# Have you ever surrendered a dog?



## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

Has anyone ever surrendered a dog to a shelter or rescue? If so what was the reason and how did you feel about it?


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## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

I didnt with a dog but I did with a kitten, it was about 20 years ago and we got a kitten. My oldest was just over 1 at the time and the kitten used to eat the material from her clothes, blankets and the nipples off her bottles. It was anything that had the milk smell on it. I probably could have been more careful with everything but this was 20 years ago and I really didnt think about it...I was just worried about the cat eating something and making itself sick. I would find baby blankets with big holes in them, bottles in the crib with the nipples chewed right off, and close in the laundry with holes in them. I took the cat to the spca and they rehomed it I guess. I felt bad but didnt want the cat to get sick...I am assuming because she was a kitten she was adopted.


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

I didn't rehome a dog but I did have to rehome a ferret. I felt absolutely horrible.

We got our first ferret 2 years ago and he was just the best. We got him in March and by June I started thinking that it would be good for him to have a friend. I contacted a rescue that was just starting up (we were the first to adopt from them!) and we ended up adopting Fred and George. They were supposed to be a bonded pair from a family who had a young child and they could no longer care for them. Fred came to us straight from the vet after receiving a sub-q injection for dehydration. He needed 24 hour care and we bonded very closely during that time (he is my heart ferret). George came to us full of p**s and vinegar. He tortured my first ferret to no end. It turned out that Fred and George were not as bonded as it would seem. We figure that George didn't pick on Fred simply because he was larger than George. Fawkes (our first ferret) was tortured so badly that he became scared to come out of the cage and we were worried that he would end up with an ulcer. Fred and Fawkes also bonded very well.

We made the decision to rehome George after much work and much discussion. I cried a lot. I just couldn't see Fawkes so scared. The very ferret experienced people at the rescue we adopted him from even had trouble with him but, fortunately, they knew a lady who had moved from England and she took him on. She had a 1/2 polecat 1/2 ferret who was also a handful and George and this guy bonded immediately. Unfortunately the other guy got sick and passed a few months ago. George is still grieving. The poor guy. Hopefully he will become close with one of her other ferrets.

Fawkes has since passed from Juvenile Lymphoma and now we have Ginny. Fred was very sad when Fawkes passed but he and Ginny became fast friends.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Yes. Twice, unfortunately.
Over twenty years ago, we had two dogs and our kids were very small. I was a stay at home, my husband lost his job & we could not afford to feed/vet two dogs. We took our lab/oes to the shelter he came from, he found a home the next day. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. We sat in the parking lot, me screaming that I'd live in a tent, anything...we did what we had to. I'd never do that again, our kids are grown, the dogs are here to stay. If something awful happened, our dogs would go wherever we went.
Second time was 8yrs ago. We had two fox terriers, I wasn't online when we got them (two years apart), I didnt know about terrier bitch aggression and neither breeder mentioned it. The fighting got so bad, we had no choice. Actually, may have been 9yrs ago, our sheltie was a puppy then. We took the older terrier back to the breeder, who found a home for her with someone looking for an adult. 
Are you asking for a reason?


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## BorderGal (Nov 29, 2008)

Never surrendered one of my own but I did have to take 2 of my fosters back to the Shelter: The one I knew was trouble and I only took her because the Shelter was beyond over-flowing and I felt she deserved a chance but I said she was just being fostered for space and I would not be keeping her. I returned her so she could go into classes with one of the Shelter programs, and several programs and 4 other fosters/trainers later she did actually get a home. I also had to return a very old border collie who had seizures. I had her for 2-1/2 months, giving her the chance to see if we could save her and get her adopted, but sadly it was not to be.


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## CareBearStare (Dec 19, 2009)

I've never surrendered a dog, but I have dropped a kitten at acc. My brother had heard a kitten crying near some church parking lot, but he couldn't catch it. It was still there when he passed the place hours later and it had started raining pretty hard. So I went down there with him and we spent about an hour catching the little guy. It was late at night and I didn't want my cats to catch anything from him, so I put him in a carrier with some food and water in the garage. Getting a better look at him it was obvious he was infested with fleas and was definitely in need of a few good meals.

We kept him for a little over a week, treated him for the fleas and fattened him up. He went from a grungy, skittish, hissing ball of matted fur to a happy-go-lucky, clean little man. After calling several different shelters, rescues and vets no one could take him in. We couldn't keep him. Our cats absolutely hated the little guy and our parents didn't want a third cat. So we had to bring him to the only place that took all animals in.

They named him Mikey even though he was starting to respond to Church. I was never able to find out if he was adopted.


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

I had to surrender my cat, Stubby, due to FeLV. I had another cat in the house and couldn't risk it. Stubby had it before I found him.


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## Riley222 (Feb 19, 2010)

My parents adopted a German Shepherd mix when I was 5ish (18 years ago or so). She was way too much for my family to handle, she was super high energy and started jumping fences. My parents gave her to Leader Dog for the Blind and she successfully completed training and became a guide dog.

Unfortunately I may have to give up one of my girls. They got in an awful fight last Friday and one is staying with my brother for now


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

InkedMarie said:


> Are you asking for a reason?


No not really, I'm just curious. Since I've started working at the humane society and seeing all these people bringing in dogs.. I don't know.. it's just got me wondering about the reasons behind it. Really no one elaborates when they bring them in. We ask if it was because of aggression issues with other dogs/people or a behavioral issue, but if it's not they don't have to tell us.

Oh, some of your stories just break my heart  I can't imagine if something happened and the girls started fighting or it was between feeding them and my kids.. what would I do? ..I feel like I'd just die. 

That is really cool about your GSD becoming a seeing eye dog though! wow!


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## HyperFerret (Feb 7, 2009)

I didn't surrender him but I re-homed him. This was about 13 years ago with one of my dogs, Chester. We had him for about a year and a half. He barked and barked bad at people he didn't know/like. The neighbor we had at the time HATED Chester with a passion. This neighbor would harass me and complain about him all the time. He would throw sticks and rocks at Chester and sling LARGE thick chains at him, trying to hit him. (Those chains were the chains that were normally worn by his dog, a Rottie.) He would do this when he thought I wasn't in the area. Anytime I saw him I would put a stop to it ... but I was indeed very scared of this man. He also only threatened me and yelled at me when I was home alone. Then one night I caught him trying to shoot Chester with his gun. (Which he said was a BB gun but I couldn't tell one gun from another.) Other times he would be scolding me while showing me how a dog is supposed to act as he called over his Rott. (When the neighbor called her over, her head hung low and she would approach him slowly.)

So this all just made Chester hate the guy that much more, which induced that much more barking. Back then I didn't know what to do to handle anything, didn't know how to prove anything, and have always hated confrontation. So I decided it was best to re-home him.

Now I hate that I did that. I regret it everyday and still miss Chester. I wish I knew then what to do.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Have not had to. I have rehomed a kitten. Got him to replace my kitten that had been killed way too soon and thought Smalls would benefit. She really became aggressive with him and it was just a stupid, rash decision in the first place. He did however go to my parents, so I knew where he was and what was going on with him.

I think if I've made it with Jonas thus far, there will never be a reason I will surrender. But you never know.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Sort of. Only once, when I was 16. I wanted my own dog, and my parents consented. I adopted a young Siberian husky from a guy my mom worked with -- the guy was moving to another province and couldn't take the dog. The husky, Taino, was an outside dog that he'd kept tethered on a long line in the yard (he lived out in the country). He was a friendly dog and fairly quiet when I met him. I brought him home to my small city and thought he'd be happy in our fenced yard with the family Samoyed. He was not. If I was right there next to him, he was fine. If I moved even a few feet away, he barked and howled completely non-stop, all day and all night. I brought him into the house at night, thinking he might be happier in the kitchen, but he cried and cried if I left the room, so I ended up sleeping on the floor next to him all night. After a couple days of this, I decided I was in over my head and took the dog back to the guy, who was completely baffled -- the dog didn't bark much in his yard. I hope he found him a good country home before he moved away. 

A short while after that I adopted my malamute/collie pup, who barely barked at all. I've never re-homed a pet since, and never intend to. I know a lot more about dog training now!


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## TxRider (Apr 22, 2009)

No, I have either kept or found a home for any animal I have ever had or found or found me.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Not personally, but my parents did. We got a 2 year old lab mix from a lady, and the dog was un-neutered, un-trained, out of control. I was probably about 6. We found him a home with a nice family, and saw him for years after that at our heartworm/vaccination clinic. Jim (the dog) lived to be in his teens, and I think was happy.
I took on a foster husky in 2002 (much to my parents dismay... ), but she was a super nice dog. A friend of mine knew the people who had Missy (the husky). They had moved out of their house, and left her tied up in the back yard with a GIGANTIC padlock on her collar (she was tied to a tree). They fed and watered her once a day (a husky being outside in the ohio summers...it gets over 90 degrees here). The day I got the key for the padlock from the people, they hung around and talked about what a great dog she was (gag me with a hairy barbie doll leg!!!!), but the whole time the dog stood next to ME. I had only visited her 2 or 3 times. She had a consort, a beagle who stayed about 20 feet away and barked and growled like mad. She wasn't spayed, the beagle wasn't neutered, but thank God she wasn't pregnant. She weighed a whopping 25 pounds (!!) and had every kind of worms except heartworms. I contacted a husky rescue in the area, spoke to a wonderful rep. I had her for about 2 months (she wasn't so great with other dogs, but tried to ignore them first and foremost). I took her to training classes. I loved that dog. I took her to a foster home, and kept in contact with the foster for years (she ended up keeping her). So I was happy for that.
Then about 3 years ago a friend of mines girlfriend up and left him, and left her cat...and her kittens. He had no way of caring for the cats, and I reluctantly volunteered to take them to a very low-kill rate shelter in the area (a good hours drive one way) so they would at least have a chance. I swear to God, I will *NEVER* surrender another living thing if I can help it, even to a place that tries their very best to find homes for the homeless. I will never, ever be able to erase the look on the mother cats face, and the faces of her kittens as I left them there. Uncertain, afraid, unsure. It was the worst experience of my life. While I was there, a family came in to surrender a dog and 2 cats, and acted as casual about it as if they were dropping an old TV set off at the City Dump. It was horrible. This is why I have such a respect for people who are able to volunteer at shelters, humane societies, and make the decisions as to which ones live and which ones die. I couldn't do it. I wouldn't WANT to do it. I don't know what happened to my friends' ex's cats, but I sure know what I *hope* happened to the ex girlfriend who was able to leave them behind like yesterdays garbage, and leave everyone else to pick up the pieces.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Binkalette said:


> No not really, I'm just curious. Since I've started working at the humane society and seeing all these people bringing in dogs.. I don't know.. it's just got me wondering about the reasons behind it. Really no one elaborates when they bring them in. We ask if it was because of aggression issues with other dogs/people or a behavioral issue, but if it's not they don't have to tell us.
> 
> Oh, some of your stories just break my heart  I can't imagine if something happened and the girls started fighting or it was between feeding them and my kids.. what would I do? ..I feel like I'd just die.
> 
> That is really cool about your GSD becoming a seeing eye dog though! wow!


