I know quite a few of you have done this, so where do you recommend? Any pitfalls? We would need somewhere that would take the dog back if (when) we become unable to look after it.
sorry Mrs Bonce, (admin might not like me saying this too) but that is not the way to even start thinking about adopting a dog, as they say, a dog is for life!
perhaps you are better off asking a few friends if they want some dog sitting doing and borrow a dog, giving the owners a break to do non doggie things?
I was looking at this site last night. It's not an adoption website but if you wanted more experience looking after pets and having a place free to stay whilst on holiday this looks a great shout.
A lot depends on whether you want a particular breed of dog (there are specific rescues for greyhounds, collies etc etc) and what your circumstances are. Many dogs up for rehoming nowadays seem to have specific needs (eg. adult only home, no other pets, behaviour issues) and the rehoming charities are much stricter about the requirements of the homes the dogs are going to - gone are the days when you just turned up at a kennels, picked a dog you fancied and took it away (no bad thing, just frustrating at times!). You may also need to travel to find a suitable dog!
We have 2 Romanian rescue dogs, who are now well-settled with us after a couple of years, but they had their challenges, and still can have, at times - but then so can "normal" dogs!
The rescue we got our two from now has a kennels near Nantwich in Cheshire (Pawprints2Freedom, Our Safe Haven), where the dogs are assessed and worked with before being put up for adoption, which is very helpful as you have a much better idea of the dog you are adopting. They also have a number of dogs in Foster homes in the UK, so there may be something suitable nearer to you.
I would expect any dog charity would take a dog back, but it may be something you need to check with the charities you approach. Maybe an older dog would suit you better, if that is a concern?
We took a rescue crossbreed pup from the RSPCA many years ago. She was a lovely good natured dog who lived for 14 years. Cost us a bit in vet bills as she got older but worth it. We had her spayed once old enough then the annual check and vaccinations throughout her life.
She loved going out in the car and away in the caravan - lots of walks!
We also rehomed an adult collie from the Dogs Trust, he had health issues which they didn't tell us about .He had to be put to,sleep as he developed an aversion to kids so couldn't be trusted. We think he had been abused as a pup.
We would only consider a pup not an adult now. Mongrels are fine in our opinion not wanting to show or breed.
As we travel a lot we haven't got another but we do look after the brother and sister in laws labrador when they are away. She is a great dog and keeps us exercised! Plus donating lots of fur!
Post last edited on 17/01/2023 11:19:52
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I volunteer as a home-checker in my area for a dog rescue called Mutts-in-Distress. They are at Great Hallingbury near Bishops Stortford. Might be worth contacting them, a quick Google will bring up their website.
If you are thinking of possibly having to give the dog back in later life have you thought of Guide Dog training - where the dog will come to live with you and you train it up and get it used to socialising etc - then once fully trained they go to a blind person
We are both in our mid 70s Marg6, hence my question. I quite agree that a dog should be for life, but if you were to get too old or die, what then? My brother wouldn't want it and there is nobody else.
Bean is a Romanian rescue and I got him via an organisation called Leash of Life (LoL) based in Wiltshire/Somerset area.
I know of LoL when I took Borda my old Border Terrier to group meet ups at a local park, for the dogs to run around playing amongst themselves while the owners had a chat about anything under the sun etc...
Two of the regulars were and still are actively involved with LoL and have Rommies via them themselves.
I had been following their FB page when I realised I was on borrowed time with Borda, and liked the work they had done to bring Rommies to UK.
They performed home checks on prospective fosterers and adopters to make sure the garden is secure, whether there are young children and other cats and dogs, and whether the other parts of the house is suitable etc., etc...
Bean was about 3 months old and appeared for fostering/adoption on their FB page the morning I took Borda to the vets as he behaviour was unusual. 2 days later he died peacefully at home after starting two medications for joints and cognitive behaviours.
After a good cry, I decided to approach LoL about adopting Bean, quoting one of my friends from the dog meet up group. Thanks to her, she gave me a good reference, and the other friend from the group came to perform the home check for fostering in the view to adopt.
LoL won't let just anyone adopt one of their dogs, and there had been cases when the dogs did not fit and had to be taken out to find new fosterers and adopters.
When import of Romanian and other foreign dogs were banned by DEFRA due to issues with potential falsification with medical records, LoL was asked to help with re-homing dogs from other rescue organisations in the country.
The dogs are vet-checked, microchipped and vaccinated including rabies and confirmed to be fit for travel with a EU Pet Passport before they can come to UK via an air-conditioned custom transport van.
LoL insists that they are co-register on the microchips of the dogs they bring over in case anything happens to the dogs.
They ask for an adoption fee primarily to cover the cost of vet fees and medical care, Pet Passports etc. for the dogs. Not cheap, however, knowing how much they cost in UK, it is very reasonable IMHO.
Their after-care is second to none, and I highly recommend them as an organisation as they really do care about their dogs.
Perhaps contact them to see if they know of similar organisations nearer to where you live.
I know they had travelled hundreds of miles recently to collect dogs in UK that were due to be PTS from pounds as the owners could not keep them anymore.
As I said, I can't recommend them highly enough.
DK
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- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Quote: Originally posted by Mrs. Bonce on 17/1/2023
We are both in our mid 70s Marg6, hence my question. I quite agree that a dog should be for life, but if you were to get too old or die, what then? My brother wouldn't want it and there is nobody else.
I knew where you were coming from. Perhaps you could look into the Dog Trust's scheme which is what I am considering myself, and a similar scheme for my cat with the Cat Protection too.
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
we are both in our early 60s, during our married life we have had 5 dogs, our current 2 are both aged 13 now, and even as pups the time scale meant that these would be our last dogs, they get spoilt rotten! they go everywhere with us and are treated as if they are children with all the commitments that entails. dont get me wrong i wasnt having a go at you but at your time of life its highly likely the dog would out live you both, and how is that fair to a dog that will have already had a difficult life before coming to you?
yes i know its a hard decision, they are a great source of excersise and company.
looking at getting a dog now with the view to returning it just seems so wrong to me, i just couldnt sit here and look at my 2 (who like i said we treat as our children) how could you even think of sending them back?
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Topic: Adopting a dog
via mobile 17/1/2023 at 8:30am
