Dogs are for Life (Not Just for Christmas)

L

Leper

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We have two dogs (m+f). We don't need another dog. Neither can we care for another dog, but vet, insurance, feed, chipping, care, kennels (when needed) etc costs bigtime. Time needed caring for dogs is also not small. I live near Cork Airport and every January/February my neighbours and I see cars stopping and suddenly a pup/dog/cat is abandoned furtively by the motorist. I've button-holed some such people only to be told the pets are unwanted pets and what was a ball of wool a few weeks before now is dropping loads of poo all over the garden.and house. Worse again I'm often told "Mind Your Own Business."

If you don't want a dog/cat/parrot don't accept one even as a Christmas gift. You have the right to say "No" and let nobody shove peer pressure on you to do something that does not suit you. Accepting an animal you don't want is not good for you and neither is it good for the pet.

Also, if you have pups/kittens don't give one to somebody who doesn't want it.
 
People should think more carefully before they take responsibility for owning a pet but sometimes it doesn’t work out.

However, it’s cruel in the extreme to abandon them. At least leave them at a rescue centre or shelter where there’s some chance of them being united with a loving owner.
 
Salvadore said:
However, it’s cruel in the extreme to abandon them. At least leave them at a rescue centre or shelter where there’s some chance of them being united with a loving owner.
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People abandon them because the rescue centres won't take them from owners who don't want them or can no longer look after them. That doesn't excuse it but that's why it's happening.
I have a friend who had to move from a rented house to an apartment with her daughter and had to get rid of her dog because of a no pets clause. It was traumatising for them both but there was no alternative. None of the rescue centres would take them. I went to the one on Mount Venus Road in Dublin with her and to say that they weren't interested would be an under statement. The place is like Disneyland. They must have spent millions on it. It's a pity they didn't spend a bit of that money on more capacity to look after animals.
 
Dogs are hard work - but they are worth every bit of pain and suffering they give you including...

waking you at 3am to go potty
waking you again at 5am cos they didn't to #2's at 3am
waking you because the little cup of water at the bedside is empty
barking at everyone that dares enter the curtilage of the house, let alone those who get to the front door
staring at you while you are eating your dinner with THOSE eyes and therefore you have no option but to share
same eyes at you for daring to leave them in the house alone for 30 minutes
scratching the bedroom door cos you thought you'd be able to sleep with your partner without an extra 2 distractions

and finally

rolling in fox poo because to them it smells like beautiful perfume.

Ruby is 12, Milly is 8. Can't live without them :p
 
Got a rescue dog just before lockdown and it was one of the best things we ever did. My commute to work became a walk with the dog and my commute home became a walk with the dog as well. I do find it shocking however that some people never seem to take their dog out, and I'm talking about people who are young enough and fit enough.

As for the people who abandon their dogs (and ours was found traumatised on the side of a main road), I'm always reminded of one of the best pieces of advise I ever got, try and be the person your dog thinks you are.

My little waggy tail scut of a mutt is asleep under my desk as I type
 
Im reminded of the Kipling poem The Power of the Dog... shooting the breese to suggest should be mandatory reading before you can buy a dog.

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie—

poets.org

The Power of the Dog

There is sorrow enough in the natural wayFrom men and women to fill our day;And when we are certain of sorrow in store,Why do we always arrange for more?Brothers and Sisters, I bid you bewareOf giving your heart to a dog to tear.
poets.org poets.org
 
odyssey06 said:
Im reminded of the Kipling poem The Power of the Dog... shooting the breese to suggest should be mandatory reading before you can buy a dog.

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie—

poets.org

The Power of the Dog

There is sorrow enough in the natural wayFrom men and women to fill our day;And when we are certain of sorrow in store,Why do we always arrange for more?Brothers and Sisters, I bid you bewareOf giving your heart to a dog to tear.
poets.org poets.org
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Kipling, It's hard to so strongly like the poet and dislike the man in equal measures.
 
odyssey06 said:
Artists can have strange contradictions like that.
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He was a jingoistic misogynistic racist imperialist who celebrated the deaths of millions of young men including his own son who has been rejected by the Navy and the Army because he was nearly blind. Rudyard got him into the Army when he was still 16. By 18 he was dead. Rudyard continued to churn out jingoistic poetry after that (The Verdicts, about the Battle of Jutland when the Germans won a significant battle against the British Navy, was written after his sons death and it's as jingoistic as ever). Other than that I'm sure he was a grand chap.

Anyway, back to dogs. I'm moving into a new house soon and I'll be getting a dog. My last one, Lilly, a golden cocker, died 6 years ago and I still miss her. When she was old all she wanted to do was sit beside me on the couch with her head on my knee.

I don't know if I'll get another cocker or get a free one, sorry, "rescue" one, from a shelter.
What do I have to do to rescue a dog? If there some sort of an obstacle course and if I fail is the dog killed or imprisoned? Until recently I thought they just gave you one if they thought you would make a suitable owner but now it seems that I have to rescue it.
 
In general the rules are:

Pay the adoption fee
Pay the vaccination fee
Have the dog chipped with the chip registered in your name
Have your, and the dog's prospective, home inspected by the dog warden.

About €100-160 all told. My last four dogs have been adoptions / re-homings, Rottweilers X 3 and Terrierist X 1. I love dogs and they seem to reciprocate. The same magic doesn't seem to work with Cork people for some reason although I haven't tried to adopt one.
 
Purple said:
What do I have to do to rescue a dog?
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Its necessary to go to a rescue possibly somewhere like the DSPCA and see what they have on view. There will be a fee which would cover the neutering, microchipping etc. for the dog of approx €185.00. They will do a home check to check the height of the walls in your garden to ensure that it won't be able to run away or wander. They will also have a chat to make sure that you're going to look after the dog properly.

They used to say that preferably the dog will not be left alone for more than 4 hours or not just left out the back garden while you are at work.

The cocker spaniels are great dogs but sadly do suffer from a lot of health issues and as a result can cost quite a lot with heart, eye and ear issues. Personally I find the Heinz 57 (a mixture of everything) are the healthier option.
 
Sue Ellen said:
Its necessary to go to a rescue possibly somewhere like the DSPCA and see what they have on view. There will be a fee which would cover the neutering, microchipping etc. for the dog of approx €185.00. They will do a home check to check the height of the walls in your garden to ensure that it won't be able to run away or wander. They will also have a chat to make sure that you're going to look after the dog properly.

They used to say that preferably the dog will not be left alone for more than 4 hours or not just left out the back garden while you are at work.

The cocker spaniels are great dogs but sadly do suffer from a lot of health issues and as a result can cost quite a lot with heart, eye and ear issues. Personally I find the Heinz 57 (a mixture of everything) are the healthier option.
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Okay, so I just have to show that I'm a suitable owner. There's no rescuing involved. That's a relief! :)
 
peemac said:
Both Bichon/Maltese crosses, but Milly probably also crossed with a manic but looks as if butter wouldn't melt
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They are gorgeous but I wouldn't fancy having to go to the groomer so often with two of them :)

They look like two women who would suffer from the big dog, small body syndrome i.e. they're the boss x 2 :)
 
Sue Ellen said:
The cocker spaniels are great dogs but sadly do suffer from a lot of health issues and as a result can cost quite a lot with heart, eye and ear issues. Personally I find the Heinz 57 (a mixture of everything) are the healthier option.
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They definitely can have their health problems but they are very gentle and affectionate dogs. I definitely prefer them to children and I've told my children that. :D

When they ask me which one of them is my favourite I tell them that my favourite child is dead.
 
Purple said:
They definitely can have their health problems but they are very gentle and affectionate dogs. I definitely prefer them to children and I've told my children that. :D

When they ask me which one of them is my favourite I tell them that my favourite child is dead.
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It's okay, they are used to me and say worse to me. I've a 20 year old daughter who recently told me that the only thing special about me is my needs. I was laughing about that for days.
 
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