Rescue dogs and young children
Hi all,
Has anyone on here rescued dogs after having children?
My girls and 3+6 years old now, and have grown up with dogs. We currently have a jack spaniel cross.
We lost our lurcher two years ago, which was beyond heartbreaking. I said at the time I wouldn't get another dog, but coming round to the idea now (just).
We would love to rescue again, but we've got our reservations and a lot of rescues won't rehome a dog when there's young children in the house. So it may be impossible anyway.
Obviously if we do decide to rescue, we'd have to be very careful and sensible with things in the house.
Re: Rescue dogs and young children
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MrLurcher
Hi all,
Has anyone on here rescued dogs after having children?
My girls and 3+6 years old now, and have grown up with dogs. We currently have a jack spaniel cross.
We lost our lurcher two years ago, which was beyond heartbreaking. I said at the time I wouldn't get another dog, but coming round to the idea now (just).
We would love to rescue again, but we've got our reservations and a lot of rescues won't rehome a dog when there's young children in the house. So it may be impossible anyway.
Obviously if we do decide to rescue, we'd have to be very careful and sensible with things in the house.
I rescued all my dogs -two which I had before I had my first child and then we introduced a big softie of a lurcher -who it has to be said, was pretty darn magnificent - even if we did all have to occasionally step over him while he finished 'pleasuring' himself on the landing floor. :whistles:
We had my lurcher girl when my son was 2 years old and we've never looked back. She still mothers him, and he's 11 now.
I do hope you rescue another furry friend Mr Lurcher - too many of them are needing a home and some love.
Re: Rescue dogs and young children
That's nice to hear, and great to hear another lurcher fan! Did you rescue them from reputable places?
Unfortunately Jasper our lurcher wasn't as good as yours, he came with a lot of baggage, and we never got him to be 100% around strangers and other dogs. He was really loving to us though, and was my shadow around the house - I still miss him.
We've tried the biggest local rescue (which a lot of people don't like), and they flat out said no. The local RSPCA and DOG'S TRUST said no as well.
There are a few other rescue groups who are run by volunteers who have had some lovely dogs in, but they've been very poor with communication - and we've filled in applications for two dogs and no replies. They're pretty active on facebook so I know there must be people checking things.
It's all very frustrating and I see know why so many people, especially ones with children end up buying puppies, because unfortunately it's much easier. We enquired about some lurcher pups 50 miles away from us, and the lady selling them said she'd happily meet us half way in a layby somewhere! I was like wtf, ANYONE could buy those dogs. That was shocking and saddening. Maybe she was trying to be helpful, but when we suggested driving up to their house and meet mum she made some excuse that the dog was at her sisters'. We didn't message again.
Re: Rescue dogs and young children
Such a shame when rescue centres turn down potential new owners with experience and can't be flexible. So many dogs deserve their second chance and if good people are turned away it is really sad.
I do hope you find that special friend..I reckon it would do you the power of good. Don't give up with the rescues..
Re: Rescue dogs and young children
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MrLurcher
That's nice to hear, and great to hear another lurcher fan! Did you rescue them from reputable places?
It's that long ago for Lurcher Boy that I've forgotten how we came to have him. :unsure: I do remember that it was presumed he'd been worked and then abandoned due to an injury to one of his front paws. He was such a beautiful boy - a real gentle giant. I often go and meet him in my visualisations. I go back to a beach he loved in Wales where he used to jump the waves and bark joyfully. He was so much more than a pet - he was family, and he was therapy.
My lurcher girl came via the internet. Her owner had split up with her BF (who the dog had bonded with) and she had a baby. She wasn't exercising the dog and she didn't know how to look after her properly. This was apparent by the fleas and her sleeping in a puppy bed instead of an adult one despite her being a medium sized adult dog. The saving grace was that she was trying to do the right thing by the dog, albeit a little too late to stop the damage that comes with not being socialised..
Quote:
Unfortunately Jasper our lurcher wasn't as good as yours, he came with a lot of baggage, and we never got him to be 100% around strangers and other dogs. He was really loving to us though, and was my shadow around the house - I still miss him.
They are special dogs, I think...
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We've tried the biggest local rescue (which a lot of people don't like), and they flat out said no. The local RSPCA and DOG'S TRUST said no as well.
The problem is that a lot of people want dogs but they don't understand them or what it takes to look after them. It's historically been the case that young kids are allowed to be too boisterous with dogs and the dog nips them as a warning and rather than understand why it's happened, and how to avoid it happening again, the dogs have been taken back to the dogs home or simply abandoned. Unfortunately this means that considerate owners like us are refused. It was the same with us as my son was 2 when we had our girl, but her love and protectiveness for the baby was obvious and I knew she was a dog who has the protective mothering instinct, and she is still that way with my son who is now 11. Difference is that I understand dogs but the people at the rehoming centres don't know that, and it's their job to protect the dogs. It's a shame because a lot of dogs are missing out on great homes with great families..
I would never, ever, get a dog without seeing it in it's own environment...
My first dog was a rescue - she was abandoned on a moor in the middle of winter. Someone found her, and her brothers and sisters, in a cardboard box on the verge of freezing to death. I was 16 and damaged. She was a few weeks old and damaged. When I went to see the pups, she literally trampled over the others to get to me. She licked my hand and something happened to my heart. If I hadn't have had her, she would have been put to sleep at some point because she had terrible separation anxiety, but someone up there knew I'd never give up on her and that she would be loved. My babies came along and she protected them. She beat up our other dogs (leader of the pack, see) but she mothered my boys.
These little (and not so little) buggers are thieves aren't they? Because they steal our hearts, then break them when they leave. :weep:
