Sooo.....I was looking for a dog

[xsubsailor]

It’s been a couple of years since I lost the last one so I was thinking it’s about time. I really miss having a four-legged critter meeting me at the door when I come in.

 Little Sassy was 14 when she left and the one before that was 17. This got me to thinking about my age, which GT so eloquently (and correctly) described in another thread as “older than dirt”  . I had a friend who lost his wife and I witnessed the grief that her dog went through and I wouldn’t want to put one of mine through that so I decided to look into finding a “senior” dog that needed a loving home. I might have a fighting chance of outliving one that is 6-8 years old.  Both of the others were about a year old and came from shelters but I didn’t pick either one of them, they chose me. I know if I go looking, the same thing could happen again and I could wind up with another young dog.

 All of this led me to Petfinder.com. I checked to see how many dogs were in shelters/rescue centers within 50 miles… 1028, Ok… need to filter it down. Adult dogs……500, more filtering needed. House trained…206, now we’re getting somewhere.

 I learned a couple of things while I was doing all of this. At least 60% or more of the adoptable dogs were at least part Pit Bull, and quite a few Rottie’s as well, along with a few American Bulldogs. I don’t know why but it stuck out.

 The other thing was, I ran across a couple of breeds I had never heard of. The Carolina Dog and the Catahoula-leopard dog. Interesting dogs but according to their breed characteristics they're much too active for me, I need a couch potato .

 

The Carolina dog, AKA the American Dingo has a fascinating history.

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/meet-american-dingo-only-wild-dog-native-continent

 

 

The Catahoula-Leopard dog is a true Southerner.

http://www.vetstreet.com/dogs/catahoula-leopard-dog

 

 

 Just wanted to share…..back to the search .

[Murgatroy]

Good on you to home an older dog.

 

Bandit and Brigand were both pups when they came to live with us. Due to our family environment, that is optimal. It has made it hard looking for a second cat, as our current cat. Bongo, came to us as a kitten, he is used to living with two Black Labs. We have intermittently sought another cat, but it would need to come as a kitten, not an adult. It is difficult visiting shelters full of adult cats. 

 

In the words of Bob Barker, be sure to spay and neuter your pets. Don't add to the population. 

[owejia]

During the early 80's had a dingo-blue heeler cross as a cattle dog, instead of going for the heels always went for the nose, doesn't work well trying to herd cattle. During the early 60's HC Spinks clay co had large land holdings here in Henry and Weakley county where they ran cattle on and they kept leopard dogs to handle anything their cowboys on horses couldn't, especially mean bulls, one would go for the nose and one for the back heel . The leopard dog was also used to hunt hogs with down south back then.

[peejman]

If you like the idea of walking the dog fairly regularly, you might look at a retired greyhound. They make good couch potatoes as long as they get out occasionally. 

[xsubsailor]

14 hours ago, Murgatroy said:

We have intermittently sought another cat, but it would need to come as a kitten, not an adult. It is difficult visiting shelters full of adult cats. 

 

 

I'm not sure where in Kentucky you are but I got curious and went to Petfinder.com and plugged in Lexington. There were 176 young cats within a 25 mile radius ranging from too young yet for adoption up to a couple of months old. This is one of the things I like about Petfinder, you don't waste your time going somewhere when there's nothing available.

 

[bersaguy]

I know it has only been about a month since I lost my Kasey and it has been really hard coming home and not have a wagging tail meeting me at the door. I have been leaning towards getting another dog pretty hard. I was looking back over my life and except for the time I was out of country since age 6 I have had at least one dog in my life and sometimes a couple. Coming home to my home now is like it's not my house. I have been looking at some of the dog rescue locations near my home and each time I got look to see if any new ones have been added to their website and for some reason I keep getting drawn back to one dog that has a history. She is 7 years old and had a pretty tough life. I have done several searches over the weekend and I keep going back to her. I keep telling myself that yea she does have issues but if I could give her a good home for her later years I should do it. I know how much folks here love dogs so what say ye all. Do I look into possibly adopting Phoebe. I will check with my Vet prior to checking into her because the facility that has her is close by and my Vet can find out what I need to know about her and she will tell me if she is the dog for me.

This is her history!