The place I had taken my friends ex GF's cats to (a low kill shelter) knows me pretty well (if I live trap a wild cat and bring them to the SN clinic as a fit in, they know me by name, lmao! ) I commented to one of the girls once about how they were able to do it, listen to the excuses and [email protected]%() that people fed them to justify their reasons for dumping their dogs and cats. She said once in awhile there were valid reasons, but for the most part it was stupid crap.
I used to work in a kennel that had a vets office in it. Some of the euthanasia reasons I heard really bothered me. "I'm moving" (I moved with a 16 year old, set-in-her-ways old battle-axe of a cat, and she adjusted better than *I* did). "I'm redecorating and don't want the dogs' feet on the furniture" (Then teach them to do what Tag does...lay on his BACK on the furniture. No muddy paws, you know..). 
I remember my first, in my eyes, pointless euthanasia like it was yesterday. A gorgeous black dog, probably border collie/husky/lab something or other. The owners dropped him off because the dog was bothering the neighbors rabbit hutch. Apparently they were too poor to afford a fence, or too stupid to keep doors and gates latched, so they decided the dog had to die. Worst part was, the vet was only there on certain days, so I had about 4-5 days to feed this dog, take care of this dog, and grow attached to him. He was the first dog I've ever held to be euthanized, I think I was 14 or so at the time. I cried like the little kid that I basically was. It pissed me off that this gorgeous, young dog, full of potential, was being killed because the people didn't care enough to do some easy management. About 2 weeks later the lights of the vets office were on late at night (about 10:30-11:00PM). I got curious, went out to see what the problem was, and there was a 3 month old black lab puppy on the table, bleeding out from his nose. It was the same owners as the beautiful black dog that had been euthanized a few weeks before. The puppy had gotten hit by the tractor, and died on the table in a desperate attempt to save him (his chest was crushed). This was my first experience with the true, ignorant people of the world. WHO lets a 3 month old puppy run around, off leash, around a moving tractor? That was the day I decided I could never, EVER be a vet..


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> While I was there, a family came in to surrender a dog and 2 cats, and acted as casual about it as if they were dropping an old TV set off at the City Dump.


This! This is what I have been seeing, or, feeling when these people come to drop off their animals.. 



LazyGRanch713 said:


> This is why I have such a respect for people who are able to volunteer at shelters, humane societies, and make the decisions as to which ones live and which ones die. I couldn't do it. I wouldn't WANT to do it.(


The only thing that makes it any easier for me, I think (at least easier then when I was just volunteering there) is that if there is an animal that I just really can't see put down, I always have the option to bring it home myself.. work with it, nurse it back to health. Whatever. Chipper is here because he was deemed aggressive (sick or aggressive animals usually get put down) because he would snarl and snap at us when we approached his kennel. He's been just a doll here though. He was just scared and trying to tell everyone to just back off, leave him alone. He's 10 years old and had lived with his family that whole time. His owner died and left him to her niece who didn't want him..

Really aggressive. 








Up for adoption now btw. *hint hint*-----^


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> The place I had taken my friends ex GF's cats to (a low kill shelter) knows me pretty well (if I live trap a wild cat and bring them to the SN clinic as a fit in, they know me by name, lmao! ) I commented to one of the girls once about how they were able to do it, listen to the excuses and [email protected]%() that people fed them to justify their reasons for dumping their dogs and cats. She said once in awhile there were valid reasons, but for the most part it was stupid crap.
> I used to work in a kennel that had a vets office in it. Some of the euthanasia reasons I heard really bothered me. "I'm moving" (I moved with a 16 year old, set-in-her-ways old battle-axe of a cat, and she adjusted better than *I* did). "I'm redecorating and don't want the dogs' feet on the furniture" (Then teach them to do what Tag does...lay on his BACK on the furniture. No muddy paws, you know..).
> I remember my first, in my eyes, pointless euthanasia like it was yesterday. A gorgeous black dog, probably border collie/husky/lab something or other. The owners dropped him off because the dog was bothering the neighbors rabbit hutch. Apparently they were too poor to afford a fence, or too stupid to keep doors and gates latched, so they decided the dog had to die. Worst part was, the vet was only there on certain days, so I had about 4-5 days to feed this dog, take care of this dog, and grow attached to him. He was the first dog I've ever held to be euthanized, I think I was 14 or so at the time. I cried like the little kid that I basically was. It pissed me off that this gorgeous, young dog, full of potential, was being killed because the people didn't care enough to do some easy management. About 2 weeks later the lights of the vets office were on late at night (about 10:30-11:00PM). I got curious, went out to see what the problem was, and there was a 3 month old black lab puppy on the table, bleeding out from his nose. It was the same owners as the beautiful black dog that had been euthanized a few weeks before. The puppy had gotten hit by the tractor, and died on the table in a desperate attempt to save him (his chest was crushed). This was my first experience with the true, ignorant people of the world. WHO lets a 3 month old puppy run around, off leash, around a moving tractor? That was the day I decided I could never, EVER be a vet..



Oh my god that is horrible!  I don't think I could ever be a vet either. I will also never be the person to put down the cats on Friday morning. I just can't. I know it has to be done, we don't have another choice, but I just can't be the one. I am thankful that our shelter only puts down dogs if they are sick or aggressive.. People always ask me "How much time does he/she have left?" and I just get to tell them that they have as long as it takes. If we happen to get full we have a lot of people who are willing to foster, and a few other shelters that we transfer dogs to from time to time. The cats are a little different.. we get a -lot- of cats. Only the friendliest make it up to the adoption room. Mean/sick/pregnant cats..... don't.  Once they are in the adoption room however, they have as long as it takes to get adopted as well.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I have taken stray kittens to the shelter. I kept them until they weighed 2 pounds so they wouldn't have to be fostered or killed. That was back when the shelter still spayed/neutered before adoption, which is why I did it; I want to be 100% positive they won't add to overpopulation. Now that the shelter doesn't alter before adoption I can't take any more unaltered kittens to them, my conscience won't allow it. And I would never be able to bring an older animal, one I knew wouldn't have much of a chance at adoption, to any shelter. If circumstances were such that there was NO other option, it would just kill me.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Binkalette said:


> No not really, I'm just curious. Since I've started working at the humane society and seeing all these people bringing in dogs.. I don't know.. it's just got me wondering about the reasons behind it. Really no one elaborates when they bring them in. We ask if it was because of aggression issues with other dogs/people or a behavioral issue, but if it's not they don't have to tell us.
> 
> Oh, some of your stories just break my heart  I can't imagine if something happened and the girls started fighting or it was between feeding them and my kids.. what would I do? ..I feel like I'd just die.
> 
> That is really cool about your GSD becoming a seeing eye dog though! wow!


I too worked at our local humane society and some people just suck. When I first got there, I couldn't understand people who would tie their dogs out or leave them in the enclosed kennels when we were closed, til I realized that is preferable to letting them loose to get HBC. We had some who came in with dogs on their way to moving. Literally, one guy drove in in a Uhaul. When we surrendered Sparky, we were completely honest. We gave all the pertinent info. He was surrendered out of love, we had no choice, it was feed the dog or the humans. I did what I had to at the time but as i said last night, times are different and I'd never do that again.
A for my girls fighting, again, something I had to do. Some people live in homes that work for rotate a dog but we did not. At that time, our kids were teenagers, I could not trust them to make sure Dog A was crated before Dog B came out. 
Seeing eye dog wasn't me!


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

In a sense, I guess I did.

When I met the woman who is now my wife, I had an older Irish setter that I'd found on the streets in Santa Barbara (actually, she found me.) I brought her with me when I moved back to Wisconsin.

After we were already in our "point-of-no-return" in our relationship (my wife, not my dog) I found our she was violently allergic to dogs - as in trip-to-the-ER allergic.

My dog went to live with my retired parents, who adored her. It took her about two weeks to discover what a sweet deal it really was for her.

I missed that dog, though I saw her often, but I never felt particularly bad for her. She had the best life a dog could have with frequent trips to the beach in the summer and cross-country skiing in the state forest in the winter.

Since then, my wife has gone through a long series of shots and is largely okay with the dogs we have around - though a new dog in the house takes some adjustment time.


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## tamarama (Sep 24, 2008)

It's a sad story, but basically it goes like this:

Super aggressive, unsocialized, unaltered mini schnauzer attacks three legged akita. Akita picks schnauzer up, throws him on pavement, schnauzer has hundreds of dollars worth of medical treatment (we paid for). Neighbor demands we "get rid of" three legged akita who is clearly "dangerous"...He's really, truly such a sweet baby.

So sad.  He's still in the shelter. Breaks my heart. I cried all over myself. 

