Vent

Ugh, that must have killed you.  It's sick-sick-sick that people would even consider discarding an elderly pet.  I really don't understand it at all.  I hope you get the call to volunteer soon.  And I hope that you're moving to a massive estate with hundred's of acres!!!   haha.

How sad. [&:] I recently worked at a client's home and fell in LOVE with their 11 year old Springer Spaniel. Older dogs can be so endearing... I'm sure they pose unique challenges sometimes but I couldn't imagine "getting rid" of one.

>>What the heck is wrong with people that they get rid of their dogs just because they are getting on a bit in years? <<
 
I don't know, but I keep threatening to do that with my wife.  []

Ugh that's so  nauseating. How could anyone give up their elderly pet? I've seen so many ad campaigns that has a picture of a dog and it says, They just want to love us.
 
And they're just going to give them up? [:@] 

ORIGINAL: probe1957
I don't know, but I keep threatening to do that with my wife.  []

 
I wouldn't if I were you.  I doubt there are 2 people in the world who could live 24/7 with your sense of humour.  If you can find another one, do me a favour - I''ve always wanted to know where the Holy Grail is. [sm=biggrin.gif]
 
I have a feeling some of these people are simply tired of walking their dog in the winter.  In the summer, dog walking is fun - in freezing rain, not so much. 
 
Kate
 
 

It does disturb me. We have many senior dogs at the shelter right now, including a senior Chi, a senior Lab, and a senior cocker, all owner surrenders. Our shelter has an 80% euthanization rate. The senior chi & senior cocker most likely wont be euthanized because they are desirable breeds (although the cocker is a mix, it might be in danger). The senior lab has stolen the heart of our shelter manager so she is safe too. However, last week they euthanized 2 senior (11 year old) beagles. A male & a female, the female was spayed. It amazes me that these dumb people will surrender their animals to a high kill shelter. At least take them to a shelter where they stand a chance.
 
What also annoys me is someone just surrendered a pit bull also to our shelter, they might as well have taken the dog to the vet and euthanized her, that would have at least been kind. She wouldnt have to live out her last few days in a shelter.
 
It is stupid to me that people surrender their older or mange ridden or temperment problem animals. The animals are going to be euthanized 90% of the time, the kindest thing to do is to take them to the vet and let them die in your arms instead of dying all by themselves with a massive amount of other animals. People can be so cruel and uncaring.
 
I highly doubt any of these people have even tried to get their animals into rescue, they probalby dont even know they exist. If I had to give my dogs up due to something out of my control, I darn sure well would make sure I kept them until they could find a good home or a rescue to go to.

people who wanted to get rid of their old dogs.

 
Is a very common occurrence in my neck of the woods. Like the lady who dropped off her 14yoa Chihuahua cause she was old and wanted a puppy to start fresh with. Nothing wrong with her old dog, just the usual cataracts and minor grooming needed. I swear as my Creator above, if I had of been there when this lady dropped off her dog. I WOULD have been in jail. No, ifs and or buts about it. The things I see and deal without at the shelter are so heart wrenching, disgusting, and heartbreaking at times that it bothers me humanity can be so callous, unfeeling and complacent about The Creator's creatures that I don't sleep well sometimes or sob into my pillow asking the Creator to save those furbabies from human hands and cruelty. Kate, I commend you for volunteering for your local shelter. You state they have a huge success rate on adoptions. Could you send me some information on how they do this to me. So that I can see if it would work for this shelter too. You can email me with this information or PM either way. Thanks for your help. And most importantly, thank you for taking your time to help One tail at a time finding forever homes. If you ever need to talk, feel free to PM me. Angel

Well, you know how those older dogs interfere with vacations and time spent away from home cause they can't always hold their pee & poop as long any more.  And they don't always get around too well - too damn slow.  Probably have some things that require meds and care - geez, who has the time or money?  It's no fun when they can't play fetch any more.  And God forbid, if they don't keel over on their own, I don't want to be the one to have to make that decision - that would hurt too much and I don't think I could do it. [:@][:@][:@]
 
We are a throw-away society that craves the newest, best, latest & greatest, but once the novelty wears off, too bad for you, but it's on to the next thing. 
 
We will pay the price for this eventually.

Last week I was at the Humane Society for volunteer orientation. While I was waiting to sign in one of the staff took a phone call from a lady who wanted to get rid of her "big dog". Apparently she has a three year old child and the dog who they've had since before the child was born is just too big. And as an afterthought, she mentioned that she'd be bringing in two cats also, because they shed too much. Aaaah!! Some people. [:@]
 
Kate, it's great that you're going to be volunteering. You'll have to let us know how it goes once you start. I haven't started yet, but I'm a little apprehensive because it just breaks my heart to see those faces staring at me from the cages. I'm afraid that it will be too hard for me. But I'm going to give it a try, because it's so important for the animals.

