Why
on earth would anyone want to adopt a rescued dog? After all, aren't they
like used cars? Who wants someone else's problems? If the dog is so wonderful,
why would anyone give him away? If he was a stray, why didn't someone
try to find him? I'd rather buy a puppy so I know what I'm getting, and
besides they're so cute!"
Labrador rescues often
hear a variation of this conversation. Many prospective lab owners are
just not convinced that owning an older (i.e, 6 mo.+) "pre-owned"
lab is better than buying a puppy. But there are a number of reasons why
adopting a Labrador from a rescue that carefully screens and evaluates
its labs can provide an even better alternative. Here are the "Top
10 Reasons You Should Consider a Rescue."
10.
In a Word - Housebroken
With
most family members gone during the work week for 8 hours or more, housetraining
a puppy and its small bladder can take awhile. Puppies need a consistent
schedule with frequent opportunities to eliminate where you want them
to. They can't wait for the boss to finish his meeting or the kids to
come home from after school activities. An older lab can "hold it"
much more reliably for longer time periods, and usually the rescue has
him housebroken before he is adopted.
9.
Intact Underwear
With
a "chewy" puppy, you can count on at least 10 mismatched pairs
of socks and a variety of unmentionables rendered to the "rag bag"
before he cuts every tooth. Also, you can expect holes in your carpet
(along with the urine stains), pages missing from books, stuffing exposed
from couches, and at least one dead remote control. No matter how well
you watch them, it will happen - this is a puppy's job! An older dog can
usually have the run of the house without destroying it.
8.
A Good Night's Sleep
Forget
the alarm clocks and hot water bottles, a puppy can be very demanding
at 2am and 4am and 6am. He misses his littermates, and that stuffed animal
will not make a puppy pile with him. If you have children, you've been
there and done that. How about a little peace and quiet? How about an
older rescue lab?
7.
Finish the Newspaper
With
a puppy running amok in your house, do you think you will be able to relax
when you get home from work? Do you think your kids will really feed him,
clean up the messes, take him for a walk in the pouring rain every hour
to get him housetrained? With an adult dog, it will only be the kids running
amok, because your labby will be sitting calmly next to you, while your
workday stress flows away and your blood pressure lowers as you pet him.
6.
Easier Vet Trips
Those
puppies need their series of puppy shots and fecals, then their rabies
shot, then a trip to be altered, maybe an emergency trip or two if they've
chewed something dangerous. Those puppy visits can add up (on top of what
you paid for the dog). Your donation to the rescue when adopting an older
pup should get you a dog with all shots current, already altered, heartworm
negative and on preventative at the minimum.
5.
What You See Is What You Get
How
big will that puppy be? What kind of temperament will he have? Will he
be easily trained? Will his personality be what you were hoping for? How
active will he be? When adopting an older dog from a rescue, all of those
questions are easily answered. You can pick large or small; active or
couch potato; goofy or brilliant; sweet or sassy. The rescue and its foster
homes can guide you to pick the right match. (Our rescue is full of puppies
who became the wrong match as they got older!)
4.
Unscarred Children (and Adults)
When
the puppy isn't teething on your possessions, he will be teething on your
children and yourself. Our rescue routinely gets called from panicked
parents who are sure their lab is biting the children. Since biting implies
hostile intent and would be a consideration whether we accept their give-up,
we ask questions and usually find out the dog is being nippy. Parents
are often too emotional to see the difference; but a growing puppy is
going to put everything from food to clothes to hands in their mouths,
and as they get older and bigger it definitely hurts (and will get worse,
if they aren't being corrected properly.) Most older labs have "been
there, done that, moved on."
3.
Matchmaker Make Me a Match
Puppy
love is often no more than an attachment to a look or a color. It is not
much of a basis on which to make a decision that will hopefully last 15+
years. While that puppy may have been the cutest of the litter; he may
grow up to be superactive (when what you wanted was a couch buddy); she
may be a couch princess (when what you wanted was a tireless hiking companion);
he may want to spend every waking moment in the water (while you're a
landlubber); or she may want to be an only child (while you are intending
to have kids or more animals). Pet mis-matches are one of the top reasons
rescues get give-up phone calls. Good rescues do extensive evaluating
of both their labbies and their applicants to be sure that both labby
and family will be happy with each other until death due them part.
2.
Instant Companion
With
an older labby, you automatically have a buddy that can go everywhere
and do everything with you NOW. There's no waiting for a puppy to grow
up (and then hope he will like to do what you enjoy.) You will have been
able to select the most compatible dog: one that travels well; one that
loves to play with your friends' dogs; one with excellent house manners
that you can take to your parents' new home with the new carpet and the
new couch. You can come home after a long day's work and spend your time
on a relaxing walk, ride or swim with your new best friend (rather than
cleaning up after a small puppy.)
1.
Bond, Labby Bond
Labbies
who have been uprooted from their happy homes or have not had the best
start in life are more likely to bond very completely and deeply with
their new people. Those who have lost their families through death, divorce
or lifestyle change go through a terrible mourning process. But, once
attached to a new loving family, they seem to want to please as much as
possible to make sure they are never homeless again. Those labbies that
are just learning about the good life and good people seem to bond even
deeper. They know what life on the streets, life on the end of a chain,
or worse is all about, and they revel and blossom in a nurturing, loving
environment. Most rescues make exceptionally affectionate and attentive
pets and extremely loyal companions.
Unfortunately, many
folks think dogs that end up in rescue are all genetically and behaviorally
inferior. But, it is not uncommon for us to get $500-1000 dogs that have
either outlived their usefulness or their novelty with impulsive owners
who considered their dog a possession rather than a friend or member of
the family, or simply did not really consider the time, effort and expense
needed to be a dog owner. Not all breeders will accept "returns",
so choices for giving up dogs can be limited to animal welfare organizations,
such as rescues, or the owners trying to place their own dogs. Good rescues
will evaluate the dog before accepting him/her (medically, behaviorally,
and for breed confirmation), rehabilitate if necessary, and adopt the
animal only when he/she is ready and to a home that matches and is realistic
about the commitment necessary to provide the dog with the best home possible.
Choosing a rescue
dog over a purchased pup will not solve the pet overpopulation problem
(only responsible pet owners and breeders can do that), but it does give
many of them a chance they otherwise would not have. But, beyond doing
a "good deed", adopting a rescue dog can be the best decision
and addition to the family you ever made.
Rescue
a dog and get a devoted friend for life!
Written
by Mary Clark at Labrador Retriever Rescue, Inc. Permission has been granted
to freely reprint and distribute this document as long as LLR, Inc. at
http://www.lrr.org/ is
credited.
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