Phoebe is a 7 year old Border collie mix. She lived most of her life in a 10x10 pen with her mother. The family decided to let Phoebe come into the rescue. As you can imagine, Phoebe is a little shy and learning how to be a house pet. She loves other dogs. Phoebe needs a home with another dog and someone to be patient with her. She did have ACL surgery and recovered well with it but because of her living in a small pen, she wasnât able to properly exercise so she has arthritis and will need to be on a strong glucosamine and maybe pain meds eventually.

Adult, Female, Medium

Edited November 20, 2017 by bersaguy

[xsubsailor]

 I'm having the same problem, I keep being drawn back to one dog. I'm pretty sure if I saw this face in person I would be hooked .

This statement in her bio is a big plus.

She's very well mannered and does well when left alone.
She would make a great walking partner or couch potato! As long as she's got her human, she'll go with the flow!

[Hozzie]

I know it has only been about a month since I lost my Kasey and it has been really hard coming home and not have a wagging tail meeting me at the door. I have been leaning towards getting another dog pretty hard. I was looking back over my life and except for the time I was out of country since age 6 I have had at least one dog in my life and sometimes a couple. Coming home to my home now is like it's not my house. I have been looking at some of the dog rescue locations near my home and each time I got look to see if any new ones have been added to their website and for some reason I keep getting drawn back to one dog that has a history. She is 7 years old and had a pretty tough life. I have done several searches over the weekend and I keep going back to her. I keep telling myself that yea she does have issues but if I could give her a good home for her later years I should do it. I know how much folks here love dogs so what say ye all. Do I look into possibly adopting Phoebe. I will check with my Vet prior to checking into her because the facility that has her is close by and my Vet can find out what I need to know about her and she will tell me if she is the dog for me.
This is her history!
Phoebe is a 7 year old Border collie mix. She lived most of her life in a 10x10 pen with her mother. The family decided to let Phoebe come into the rescue. As you can imagine, Phoebe is a little shy and learning how to be a house pet. She loves other dogs. Phoebe needs a home with another dog and someone to be patient with her. She did have ACL surgery and recovered well with it but because of her living in a small pen, she wasnât able to properly exercise so she has arthritis and will need to be on a strong glucosamine and maybe pain meds eventually. Adult, Female, Medium

Bersa, to be honest she is probably a bit much for you to handle. Even with what she has been through, she will still need to be exercised to help her arthritis.

Not to be taken lightly is also the potential cost for either food with Glucosamine or pills. They can be expensive. It could also progress to needing shots.

I know you will take care of any dog you get, but those would b some of my concerns.

[bersaguy]

6 minutes ago, Hozzie said:

Bersa, to be honest she is probably a bit much for you to handle. Even with what she has been through, she will still need to be exercised to help her arthritis.

Not to be taken lightly is also the potential cost for either food with Glucosamine or pills. They can be expensive. It could also progress to needing shots.

I know you will take care of any dog you get, but those would b some of my concerns.

I can understand your concerns Hozzie and that is why I am going to get in touch with my Vet and talk with her and have her check into the actual condition the dog is truly experiencing. She told me to contact her if I found a dog I was interested in adopting and she would do the research on the dog before making a recomendation whether it would be a dog I could handle. She knows my situation as far as income and expenses. I don't think she would allow me to adopt a dog that would be a money pit. I have left a msessage for her to call me back. The lady that answered the phone said they have done some work with this Dog Rescue service in the past so I guess it will be up to what Dr Ashley says more than anything but I do respect your views very much also.

Thanks Bersa

[Hozzie]

I can understand your concerns Hozzie and that is why I am going to get in touch with my Vet and talk with her and have her check into the actual condition the dog is truly experiencing. She told me to contact her if I found a dog I was interested in adopting and she would do the research on the dog before making a recomendation whether it would be a dog I could handle. She knows my situation as far as income and expenses. I don't think she would allow me to adopt a dog that would be a money pit. I have left a msessage for her to call me back. The lady that answered the phone said they have done some work with this Dog Rescue service in the past so I guess it will be up to what Dr Ashley says more than anything but I do respect your views very much also.
Thanks Bersa

Like you say, your vet knows what you can and can’t handle. I think that is the right way to go about it. I hope it works out for you with her or another rescue dog.

[peejman]

2 hours ago, Hozzie said:

Not to be taken lightly is also the potential cost for either food with Glucosamine or pills. They can be expensive. It could also progress to needing shots.

