To rescue or to buy. That is the question

[Shotze's Mom]

Ive done both. I have rescued horses and dogs. So far Ive rescued FOUR horses that were severly neglected and starved to the point of death and one redbone coonhound that was starved to the point of death. I had excellent results in the redbone, but the horses are another story. The first one was a palamino stud colt. He broke his back while we were trimming his hooves. He reared up and sat down on his butt causing his back to break. Talk about heartbreaking. My hubby even cried. Thats what starvation does to a colt. The second was a thoroughbred mare straight off the track. She had severe issues with people and could not be trusted around kids at ALL. She also wasnt a community horse and attacked my other mare. I seperated them, got her fed back to health, had her shots and adopted her out to a man that intended on using her as a prison horse. Turns out, shes better at roping in rodeos and is now in the rodeo. The most recent was a old grey mare and her filly. She was so emaciated that the vet couldnt tell by looking at her that she was even pregnant! I couldnt help her much , but I did her her more use to touch and presence before adopting her out for as a pasture horse. Im still concerned about the filly because she learned bad habits from her Mom. She eye rolls and bites and tries to kick. I also have to worry about being able to ride her because of the lack of nutrition in the womb. So having rescued a few animals, I chose to buy a pup because I was getting so stressed with dealing with behavior issues and neglect. Keep in mind I rescued from individuals and not from shelters so all the work of bringing them out of the state they were in fell on me alone. I think it really depends on the dog. Like I said I have had excellent results with the redbone and he is now a family dog. There are no behavior issues at all. He is a teddy bear. I suggest taking the whole family with you to meet a potential rescue. Cats, other furbabies, skinkids....everyone. Make sure you are dedicated to rescueing him/her. There may be issues that have to be dealt with. Theres nothing more sad than having to bring a rescue back.
Also, if you buy a pup, you may get to start out with the training and know its background....but things may develop.

I think Im split on the decision. Both can be great, and both can have their drawbacks. If I had to choose, Id say rescue. Theres nothing more rewarding than knowing you saved a dogs life.

 

[ottopunk]

I agree with the other posts - unless you are going to breed or show then please, please rescue.

My heart just aches when I see why dogs need to be rescued. Stories of dogs that were abused or thrown out on their butt for no good reason have made me realize how important adopting truly is. For instance, one rescue stated a boxer was turned in because the homeowner got hardwood floors and didn't want the dog on them! UGH. No dog should ever feel they have no value.

Good luck.

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

Boxer Rescue is the way to go. My club has long had an active Rescue program. The majority of dogs we get are owner surrenders for various reasons. Most of the time it had nothing to do with the dog at all. Divorce, military deployment, loss of home, loss of job, etc. And with an owner surrender we can tell you the home they were in previously. Things like other dogs, cats, kids and such.

__________________
Christina Ghimenti
PawPrint Boxers

Sunny Northern California
Boxer Champions and Loving Pets

 

[S@ndi]

Great Input!

I enjoyed reading all the input. By the way, I definitely heard of someone getting rid of their boxer because of wood floors. It sickens me. Maybe I'm just crazy, but we make all decisions withconsideration of our skinkids AND furkids. Even what car we bought. As for rescueing, we are. I go and visit him every day at the boarding kennel. WE can't have him until he's fixed. My female is sweet until they try to mount her. He's 3 times her size, and I thought she was going to eat him alive ! That's the only thing ever , that she balks about. I don't blame her I took my kid and pup to meet him. He's already attached to both. My son fell down, and was crying. He went running to him, licking him and looking on very concerned. My baby was absolutely entertaining for him. When we were at the park, the baby started fussing by my husband. And that dog pulled me clear across the park to my baby. He just couldn't stand that he was upset. awwww.......I LOVE BOXERS SO MUCH. THey don't just put up with your children, they LOVE your kids. I like the point you guys made many times. If I'm not going to show boxers or breed them......Why not just rescue. From now on that's what I'd like to do.. ANother thing...Iforget what they call it...is own a dog from a breeder, and they just show it when they want, otherwise we own it. I'll have to research it, but that seems like a rescue too. YOu're saving them from a life in a kennel. ANyway Thank you all
I'll keep you posted on the new boy! S@Ndi

 

[Kali's Mom]

We did both but for the future I think I will continue to rescue.

Our 1st Boxer we got as a puppy. We enjoyed the cute puppy stage but it was a lot of work. When we considered getting another Boxer, we actually got another puppy that actually passed a week after bringing her home due to a birth defect. It was very sad for us. It took about 3mo. before I thought about getting another one again and my husband suggested we look into rescue. And to this day we couldn't be happier with our decision. Also, to this day we have no idea why anyone just dropped our Gia off. She is truly the perfect dog. Very laid back. Listens very well. Because of that experience it made me look at rescueing in a different way.

 

[natrhymer]

Adopt!

Are ther any scarry boxer rescue stories or do they all turn out great in general?

Check out my "story" with our rescue Dieter:
http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49761

No, it hasn't been all a bed of roses; BUT, Dieter is a sweet, devoted companion and I wouldn't trade him for the world, even with his "issues." I think Dieter is an exception to the average dog coming out of rescue. Many dogs in rescue aren't strays off the street, they are family dogs who are surrendered because of a move, not wanted anymore, new baby in the family, etc. Most of these dogs are trained, housebroken and great family pets. The best thing about rescue groups is that they work hard to fit the right dog to you and your home.

We were told that Dieter did have some anxiety issues up front, but we just couldn't resist his wiggle butt. There was an older female dog available at the time, and she was totally different; more calm, smaller, less "in-your-face." But my husband wanted a rough-and-tumble boy, so Dieter it was.

