Rescue pets

[Rydia]

Have you ever thought about rescuing a pet from an animal shelter?

I really want to rescue a dog or a cat. I won't be able to for about a year because John doens't want a dog while we have an apartment. Our apartment does allow pets but he wants our dog to have a yard and does not want a litter box in the small apartment.

I would be willing to rescue a puppy, young, or adult pet. I feel bad for the senior pets, but I'd be sad knowing that they would not live long. I'd probably mainly go for the young or adults because I think a puppy would have an easier time finding a home. Also, while a lot of fun, puppies are lot of work and may destroy things. With an adult dog, they are past the puppy stage, are often neutered and house broken, and you already know what kind of personality they will have whereas wtih a puppy it's more difficult.

I also would want to rescue a pet that has not been abused the first time I rescue. Abused pets require a lot more work and I do not know if I would have the time to work with them at this point in my life.

Lately, I've been looking on petfinder for dogs and I really need to stop! I keep seeing so many dogs that I want to take home, including two beagle dogs where one is attached to the other and would be sad if they were separated

 

[Squid]

I've rescued a few cats before and they turn out lovely.
My Grandma also rescued an abused dog. He is lovely, he's so loving towards my grandma and very protective (I doubt he'd bite anyone tho)
he doesn't like men though because thats who he was abused by.

You're right though abused animals tend to be very clingy, nervous and jumpy, its probably best to start with maybe an abandoned animal first.

I got my puppies from a breeder because I could not find a Pomeranian pup in a shelter but if I did I would have probably adopted from a shelter instead

 

[Gaige]

We adopted a senior cat a few years back. Maybe about 5 years ago.. He'd been abused by his previous owner, and basically just abandoned in the street in a cardboard box. In the middle of winter.

The shelter told us he wouldn't last a year. As it turned out, he only died about 6 months back, and had a great time with us because we catered to his needs. He was an old one, so he needed his space, but he'd come into the closest room when he felt like a little affection and just lie by your side, purring with his eyes shut until he fell asleep. As well as that, when people woke up in the morning he would come in, jump onto the bed and just nuzzle your face if you were awake to say good morning. If you slept in you'd wake up to him sleeping at your lap.

He needed medication and such obviously, because he was an old one, but we managed by scrimping and saving, as well as giving up a few non necessities, and it was totally worth it to see him grow old(er) under our care.

Now there are cynics who would tell you that unless you rescue every animal in that shelter, your work doesn't mean much, but it does. You're giving an animal a life where it will be enjoyed, treated well and given what it needs throughout his or her life. That means something, regardless of what anyone says. If you rescue an animal, good for you as far as I'm concerned. What you're doing is a wonderful thing.

 

[Channizard]

We rescued maybe.. about 8/9 years ago a puppy. He wasn't so young but he was still small and so gangly. You could tell he had a rough home cause he was grossly underfed. He was so goofy looking though, these long gangly legs, this huge wide head and big floppy ears.

He's still with us and now he's a big sausage on toothpicks. He's so loveable though and in a dog, I wouldn't find anything more awesome.

 

[StrungOut]

I found my dog in the woods when I was 15. He was at that tie about 3 months old. His tail had been cut savagely, he had some injuries to the legs, he was very skinny and he seemed very weak. He must have been abandoned there by his (barbaric) previous owner. We saved his life. I think that counts as rescuing an animal, it's just not from a shelter.

In the beginning, he was a lot of trouble, destroying everything and peeing everywhere. We managed to train him properly though. He's very old now, but has always been very affectionate and kind. I might adopt a dog from a shelter when he dies, but I also would like to get a golden retriever. I don't know if you can find them in shelters. Maybe with a bit of luck.

 

[Rydia]

I found my dog in the woods when I was 15. He was at that tie about 3 months old. His tail had been cut savagely, he had some injuries to the legs, he was very skinny and he seemed very weak. He must have been abandoned there by his (barbaric) previous owner. We saved his life. I think that counts as rescuing an animal, it's just not from a shelter.

In the beginning, he was a lot of trouble, destroying everything and peeing everywhere. We managed to train him properly though. He's very old now, but has always been very affectionate and kind. I might adopt a dog from a shelter when he dies, but I also would like to get a golden retriever. I don't know if you can find them in shelters. Maybe with a bit of luck.

Awe that definently counts as a rescue dog! And it was so sweet of your family to take him in

You can find golden retrievers at animal shelters but it is probably best to get one from a breeder; unless you know the history of the dog at the shelter. Goldies have are over bred and often by irresponsible breeders. You could be getting one with a genetic defect that could cost you a lot of money and a lot of heartache! And if you get one from a breeder, make sure it is a responsible one. Here is a good checklist for looking for a breeder. http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/pets/puppy_mills/how_find_good_dog_breeder.pdf

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

We rescued a lurcher puppy from a shelter, and it was quite obvious he was neglected. It showed the typical signs of not wanting to go near people and flinching if you went anywhere near him and at night we put our dogs in the kitchen and he whimpered so much when he was left alone that I just ended up letting him sleep on my bed. Eventually, when he came out of his shell and opened up though he was a fantastic dog. It's quite sickening though what people do to dogs since they can't fight back.