Yes. Our dog was on several arthritis/pain meds, and just like people meds, they get expensive. We were spending better than $150/mo on pills for the dog over the last couple years.  Shots and laser therapy were offered at even higher cost. 

This dog will keep you busy. Border collies aren't couch potatoes, they need a job to do.  

[bersaguy]

1 hour ago, Hozzie said:

Like you say, your vet knows what you can and can’t handle. I think that is the right way to go about it. I hope it works out for you with her or another rescue dog.

Thanks Hozzie,

    At first I thought I could get by with just having Kaseys ashes on my TV console and I did for a few weeks and I would look at her urn and after a while I realized that I don't just want another dog. I "NEED" another dog in my life. As much as I love Kasey and will forever!!! I need that companionship that I have had most of my life back in my life. I think anyone that has had a dog all their life kind of knows where I am at right now.

[bersaguy]

2 minutes ago, peejman said:

Yes. Our dog was on several arthritis/pain meds, and just like people meds, they get expensive. We were spending better than $150/mo on pills for the dog over the last couple years.  Shots and laser therapy were offered at even higher cost. 

This dog will keep you busy. Border collies aren't couch potatoes, they need a job to do.  

Yea, i know PJ. That is why I am consulting with my Vet before I pull the trigger on her. I know she has been pined up in a 10X10 pin for 7 years of her life. I don't have a pin but I do have a big back yard and she can run and get a lot of exercise and I know she is a Border Collie but she is also a mix so I am hoping she maybe some what calmer than a full blood. I am not holding my breath on her because Vet knows my situation as has been my Vet for many years. She knew Kasey so well that she cried when she had to put her down also. She won't permit me to make a mistake I don't believe. Thank you very much for your input and concerns my friend. Oh yea, I can still throw a Frizzbie or a ball if she wants to play.

[analog_kidd]

My folks have one of those Carolina Dog / American Dingos. It looks just like the picture above. Now, let me say that I am a DOG LOVER, and I can't find a single redeeming quality about this particular dog. It is annoying as all get out. Barks loudly at everything, is not fun to be around, bites kids, thinks the world revolves around him, sheds horribly, stinks. Plus, he won't eat meat. What kind of dog doesn't eat meat? If my folks were to pass and I inherited the dog, I would take him right back to the pound. OK, maybe not, but I would immediately find a new home for him. Besides, my wife actually hates him, and if I brought it home to keep, the dog and I would be sleeping outside. 

From my limited experience, I would stay away from that breed.

[Dolomite_supafly]

37 minutes ago, analog_kidd said:

My folks have one of those Carolina Dog / American Dingos. It looks just like the picture above. Now, let me say that I am a DOG LOVER, and I can't find a single redeeming quality about this particular dog. It is annoying as all get out. Barks loudly at everything, is not fun to be around, bites kids, thinks the world revolves around him, sheds horribly, stinks. Plus, he won't eat meat. What kind of dog doesn't eat meat? If my folks were to pass and I inherited the dog, I would take him right back to the pound. OK, maybe not, but I would immediately find a new home for him. Besides, my wife actually hates him, and if I brought it home to keep, the dog and I would be sleeping outside. 

From my limited experience, I would stay away from that breed.

I have heard similar things about "tame" Dingos.

[jgradyc]

bersaguy, it sounds to me like you have a special connection with dogs. So do I. There's nothing like spending some time with a dog to see how you "feel" about it. You might want to visit Phoebe with the firm decision ahead of time that you will NOT adopt on this visit, but just see how you get along together. 

I adopted my cat Watcher from Freedom Farms Animal Sanctuary 13 years ago and he is still going strong... a little slower... but still strong. I've also fostered 7 dogs and cats over the years. 

We also rescued a border collie mix that looks a lot like Phoebe, but Phoebe looks a lot older than 7. Our border collie is 13 and has similar gray around the muzzle. Border collies can be a handful. Although I love him, at age 70, I'd never get another border collie. I'd go for a smaller breed that would be easier for my aging wife to walk and small enough to nap in my lap when I watch TV. 

[bersaguy]

1 hour ago, jgradyc said:

bersaguy, it sounds to me like you have a special connection with dogs. So do I. There's nothing like spending some time with a dog to see how you "feel" about it. You might want to visit Phoebe with the firm decision ahead of time that you will NOT adopt on this visit, but just see how you get along together. 

