By: Revanche

A new sinking fund: Puppy Love

March 13, 2011

From whence the money comes, I have not yet planned but I still have some time yet.

Purely by chance, as if my fingers had life of their own, I accidentally found the perfect sounding dog to rescue.

This is well ahead of schedule.  We were not planning on bringing a dog home for a long while since we still wanted to travel a while longer, definitely have travel plans through summer this year, and have this little wedding deal to put together.

But I’ve been stressed.  I realize that taking on another responsibility in response to stress doesn’t seem very smart. But dogs are my respite.  And I don’t have a dog to even mentally hug anymore.  This year without a dog is the longest I’ve been dog-free since the age of seven. None of my de-stressing techniques are taking. It’s basically torturous so I browse PetFinder once in a while and dream.  Then I found this guy and just went all REO Speedwagon.

His profile is so perfect!  Our potential adoptee is a cross of three large breeds, older, mellow enough to be an indoor dog for the better part of a day (his foster mommy attests to this), energetic enough to romp with other dogs and go for runs, good in cars, good with strange dogs and mellow with strange people and veterinarians and groomers (important since my previous dogs either uniformly failed that test or embarrassed me at least a little.)

PiC was disinclined to say me nay after reading the profile and looking at the picture. (And believe me, he’s exercised veto plenty.)  We wrote to his foster mom to inquire about availability that very night.

The rescue agency is quite concerned about the futures of these dogs who are adopted out, rightfully so since some of these poor dogs are thrown back into the system when people who weren’t ready to bring home dogs move on with their lives, or meet with unfortunate circumstances.

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Some of the adoption form questions:

What provisions would be made for the dog if you had to move locally?/ Out of state?/ To a place where no pets are allowed?

Under what circumstances would you not keep the dog? Divorce/ Illness in family/ Moving/ New baby/ New job/ Allergy/ Housetraining problems/ Chewing/ Digging/ Shedding/ Barking/ Howling/ Dog grew too big/ Dog became ill/ Kids ignore/ Pets didn’t get along/ Not obedient enough/Other/Would not give up for any of the above reasons.

What would you do with the dog if you could not keep him or her? Return to rescue/ Take to shelter/ Give away/ Sell the dog/ Other

For the record, none of the options given above are good enough for either PiC or I to give up a pet we chose to bring home.  We obviously aren’t allergic and we’d know to expect some shedding.  Growth isn’t a problem with an older dog, and any behavioral problems would call for training and treatment, not disposal.  Once we become responsible for a pet, unless it’s a situation where either the pet or a family member is endangered, that’s the end of the story. 

 

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We’re not ready to adopt him until after we return from our trip, but even if it turns out he’s not a good fit with us, we need to have money in the bank to take him of him, or her, if this fella doesn’t work out and we’re back on the hunt again.
Ideally, I had intended to have $5,000 in the bank for any medical exams, supplies or emergencies but mostly because that’s a nice big round number.  Realistically, none of my dogs have ever needed that much as a starter. Even the one with the crushed leg (we adopted him after the leg crushing and subsequent abandonment) didn’t cost that much.  PiC and I need to talk about how to budget, but we’re going to schedule a meet-up with Foster Mom in the meantime and see if he’s really a match for us in the meantime.
Even better, we have a fellow blogger friend willing to swap dog-sitting which was a huge relief as that was one of my concerns about bringing home a dog when I don’t have a strong social network in the area.  If I have any other volunteers .. 😉

 

Cross your fingers!

9 Responses to “A new sinking fund: Puppy Love”

  1. Anonymous says:

    AWESOME! I love to hear about responsible pet parents adopting a rescue. If money for possible treatments is a concern, you might check into prices of pet health insurance. Some policies cover major medical expenses and are affordable ($20 or so a month for me). It could let you reduce the amount for your puppy fund.

  2. Red says:

    This is so great! I love it when responsible people adopt pets!

    I love the question about what you would do if you moved somewhere that didn’t allow pets. Uh… I wouldn’t move there! I’ve been sad to see a lot of prospective apartments fall by the wayside once they said “no pets,” but that’s the nature of the beast. These cats are my family. Would a family move into a new place that didn’t allow children if they had a little boy and girl? No! I feel the same way about my pets.

    I rescued both Libel and Reese. They think Reese was probably always a stray, as she was picked up very young, but Libel had been in a home before. It makes me sick. His family had him declawed and microchipped before either 1) he ran away or 2) they kicked him out. I’m inclined to believe the latter because the microchip would have enabled them to find him, and I’m pretty sure the shelter said they tried to contact the family through the info on the chip.

    He has his issues. It’s obvious that he’s a dependent animal, as he howls like a banshee whenever we’re not in the same room as him. But no person or animal is perfect. He’s my baby. I accept the good with the bad.

    Good luck with your potential addition to the family! This is really exciting news – we expect pictures! 🙂

  3. CnC says:

    That’s fantastic. It always makes me happy to hear when people responsibly adopt a pet. But it’s equally as great that you’re going for an older doggy it makes me a bit teary thinking about how an older dog will get a second chance to have a great family!

    BF is constantly surfing our local adoption/rescue group websites to see what’s out there. We already have one dog but we’re moving into a house and I agreed that we could get another one so the great hunt begins. We won’t be bringing anyone home until we have some funds set aside though, that you can be certain about.

  4. Carrie says:

    good luck!

    i had been thinking about getting a dog for years and when i finally met the perfect one i knew it was the perfect time no matter what. the only way i wouldn’t be his owner anymore is if i died.

  5. Serendipity says:

    Awe! I love when other people start puppy funds! I can totally relate to the longest being with an animal, this is also the longest I’ve been without a pet and it makes me sad. I’m so happy for you and whatever pet you have is going to a nice home. 🙂

  6. LOL! Sounds perfect. Have you seen this beast yet? Got a picture?

  7. Revanche says:

    @Anon: Money for medical treatments is just always the first big-ticket item I think of to budget for with pets. I never want to be in the position of “how much am I willing to pay?”

    @nicoleandmaggie: Thanks!!

    @Red: PRECISELY. If I’m bringing home a member of the family, I’m going to make sure new accommodations will accommodate!

    I. Can’t. Wait!

    @CnC: I always feel for the older ones as I know life is so much harder for them in shelters and they’re much less likely to get snapped up by families.

    @Carrie: Ditto. And you bet my will’s going to include care for my dependent dog.

    @Serendipity: Thank you!

    @FaM: We’ll be meeting the wee (not so wee, I suspect) beastie soon!!

  8. I got two dogs that way. Sadly one has passed and I’ll get our next one that way as well.

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