 

[DeadFantasy]

We've always rescued animals from shelters or abused/stray animals on the streets. My dad loved dogs as well as the rest of my family so, we picked up as much as we could. I really like the idea of helping animals in general but, shelters work so hard to keep all their animals healthy and, I look up to that and find it to be a great place to make new furry friends :3 it was always hard for me because well, i wanted to take them all home

I also buy Pedigree (dog food) because, they donate to shelters. So, I support them all the way

 

[Toshiya]

The only complaints I have about rescuing animals are the criteria you have to meet to actually get one.
The lady that used to live next door to us got told she couldn't adopt a cat because we live on the main road. She's always had cats, and she actually had one when they came round to look at her house, a healthy, happy one. None of her cats have ever died on the main road either, and she even said she'd keep it indoors if they wanted her to.
But they said no, she couldn't rescue a cat and let it live there, which I thought was totally ridiculous. Surely for the cat it would be better living on a main road or inside her house instead of stuck in a cage in a shelter?

My family have never had a rescue animal but it is something I'd consider. But then, we don't go and buy kittens from the pet shop either - both of our current cats were given to us when they were kittens, once by an old lady who couldn't cope with it and once by my mum's friend, who's cat had had kittens and they couldn't keep them.

 

[Sir Kenneth]

My cat originally came from a shelter. He was originally adopted by my girlfriend at the time's house mate, but said house mate grew tired of the cat after a couple of months and when she moved out, she gave the cat to us. He's an amazing cat and he helped me through some really tough times both this year and last year where I felt very lonely and isolated and struggled a lot with anxiety. The best and most loyal and loving pet I have ever had.

Sadly my girlfriend and I parted ways back in November and I recently decided due to some current circumstances with said ex-girlfriend, that it was better if I made my Christmas vacation in Denmark a current one. I love that cat more than anything, but if my ex-girlfriend can give him a good home in Australia then I don't really want to uproot him. The beast deserves a great home and if that's not with me, that breaks my heart, but so be it.

 

[Martel]

I rescued a spider from the bath and kept him in a bucket for about a month, if that counts

But as soon as I move out and am financially secure, I intend to rescue a cat. I've always wanted a cat, and pampering one that has been mistreated or abandoned appeals to me for some reason. Contrary to popular belief, I do have something of a soft side, and I'd be quite happy to take in a cat ♥

...plus I don't think you have to pay for rescuing animals, which is a definite plus, given how much pets cost these days...

 

[Toshiya]

...plus I don't think you have to pay for rescuing animals, which is a definite plus, given how much pets cost these days...

I think that depends. We thought about rescuing a cat a few years back when we lived in our old place (not on the main road ) and they wanted us to pay, hm, I think it was about £100 for it. Their reasoning was that they'd paid for all its jabs so they wouldn't catch anything outdoors. Which I suppose it fair enough, but we intended to keep it as an indoor cat so it didn't need jabs.
We got one from a pet shop for £17 instead.

 

[Kandy-Sugar]

Lately, I've been looking on petfinder for dogs and I really need to stop! I keep seeing so many dogs that I want to take home, including two beagle dogs where one is attached to the other and would be sad if they were separated

Steve and I were doing that last year. >.<

We were looking on the RSPCA website and found so many adorable dogs that just looked at you in the photo like, 'Take me home please.' =(

Poor things. <3

We found two Huskies. Both were young adults and had one blue eye and one brown eye which I thought was totally gorgeous! One was female and the other a male.

We were so tempted to take them home, but we don't own our house. So if we were to move we would have no idea if the next rental property would even let us have pets. I'd hate to have to get rid of them. =(

Pets just don't fit into our lifestyle at the moment. We don't have a stable home for one to come home to. It isn't fair if they just got used to us and then we ship them off again. =(

But Steve and I seriously can't wait to rescue a few pets. <3

We intend on getting a large property and making it home for us and our pets. No kids. XD

 

[Lirael]

One of the best cats we ever had came from a shelter, so I'd certainly adopt one in the future! I think I'd try to adopt a couple at once, two or three cats who needed to be housed as a group.

I wouldn't adopt one now, however, because we already have three cats and I think it's unfair to introduce an adult. Kittens are young and adaptable so can grow into the family of cats...An adult cat might find that too distressing and/or make this home distressing for the cats we already have.