My friend in Ohio has now started to put ads in papers and got NO response so far. She called shelters, and they either said they would kill him (he's 9 years old) or not kill him but he would be in a small pen for the rest of his life.
She says she will have to get rid of him 'very soon' because it just doesn't work out with the baby (she's worried).
Please all you guys here, if you know ANYBODY who would like this dog, a nine year old, neutered boxer/chow mix, let me know or pm me, and I will get you in touch with her.
I know that you are concerned and you care, but ultimately, it's her responsibility to find this dog a new home.
She should be calling humane societies and/or searching for rescue organizations who try to place such dogs, she could also be looking for breed-specific rescue organizations...ideally, all this time she's spent on complaining about her dog, she could have been investing in training or finding a suitable home.
I don't know to what an extend she has looked for a new home or another good solution. Ever since I gave her all the advice I could think of and what people here had suggested previously, she has stopped writing to me.
She has now posted it on another message board, hopefully the people there have some ideas.
Nevertheless, I don't understand it. Whatever the problems, I have the strong feeling that it's mostly her fault that things with him turned out the way they did (although she blames him for it).
I frequent 4 different message boards, and to be honest, it is not the place to try to rehome a dog. Most of us have reached our limit on numbers, time and money...not to mention the distance from the animal. We can't save them all. I can only remember one successful rehoming.
I agree that it is up to her to try to place the dog locally....
No, I don't think she uses or used message boards to find a new home. It's just her last shot right now. She says she doesn't know what else to do anymore.
Just an update: she has decided to have a temprament test done by a vet as she feels he has severe behavioural problems and she doesn't want to give an aggressive dog to someone else. If he's determined 'adoptable' she'll continue looking.
Unless the vet was also highly trained in canine behavior, he probably didn't have enough information or experience with the dog to make that determination (my guess is the vet was only using information from the owner, and since she was already (mostly) determined to get rid of the dog, she probably never mentioned any good points about the dog). Trained animal behavioral counselors will spend time with the pet and make several observations and attempt adjustment training before making rash decisions on temperament.
I hope she never adopts another dog (or other animal for that matter), based on your posts, she obviously does not have patience or comittment to a pet.
This is exactly what I thought. Her mind was already made up. I and others had suggested several things to her, but she wouldn't give anything a try, she just wanted to get rid of him. She was more worried about the new carpet he might pee on! Stupid woman!
I'm quite surprised she turned out this way because when we first started emailing about two years ago she often told me about how she watches Animal Planet and looks at websites where animals look for homes and cries for the poor cats and dogs. I really thought she loves animals.
I was quite shocked to see this now. I still don't really understand it.
I just looked at his picture, read all the posts, and my heart is breaking. That poor fellow is far better off over the bridge than he ever was with her. How very sad. He deserved better. I don't know of any vets in our area who are trained well enough to properly temperament test. I won't even say what I think of her. I'll just light a candle tonight for that sweet dog. God rest his soul. And thanks for trying to help.