I would rescue again in a second. There's never any guarantee on a dog's temperment, even with puppies. And, as other posts indicated, if you're looking for a family pet (not a show dog) rescue is the way to go!

 

[Kbryant]

I want to add my story that a few of you may have heard before. I waited years to get a dog. I wanted to make sure I had the time, money and energy and I wanted my children to be old enough to understand the commitment involved. I actually made them sign a contract! No kidding! I wanted to rescue since my heart breaks over all the stories I hear. Anyway, I rescued the very first dog I found. He was about 6 months old and clearly a mixed breed. At that time I didn't know that not only do you have to check a breeders credentials but a rescue place as well. The officer that worked there told me that the cough I heard was "very common and not a big deal. Like a human having a cold. Kennel cough, he said. Some meds and he'd be fine." I bought it. My daughters and I visited him, named him Tyson and took pics of him until he was free to go home. They had to wait while they advertised finding him. I picked him up on a Sat morning, totally excited with good food, a crate and lots of toys waiting at home. I went directly to the vet to fix the kennel cough and have him checked out. After $300 and hours at the vet, I had to put him to sleep. It was not kennel cough. He had a massive tumor that pushed his stomach into his heart and crushed his lungs. His cough was his weak attempts at getting some air in his lungs. I was so in love with this pup after such a short time and devestated by his death. Vet said there was no hope. His eyes were not developing correctly, he'd need major surgery for the tumor and his back legs were messed up. His feet were completely flat, they think from being confined to a cage constantly. I felt betrayed by the place in Newington, CT that I got him. I called them and they said to bring him back but I knew what they'd do. They'd let him suffer until he died. The dog was clearly in pain and pleading with his eyes. I held him while they put him to sleep and just stood there crying with him in my arms. It was one of the most horrible experiences in my life. My whole point in this story is, rescue IS the way to go but RESEARCH the rescue place. I've since learned that they've had complaints against them. Also, I called many many rescue places after that and to this day, never got a call back. Not one place. We called all over that state. I can't understand why. Some messages couldn't be left due to full mail boxes and the messages we did leave were never answered. Could it be lack of volunteers? I don't get it. My husband called everywhere trying to find me a dog and couldn't. Didn't matter the breed or the age but no return phone calls. I hope my state is unusual in this.
Karen

 

[S@ndi]

wow..

Sounds like you had your hands full....and you stuck with it. I am absolutely impressed. Most people don't even consider caring for a dog unconditionally like that. I am so impressed I wish we could meet people likeeveryone here, who has a love for boxers or dogs. Our town has a lack of them or something. Their brain starts to shut down if I even start to mention or brag bout my furbabies. :P Anyway JGood job! S@ndi

 

[K_Burrow]

Be careful, but rescue is the way to go...

We have two mixed breed rescue puppies. Jazzy is Boxer/Lab, and Blues (who was advertised as Boxer/Lab) is evidently Lab mixed with some type of hound, plus who knows what else.

Please read my experiences with rescues online. I did run into a bad one. Despite that, I still highly recommend rescue dogs. There are so many wonderful dogs out there to adopt. Why encourage breeding except to improve the breed?

Both of our dogs are wonderful, loving pets. The main difference I've noticed so far is that it was easier adopting a puppy than an older dog (in our case, your mileage may vary).

Jazzy was only 9 weeks old when we got her. She hadn't yet acquired bad habits, and she's just been a dream puppy to train. She was a "clean slate" for us.

Blues was about 4 months old when we got him, and he'd been severely neglected and possibly abused. He was very timid, and has been quite destructive in the house. With patience and training, much of his destructiveness has been corrected, although we still have some problems.

He's a good boy who wants to please, but he just doesn't understand that you can't drag bushes into the house through the doggy door, chew the dining room furniture, eat a total of 5 remote controls so far, etc. Still, with good advice from books and this board, his behavior has *dramatically* improved.

In future, I will choose puppies unless we're adopting a dog whose history we know. I realize that there are many older dogs out there who are beautifully behaved.

Do be sure that the rescue you're dealing with is reputable, and as in my case, that you are actually dealing with the rescue! The rescue I contacted gave my number to a private individual who did the rest of the adoption without my knowledge. All the assurances of health testing, screening, etc. on the rescue's web site were moot with Blues, but we didn't know that until after we'd taken him home.

Both of our puppies had hidden health problems. Jazzy has hip dysplasia, discovered when she was only 8 months old. So far, she's responding well to glucosamine supplements and Rimadyl. We spend about $40-50/month on her meds. She also had worms, a severe UTI, and a vaginal yeast infection, as we discovered shortly after we got her home.

Blues had a hernia which needed surgical repair. Again, the rescue's assurances that he had been checked out were a lie.

Between the two, we've spent at least $3,000.00 on medical issues within the last year. So, don't count on a rescue being a cost-cutting measure. Any puppy from any source can have undisclosed illnesses or develop them after adoption. It just goes with adopting any living creature.

Rescues can be wonderful, sweet dogs. Both of ours are just big, sweet babies (at 50 and 75 pounds respectively). I highly recommend them, but do be cautious with the rescue organization. Not all are reputable.

Good luck!

Kim

 

[S@ndi]

That is such a sad story. My guess is that the shelters are being lazy. They just want you to come and look through the dogs yourself, probably. I know the one I volunteer at is very lazy. I get so frustrated that I think I'm going to quit. Anyway, go to petfinder .com maybe that will help. Good luck
S@ndi