We have adopted several pets from shelters
Posted By: over the past 26 years... on 2007-03-20
In Reply to: I am reading about all the pets we have in our lives - Lessie
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let me tell you about shelters...
I am middle aged. I gave up a good career to care for a terminally ill father and brother with cancer. This went on for years. I lost everything I had. I had to live in a shelter for women afterwards until I got back on my feet.
I too used to think people who lived in shelters pretty much brought on their own misfortune. Some of them did. Some didn't. I met women who were disabled but could not live with remaining family members because those members were high on drugs and stole their meds. I met mothers with children who could not return to family because the children were being molested by other family members. I met young women trying to get away from a spouse who had become addicted. I met women who could not get public assistance because they didn't fit into any "category" that qualified for help. They tried in various ways to work themselves to the bone in order to get out and stay out, going to school full-time and working part-time as well. My admiration for the female human spirit was raised tremendously.
If I won the lotto, I'd search out the private shelters, those run by churches, etc., and offer to help those who could not get assistance otherwise in whatever way they needed to better their lives so that they would never, ever have to live like that again. If you live in a shelter, it is assumed by the public that you have an addiction problem or have lived an immoral lifestyle. It just isn't always so.
Does anyone know shelters who don't....sm
automatically kill pits? The fact they kill twice week, mostly pits, makes me ANGRY. They automatically assume if it's a pit then it is dangerous. Well this is my dangerous pit. Doesn't he look vicious?! LOL
I'm sorry, but what do you expect the shelters to do? sm
I worked in an animal shelter for over two years. We go a lot of feral cats in at the shelter. If they were somewhat friendly, then yes we usually put them up for adoption under the title of "good barn cat." If you can't get near them, then there really isn't anything to do BUT to put them down. There is no use endangering the people at the shelters OR the other animals at the shelter with a cat that has been wild too long to tame. JMHO, sorry if it irks you.
Believe me, I am a HUGE animal lover (hence the reason I worked at the shelter for so long). I don't like to see any animal suffering, but sometimes it is necessary. 
What do I expect the shelters to do?
I am not their boss so I can not say what I expect them to do, not up to me. I only do what I can do. I don’t know where you live but here the animals are not kept in so called shelter for 3 days, then put down. This place kills animals twice a week, mostly pits. I don’t take animals to shelters because here the outlook is very bleak for them. I do what I can helping out the furries. What the shelters do is not up to me. Where did you get the idea I expect the shelters to do anything??
Great dogs at shelters
There are so many wonderful dogs at shelters. I always say, the only bad thing about a shelter dog is its previous owner! There are lots of mixed breeds but plenty of purebred dogs, too.
Shelters are overflowing these days (more than usual) because of the number of people who are losing their homes. I've heard stories of people moving out of their foreclosed house & just leaving the dogs behind...terrible. Especially for older dogs, who are so hard to find homes for.
Most vets donate services for shelters. I think they
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Agree....that's why so many end up in animal shelters abandoned...
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Whether full pit or mixed pit, loads of shelters will NOT
let them be adopted out. I was at a shelter the other day, lady came in wanting to retrieve a pit her daughter had taken from her home in a drug bust. The person was told could not let go, it was a pit and the woman said but it is not full and the answer was NO difference, mixed, full they are a danger to society and the people who would adopt know this. The shelter has sign on door (pits have green signs on their individual place) and the sign says no pure or mixed pits adopted out. Don’t you just think maybe these people who have had experience with the breed probably onto something? Naaaa, people just want to keep thinking otherwise. Your life, not mine.
Peek-a-boo, treats. Buy Pedigree; they donate to shelters.
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now- white lab, dobe/shepherd, terrier mix, beagle/blue heel, from shelters.
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I was adopted
and didn't find out until 2 years ago!
Adopted Kids......
I know somebody who has 2 kids who are adopted. The kids are 9 and 11 years old. Should I tell the kids they are adopted? Everybody knows and someday somebody will slip up and the kids will resent the parents.
As a parent of an adopted
child, I would definitely say the answer is 'no" and it is for this very reason that my husband and I have from the beginning talked to our son about the fact that he is special because he is adopted - we wanted to be the ones to tell him the truth rather than him hear it from someone else. This is definitely something that the parents should do and should do so when they feel comfortable talking about it with their children...My son is 6 and he knows he is adopted. He understands that he came from someone elses belly (he's my heart baby as we have told him. We answer his questions when he asks them and tell him just want he asked for - divulging nothing else to confuse him - take for instance at 4 is when he noticed my SIL's pregnant belly and knew the baby was there - he at that point put 2-n-2 together and realized something was up - which prompted us to talk about him being from someone else's belly. Then a few months ago he asked about this other person - why she didn't keep him, what was her name....(yes we were very surprised as our social worker said little boys are usually much older before they really inquire!)...but we answered his questions reinforcing the positives of being adopted because he had brought us so much happiness and that this other woman did love him enough to know she couldn't raise him and loved him enough to give him to us -making us a family! Sorry for rambling....adoption issues usually get me on a soap box sometimes!! Either way the answer to your question is definitely not your place to tell - leave it up to the parents.
