baby corgi with the intentions of breeding her to their male, Never happened, for some "reason" Tootsie never came into heat. Go figure, huh?

Chyna came from a reputable breeder. She was originally my older brother's dog. He is in the army, & was supposed to be going to Germany. She was supposed to be going with him, but his orders changed, & he ended up in Japan instead. She wasn't allowed on that base, so she came to stay with me. When his tour was over, 2 years later, he came back for her. I just laughed at him & told him that he wasn't getting her back.

Bevo came from a vet clinic. His owners couldn't handle him so they decided to euthanize him. I was working as a tech there at the time, & I fell for him the moment that he walked through the door. I convinced his owners to let me have him instead of euthanizing him.

Brinxx was chained to a tree outside of the vet clinic where I was working. She was covered with mange & literally had 3 hairs on her entire body. Due to her poor condition, we decided to euthanize her. As I was trying to draw up her euthanasia solution she reared up on me. I just remember looking into her sweet eyes, & deciding that I could "fix" her. So, I kept her.

Shooter was a parvo puppy at the vet clinic. His breeder opted to have him euthanized after finding out that he had parvo because his parvo treatment would have cost her more than he would sell for. Since he "is going to make me lose money" he was slated to die. I thought that he was cute, & he was not that sick, so I spoke with her & she agreed to allow me to take him.

Schatzi was given to my grandparents as a puppy. Three days after she went to live with them, my grandmother was hospitalized. Schatzi came to stay with me for the "short" hospital stay. My grandmother ended up staying in the hospital for 13 months. When she was finally able to come home, she required round the clock care, & my grandfather didn't think that he could handle caring for my grandma & Schatzi. I was secretly happy that she got to stay.

Brutus was dumped on the side of the road. He was hit by the truck in front of me. When he bounced off of the truck & they didn't stop, I did. He was supposed to be a foster, but he quickly weaseled his way into our hearts.

After my grandmother recovered, I helped she & my grandfather pick a new dog from the pound. Angel lived with them for two years before my grandfather died unexpectedly. My grandmother was moved to an assisted living facility after his death, & Angel needed a home. I had no intentions of taking her, but when nobody else stepped up, & someone suggested taking her to the pound, DH & I stepped in.

tiffy

Never happened, for some "reason" Tootsie never came into heat. Go figure, huh?

LOL Gee... i wonder why did they every figure out that "reason"? Or are they one of those BYBs that the only thing they know about dogs is that their pups can make them lots of money....  She really lucked out when she was given to you

My mom didnt want a dog, she likes cats because they are independant and dont need alot of care. But i saw Bailey on a local "pound pets for adoption" show, and it was love at first sight. The sad part was, i saw him on that show for months before i convinced my mom to let me get a dog. We went there to see if they had any small dogs... and once i saw him, that was it, there was no way i was leaving him there. He had been there for 6 months because no one wanted him because of bad bahavior (jumping up, pulling like a freight train, etc ) I knew nothing about training dogs when i got him. And i learned the hard way, that he had some severe food aggression issues. He also was infested with Heartworms, which the shelter did not tell us. The vet said we could return him because the shelter didnt tell us he had a medical condition, but we had already had him for a week and there was no way i was giving him up. So i earned as much money as a could, and some family members pitched in, and $600 later he was all better. We've both learned so much from eachother in the 5 years we have been together, and neither of us are perfect but i wouldnt trade him for the world. 

Ok,this is gonna be long!!

My first dog as an adult was Linus Nipper, a beagle terrier mix from a pet shop....oh yeah, I was really dumb all those years ago!

Then came Duke and Bandit, brothers who were different mixes.  Duke (gsd mix) stayed with us until the day he died.  Bandit was rehomed since he was so intent on killing Duker.

Then came Daisey Mae, from a shelter in MS.  Shortly after, we were at the vet, when I heard the vet comment that "oh hers Ms L...she's one of our BEST owners" and out she came out and plopped Rusty in my lap.  That started our Cocker Spaniel phase.  Lady was a rescue, Misty one of our pups.  After we lost Rusty, it was a very long time before I wanted another dog.

We went to pick up Thor, a 4 mo old GSD, and fell in love with 7 week old Sheba so they both came home with us, from a breeder.  Shadow was the result of an "oppps" pregnancy and the only pup in the litter.  Thunder came with my first litter of foster pups, Theo and Tyler with the second.

The cats and the duck are all rescues.......

Dakota came from a sled racing kennel. I was in college.

Neiko came from a breeder near by after I bought my house

Lily and abbie followed shortly after. They are both aussie rescue dogs

Ohh this is a fun thread!

We got Candy, my first dog, we got from a neighbor. She had two and they tore up the house. They originally got Candy and her sister, Spooky from a pet store on Halloween. Poor dog had so many problems. I got her when I was 7.

Daisy we were a foster failure for the local rescue group. She was so upbeat and peppy and full of life. A strong contrast from the last few years of Candy's life. It was a breath of fresh air.

 With Louie, I was an idiot and wanted a dog RIGHTNOW instead of waiting for the right one. (I know, it sounds like I'm awful).  I really should've trusted my gut. I got him from a BYB. I went against all of my instincts and thoughts and values. (this was also the time I was in a very bad relationship, so I wasn't thinking clearly) Louie was only 5 months old when he passed away from a possible (i think at least) liver shunt.

Finally, Lucky. I got him from the shelter a few days after Louie died. I was in the shelter dropping off Louie's medications, when I decided to look around. I know I needed more time, but Lucky's story touched me. He was found tied to a tree in the median of a busy street.

I like to think that we saved each-other.