After I move out of my parents, I hope to adopt a dog of my own. I truly, truly hope someone adopts Lucky soon. (He really needs a bath in his petfinder pictures)
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/15387723?recno=2


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## ShutterBug (Jan 21, 2010)

Twice, sort of. There was a little stray kitten that some neighbourhood kids found, their parents wouldn't let any of them keep it, so they started going door to door. By the time they got to my house, it was getting dark, the kids had to go home and the kitten was going to be left out. It was scrawny and starving and it was freezing cold out, so I took it in. I'm a sap like that. We hadn't decided whether to keep it yet, and after 3 days it got really sick... gunky eyes, green runny nose, wheezing, etc. We didn't have the $$ for a costly vet visit, and the local animal shelters were full up for cats, so we had to have animal control come pick him up. He was so sick, he probably got PTS  He also left us with an insane flea infestation *sigh*

We also had to rehome our last dog, a toy poodle. I've told that story before. The short version is that he was a puppy mill rescue, and ended up with major fear and aggression issues. We worked with our vet and a behaviourist trying to fix him, but after he bit our youngest, unprovoked, we just couldn't have him here anymore. It broke my heart to rehome him, but he went to a great home that had experience working with abused dogs. They send us updates from time to time, and he has a great life


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

no I have never given up any animal to a shelter. I did give some finches to a friend but thats a different story.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Binkalette said:


> This! This is what I have been seeing, or, feeling when these people come to drop off their animals..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Watch out, Chipper might just be waiting til you're not looking to leap up at your face, and steal a kiss  I'm very glad he's doing so well!!!
We've fostered and rehomed many, many kittens in my life time. I remember being a kid, getting a new "batch" of kittens, and being so excited and happy. Mom would warn me, we're not keeping them. I can remember thinking maybe she would get so used to them, she would "forget" about finding them new homes. We didn't do things like home checks, and references, but we DID ask people to bring the family along to pick out a kitten (and if the kids were rough and the parents paid no mind, they didn't get a kitten. If the kids were learning, and the parents were showing them HOW to handle a kitten, they DID get a kitten. Just waited til the kittens were a little older than 8-10 weeks). I hated adoption day, I can always remember that sense of impending dread when I knew a kitten was leaving in a few days. I was always torn between joining everyone and saying goodbye to a kitty, or just staying in the house to not have to "deal" with it. I still don't like doing that, but I'm much more pragmatic and much better about it than I was when I was 10  I remember fostering one kitten, a singleton (much, much harder to give up than if you foster a whole litter imo). We had her for weeks. When she was adopted out, there was a little girl about my age who was holding the kitten. Bawling my eyes out, I got about 4 feet from the girl, raised a camera, and snapped about 20 pictures, lolol  
I don't get into the whole knowing the adopters life story, where they were born, what their SS number is, what their shoe size it, etc, but some people had an enormous price tag put on the kittens. One lady wanted a cat to hang on her front porch, but she was worried her 2 saint bernards (chained in the front yard) would get it. Mom asked what the dogs would do, and she casually replied "oh, probably kill it". Idiot.


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## Ty_Tyler (Sep 17, 2009)

When I was in college I had a Keeshound. I had no business having a dog at that time in my life. The dog got a skin condition and lost most of its fur. I brought it to the shelter and could only imagine what they were thinking. I was selfish then and immature.


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## anthrogirl80 (Jan 14, 2010)

I've never rehomed a dog or cat. I did have to rehome my first four rats however.

I rent a house off my parents and had permission for the rats, but over time my father disliked them more and more. I was in love with my first male rat, he was beautiful and adorable and had the best temperament. He was super smart and I begged Dad to let me just keep him, and I would part with the rest, but he said no.

I sent my two girls to Sydney to a breeder down there. She entered one of the girls in a rat show and she won Grand Champion!!! I was so so so proud of her. They were well looked after and had everything a rat could want.

A breeder in Brisbane contacted me and said she could take my boys. I was thrilled because she was very active on forums and I was certain she was just an all-round decent person. A few years ago the owner of a rat rescue told me that this lady had a gas champer to euthanise rescue rats she took in so she wouldn't have to look after them. Driving home from the rat rescue I couldn't stop crying. It was easily 4-5 years after having to part with them, but I was beside myself with grief. I thought I'd done the right thing and she'd killed my precious boys.


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

I could never surrender a pet. My children are adopted and one in particular has a strong fear (for good reason) of being abandoned. She needs to see that once you are a member of our family you are here to stay no matter what. Surrendering a dog because it is inconvenient, misbehaving or expensive just isn't going to happen here. 

Even without the kids I couldn't do it.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

Binkalette said:


> Has anyone ever surrendered a dog to a shelter or rescue? If so what was the reason and how did you feel about it?


I have never surrendered a dog I owned. I have taken dogs I have found to shelters after trying to find the owner and/or someone that wanted it first. 

I re homed a dog I had once. It was really my stepsons dog. I got divorced from his mother and the the dog got left here. I liked her okay. But not my type of dog for several reasons. So she was just sort of here.... It took me a while but I found a home for her that was a really great fit. So I gave them to her, crate, leash collar, etc. Plus she was two months away from her annual shots so I had them send me the bill when they got them done and I wrote them a check. 

I also gave away the stepson's cockatiel. Which was also left here. Gave it to a guy I worked with, daughter. She loves that bird. Still has him last I heard. 


I have also sold and traded hunting dogs I owned. When you have a pack of hounds, sometimes you get one that does not hunt the way that you like, doesn't gel in your pack, etc. I liked Redbones and Blueticks. Originally bred to hunt raccoons. But I hunted deer and hogs with mine. So.... I would get some dogs from coonhunters that they could not get to shop running deer or hogs. And vise versa.


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## BrittanyG (May 27, 2009)

tamarama said:


> Neighbor demands we "get rid of" three legged akita who is clearly "dangerous"...He's really, truly such a sweet baby.


Oh HELL NO. I'd make people jump through hoops before I gave up my dog, because he defended himself. Why did you have to give him up?


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

I had to surrender my curly haired lab. I don't remember the proper name for the breed at the moment. I was going through a surprise separation with two children under 5 and the EX didn't want any responsibilities. 

During the same time, I rehomed an Austrialian Cattle dog a farmer was going to shoot. I wanted to keep him because he was so smart and trained to work cattle however, he wasn't happy in the city and I was able to give him to a couple who lived on a cattle ranch.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I've never surrendered a dog. I hope I never have to!


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

w8ing4rain said:


> I could never surrender a pet. My children are adopted and one in particular has a strong fear (for good reason) of being abandoned. She needs to see that once you are a member of our family you are here to stay no matter what. Surrendering a dog because it is inconvenient, misbehaving or expensive just isn't going to happen here.
> 
> Even without the kids I couldn't do it.


Never say never. When it's feed the dogs or the kids, the kids come first


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## elah42 (Feb 12, 2010)

I've re-homed a cat. We took in a stray cat when we graduated college. He's a big handsome cat, named, embarrassingly enough, Mr. Cat. We had him for four years. During that time he terrorized us. It wasn't that he was consistently vicious, it was that you never knew. You could be sitting there getting along as well as anything and then he'd snap. He could be in another room, get an idea in his head, walk over to you and jump up and attack. The worst was trying to go to bed - he'd hide under the bed and jump out and attack while you tried to get in. And you couldn't get him out from under the bed with trick, treat or threats. I still have scars. We tried all sorts of things - spraying with a water bottle, going "ouch" to try and teach bite inhibition, time-outs and medication.

But we didn't want to take him to the shelter because he was too vicious to be re-homed. I was pretty sure they'd have no option but to put him to sleep - with so many healthy cats with great personalities he didn't stand a chance.

Luckily for Mr. Cat, my FIL is the quintessential ornery and mean country recluse. He lives on a farm away from any neighbors and any traffic. So Mr. Cat went to go be a barn-kitty. He has a dog-house on the front porch, as many mice as he can eat and horses to hang out with. He's put on a few pounds of muscle and a few pounds of fur. He has been known to take on raccoons and possums.

A few months ago, one of FIL's friends was over and Mr. Cat attacked him. FIL thought it was the best thing he'd ever seen. FIL's had barn cats in the way farmers do - animals to control pests that come and go. This is the first time anyone can remember FIL getting attached to a cat.

So the lesson is that for every low-down, [email protected]*( cat there's a low-down, [email protected]*( owner. And sometimes a cat just has to kill to be happy.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

InkedMarie said:


> Never say never. When it's feed the dogs or the kids, the kids come first


Honestly, I really don't get that argument. I just can't imagine things being that tight simply because a dog is not that hard to feed. Dog food costs what $40-100 a month? And that really depends on the size of the dog. That's pennies compared to what people eat in a month. I just don't get that. You get paid, you pay your rent/mortgage, you buy groceries, you pay your utilities and then you have $0 left over and that's an every month thing? I just can't imagine things being that tight. No offense intended to anyone.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

hulkamaniac said:


> Honestly, I really don't get that argument. I just can't imagine things being that tight simply because a dog is not that hard to feed. Dog food costs what $40-100 a month? And that really depends on the size of the dog. That's pennies compared to what people eat in a month. I just don't get that. You get paid, you pay your rent/mortgage, you buy groceries, you pay your utilities and then you have $0 left over and that's an every month thing? I just can't imagine things being that tight. No offense intended to anyone.


I had a friend that her father worked only. He worked at a low paying job and supported his 2 kids and wife. They had 2 lab sized dogs. When he was laid off, he couldn't afford to pay his mortgage anymore and had to sell his house. If he didn't the family would be in so much debt they had no money to pay bills. He ended up moving to another city into an apartment for a new job and around here there's no places at all to rent with dogs. Not even tiny dogs are allowed in rented homes here. Both dogs were surrendered.

I know a couple situations like this and there's no way anyone can tell him to keep the dogs because even the kids had to sacrifice their social lives to move to a new place. I'm sure they would've taken the dogs if he could only find a place that allowed them. But 2 months of no luck, he just had to give them up.

I know


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

I guess I just can't relate to that at all. Zero's previous owners gave him up because they were moving and claimed they couldn't keep him. I just find it hard to believe that in any particular city there is not a single rental available that will let someone have dogs.


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

hulkamaniac said:


> Honestly, I really don't get that argument. I just can't imagine things being that tight simply because a dog is not that hard to feed. Dog food costs what $40-100 a month? And that really depends on the size of the dog. That's pennies compared to what people eat in a month. I just don't get that. You get paid, you pay your rent/mortgage, you buy groceries, you pay your utilities and then you have $0 left over and that's an every month thing? I just can't imagine things being that tight. No offense intended to anyone.


Unless you have children you most likely WOULDN'T get it. And yes, things CAN get that tight.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

hulkamaniac said:


> I guess I just can't relate to that at all. Zero's previous owners gave him up because they were moving and claimed they couldn't keep him. I just find it hard to believe that in any particular city there is not a single rental available that will let someone have dogs.


Look in Vancouver's apartments and houses. The only places I found were $4000/month mansions.


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

hulkmanic, I could see your point about being loyal to another living thing who has come to trust and love you. I got Ilya and Lola from a shelter who lived in the same house and was surrendered because of a divorce. I knew they were well loved and cared for because of the amount of manners and training both of them had.

I think when someone is going through something very difficult in life and they are not sure how they are going to manage day to day.... dog expense would seem frivolous when utilities comes first or trying to make a new job work when you have children to care for. There is also a greater chance a dog could be neglected because an owner thought about holding on until things turned around but could not find the time to groom, give attention to, or feed on a consistent basis. 