I recently adopted a cat
from a rescue facility. She is a total sweetheart and so petite! I named her Tinkerbell. She shed like crazy at first but I think it was nerves because now a couple weeks later she has stopped shedding and seems to have settled in nicely, plays with my other cat (male) and loves my dog!
The only thing I've noticed is she is a bit gassy - not a lot but at times worse than others. My question is, is there something I can give her otc to help with her "problem"? 
She looks just like my adopted dog, Brandy!
Brandy also is a notorious snorer. But she's such a good dog.
Here's the kitty I just adopted!
She's an 8 year old Exotic Shorthair Persian named Charlotte. Her little tongue sticks out all the time, 'cuz her face is so flat & her mouth is so small. She's tiny - and only weighs about 5-1/4 lbs. right now. Needs to gain a pound or two.) She's a total cuddle-bug!
(She just came out to say hi to me - she was annoyed with me earlier because I had to give her a pill. Not easy with that tiny little mouth!) Whenever I'm on the computer, she sits on the back of my chair and "helps".
Ditto this!! If you adopted me, then you
could be the greatest grandma that I wished my kids had now. Mom and did don't live too far from us (couple of hours) but don't make any extra efforts to spend time with the grandkids. Apparently, their idea of grandparents and mine are different. I remember spending nights at my grandparents and tooling around in their garden, building train sets, going for walks and adventures and even walking down to the corner donut shop with my g'pa for donuts and coffee(hot chocolate) every saturday morning. I practically beg for my parents to come down - I send them schedules of the kids activities, special school events, everything but there is always a reason they can't come (mainly they don't want to leave any of their critters alone for any length of time - but they are willing to animal sit for their neighbors all the time). At Christmas, the kids get one outfit and a book. If you ask me - to all the grandparents on this board - spoil them with your time, hug them, kiss them, and keep on creating memories.
Sorry, didn't mean to rattle on but this is always a touchy subject in my household because I had such fond memories growing up but my kids will have none of that.
I just adopted a declawed cat
who was abandoned. she looks like she has no toes, with floppy little hair tufts and going the wrong directions. Like other poster said, she does not cover her stuff in the litter box (maybe feels she cannot manage it) and her attitude is so defensive to the other cats, even after a month, and i wonder if it isn't because she feels so defenseless. I sure would not do it to a cat.
I have some friends who adopted 2 of them;
The more I see them, the more I like them. If I had room for a dog, I'd consider a retired racing greyhound!
Don't laugh, but we also adopted a rooster
A rogue rooster was hanging around the back of a convenience store my husband goes past every day and we knew he must have gotten off a truck or got lost somehow, because there is no place around here to keep a chicken. Anyhoo, he was determined to catch that rooster and he and my son went and rounded him up with a net... he is now sitting on our deck in the back yard crowing every morning around 6, as soon as he sees a touch of light. I know our neighbors think we are now the Beverly Hillbillies. I have named him Elvis and he is already spoiled. We have a friend who owns a miniature horse farm and she is going to come and pick him up. She has only one hen and now Elvis will have a lady in his life. Thank goodness!!!
Here is our Becky (recently adopted)
Becky loves to cuddle and loves to get her belly rubbed. She would rather be in your lap, but is content to lay at your feet if that's where you prefer her. Becky enjoys her toys and will even carry them around the house and toss them for herself. She knows commands like "sit" and "come", and she comes when called 100% of the time. If you lay on the floor with her while you watch TV and scratch her ears or stroke her fur, she will go right to sleep. Just be sure to have the remote handy so you can turn up the volume once the snoring starts. :)
This is my other kitty, adopted 10 months ago.
This is Xanadu - a 2-year-old calico Persian. When I first got her (both came from Persian & Himalayan Cat Rescue in Mill Valley), I figured she'd be happiest as an only cat. But after 10 months of careful observation and getting to know her really well, I decided she needed a companion. She had a pretty traumatic history with other cats at her original home, one of whom scratched her cornea, so her new friend had to be exactly the right cat. And as always, the people at rescue matched me up with the PERFECT kitty-companion in Charlotte, the one posted below.
Some adopted kids have a lot of issues
I had a friend who adopted 2 kids and she said you had to walk a fine line between making their birth mother a saint who selflessly gave them up, or a villain who didn't want them. Unfortunately a lot of these kids think of their mother in one of those two categories. So they find themselves longing for the childhood they didn't have (if they think she was a saint) or struggle with feelings of worthlessness (if they think she didn't want them.)