 Spazzy, they never figured it out. Alls they wanted was the $$$, but after no heat by the age of two, they "let go" of their money ideas  for Toots.

 Oh, dogs before these? Toby was my childhood dog. He came from a neighbor's dog's litter, and lived to be 16. He was a Corgi mutt.

Grace was dropped off at the vet's office to be euthanised, because her medical treatment was too expensive. I was working, part time, there, in highschool. I took her home. She lived with me until she was almost 6 months old. She had a hereditary kidney problem. Her kidneys never functioned more than 13%, while I had her. She was a Lab/ Golden mix.

Maggie was given to me by her breeder, and returned, because she was the dramatic opposite of what I needed.  She is a GSD.

Emma is the 6 year old Parson Russell Terrier, Teenie was the elderly Dachshund, Ena Beans is the hairless Crested, and Jewel is the 8 yo IG.

Shack- we got him from mom's co-worker who could sell him and was on his way to take him to the pound.  He was a 'purebred' GSD who happened to have floppy ears and a long coat and a retriever like head.  Hmmm..... we think dad was a travelling salesman. 

 Pete- we got him from a working labrador breeder

Rosie- Sheltie, we got her from a BYB. 

Nikki- Sheltie, also from a BYB. 

 Trey- Sheltie from a show/sport breeder at a year old. 

Beau- papillon, from show breeder

Harry- papillon, Show breeder. 

Rose- papillon breeder rehome at 2 years

Summer- retired papillon from show breeder at 4 years

Hiro- papillon from a show breeder,

Bernard- papillon from show breeder. 

Mia- papillon from show breeder.

Hiro, Harry and rosie all passed away as pups, unforutnately.  Nikki, Trey, Shack, and Pete are also at the bridge.  We still have Mia, Bernard, Summer, rose, and beau. 

Kenya - My first dog.  I applied to the GSD rescue but they didn't have anything that matched (this was after years of research and even moving to a new house just so we could get a dog).  However the rescue person knew of a dog returned to a breeder that would be a good match.  I got in contact with the breeder and she gave me Kenya.  She was 3.5 years old when I adopted her.  The breeder owned her mother (who died today at age 15) and the breeder's friend owned the father (who died a few years ago at age 14).

Coke - We wanted a more laid back dog for DH so we looked on PetFinder.  Coke was actually the second dog we went to meet but Kenya got along with him much better so we adopted him from the rescue.

Nikon - I wanted a male GSD from certain lines with a certain temperament so I purchased him from a breeder.

I was working at the local humane society - and was out with (then) BF eating dinner. He was driving the emergency van. He got a call, two dogs had been dumped - but the manager couldn't get the cage inside- she couldn't put her hands on it to pick it up - the dogs wanted to rip her fingers off. BF went, and they used two brooms to take the crate down to a kennel. A LARGE caution sign was put on the outside of the cage...

"Carlito" and "Sammy" went for their behavioral evaluations after their hold time was up. both failed. horribly.

"Carlito" was put down that day - he was the worse of the two.

I was working that night, and it was cold. The kennels were outdoors - so we always took the pups and small dogs in the buildings and set them up in crates for the chilly nights. I went into "Sammy's" cage - thinking.. boy... this is going to be interesting... that's when 'it' happened. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I sat down. He slowly inched towards me - I kept thinking - boy. I hope I come out alive with all my limbs in tact! I lowered my gaze and turned away. I could feel him sniffing... slowly - I reached around and was able to pet him under his chin. I put the slip leash on him - and he freaked. He flipped around like a fish - snapping, biting anything that came near his mouth. I left. Darn dog can stay out there! 

I went inside, got some liverwurst, and went back in. I was able to pick him up - with a little coaxing, and put him in his crate for the night. The rest of the staff was terribly impressed. The medical tech attempted to process him for adoption the next day - after my great success the night before. Blood was drawn, and that was it. His number was up. He was on 'the list'.

The behaviorist came to me later that day - said I was his only chance. Reluctantly - I gave in. Several bites later, and after a name change- it was clear (now) Casey had a permanent place in my house. It was NOT easy... and we still have our challenges - but he has come SO far. He's a different dog now - he's MY dog.

 Our first dog, Betty my mom went in to the humane society fill out paperwork so we could adopt a dog. She was supposed to fill it out, pick us up after school, and we were going to go pick out a dog. The woman who had Betty got her from a friend who couldn't handle her. The shelter wouldn't put her up for adoption because of severe SA. The lady asked my mom to take her, and she did.

Next dog Millie, the doberwoman, we got from the local SPCA. After Betty was hit by a car (she opened the door and ran out), we decided we needed another dog. We went and picked her out. We think she was older than what they told us when we got her.

Max we got from a different shelter, that set up in petsmart. We wanted a second dog. Millie liked him better of the two dogs we were considering, so he was the one we got.

Georgie came from the SPCA also, after Millie was put to sleep.  Decided we wanted to have two dogs. She was really the only one there we were considering, but Max liked every dog anyway. He of course liked her, so we got her.

I bought Luke from a breeder. He was the only one left in the litter. The breeder had considered keeping him initially, but decided not to. I researched the breed, and breeders, and contacted a few breeders. The first place I saw was clearly a byb, so that was a definite no. Then I went to Luke's breeders house. She sat, showed me papers, all of that stuff, brought mom and dad out, and showed me him. There was never a question when I met him about whether I would take him. 

Pigeon is a craigslist dog. The people wanted to get rid of her, so my mom and sister took her.

Next dog is coming from my cousin. They didn't have their dogs spayed and neutered, and shockingly (not) they ended up with 5 puppies. She's coming home the day after christmas.