Not long ago I posted an article about a 15 --yes fifteen--year old golden who had been dumped off at a golden rescue group.  At least they did do THAT much for the poor old man.  They said they had were tired of waiting for him to die--had been waiting 3 years for him to die and he just wouldn't do so.  Guess they knew the life expectancy for a golden is 10 to 12 years.  The old man had a little vision trouble and a little arthritis, but otherwise was healthy. 
 
How can you have a dog for 15 years and TRULY LOVE it and then dump it because it won't die.  It didn't say if they wre planning on getting a puppy or not, but it wouldn't surprise me.  The dog is in a foster home, much loved and he will stay there if nobody wants to adopt him.  I looked into the face of that old dog in the picture and must have cried 5 mnutes for the old gray faced man.  I would have given anything to have all my dogs live to be 15 or older and here they throw theirs away like a sack of garbage.

ORIGINAL: forpaws
You state they have a huge success rate on adoptions. Could you send me some information on how they do this to me. So that I can see if it would work for this shelter too. You can email me with this information or PM either way.

 
Angel, I just wanted to tell you that the Tacoma Humane Society also has a high adoption rate and is working toward becoming no-kill within the next couple of years. I think there's some info about the different programs they have on the website: [linkhttp://www.thehumanesociety.org]www.thehumanesociety.org[/link]. I'll tell you what I know so far, though.
 
When dogs come into the shelter they are temperment tested and each dog receives a card with its "behavior assesment" that hangs on the kennel. This way people see what the energy level of the dog is, if they like to play, if they like kids, etc. Before I could volunteer, I had to complete a training class called Dog Match Maker. Basically, the shelter is trying ensure that when a dog goes home with someone, the people know what they're getting, so the dog doesn't come back.
 
The HS is very active in the community as far as setting up booths at local events. They have handouts educating people about the importance of spaying/neutering, dog behavior (ie correcting barking, digging, etc). And there is a number for people to call and get advice on problem behaviors after they adopt at the shelter.
 
That's just what I can think of off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's more. The adoption rate has increased huge amounts over the last few years, since these programs were implemented.

ORIGINAL: Benedict

I wouldn't if I were you.  I doubt there are 2 people in the world who could live 24/7 with your sense of humour. 

 
Now THAT was mean.  []  You know how sensitive I am.
 

I used to work at a dog groomers when I was in high school. We had this one client who was a lawyer. She started out with a lhasa. She got tired of it and gave it to her parents. Then she bought another lhasa puppy and again got tired of it and gave it to her parents. Then she got a standard poodle. Of course she bragged about how much money she paid for it.

But here's the thing, she didn't want it to have a poodle cut. She wanted the poor dogs fur to remain long. I think she wanted it to look like an over sized bishon. But did she ever brush it. Nooo[:@]. Infact she had her house keeper brush it. Well her house keeper wasn't keeping up with the dog's brushing and the poor dog was more and more matted everytime the house keeper brought the dog in.

Eventually, my boss told the house keeper that she refused to torture the dog to brush out all the matts. She told the house keeper to tell the dog's owner that she has no magic tools to make it not hurt and that if she really cares for the dog, she will get it shaved and stop worrying about how stylish the dog is. The lady called back and yelled at my boss saying that she could take it to a groomer in Chicago (and hour away) and that they could do it. Mind you, my old boss is a standard poodle breeder and one of her show dogs was the top 20 standard poodle in the nation. She also groomed the standard poodles in Fancy Dog's poodle issue a while back. She knows standard poodles.

So my boss said fine. Sure enough 4 weeks later the poor poodle comes in again horribly, horribly matted. Apparently, no one in Chicago would torture her dog either, so her house keeper brought it in to be "trimmed." My boss said there was no way to "trim" the dog. The fur was a solid rock. The house keeper agreed and my boss shaved the poor guy. His fur came off like a rug.

Knowing how annoying the owner was, we took pictures and saved the fur rug.

When the house keeper came to pick up the dog, she started crying because she knew how much trouble she was going to be in for bringing the dog home pink.

Sure enough, the lady called later that night insisting that we gave her the wrong dog that it could not possibly be her dog.

She got her vet involved, so we gave the vet the pictures and the fur rug. Of couse the vet sided with us.

Guess what? The dog ended up with her parents, also a client, and now has a normal poodle hair cut.

Now the lady has another standard poodle. Urggg.[:@]

lokis_mom

Thanks for the information so far.
 
I have done some research and have found out we are the only shelter in the state of Florida that has these wacky hours. 2-4pm Open, Mon-Fri to adopt a pet. Is that crazy or what?