Surrendering a dog could mean a better quality of life for the dog and the owner.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

hulkamaniac said:


> Honestly, I really don't get that argument. I just can't imagine things being that tight simply because a dog is not that hard to feed. Dog food costs what $40-100 a month? And that really depends on the size of the dog. That's pennies compared to what people eat in a month. I just don't get that. You get paid, you pay your rent/mortgage, you buy groceries, you pay your utilities and then you have $0 left over and that's an every month thing? I just can't imagine things being that tight. No offense intended to anyone.


Be glad you can't imagine that. I coudn't either, til it happened to me. Facts are, I was a stay at home with two very young sons. Husband lost his job, went from making $14 an hour to $6.50 an hour. I could have tried to find a job but then I'd have had to pay for childcare and I wouldnt' have had money left. Bankruptcy, the whole thing. It sucked. The dog we had to take back was almost 100lbs. Above, you mention you get paid, you pay yadda yadda. Too bad for us, back then, there wasn't enough money to pay all that. Again, be glad you can't imagine it. Most can't, unless they're poor, til it happens to them. It did, to us and it happens to thousands of people today, with the current economy.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

JustTess said:


> hulkmanic, I could see your point about being loyal to another living thing who has come to trust and love you.
> 
> Surrendering a dog could mean a better quality of life for the dog and the owner.


BINGO! Give the girl a gold star


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## ShutterBug (Jan 21, 2010)

hulkamaniac said:


> Honestly, I really don't get that argument. I just can't imagine things being that tight simply because a dog is not that hard to feed. Dog food costs what $40-100 a month? And that really depends on the size of the dog. That's pennies compared to what people eat in a month. I just don't get that. You get paid, you pay your rent/mortgage, you buy groceries, you pay your utilities and then you have $0 left over and that's an every month thing? I just can't imagine things being that tight. No offense intended to anyone.


I've been there. We didn't have any pets at the time, but I can imagine that it would have been a real struggle to manage food & vet expenses for them if we had. We've had periods of time when it was all we could do to pay the rent to keep a roof over our heads, and put gas in the car so we could get to work. When utilities were being shut off because we didn't have the money to pay them, and we were eating store brand mac'n'cheese made with water instead of milk and ramen noodles every day. 

Be very thankful that you can't imagine what it's like for things to be that tight.


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## mightymal (Sep 23, 2009)

I have never surrendered an animal before. I have worked in rescues and open door animal shelters; I have heard the most obscene, ridiculous reasons as to why someone is dumping their dog or cat on us. I have euthanized thousands of animals, many of which were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was heartbreaking. 

However, re: the current economic climate and our animals, my feeling is this: But for the grace of God go I. I was unemployed for about 11 mos last year and it was tough. I kept everyone and we made ends meet, but I am so blessed to have a good job now that pays the bills, health insurance, and no kids to worry about putting food on the table for. The reality is that no one is immune to losing a job, house, etc. right now and I hope that we are all aware that even the most responsible pet owner can find themselves running out of options.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

I once scraped by on $10-15 a week for food and I had a dog at the same time. The dog probably ate better than I did.


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

If it was only about money and food, I would keep the dog and share part of mine.

When you are talking about love, attention, care, because you are worried about food and shelter for an extensive amount of time....it's almost selfish to keep a dog


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

Sonya610 said:


> That excuse is supposedly causing more people to dump their dogs during the current economic crisis. I believe 98% of the time they just don't want to bother trying.
> 
> You can go to a food bank and get food for your kids if you have to (or apply for food stamps). Most of the people that "can't afford" to feed their dogs still can afford some things like beer, cell phones, cable, internet access, soda, and of course plenty of high calorie food for their own fat behinds.
> 
> ...


Do you have children? From the sounds of it, you don't. You cannot expect someone to make their children eat crap because they just have to keep the dog. If I couldn't afford to feed my dogs the way that they should be while at the same time taking the BEST care of my children I would find them better homes. 

We aren't talking about the people that are using stupid illegitimate excuses to just dump their dogs when they are sick of them. We are talking about people that have no alternative. The people that sit up at night crying over the decision, and wishing that things would change so that they didn't have to rehome their pet. 

I can't tell you enough how I hate when people get on their high horses and assume that someone didn't do everything that they could. It's complete bullcrap and akin to kicking someone when they are down.


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

hulkamaniac said:


> I once scraped by on $10-15 a week for food and I had a dog at the same time. The dog probably ate better than I did.


AND you don't have children.


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## HyperFerret (Feb 7, 2009)

Sonya610 said:


> That excuse is supposedly causing more people to dump their dogs during the current economic crisis. I believe 98% of the time they just don't want to bother trying.
> 
> You can go to a food bank and get food for your kids if you have to (or apply for food stamps). Most of the people that "can't afford" to feed their dogs still can afford some things like beer, cell phones, cable, internet access, soda, and of course plenty of high calorie food for their own fat behinds.
> 
> ...


Bold: Am I the only one who doesn't think this is a healthy way of thinking/living? I know other people who have/are doing the same thing and I just don't get it. IMO, *I* need to be foremost important. I need to make sure I'm healthy enough myself before I attempt to care for another living being. If I get to sick and/or weak, how am I supposed to keep up with a dog. I totally understand that my animals are my babies and are my responsibility but c'mon, there _is a fine line_ there. I haven't, so far, been so tight in funds to where I thought I had to re-home/surrender a dog (thank God) but I have been pretty tight. I just didn't include any luxury things: going out to eat, going to a movie theater, buying sweets and yummy's, fixing lower cost meals instead of fancier dinners (I like to cook) and so on. But you better bet, I most certainly didn't run to the pet store to buy the best premium dog food either. For the longest time I only bought "Pedigree" from Walmart and my dogs were/are just fine. I still feed Pedigree time to time. Dutchess ate boocoos of Pedigree and she lived healthy, happy, and hyper till she was 14 years old. My vets often made comments on how amazingly well she was doing at her age.

**And the first part that's just underlined made my jaw drop.

Kinda going off topic:

Now on the flip side with the food stamps you brought up, _"Most of the people that "can't afford" to feed their dogs still can afford some things like beer, cell phones, cable, internet access, soda, and of course plenty of high calorie food for their own fat behinds."_ I don't fully understand that either. I never put an animal in the picture but I run a register and I see what people buy while on food stamps and it confuses me. If you're on food stamps, wouldn't you be worried about getting the necessities? I understand there are people who truly need the aid and there are people with disabilities ... but it just seems like too many people take advantage of/abuse food stamps.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

BooLette said:


> If I couldn't afford to *feed my dogs the way that they should be* while at the same time taking the BEST care of my children I would find them better homes.


I go back to my first point that it's really not that expensive to keep a dog. Now, some dogs have health issues that require constant care and you can spend $100-200 a month or more easily caring for such dogs and that's just in vet care. That's not what I'm talking about. If you turned one of those dogs over to the local shelter, the dog would likely be PTS anyway. 

In any case, dogs are not that expensive to keep. Most dogs require a vet visit once a year. That costs what? $100? $200 at most? You can't stash away $10 a month to pay for that? That's less than the cost of a pizza. Dog food is not that expensive.  Would I prefer to feed my dog a high quality, premium food? Yes. But if I have a choice between giving my dog up or feeding him Ol' Roy for 6 mos to a year, then I'll feed him Ol' Roy and he'll deal with it. Honestly, is the health of a dog going to be severely impacted by that? No. I'll feed my dog a cheap, off brand food if I have to rather than give him up. It's not that difficult of a decision for me. 

Now if it comes down to you only have $20 and you can buy the off brand dog food and starve your kids or you can feed your kids and starve the dog, then obviously you pick the kids. I just can't imagine things getting that tight. I can work two part time jobs and bring in $2k a month. I can pay the mortgage, eat, pay utilities and afford a $20 bag of dog food on that.


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

Hulk, you don't have kids. You might be able to pay everything on 2K a month but imagine adding a partner and 2 kids. It is not as easy as you like to think it is.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Sonya610 said:


> That excuse is supposedly causing more people to dump their dogs during the current economic crisis. I believe 98% of the time they just don't want to bother trying.
> 
> You can go to a food bank and get food for your kids if you have to (or apply for food stamps). Most of the people that "can't afford" to feed their dogs still can afford some things like beer, cell phones, cable, internet access, soda, and of course plenty of high calorie food for their own fat behinds.
> 
> ...


Too bad you don't have a heart. I'm sorry, but not everyone is like the people you talk about above. We went from being able to pay our bills, on time even, to not being able to. I can't remember if we had cable but there was no internet. No beer, no wine, no nothing. My husband refused to do food stamps or anything else but we did turn to WIC (Women, Infant & Children) to help with some stuff. 
Too bad you can't be sympathetic to someone who had no choice but to rehome a pet.


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## ShutterBug (Jan 21, 2010)

ioreks_mom said:


> Hulk, you don't have kids. You might be able to pay everything on 2K a month but imagine adding a partner and 2 kids. It is not as easy as you like to think it is.


Amen to that. It might be true that a dog doesn't cost that much, but the same is not true for children. They outgrow their clothes, shoes, coats, etc. at an insane rate. Did you know that a _cheap_ kid's snowsuit will run you about $70? School supplies, field trip money, glasses, dental visits for cavities, diapers, prescriptions for ear infections, etc etc.

While I might get by eating cheap processed low-nutritional junk for an extended period of time, my kids deserve and need better. They need fresh fruit and veggies in order to fuel their growing minds and bodies. Our food bank gives out 98% cheap, processed low-nutritional value non-perishables. Never mind that if you send your kids to school with Ramen noodles in their lunch everyday, someone will notice. My kids are still little. I don't look forward to the day when I have 3 teenage boys in the house. Teenage boys eat a LOT


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## ShutterBug (Jan 21, 2010)

Sonya610 said:


> You just don’t get it? Let me explain it to you; I went without for a while and did what I had to do. Now things are better. My dogs are still alive and with me and I can buy whatever type of food I like. Was the sacrifice worth it? YES. Did it hurt at the time? Yeah but that wasn't their fault. I never would have even thought of giving them up. We sink or swim together. Yeah if things got worse they might have been eating “Ole Roy” or more likely we all would have been eating rice/lentils for a while but would I abandon them because I wasn’t willing to share? Heck no.
> 
> It just makes me sick when people say “Well you just don’t understand, I won’t exactly explain the sacrifices I made to keep my dog because I didn’t actually make any sacrifices, but I will get on my soapbox and say ‘my kids are more important’, my dog may have been killed but that doesn’t matter because I am saying ‘my kids are more important’ so let’s not quibble about food or soda or why someone abandons a dog".
> 
> I would also question the situation of the dog that was surrendered. Was it a placeable dog that could probably get a home or was it a dog that was likely to be killed by strangers because the “loving and oh so sad bereaved owner” didn’t want to deal with killing the dog themselves?