I adopted my cat Watcher from Freedom Farms Animal Sanctuary 13 years ago and he is still going strong... a little slower... but still strong. I've also fostered 7 dogs and cats over the years. 

We also rescued a border collie mix that looks a lot like Phoebe, but Phoebe looks a lot older than 7. Our border collie is 13 and has similar gray around the muzzle. Border collies can be a handful. Although I love him, at age 70, I'd never get another border collie. I'd go for a smaller breed that would be easier for my aging wife to walk and small enough to nap in my lap when I watch TV. 

Well my Vet gave me the answer and it is NO!!  She is familar with the dog and he does have the issues that the Dog Rescue mentioned but she said that she has actually treated the dog and it does have a short temper at times probably caused if the dog is in pain. She has reason to believe that is why the owners put the dog up for adoption. It was probably fighting with the mother dog in the pin and that may have been what lead to the ACL injury. So I guess I need to keep looking. I know you mentioned maybe going with a smaller dog but my wife back before she passed away had one that I adopted when she passed away. Buttons is bury out here in the back yard. I kept him till he developed congestive heart failure with a heart 3 times it's normal size. I lost him about 4 months after this picture was taken. He was 14 when I had to have him put down. I already had Kasey and she was about 9 years old.  He tolerated her and Kasey gave him plenty of room cause he would growl at her if she got near him. He even tried to bite her a couple times but since he only had 5 teeth he couldn't hurt her and she never offered to bite him back. I will post a couple pictures of him. He was spoiled bad by my wife and he expected nothing less from me. Don't Yall laugh when you see him. At one time my wife has 5 of these critters. He was the only one she kept. I was gonna post more pictures but they are in compressed folder and I don't know how to get them out of it???

His name was Buttons. 

Edited November 21, 2017 by bersaguy

[TripleGGG]

Glad you are looking. There is another dog that nerds you and you need it. It will come. Very glad you have a Vet to help you with the decision making. I would have agreed with the others, border collies are a handful. Unless I had a farm no way would I go there. Funny thing about adoption is Ginger is nothing what we thought we were looking for, but turns out she is exactly the dog for us. Will be praying the perfect dog for you comes along.

[bersaguy]

23 minutes ago, TripleGGG said:

Glad you are looking. There is another dog that nerds you and you need it. It will come. Very glad you have a Vet to help you with the decision making. I would have agreed with the others, border collies are a handful. Unless I had a farm no way would I go there. Funny thing about adoption is Ginger is nothing what we thought we were looking for, but turns out she is exactly the dog for us. Will be praying the perfect dog for you comes along.

Thanks and I will keep looking and Ashley (my Vet) has also began looking for the right one for me. The place she works does a lot of the spay and neutering and giving the shots and checking dogs over for Animal Rescue Centers and Sumner County Humane Society so she is keeping an eye out along with many of my friends. If GOD wants me to have another dog in my life I am sure it will happen when I least expect it to.

[Whisper]

"Ask and it shall be given you;" you've put the request out there now, Bersa, and He already has the dog en route.  Let us know when it arrives. 

Another dog lover,
Whis

[bersaguy]

14 hours ago, Whisper said:

"Ask and it shall be given you;" you've put the request out there now, Bersa, and He already has the dog en route.  Let us know when it arrives. 

Another dog lover,
Whis

You can bet when my new companion arrives there will be lots of pictures............

[bersaguy]

I was finally able to find more pictures of Buttons. He was quite the conversation piece when I carried him around. I guess it was because he was so ugly but He did love all the attention.

[monkeylizard]

That's a whole lot a ugly!

 

 

 

 

And the dog's not too pretty either!

 

Just kidding!

[bersaguy]

3 hours ago, monkeylizard said:

That's a whole lot a ugly!

 

 

 

 

And the dog's not too pretty either!

 

Just kidding!

Yea he was so ugly he was cute and he had his bluff in on Kasey. She would walk a long ways to avoid getting him to growl.......LOL A lot of my friends called him a Devil Dog because of his red eyes when the cameras flash caught them just right. Now if you wanted to attract girls and women to you all you had to do was walk around with him under your arm. He attracted them like a fly to sugar..........LMAO

[Murgatroy]

You do realize that Buttons wasn't a dog right? He was a chupacabra.