ron2
Posted : 9/6/2010 11:27:08 AM
I know I said this before, so I will say it again. My favorite author, Robert A. Heinlein, once surmised that there is a special hell for those who abandon cats. I expanded it to include dogs (Heinlein was mainly a cat person and never kept a house without one).
I, too, ran into a wall when trying to re-home B's adopted dog, Buck. He appeared to be a mix of Akita and St. Bernard. Well, the mixed breed resuces I could find only dealt with small dogs. And the pure-breed rescues are just that, pure breed only. Fortunately, B has some friends that own a campground and resort at Lake Texoma and Buck is having the time of his life, riding in the golf cart with the owner and maintaining the property. Basically, he has at least 60 acres as a "back yard." So, I understand the frustration of someone telling you that they wouldn't take him because he didn't "look like a long hair Chihuahua" like they would like to think. And if he is a mix of Chi and Pap, that makes it tough.
I met someone recently who worked in an animal shelter for a while. It was a kill shelter and carrying out the euth schedule was one of her responsibilities. And yes, they would receive animals from "no-kill" shelters, as well, believe it or not. And when a person brought in animal, she would let them know that the most likely result of this surrender is that she would be walking the dog for his last walk (the "Green Mile," as it were) to the back of the shelter. This got her in trouble with her supervisor. They didn't want to scare people off and cause more dog abandonment, in general. But she is former Marine and she's going to tell you like it is, whether you happen to like that, or not. And the main reason for euth is not enough resources, namely space.
That was Shadow's destiny, next business week after Labor Day Weekend 2004. And big, dark-colored untrained dogs don't do as well as small, fluffy puppies and smaller breeds. He would have been dead at the end of the week. We were his last hope.
I can see that you have someone getting him out of the shelter.
Jackie, if you can't find a home in your area but you can find as far north as north Texas or even southern Oklahoma, I would be glad to help with transport. Either the whole trip or whatever legs aren't filled. My car gets 33 mpg and I have 1.2 metric tons of lead in my right foot, so it's just a matter of time. The wife and I may have something planned for Sept. 18 - 19 but I could be available before or after that weekend, most any time. PM or email me, if necessary.