I think what people are trying to say, is that there's a big difference between just "not wanting to share" or make any sacrifices in order to keep their dogs, and being in a place of real financial desperation. No one's disputing the fact that there are people who give up their dogs at the first sign of the going getting rough, that don't want to sacrifice or put in the effort to make it work. 

Our point is, there are people on the other end of the spectrum, who do everything they can to make it work, but find themselves in an impossible situation. It's not fair to paint everyone with the same brush, or assume that they didn't try hard enough, to your standards. 

I would eat crappy food. I would subsist on beans and ramen noodles and tomato soup if I had to. I would feed my pets the cheapest crap food available. I would give up my internet, cable and a million other things in order to keep my pets. I would not, under any circumstances, make my children suffer in order to keep my pets. As much as I love my pets, my children are my_ life_. If I was bad enough off that I had to take the $20/month I was spending on pet food and use it to make sure my kids had milk and fruit and veggies, I would.

You may have had to go without for a while, and it's great that you were able to make it work. Be thankful that you didn't have to go without to the level some people end up facing, especially in this economy.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

You're completely missing my point. Dogs are cheap. You can get 40-50 lbs of low quality dog food for around $20-25. It does not cost much at all to feed to dog.


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## elah42 (Feb 12, 2010)

hulkamaniac said:


> You're completely missing my point. Dogs are cheap. You can get 40-50 lbs of low quality dog food for around $20-25. It does not cost much at all to feed to dog.


But what if you don't have $20 or $25?

I dont' have kids, but if I were desperate and faced with a hungry child or a hungry dog, I'd feed the child. Would I take the dog to the shelter? Probably not - I'd try to rehome and thankfully I have family that would take in a pet if I were in hard times. 

There's a big difference between hard-time as a single adult, or even a couple of adults, and a family with kids.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

elah42 said:


> But what if you don't have $20 or $25?
> 
> I dont' have kids, but if I were desperate and faced with a hungry child or a hungry dog, I'd feed the child. Would I take the dog to the shelter? Probably not - I'd try to rehome and thankfully I have family that would take in a pet if I were in hard times.
> 
> There's a big difference between hard-time as a single adult, or even a couple of adults, and a family with kids.


That's my whole point. $20-25 is nothing. I'm single and it costs me $100 a month for groceries. Let's say I have a family of four so it's $400 a month for groceries. Is it really going to be so difficult to come up with $20 on top of that? You can make that by mowing someone's lawn on the weekend or shoveling a driveway or two in the winter. If I had a choice between mowing someone's lawn, shoveling a driveway or doing some odd job one weekend a month or give up my dog, I'm going to grab my snow shovel.


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

Sonya610 said:


> Yes I know people are suffering and under extreme duress. Since I went without my "foods of choice" and went somewhat hungry for a while I seem to splurge on food. I remember very well what it felt like to buy cr*p food and be hungry and envy the shoppers that could buy steak and salmon.
> 
> I also know if I had to make a true life or death decision and if I abandoned a dog to strangers that may/will kill it because I had absolutely no way of feeding that dog I wouldn't be on a bulletin board bragging that "my kids are more important!". I would keep my comments to myself because such a horrid incident would not be fodder for internet discussion.
> 
> There is a whole lot of defensiveness in some posts and I suspect the people that are defensive have a reason to be. Some folks are die hard dog lovers (literally) and don't buy into convenient excuses.


Your posts are coming off as more defensive than anyones. From the things that you have said I am assuming that you don't have children, therefore have no idea what it feels like to be scrounging around to make ends meet for them. Throw a dog on top of that. It makes things extremely difficult. A lot of the things that you are saying are down right selfish. How on earth could you justify making a dog practically starve eating "rice and lentils" just so that you could say that you kept it. 

I understand that you don't believe that there are a whole lot of good reasons to give up a pet, but you obviously haven't been in one of the 'acceptable' scenarios now have you? 

And because this thread is getting off track and I haven't answered the OP's question I will now.

The only dog that I technically "re-homed" was Lupin. He went to stay with my father for a while and then my parents begged me to let them keep him. I agreed.

I have never surrendered a dog to the spca. The only animal that I ever surrendered to the shelter was a ferret that we found in our tool shed after the dogs cornered it.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

How long can you feed a kid on $20-25 anyway?


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

hulkamaniac said:


> How long can you feed a kid on $20-25 anyway?


It depends on the age of the child. An infant could use a can of formula for about $25 for a week.

A toddler could go through $25 in about two days.


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

Sonya610 said:


> *You are right, I do not have kids (don't even like kids much actually).
> *
> I do realize having offspring fires off many hard core hormones and makes them the ultimate priority in every situation in the western world (survival of the species and all that). I also realize that makes for a very tidy explanation whenever things become inconvenient (i.e. well my children are more important! my children could starve to death if I didn't get rid of that dog!) Uh huh. Sure. Yeah. The food that dog takes is the breaking point between your childs life or death.
> 
> Yeah, talk to me when you and your kids don't have a roof over their heads and are living under a bridge and I will have sympathy. Before that point it is about priorities and we all know where dogs fall when it comes to "priorities". The few bucks a month it takes to feed a dog is NEVER the breaking point.


That makes sense, and btw your callous replies are getting you no where. I would love to see what your thoughts would be like if you were said child that had to go hungry for selfish parents that decided the dog just had to stay.


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

I have never had to get rid of any of my pets and I pray that I never have to. I did rescue a parrot once and intended to find him a home but he didn't like people other then me so I was stuck with him for almost 16 years. Next Parrot I see in need of rescue is not going to get rescued by me. I will make some calls but it is NOT coming home with me. I can't even successfully foster animals because none of them ever move out.


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

Lol about the parrot Inga - sounds like me!

I've never surrendered a dog to a shelter, but I did have to re-home a wonderful dobe mix I had & loved for 4 years. Me & my 3 kids had to move in with my parents temporarily after hubby passed away. My mom was frightened of Cash & being the cold hearted ummmm ... person she is, she made me get rid of him because, of course, it was her home.
Butt hey, she was willing to help us out, but as is always the case with her, pay back's a real kicker.

that was probably 20 yrs ago & it never ever ceases to piss me off, or make me cry when I think of it. And I'll never forgive mommy dearest.


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

Sonya610 said:


> You are a good person. I saw your post on "the perfect dog". It brought tears to my eyes.


Mine too Sonya, she really was the perfect dog. All these years later I still run into people around town or at dog shows that remember her and always have wonderful things to say about her. I still cry all the time over her. She was truly one in a million. I think she changed the reputation of Rottweiler's for thousands of people. 

DJ, I am sorry about your Dobe mix. I can't even imagine. I really pray that I am never in that situation, I can't even stand the thought of it.


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## ShutterBug (Jan 21, 2010)

hulkamaniac said:


> You're completely missing my point. Dogs are cheap. You can get 40-50 lbs of low quality dog food for around $20-25. It does not cost much at all to feed to dog.





Sonya610 said:


> You are right, I do not have kids (don't even like kids much actually).
> 
> I do realize having offspring fires off many hard core hormones and makes them the ultimate priority in every situation in the western world (survival of the species and all that). I also realize that makes for a very tidy explanation whenever things become inconvenient (i.e. well my children are more important! my children could starve to death if I didn't get rid of that dog!) Uh huh. Sure. Yeah. The food that dog takes is the breaking point between your childs life or death.
> 
> Yeah, talk to me when you and your kids don't have a roof over their heads and are living under a bridge and I will have sympathy. Before that point it is about priorities and we all know where dogs fall when it comes to "priorities". The few bucks a month it takes to feed a dog is NEVER the breaking point.


Obviously, neither of you have ever been to the point where you were living each month in the negative balance. Where utilities were being shut off due to not being able to pay the bills, because the utility money was used to buy enough food for your family to survive until the next paycheque and your credit card is maxed out in order to pay the rent.

And say you are managing to scrounge up the $25/month for pet food. What happens when the dog gets sick, or breaks a leg or otherwise requires immediate medical care? Is it then ok to take your sick/hurt dog to a shelter? Would they even take it?



Sonya610 said:


> Yes and I would love to see what your thoughts would be if you were the 8 year old dog that was being sent to the shelter/needle because your people decided they couldn't afford to feed you AND pay the internet/cable bill or maybe because they were just too stressed by their economic hardship!


No one is defending people who would rather give up their dog than give up their internet  We're talking about people who are living with _serious_ financial hardship, which you talk about like it doesn't really exist. There are a huge number of people losing their jobs, unable to find even crap minimum wage work, living on the edge of being homeless. 



Sonya610 said:


> Do not lecture me, a U.S. citizen, on "poor starved children vs. dogs". I live in America where millions of dogs are killed each year and the few kids that die of starvation trigger capital murder trials.


Well, as much as I believe that animals need to be treated humanely, I don't believe they are equal to humans, in general. While killing an animal maliciously should be punishable by law, I don't believe the punishment should equal that of someone who murders another human. Maybe on a forum full of animal lovers, that will be an unpopular opinion, but it's how I feel. Your disdain of anyone who feels that their children are more important than their dogs reminds me of a debate I read on another site where several people said if they could only rescue one out of a burning building, they would choose their own dog over a stranger's child. (No, I'm not saying that you specifically would or wouldn't). I just can't fathom that mindset. Again, that's just me. 

With that, I apologize for my part in derailing the OP. I don't have a lot of hot-button issues, but apparantly this is one of them  I'll bow out of the conversation now.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

From an older thread:



hulkamaniac said:


> If your pet needs emergency care and you can't afford to pay cash for it, you can't afford the pet. It's that simple. You don't have the money therefore you can't afford it.


And yet now you're saying that someone who can barely scrape the money together for the bare necessities (remember, we're talking people who are bankrupt or on the verge of it here, _not_ just people who can barely afford Internet and cable or other luxuries) should keep their dog anyway? What if there's an emergency? Wouldn't the dog be better off in a home with people who could afford it?

I'm happy to know that if I ever end up in a situation this dire, my breeders will take back my dogs, no matter how old they are. I can't imagine being in that situation, as I would rather starve myself than give up my pets, but I don't have (and don't intend to have) children. I'm sure it's different when you TRULY cannot afford to feed and house children and pets.

(As others have stated, I have no sympathy for anyone who drops a pet at the shelter when money gets a bit tight and they can't afford their cigarettes and cable TV. I sympathize with the people who _truly_ have absolutely no money for luxuries. They might not be as common, but I'm not going to pretend they don't exist.)


