GET A FREE PET FROM A SHELTER

[GossamerAngel]

Bless you though for the volunteer work you do. A close friend of mine is fortunate enough to not have to work and be able to stay at home with her young son - but instead of sitting around and watching Jerry Springer and sitting around the house all day long, she has made it her life''s calling to volunteer for animal rescue groups and shelters.

About 2-3 times a month, she and her mother drive 2+ hours each way to a high-kill shelter in Lancaster county, PA (right outside one of the nation''s puppy mill capitals, so unfortunately so many wonderful purebred dogs get dumped there regularly when they are of no more financial use to the breeders) to rescue as many dogs and cats as they can, and bring them back to no-kill shelters and rescue groups in our city where they can be adopted out to forever homes.

Seriously, though...look at all the sweet babies people have posted in this thread! All wonderful, loving dogs that did nothing wrong but be unlucky - that is, until they were rescued

If only they could all be so lucky

 

[AmberGretchen]

OMG GossamerAngel that FACE

TOO CUTE

What a sweetie pie, bless you for giving him such a loving home

 

[WishfulThinking]

I just wanted to stop in and thank you all for taking these adorable furbabies into your homes!!! They're all just precious!

I can't wait to be able to have a pet again. S and I are sold on Pomeranians and when the time comes we plan to adopt a puppy or adult dog from a rescue organization. Hopefully it won't be too long from now!

 

[lovegem]

Date: 1/8/2009 8:58:56 PM
Author: LittleGreyKitten
All mine have been non-shelter rescues... most recent showed up at work and tried to sneak inside all day, matted, skinny and dirty with a leaky eyeball. Finally someone told me about him, I opened the door and he darted in so fast. Spent the day cruising around the furniture in the basement. I called all sorts of no-kill shelters, but since he had a leaky eye they all said he might potentially be put down if it wasn''t an easy fix. So, long story short, he''s now third cat and the other kittyboy Rat loves him to bits. The leaky eye was never fixable- we even got him plastic surgery for it!- but the vet felt he had had some sort of ''trauma'' (probably a kick) to the eye as a kitten and it had healed all wrong... it''s been better since the surgery but it was such HELL for both of us, I can''t quite bring myself to try again yet. He''s named O.P. (''Opie'') for Orange Problem.


It took him about two years to stop freaking out over black boots- he''d see one on the floor and scoot sideways at it- and doing that sad Collapsing Kitteh thing where reach down to pet, they don''t see your hand coming, and they just slink down to the ground. He hasn''t done that in forever, thank god, it broke my heart.


Oh, yeah, and the bullet in his neck was not good either. He had a .22 under the skin of his neck, which the vet removed for us and I saved. How he survived that, I dunno.


It sure is true that rescues know they have a second lease on life and are the sweetest ever- Rat, whom we got with his sister as a ''free kitten'' rescue some 12 yrs ago, never realized how good he has it! O.P., on the other hand, sure does.


My mom needs kitten. And puppy. I''ll probably go with her to a shelter sometime this month; it''s soooo hard not to want to take another one home, but three is too many kitties for my little apartment already.

It''s so cool to see how many people here have rescue critters!

Thanks for giving O.P. a second change. She must has been to lots of torture. Some people are worse than animals. At least animals don''t kill for no reason.

 

[Babyblue033]

Yay for everyone who gave shelter animals a second chance!

I''m completely and utterly maxed out (unless we move to a farm!

) but this reminds me I should send something to the shelter I adopted Roxy from. December was the 2 year anniversary of her adoption, and because of her we now have 2 more wobblies we wouldn''t have taken in if we hadn''t known about this condition. Not that I don''t love my boys too, but wobbly trio has a very special place in my heart

 

[Babyblue033]

Forgot the picture of the troublesome duo

Kiiro, Shinju, and the big gray cat acting as a pillow is my ever so patient Nai. He''s such a great big brother! (unlike my other boys

)

 

[Babyblue033]

And of course my star who started it all, Roxy.

 

[LGK]

Aw, everyone''s furbabies are so cute!

I''m lucky to have the Opsie. He''s the biggest snugglewart of a cat I''ve ever had.

 

[GossamerAngel]

I soooo wish we could have kitties!!! the H is allergic in a very serious way, but I do love everyone else''s kitteh''s

I can''t believe I didn''t post a pic of my Skeeter deeter! Here he is giving me that sad-eyed look that stole my heart from his pics on petfinder, and now usually wins him a cookie or two

 

[LGK]

GA, that look would SO earn a cookie, or three! What a sweetie.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I want to add something based on my experiences.

