Thursday, February 26, 2009

Is it doggy time?

Have I mentioned that we'd like to get a dog someday? We'd like a hypoallergenic dog in a small breed, like a Shih-tzu, Lhasa Apso, or Bichon. We'd been thinking of waiting until after the summer (when we go on a trip out to the West coast for two weeks) or until after we bought a house (if we ever get around to doing that).

Anyways, apparently there was a puppy mill raid a few months ago and some of the puppies went to our local humane society. The dogs are all cleaned up and healthy now and the humane society is looking for people to adopt both puppies and adult dogs, with adoptions starting on March 6. These dogs are all small dogs, some in the breeds that we're considering. The pictures make them look so cute. And so of course I want to go out and apply to adopt a dog RIGHT NOW.

But getting a dog in the next couple of weeks might not be smart.... what do you think? Do we go ahead and get a rescued puppy or dog now? It would be less expensive in the short run, but the dog might have problems later and so might be more expensive as the years go by. If we did get a dog, what would we do with it when we go West? Would anyone be willing to dog-sit for a couple of weeks in the summer? Should we just wait until the fall or later to find a puppy?

If we didn't get a dog or applied and weren't chosen, I think I'll donate to the humane society as the cost to care for the dogs has been quite high.

2 comments:

Robin said...

From what I understand, dogs rescued from puppy mills need rehabilitation. So maybe find out what your potential new family member has received and what problems might arise.

Having said that, a rescued puppy may make the best pet ever once it understands that humans are for love and not hurt :)

Anonymous said...

If it were me, I would make the donation and wait until it's a good time for me to adopt. You will have the dog for a long time so I'd be really leary of problems that could arise later from the early puppy mill experience, both physical and emotional.

That all being said, it's obvious your heart strings are being pulled and you may regret not getting one of these pups and the pup that you did buy later might seem a little less adorable because of it.

Flip a coin and go with your heart :) Love, Mom