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

ShutterBug said:


> Obviously, neither of you have ever been to the point where you were living each month in the negative balance. Where utilities were being shut off due to not being able to pay the bills, because the utility money was used to buy enough food for your family to survive until the next paycheque and your credit card is maxed out in order to pay the rent.


Um, you're talking to the guy who nearly committed suicide once because of financial problems.

Besides, do you really mean to tell me that everyone (or the vast majority even) of people who turn their dogs over to shelters really are in the tight financial situation you describe?



Crantastic said:


> From an older thread:
> 
> And yet now you're saying that someone who can barely scrape the money together for the bare necessities (remember, we're talking people who are bankrupt or on the verge of it here, _not_ just people who can barely afford Internet and cable or other luxuries) should keep their dog anyway? What if there's an emergency? Wouldn't the dog be better off in a home with people who could afford it?


You're taking what I said out of context. In the post you linked, the OP said she didn't have $50 for an adoption fee yet still wanted the dog. There's a big difference between adopting a dog you can't afford and being able to afford your dog, then going through a 6-12 month period when things get tight and for that 6-12 month period you can't afford emergency care.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

Sonya610 said:


> I would have NO sympathy for people that gave up their dogs because they "couldn't afford to feed them" unless they really made every possible effort and changed their own diets in an attempt to share what little they had.


 That is said, and just plain rude at the same time. as people on this forum are much differnt then people at the shelter just dumping thd dogs out of convience.



hulkamaniac said:


> That's my whole point. $20-25 is nothing. I'm single and it costs me $100 a month for groceries. Let's say I have a family of four so it's $400 a month for groceries. Is it really going to be so difficult to come up with $20 on top of that? You can make that by mowing someone's lawn on the weekend or shoveling a driveway or two in the winter. If I had a choice between mowing someone's lawn, shoveling a driveway or doing some odd job one weekend a month or give up my dog, I'm going to grab my snow shovel.


And you have a wife, and a 6 month old baby, a 1.5 year old and a 3 year old. you need diapers, wipes, do tons and tons of laundry, 1.5 year old through's majority of food on the floor, 3 year old is so picky you need to buy numerous food of different kinds to feed said child.
your extra 300 a bucks you think of, is probably more closer to 1000 bucks needed. you have food, toys, laundry, gas to take 3 sick kids to doctors, but offcourse they are sick at differnt times, so differnt trips, pay doctors, more electricity being used ect.

EVERYTHING doubles or triples when you add in more people. 

Heck I dont have kids, and I can see how expensive it can be. 


Sonya610 said:


> Yes and I would love to see what your thoughts would be if you were the 8 year old dog that was being sent to the shelter/needle because your people decided they couldn't afford to feed you AND pay the internet/cable bill or maybe because they were just too stressed by their economic hardship!
> 
> .


Im sorry but dogs are DOGS, NOT humans. and should be lower ont he chain. period. if its family or the dog, then family comes first. period. 

Growing up I dont even know why we had the 3 dogs we had. we were POOR, POOR, POOR. dogs ate ol roy, never seen vets, never looked after. lucky they lived int he house. 2 were poodles. who had to be professionaly groomed, we might have got it done once every 4-6 months, they were never brushed. so matted right up and lived un comfortable. our other was a collie. she was never brushed, and since she was a collie, never went to a groomers. so she was matted and just chunks of hair falling out, as I got older I would brush her. But by then it was to late, she already lived the life of misery.

So yes it was so much better for us to keep those 3 dogs. they were fed. and if very sick seen by a vet. otherwise, that was their life. Im pretty sure if they were given up they would have had a much better life, with a family would could affored them. it was SELFISH of us to have one let alone 3.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

Tankstar said:


> EVERYTHING doubles or triples when you add in more people.


That's just not true at all. Not even close. Look at it this way. I'm single. I live alone. Therefore I have to pay rent/mortgage, utilities and food for one person. Now, let's say I get married. Obviously, the food costs of our household will double (although there is the possibility that they will only increase slightly and there will simply be less leftovers being eaten). The rent/mortgage stays exactly the same. The utilities stay exactly the same or possibly increase slightly due to more water usage and more electricity usage. However, this is more than offset by the second person bringing in an income. Any sort of income more than defrays the additional cost. I could obviously afford the rent/mortgage, utilities and groceries for me on my own. My spouse simply needs to bring in enough to cover his/her food and the slight increase in the utility bills. Anything else is basically gravy.


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

I wish more communities had pet food banks. We have one here. If you reach the point where you have to rehome your dog so it can be fed. You can go there for dog food. It was started when the economy got bad to keep dogs from being surrendered. There were just too many dogs ending up at the shelter. They also have other stuff like dog shampoo, collars etc.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

hulkamaniac said:


> That's just not true at all. Not even close. Look at it this way. I'm single. I live alone. Therefore I have to pay rent/mortgage, utilities and food for one person. Now, let's say I get married. Obviously, the food costs of our household will double (although there is the possibility that they will only increase slightly and there will simply be less leftovers being eaten). The rent/mortgage stays exactly the same. The utilities stay exactly the same or possibly increase slightly due to more water usage and more electricity usage. However, this is more than offset by the second person bringing in an income. Any sort of income more than defrays the additional cost. I could obviously afford the rent/mortgage, utilities and groceries for me on my own. My spouse simply needs to bring in enough to cover his/her food and the slight increase in the utility bills. Anything else is basically gravy.


And what if you now need a larger place to live. 2 people can do fine living in a one bedroom apartment. add children in tot he mix, and there you go. everything goes up. 
What if you only have 1 vehcile. they do not have one, extra cost. there is so many hidden costs
And this is exactly what people are saying. its either their HUMAN CHILDREN or COMPANION pets. 

If it was let your mom/dad/grandma ect live with out to save them, or your pets, who would it be? I think any one who would chose their pets over human family is crazy.

its one thing maybe if you hate your family and do not get along with them, I could see chooisng pets, any other way, now way.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

hulkamaniac said:


> You're taking what I said out of context. In the post you linked, the OP said she didn't have $50 for an adoption fee yet still wanted the dog. There's a big difference between adopting a dog you can't afford and being able to afford your dog, then going through a 6-12 month period when things get tight and for that 6-12 month period you can't afford emergency care.


The OP didn't have the $50 that month (actually, just that week) because of some unforseen difficulties, but normally did _not_ live paycheck-to-paycheck. She also had pet insurance. You said that nobody should have a dog unless they can pay for an emergency -- even one costing over a thousand dollars -- with cash. Yeah, that thread was about a different issue than this one, but the basic fact is the same: You don't think someone should have a dog if they can't pay for any emergency care _with cash_. Do you really think that people who are going through a "6-12 month period where things are tight" are going to magically have those thousands in spare cash at any point, let alone after one year? How do you know things are only going to be bad for 6-12 months, anyway? I'd think you would rather see their dogs in a new home.

Again, nobody on this thread is defending people who dump their dogs because they're an inconvenience or because if they have to buy dog food, they can't afford their precious beer and Internet. I would imagine that many people who cite financial difficulties while giving up a dog are like this, and that's truly sad and irritating. But some people honestly have no other choice, and in re-homing a dog, are doing what's best for it and them. Maybe they are a minority, but they do exist, and to claim that anyone who re-homes a dog because they can't afford it is a selfish liar is just shortsighted and naive.


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## Ty_Tyler (Sep 17, 2009)

JustTess said:


> Surrendering a dog could mean a better quality of life for the dog and the owner.


Earlier I posted about surrendering a dog in college. The above quote made me think about viewing this topic form the other end of the spectrum. Having Ty, my rescue, has been so wonderful. The family that couldn't "handle her" and gave her up ended up being a blessing in my life and hers. So JustTess what your wrote above made me think of that. Thank you.


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## FaithFurMom09 (Oct 24, 2009)

we took in a kitten we got. we felt REALLY BAD!

We had Jay (cat) and Faith. Well we thought it would be a good idea to get a 2nd cat, but a kitten. This kitten was so young we had to hand feed it. Everything was ok at first, but then the kitten refused to use the litter box because Jay refused to let him- thus hes pooping behind the furniture. Then Jay became mean- at first to the kitten, then to faith, then to us. As much as we loved "Sunny" the orange kitty, we just couldnt do it. Jay was NOT meant to have another feline around. So we sadly took Sunny to the SPCA. We *HOPE* he found a home. 

**Jay turned back to normal very shortly after and then we got Hope


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

BooLette said:


> It depends on the age of the child. An infant could use a can of formula for about $25 for a week.
> 
> A toddler could go through $25 in about two days.


And a teenage boy could go through $25 in about 15 minutes


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Inga said:


> Mine too Sonya, she really was the perfect dog. All these years later I still run into people around town or at dog shows that remember her and always have wonderful things to say about her. I still cry all the time over her. She was truly one in a million. I think she changed the reputation of Rottweiler's for thousands of people.
> 
> DJ, I am sorry about your Dobe mix. I can't even imagine. I really pray that I am never in that situation, I can't even stand the thought of it.


I will admit, I was rottie-shy until I opened this place up. A customer/friend of mine has a rott that is, hands down, one of the most sweet natured/stable tempered dogs I have ever met in my life. I can't remember exactly what problem this dog has (maybe DM?) that is making his hind legs deteriorate at a premature age. I referred her to my holistic vet, I see her in there with this big love of a dog every now and again...
You were very blessed to have that perfect dog in your life; and able to make people who were afraid of the breed realize what sweet dogs they really can be


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Sonya610 said:


> That excuse is supposedly causing more people to dump their dogs during the current economic crisis. I believe 98% of the time they just don't want to bother trying.
> 
> You can go to a food bank and get food for your kids if you have to (or apply for food stamps). Most of the people that "can't afford" to feed their dogs still can afford some things like beer, cell phones, cable, internet access, soda, and of course plenty of high calorie food for their own fat behinds.
> 
> ...