Personally, I think it is a noble and selfless thing to give up a child who you know you cannot raise and I admire you. I'm sure it was not an easy thing to do. Hopefully your child will find a way to resolve their own issues because they have put you in an untenable position.
At the rescue where I adopted my cats, they have - sm
volunteers to clean cages & feed kitties, and one day when I was there they had a girl (about 12 years old) who was actually getting some kind of school credit for coming every day to socialize and play with a large litter of kittens so that they'd be adoptable. It was so cute to see her in the kitten-room playing with the little feather-wand with them. They were jumping all over the place, climbing in her lap, etc. They LOVED her! They ALL got adopted, (and they were all BLACK kitties, too!) So that girl did a wonderful service to all the kittens.
My children have adopted a baby pig - sm
My ex-husband went to the feed store and a man was there talking about how his hog had only had one baby and that it would "not be worth the trouble to let her raise it". My ex-husband asked him what he was going to do with the little one, and he said if he couldn't get rid of it that he would just kill it. My ex-husband told the man he would take the little pig. Long story short, our kids are feeding the baby pig with a bottle. Her name is Pinkie. They are in love, LOL. I asked him what made him decide to take this little pig, and he said, "We watched Charlotte's Web the night before, and I just couldn't stand the thought of him killing that little pig." I am praying that Pinkie makes it.
Oh, the chows and the rott are right in there with not being able to be adopted
as they also fall into that same category, aggressive and just was at the animal shelter this morning (run by police department at this particular place) and lots of pits there and they are not adopted out. That is the bottom line so must hold some truth in it whether people believe or not. There was a case of a 60 something year old man recently killed by his son's pit, family dog, he had been around for a long time, knew well, just the breed.
Gracie has been adopted with a good person
Dobermans are misunderstood. They love their people, they are protective and noble. They love to follow you around the house and be with you. They need patience in training. They love to run. Please, if anyone knows of an abusive case, get invovled. Visit Doberman Rescue.
I hope you get him! I just adopted a 2nd rescue kitty - sm
on Thursday. She's a 7-year-old Exotic Shortnair Persian with the cutest little personality and face! Her tongue sticks out all the time (VERY flat face!), and she's tiny, only weighs about 5 or 6 pounds. She looks a little bit like "Yoda" from Star Wars. My other Persian is interested, but still feeling threatened and hissing a lot. But today, only 2 days later, they're at least coexisting peacefully. Hopefully in a few weeks they'll be FRIENDS.
I have adopted older cats for just that reason.
Kittens are cute as a button but they can destroy in no time flat. I had 1 kitten who grew into a wonderful loving cat, but vowed never to get a kitten again. I adopt cats who are a year old or better, declawed, fixed, and thoroughly enjoy the heck out of them and, yes, they enjoy being lazy sometimes just like their mom!
Why hasn't that hospital adopted the *Time Out*
The entire surgical team is involved in the *Time Out* and *Pause for the Cause* (called different things in different states). All involved in the surgery standing in the OR at that moment must be in agreement on confirming the correct patient, correct procedure, correct site of procedure, correct position of the patient, etc.
I went in for surgery and they asked me multiple times to repeat my name and the procedure I was coming in for as I went through multiple rooms on the gurney.
That is really scary that these types of errors are still going on.
Obviously, that is a hospital I wouldn't even take my dog to.
AW he is soooo cute. We just adopted Chip last week - sm
He is what the shelter called a beagle mix, but if he is mixed with anything I will eat my hat... Okay I do not have a hat, but I would be surprised...LOL.
Here is a pic of him..
[IMG]http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o182/mamahawn/chip3.jpg[/IMG].
I hope your transition is as easy as ours was. We have 2 other rescue doggies, both lab mixes and female and the three of them were fast friends. Of course we have no diningroom left with 3 creats in it, but who cares...
Pets
Hi,
I'm so sorry to year about your dogs's reactions to Frontline. I'm in Atlanta and we have flea problems almost as badly as you do in Florida. I hate these flea medications. I have used Advantage but am considering a holistic product called FleaFree. I have a friend who uses it and loves it. It's put in the dog's water or food I believe which is better than smelling it on their fur!
U obviously don't have any pets......
X
I have pets but
at Christmas when I have the dinner party this year, I will have to let my cats play in the garage that day. There are people in my husband's family who are terrified of cats and knowing this, I try to make arrangements when they come to make sure my house is clear. I am always recognizing not everyone loves my kids like I do. Sometimes it is not do they like/love, it is really a true fear sometime. I knew of a girl and her mother (African American) who on seeing a cat on their front porch 1 day did not leave out of the house to either go to work or for the child to go to school. I personally knew about this. It can be a real fear for some.