I think lots of people are afraid to adopt from a shelter or rescue group because they worry that the dog will be more trouble or have more "issues" than a dog from a breeder. I know this was my worry before having dogs of my own.

In my experience with two dachsies, one from a breeder and one rescued, ALL dogs are challenging and come with their own unique set of quirks and habits and training issues. It doesn't really matter that much where the pet comes from IMHO!! The biggest factor that seems to really matter is whether the pet was socialized well by its mother and littermates when it was a baby (i.e., whether it was kept with its mommy for long enough) and whether it was exposed and socialized to people when it was very young... but unfortunately, adequate time with mom and adequate socialization cannot be guaranteed even with a breeder!!

Adopting a dog is a big commitment no matter where the dog comes from, and I really hope more people who are willing and able to devote the time and energy needed to train and socialize a dog will take the chance and adopt!

 

[AmberGretchen]

DD makes an excellent point about shelter vs. breeder pets - it really depends so much more on the training and early life experiences than on the actual source of the animal. I would also add though, that with patience, consistency, and solid training, almost all dogs and cats can become amazing pets.

Babyblue - you know how much I ADORE your babies - look how big the baby wobblies have gotten!!

I would love to see more pics of them growing up - they look like such sweeties.

LGK - OMG what an incredibly GORGEOUS FLUFFY beast - I just want to scoop him up and bury my face in his fur...SO CUTE

I just adore giant fluffy boy kitties - they definitely hold a special place in my heart.

Glamazon - skeeter is ADORABLE, I agree with the others - that face would earn a LOT of cookies in our household...

 

[Babyblue033]

Date: 1/11/2009 6:00:38 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Babyblue - you know how much I ADORE your babies - look how big the baby wobblies have gotten!!

I would love to see more pics of them growing up - they look like such sweeties.

I can''t believe how quickly they grow either! It''s hard to believe I used to bring them to work in my bag and keep them in my filing drawer

I don''t have many pictures of them since even when they''re sitting still they''re still shaking!

 

[vizsla]

another bump

to go off of what DD said, i also think a lot of behavioral changes can be accomplished once adopted. my dog was extremely skiddish (the result of being in a home where abuse b/t husband and wife - most likely dog and husband occurred) consequently my dog was terrified of men.. and new people in general -- drooled nonstop (like a faucet) in the car.. it would get so bad she would throw up almost every car ride. HOWEVER, thru socialization, love, firm but never scary commands she has done a complete 180 - and she was 9 months when we rescued her... it's possible for all animals... gah.. did anyone see the special on the michael vick dogs!?!?! that was inspirational..

p.s. does anyone else ball at the sarah mclachlan commercial like i do?.. it's gotten so bad i make my DH turn it off as soon as it comes on.. that and the polar bear WWF commercial... blubbering fool i tell ya.

 

[vizsla]

 

[princesss]

YAY! A chance to show off my beautiful furbabies!!

This is Ezra, all dressed up for Christmas.

 

[princesss]

And this is Lola in her Halloween costume. She is, ummm....less than thrilled, haha!

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I only have one experience of adopting a cat through a shelter. My little fur baby, Rhett Butler, was the sweetest cat you could ever meet. I loved him more than ANYTHING. Losing him to FIP was absolutely heartbreaking. I would NEVER replace those few months I had with him. Although it was so devastating to lose him, I also hope that other people will adopt the cats that might not be so healthy. I didn''t know he was sick when I got him, but even if I had, I would have taken him in. A short lifespan does not mean a cat should not be brought home and loved. I know that I will always adopt. The cat I have now was adopted through my vet, yet I know that I will someday again save another from a shelter.

I can''t explain how great it feels to save a poor, helpless fur baby from the suffering it could go through. To imagine my Rhett living his few short months in a tiny cage makes me so sad. Go out and adopt today! Anything you can do to help these little guys is just incredible.

 

[pjean]

Here are my rescued kitties. I got them from a no-kill shelter, and lucky for them the no kill shelter existed. They were both in bad enough shape when they were found that they would have had to be put to sleep right away at a conventional shelter. All they needed was TLC, food, and antibiotics, and they''re lovely, snuggly, irritating ladies. Granted, they have two and a half working eyes between them, but that doesn''t appear to be a huge problem.

The tortoiseshell is Clio, and the orange tabby is Cassie. I''m the one in the back, being smooshed by kitty love.