I think the economy _is_ sometimes used as an excuse for people to surrender animals they are tiring of. It sucks. But what sucks worse IMO is the excuses made by these lazy and uncaring people paint a bad light on the people who actually DO or DID have financial troubles and weren't able to properly care for their dogs. Painting a broad brush over different people with different scenarios, different motives, and different circumstances has bitten me square in the butt before; so saying I would never EVER rehome my animals isn't something I'd like to say. Sure as sh**, something will happen and I will find myself really scraping the bottom of the barrel. I'm paranoid that way 
I always said I wouldn't put much more than $400-$500 into trying to save a sick cat. I probably had a good $1500 or more in the cat I lost this past winter, and we still couldn't save him (and I was ready to try, credit card in hand). I also said that I wouldn't put much more than the same $400-$500 into trying to help my sick, ancient horse back in 2005. I don't know how much we spent on vet bills and buying every kind of grain/hay cubes/corn/oats we could find to get him to eat, but it was much more than we had anticipated, and the horse still died. Never say never...
I've talked to a lot of rescue organizations in the past few years; 99% of them are jam-packed full to the maximum occupancy and desperately need foster homes. It's usually not easy to find a dog a "good home", and it's just as hard for kittens (believe me, I know..), and almost impossible for adult cats. Shelters are even worse, and most decent shelters do the best they can with the resources they have. If they're over-packed, they have to pick and choose the ones who have to die. What are the other options, besides euthanasia? 
We took on some foster kittens last August. The kittens are about 8 months old, and we haven't had ONE taker. Not one. They are still here. 
And lastly, it's been an observation that the way people look at pets has changed drastically in the past 10-20 years. They're considered family more now than ever, and the majority of people who hang out on forums like this probably consider their dogs as more than "just a dog". The food choices, health care, the grooming/boarding choices have changed dramatically. I don't think many people would have even considered things like facial scrubs, doggie daycares, and puppy kindergarden classes back in the 70's or 80's, but look where we're at now


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## Wynpyp (Sep 19, 2008)

hulkamaniac said:


> That's my whole point. $20-25 is nothing. I'm single and it costs me $100 a month for groceries. *Let's say I have a family of four so it's $400 a month for groceries.* Is it really going to be so difficult to come up with $20 on top of that? You can make that by mowing someone's lawn on the weekend or shoveling a driveway or two in the winter. If I had a choice between mowing someone's lawn, shoveling a driveway or doing some odd job one weekend a month or give up my dog, I'm going to grab my snow shovel.


I am sorry but no. If I REALLY cut back on everything, I'm lucky to be around $600 for a month. That means nothing special like steak or fish at all... also no juice unless it comes in powder form.


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## AmyBeth (Jun 26, 2009)

Lets see, I rehomed one dog, and my mom rehomed 3 while I was growing up.
Here are the stories, starting with the very first one.

Sampson (malamute mix)- My dad adopted Sampson from some co-workers because he kept killing their cats. After my dad left us, my mom couldn't control him, and he killed several small pets and had bitten my brother and I several times(we were 6 and 8 at the time). So she took him to the animal shelter.

Buddy (german shepard/chow mix)- My brother found Buddy as a small puppy and brought him home. As he got older he became very aggressive towards people he didn't know, and people who came on to our property with out us, even if he knew them. So while we were gone one summer she took him to the shelter.

Lil Stinker (corgi mix)-My grandparents adopter her for my brother a year after Buddy was gone. She spent the first year of her life tied to a tree with very little human interaction, because the people's 3 yr old was terrified of Stinker. When we got her she had no idea how to interact with other dogs or humans, nor the rules of being inside. We had her about 4 yrs in which time she became a wonderful dog, well behaved, calm, didn't even leave the backyard when the gate was wide open. But she would get into horrible fights over dominence with our 8 yr old bc/springer spaniel mix. After their last fight Charlie had to go the vet and get his eye lid stitched back together and Stinker pulled out one of her teeth root and all. My mom couldn't take it anymore, and Charlie was getting too old to hold his own with a 4 yr old dog. So she took Stinker to the animal shelter, I'm not sure what happened to her. I kind of want to know but at the same time don't.

Little One (chi/min pin mix)-Someone dumped Little One in our neighborhood my Jr year of high school. It took me 3 hrs to catch her, she was very skiddish. Once I had her she instantly fell in love with me, but remained fearful of most other people ecspecialy men. I was going to find her a new home, because our personalities clashed, but she was so attached to me that I didn't have the heart so I kept her. Then I moved in with my grandparents inorder to go to college and my grandmother said she would like Little One. She had wanted a small lap dog for a while and they had two large dogs and a Jack Russell terrier. Then one day my g-mom took Little One with her to pick up her poodle from the groomer (close family friend) and Little One instantly bonded with the assistant who rescues Chihuahuas. The assistant still has her and believes that Little One is the best dog she has ever had!


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

Wynpyp said:


> I am sorry but no. If I REALLY cut back on everything, I'm lucky to be around $600 for a month. That means nothing special like steak or fish at all... also no juice unless it comes in powder form.


I don't see where that comes from. I can feed myself on $100 a month easily. If I cut back and do the rice and beans/make a casserole and eat leftovers all week thing, then I can feed myself on half of that. You're telling me that while it costs $100 a month to feed one person it costs $600 to feed 4 people? Why?


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Everyone's financial situation is different. Location, physical abilities/health, children, family responsibilities etc all can force even the best financial managers and the hardest workers into tough decisions.

Some people mention things like mowing lawns or shoveling snow for extra money-- in some areas so many people are out of work or on part-time work that they are doing that work themselves. And the few still able to pay for it have a dozen people offering.

Food- I feed myself for about $25 a week. I could cut that to maybe $20 since I already eat ramen, rice, beans, store brand food etc. But I'm healthy and a grown adult. Children need a full compliment of nutrients to grow (both body and brains) properly. If you've seen the long term effects of poor nutrition, it costs in more ways than one over the life of a child. More illnesses, physical weakness, poor grades in school and such. I lived in Nicaragua where the children I taught ate rice, beans, and tortillas day in and day out. It showed. What about someone with food allergies or celiac disease? That is very expensive and not covered by insurance-- that is, if they even have insurance which most people don't when they are unemployed. COBRA is massively expensive after all.

Two working adults making decent money but no health insurance. Their child gets sick and they now have $30,000 in medical bills. One has to quit their job to care for the kid. Even less money available now. Then the working parent has their hours cut. Given the 10%+ unemployment in their city, finding a second job can take months. Now, find the $25 a month to feed the dog... then find the $100 for the yearly vet visit.... then the $500+ when the dog gets sick.... This really does happen to people.

As for cutting out the luxuries, sure. But when you don't have any luxuries, what do you cut? I went to college with people that grew up without INDOOR PLUMBING in the US! A childhood friend and her father lived in their car for a year, he still managed to feed her and get her to school but what would you have suggested they do with a dog in that situation?

In many cities, the only places that will allow large dogs are in quite dangerous neighborhoods. I've seen people murdered while children duck and cover from the stray bullets. Still want someone to keep their dog if they have to live there? 

Most people start out with the best of intentions when they get a dog. Sometimes life screws them over and they get between a rock and a hard place. And sometimes people are just a$$holes and drop their dogs at the shelter when they get bored of them.


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

Hulk, I think that you should try to buy groceries in Canada. You would not be able to feed yourself for $100/month.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

ioreks_mom said:


> Hulk, I think that you should try to buy groceries in Canada. You would not be able to feed yourself for $100/month.


Exactly. there is 6 people in our house. and we dont buy "luxary" food. Milk alone is about 6 bucks for the 3 bags (yes crazy canuks and their baged milk lol), and we are lucky to keep those around for 2 days. I'd say we buy around 15 bags of milk a month, thats about 90 bucks right there.


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## Wynpyp (Sep 19, 2008)

hulkamaniac said:


> I don't see where that comes from. I can feed myself on $100 a month easily. If I cut back and do the rice and beans/make a casserole and eat leftovers all week thing, then I can feed myself on half of that. You're telling me that while it costs $100 a month to feed one person it costs $600 to feed 4 people? Why?


It's all fine and dandy to live on whatever when you're an adult. Children can't. For one thing, my son is allergic to lactose and milk protein. That means he needs soy milk which is NOT cheap. He won't drink rice or almond milk (which I think is good because they cost even more!). The cost of 8 pieces of chicken where I am is just shy of $30. The cost of about 3-4 lbs of ground beef is $10-$12. A jug of 2% milk (4litres) is $5. I may be able to cut out juice at times but I cannot cut out fruit. 

Where I live the cost of living is high, but not so high that other cities and towns in Canada don't know what I'm talking about. I'm happy that you can live on $100 a month for food. I can too but it would not be anywhere near healthy. My children won't. period. And if I had to drastically cut out their food, no matter how much my pets mean to me, they would be re-homed.



ioreks_mom said:


> Hulk, I think that you should try to buy groceries in Canada. You would not be able to feed yourself for $100/month.


Yup!


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

We pay over $4 for 2 litres of milk. We don't buy chicken, it is just too expensive.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Wynpyp said:


> Where I live the cost of living is high, but not so high that other cities and towns in Canada don't know what I'm talking about. I'm happy that you can live on $100 a month for food. I can too but it would not be anywhere near healthy. My children won't. period. And if I had to drastically cut out their food, no matter how much my pets mean to me, they would be re-homed


I agree. I live in Vancouver and even when I'm feeding my dog raw chicken costed about 1.50 a lb. And that's the cheapest stuff. Although I don't have children and can't imagine myself having children, I would not skimp out on food or paying for education or necessities for my kids just to buy premium food for my dogs. 

Food costs me about 800 a month but of course I'm not trying to save money. I know some families that are trying very hard to reduce costs and they still spend 500 a month using coupons, sales, etc. 

I think I would let my dog go if I barely had enough money to feed her and offer her a good life but not to the SPCA. I would regime her myself or find a breed rescue just to make sure she ends up in a good home that will properly care for her.


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

If Ilya and Lola's previous owners did not surrender their dogs after their divorce, I wouldn't have had the chance to adopt two of the most fabulous dogs I've owned. They both have made my family closer and learn many things I could not have taught my children alone.

Ilya has his 'issues'.... he's a husky you have to be on top of or his boredom can cause havoc. He's sensitive to other people's moods and if you're upset, so is he. He has anxiety issues that require meds or he could harm himself. If he is upset too long, he will blow his digestive track and everything goes down hill from there.

I can't imagine someone going through the pain of divorce and trying to rebuild a life (especially with children) taking care of Ilya's issues daily. It must have been a painful decision because Ilya and Lola both show they have been given alot of time training and love when I adopted both of them. They both had heartworms and that makes me think the previous owners had dropped the ball somewhere in their care because Ilya had an advanced case where I was lucky to have vacation time saved up to take a month off for his treatment.  The cost of treating both dogs for HW would have been an easy $2k on top of the creative solutions for telling a husky to not move for an entire month. The stress alone would have been phenomenal for the owner if the divorce was messy and a month of caring for two dogs who could develop a clot and die during treatment....and if money is already tight, how do you find the resources to bring the dogs to an E-vet?