I'm sorry. It is so sad when our pets go.
xxxx
what they say about pets
You never, ever know. My soulmate kitty, Quinn, died last year at 23-1/4 (yes, years). A very good vet said he had kidney disease and wouldn't make it to 2 years. So I got serious about fresh homemade food right then and he had the longest, completely healthy life of any cat I know. Check out home feline diets. Cheaper than the very best commercial. You know they're worth it!
I have more pets than 10! Not one on the list!
Dogs - Ziggy Stardurst and Mello Yello, and Moe. Cats - Michael Jackson and Dr. Finkelstein (daughter's fave dictator), Rabbits - Dobby, Lupin, Binky, Marshmallow, Snitch, Fleuffer, George and Fred - are you sensing a heavy Harry Potter theme here?? Pumpkin and Radad. And my 2 black bear hamsters - guy and girl - Joey and Zora...Now does anybody remember that pair?? Other hamsters Bob, Faramir, Oompah and SweetTart. Any donations will be gladly accepted for my zoo........
Best Floors with Pets
I'm considering doing all new floors in my house. Hardwood on the first floor and carpet on the second floor. Any recomendations on what is best (most durable) considering I have a small dog? I really like dark wide plank hardwood but am worried it might show scratches the most. Also I'm thinking berber carpet for the second floor.
What odd things do your pets do?
My pooch will only eat the food in the center part of his bowl. I'm not quite sure why he won't eat the food around the sides.
All animals, pets or not are most definitely
.
Pets' Names
We have a cat named Roscoe P, named after Roscoe P. Coltrane on Dukes of Hazard, our deceased cat's name was Raquel, and my daughter has a tortoise named Kaos.
re: leaving pets
No I don't leave messages but we've done some camping this summer and my kitty gets very mad when we leave. When we walked in the door after being away for a few days she wouldn't stop meowing at me, like she was telling me off for leaving her..she wouldn't let me pick her up either! Anyone else's pets get mad when you leave?
precious pets
Our pets, our friends, are so very, very precious. They love us unconditionally. What a blessing it is to share our lives with our pets. I am so very sorry for what has happened. I will pray for you. All our beloved pets, I optimistically feel, will be joined with us one day.
Pets are one of the best topics.
That and gardening and great vacation spots. Most people are very good about labeling their posts so you know what it's about before you bother clicking on something that won't interest you.
Know what else I like? Old cars. Like from 1900 thru 1969, the earlier and weirder or prettier the better. If I were going to collect anything, it would probably be models of little cars like that. Isn't that weird?
I am so sorry about your pets, have read
about the issues it seems you have been having. You love these little creatures so much and it really hurts when they are sick or when they leave us. My girl is an older girl and she has lost quite a bit of weight. She has thyroid- if hyper then can understand maybe the weight loss. No matter what I have tried, though, her throwing up continues. I thought maybe hairball problem and got feed for that. She was not eating at all. Here losing weight, not eating that food, tried senior food, no again. She loved the tuna flavored food yesterday and this morning I find puddles on new tiled floor which will not come up. I make myself heard clearly but like you say, folks just do not hear you or don’t listen because never asked for soft stool aid for her, she never had that going on. I am open to any suggestion for her sensitive stomach. Again, sorry about the things you are going through.
my pets eyes always look like that
when I take their picture. Must be my camera. It has red eye reduction, but I guess it doesn't have evil eye reduction.
Yes! I always use one of my pets' names! nm
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Are there other pets in the house?
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Insurance for Pets
I wonder if there is insurance that covers illness in addition to accidents. We had a dog who had Cushing's Disease and the treatment cost us a small fortune.
Anyone have unusual pets?
Any a bit out of the norm pets out there? And those who have more popular pets, any interesting tricks or traits?  (like beer drinking fish ... Lol)
Deer for pets
I am having a similar problem with my neighbor. Her yard adjoins our yard and she puts out food for the deer right on the property line. I don't mind the deer as they are pretty to watch, but it has gone from 2-3 deer from 5 years ago to nearly 10 deer constantly including bucks. They walk from the woods through our yard to go to her yard to eat. It has gotten to the point where the deer are roaming about all hours of the day, not just at dusk. I, too, see them roaming the neighborhood. One has come up on my front porch before. I have small children as do my other neighbors and I am concerned that they are going to startle the deer and someone might get bitten. I tell my kids to not to ever approach the deer and give them their distance. I am also concerned about deer ticks too.
I asked her if she would not feed the deer on the property line as it is causing a potentially unsafe situation and she got very huffy about it and said she was an animal lover and it was her right to feed the deer if she so desired. I tried to explain to her about the kids, not only mine but other kids, and the dangers of wild animals being in the yard and roaming around and she basically told me to "mind my own business."
I don't know in Pennsylvania what the laws are about having deer for pets or feeding them, etc, but I have heard in other states it is illegal.
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