I'm incredibly greatful to have had the chance to adopt Ilya and Lola. They were both a good match for us as we did not have to house train or teach them not to touch things around the house without permission. Both of them keep us laughing every day..... so surrendering a dog doesn't necessarily mean it's the end for all dogs.


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

I've never surrendered any pets. The closest thing I've had to do was rehome two kittens. My mother and I took in Mama (really creative name, I know) when she was very pregnant. She gave birth a few days after we took her inside, and she had five kittens. We ended up keeping three of them (Princess is mine out of the bunch, see my siggy), and rehoming the last two. One went to my high school's music teacher, and the other to one of my friends. So I know they're doing very well


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

Dogs no and I would move heaven and earth to keep that from happening. 

Years ago, we did give back a cat we rescued from a shelter though. He was shy and quiet the first three weeks we had him. Then once he acclimated, he turned into hell cat. He terrorized our existing cat and he was nasty to handle. He was a long haired beast that had developed poop balls tangled in his fur (you couldn't get close enough to brush him.) Even with long leather, rose bush gloves on he was deadly. So back he went. 

Our existing cat who is now 14...I really have grown to dislike him. I would even go as far to say I loathe him. He poops where ever it's easiest for him...sometimes the litter box (which is clean just for this reason), sometimes the bathtub, sometimes the basement floor, sometimes the carpet. Thank god he doesn't pee anywhere other than the litterbox. You can't leave anything food on the counters because he will eat it and spread it all over the kitchen floor. He's always all over the stove, the sink and the table looking for something edible. I have hit him more times with the spray bottle than I can count, and he can't help but be all over the kitchen scrounging for food. He retches all over the place and all of the hairball goop in the world won't stop it. He has serious food reactions but will now only eat Lars' kibbled Instinct (I know, I know....it isn't formulated for cats and it's missing essential nutrients...but he won't touch cat food of any kind.) So far, he hasn't had projectile diarrhea or ripped all of his fur out so that's what he eats. I fantasize almost weekly of dropping him off at the shelter but I can never bring myself to do it. My luck, he'll live another 10 years.


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## CandJHarris (Apr 29, 2010)

I had to re-home my Wire Fox Terrier, Cody, and was very thankful that I found a rescue to help me out. He was fine when it was just him and my husky/shepherd girl, but our circumstances changed and we had to move back in with my parents. They had a JRT that Cody did fine with, but my brother and sister each had their own packs of pups and there were fights happening daily. I tried keeping him separated from the other dogs, but it was pretty much impossible and Cody was miserable. I found an awesome WFT rescue who helped me find the perfect family for him - a retired couple with a house on the beach and a big, fenced back yard where he could run and play and be spoiled rotten like he deserved. I miss him like crazy and think of him often, and like to think that he's now a happy old man.


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## anthrogirl80 (Jan 14, 2010)

MrsBoats said:


> I fantasize almost weekly of dropping him off at the shelter but I can never bring myself to do it. My luck, he'll live another 10 years.


My parents gave me a cat when I was 13. He hated me (I loved him too much, wouldn't leave him alone) and when I moved out of home he stayed with them. I did only live around the corner though. He sounds similar to your cat, with the same reactions from my parents. My mother spent the last few years hoping and praying his death would be timely. He died last year at age 15. They took him to the vet because all his organs were shutting down and he was in pain.

Alternatively, I have a 7.5 year old cat who is like your cat now. Only eats one type of dry food - Whiskers Rabbit and Chicken. Only eats certain types of wet food. Always into everything. Terrorises neighbourhood dogs and cats alike. Jonah still hasn't learnt to keep out of her way and thinks she's playing until he gets swiped. She has NEVER bothered with a litter box...just backs her butt into a corner to poo, or pulls down our bath towels to wee on them. What sort of cat never gets litter trained? She knows how to use it, knows we prefer it, but if we're not home she'll go wherever she wants. She is big on domination type biting too. She doesn't ever swipe humans, but if you've done something she doesn't like, she'll walk up to you and sink her teeth in. It used to be nibbles, now it's bites. 

She's a freak of a cat, but I love her to bits. She's been a constant companion to me through three uni degrees. She's been locked in rooms with me while my daughter rampaged through the house in a meltdown. For all of her faults, she is possibly my best friend.


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## Taz Monkey (Sep 2, 2007)

Nope. Never have. Never will. And I say that with utmost confidence. I adopted my first dog at the age of 19, the same year I bought my home. I would never surrendur and animal to a shelter, and only rehome to someone fit to care for an animal in the most extreme circumstances. Sorry, but rehoming a dog because its barking and annoying the neighbors and the neighbor is throwing things at it!? Never would happen in my house because my dogs are never outside without me there, and if they bark after dark they are immediately hushed. Too bad the owners irresponsibilities caused the the dog to lose its home.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

I gave a dog back to the person on CL who gave her to me (no $ changed hands) less than 24 hours after taking her. The reason was that the person had lied to me about the dog. She let me know later that the dog found a good home. 

I've taken numerous stray dogs to our local shelter, but I don't count that because they so rarely put an animal down there. Mostly I'm just trying to keep the dog from getting hit, and taking it to the shelter is the fastest way to reunite it with its owners.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

MsBoats said:


> I fantasize almost weekly of dropping him off at the shelter


It would be FAR kinder to have him put to sleep by your own vet, no matter when you have it done. Drives me crazy when people dump their elderly pets at the shelter to die alone and scared.


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## TheBearCat (Jun 5, 2010)

I haven't but my mom did for the last dog of our household. He turned out to need more work than she originally thought, and with her new schedule she couldn't dedicate the time. Or rather was less willing to *really* push herself to do so. I wish she would have stuck it out or never adopted him in the first place but what's done is done. When she is ready for another dog she'll know what to be prepared for.

I, like many, volunteer at a local shelter, same one he was adopted from. Most of the dogs that come in are from active duty families. And while I'll admit it is hard to have a dog during that period, particularly going overseas, a lot of the reasons stem from incovenience. 

_"The dog got too rambunctious for their kids_" or they had trouble finding a place that allows dogs.

Still I try to remember not everyone can 'make it work' or that they don't believe in making great sacrifices. Sometimes it's unforseen{the former} but most of the cases appear to be the owner didn't try hard enough.


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## crzy_brunette77 (May 19, 2009)

ioreks_mom said:


> Hulk, I think that you should try to buy groceries in Canada. You would not be able to feed yourself for $100/month.


YES! Milk and bread alone are probably triple the cost here then in the United States.

We forget a dog is a PRIVILEGE not a NECESSITY. Feeding your family is most definitely a necessity. If you reach a point in your life where you are unable to afford this privilege, then no matter how much you love that animal you owe it to yourself and the animal to find it a good home where its needs can be met. I love my dog more than the one can imagine and it's because I love him that I would give him up if I was unable to take care of him. He would deserve better and my selfishness is not a good enough reason to let him suffer. Of course, this applies in the most dire of situations financially and I still think you have a responsibility to find your animal the best new home possible (so no dumping at the high kill shelter, etc).

Also, may I mention that many of the people that have mentioned eating low quality food to be able to afford your dog and his needs are the same people that promote feeding no grain high quality dog food to prevent future vet bills??? So by that argument, feeding terrible quality food to children will increase medical costs/problems, yet its still worth it to keep your pet????

To all those that have given up your pets in times of extreme need and difficulty I commend you! I think you're brave courageous individuals and have your priorities straight! You've put the needs of your family and your pet first, as you've ensured both are now in a situation where their suffering is reduced. I think it takes more courage and is in fact more responsible to make the decision to rehome a pet you can't take care of then compromise your families and your own health to keep this pet at home with you.


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

I haven't surrendered any to shelters but I have rehomed a couple that I found or that found me. My husband brought home an aussie one day from a guy at work. It was his little brother's dog, and had been crated basically his entire 2 years of life. I was a stay at home mom, we had a fenced in yard, so hubby decided to bring the dog home. One problem. The dog hated men. He would literally attack my husband every time he entered the room. So we only had him a couple of days before he had to go back. They found another home for him, with a single older lady. 

I did give one dog to an older family member because she watched her for us when we went on vacation, and when we came back she begged to keep her. I've regretted it ever since. Not that I feel bad for the dog, she loved it there, there were other dogs to play with, and cats. But I really miss her.


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## Eris13021 (May 16, 2009)

elah42 said:


> But what if you don't have $20 or $25?
> 
> I dont' have kids, but if I were desperate and faced with a hungry child or a hungry dog, I'd feed the child. Would I take the dog to the shelter? Probably not - I'd try to rehome and thankfully I have family that would take in a pet if I were in hard times.
> 
> There's a big difference between hard-time as a single adult, or even a couple of adults, and a family with kids.


This makes me thankful we have a pet food pantry here. 
Also around here most 'human' food pantries now carry pet stuff too.


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## JeanieStecher (May 26, 2010)

I probably will if it will become violent. I'd rather do that than it could hurt someone else. But if I can send him to obedience class, then it could be also best for the both of us.


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## AroundTheDog (Jun 14, 2010)

I personally cannot handle going to put-down shelters because it kills me to know that some of the dogs will not make it out that day. I also hate to hear the excuses some owners give for not being able to keep the dog (destructive, barker, etc).


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## Eris13021 (May 16, 2009)

w8ing4rain said:


> I wish more communities had pet food banks. We have one here. If you reach the point where you have to rehome your dog so it can be fed. You can go there for dog food. It was started when the economy got bad to keep dogs from being surrendered. There were just too many dogs ending up at the shelter. They also have other stuff like dog shampoo, collars etc.


pet food pantries are great. I have only had to use this one a few times due to high electric bills.


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## JeanieStecher (May 26, 2010)

AroundTheDog said:


> I personally cannot handle going to put-down shelters because it kills me to know that some of the dogs will not make it out that day. I also hate to hear the excuses some owners give for not being able to keep the dog (destructive, barker, etc).


Yes me too. But you know, we have to make some choices later on. If we have to sacrifice something, then it is best to have our pets rather than our special someone or even us. We just have to do our part to prevent this kind of event. The least is that we should keep our pets in a safe place and make sure not to hurt anyone.


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## JeanieStecher (May 26, 2010)

w8ing4rain said:


> I wish more communities had pet food banks. We have one here. If you reach the point where you have to rehome your dog so it can be fed. You can go there for dog food. It was started when the economy got bad to keep dogs from being surrendered. There were just too many dogs ending up at the shelter. They also have other stuff like dog shampoo, collars etc.


Really?where was that?I am a busy person that is why sometimes I could hardly prepare food for my dog.glad to hear that


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