Best site for finding a dog?

...so go somewhere else.

Dogs aren't blank slates and not every dog will be a good fit. This rescue sounds like they're just trying to make a good match. It doesn't really seem outlandish to me.

It's ultimately up to you. There are plenty of shelters that will let you take any dog home. Lots of breeders too. But, not guarantee. You'd be taking a major gamble: you could easily obtain the perfect family dog or you could also get a dog with any number of problems. Are you able to deal with that?

You mention that you have multiple grandchildren...I'm a little surprised you're not enticed by the idea of a rescue pairing you with a dog that has experience with children and will fit into your home. It may seem like they're trying to make you jump through hoops, but to me it looks like they're just trying to do right by the dog.

I know a cat rescue in my area owned by a woman who claims to be a "car psychic" and will "spiritually speak" to the cat to see if the cat "likes" the potential adopter before adopting cats out. THAT seems crazy to me. Asking for references, applications, even home visits don't. People lie. All the time. I don't blame them for wanting to protect their dogs.

Please don't be discouraged by that note. In a way, it's doing exactly what I went through in calling and talking first with a shelter person...only to find a dog that I saw on their site and loved the looks and initial description of...wasn't the dog that I would want to adopt. They are just pre-screening - probably to save time. All the shelters I was in contact with were fairly small...so I was lucky enough to talk to someone, usually upon the first call, or I left a message and they called back the next day. They emailed me back fairly quick too when I left emails.

Being a rescue group, rather than a shelter...the place that sent you that note, probably has already invested some time with each dog and they know the dogs' personalities...so yeah, that could be great help in you getting paired up with a dog that will suit your life style.

It does sound like a lot of hooey to deal with...but you must remember that some of these dogs might have come from not so good situations and it's the responsibility of the rescue to make sure they are not put back into similar situations. Thus the caution on the rescue part in wanting to vet all new potential owners.

I do agree however, that some rescue orgs might as well be called hoarders, because their policies are sooo out there that I wonder how anyone but a multi-millionaire saint could do right by their adoption policies.

Adoption, should be a process...not just go in grab any animal and take it home. I think jumping through a few hoops and asking or getting the right questions in and narrowing down a dog with the right personality type for your home will save you a lot of grief and irritation in the long run.

It would be terrible in owning a pet that you fall in love with, but one who is a constant cause of stress, or a money drain due to having to get it special training help, or vet services because no one at the shelter took time a assess all the personality and health faults of the dog and pass that information on to potential owners.

Hang in there, and don't get in a hurry and I know you will find the right dog. It's worked for me on numerous occasions!

Stormy

You said you're a grandad so obviously you're older. I'm sure years ago you went to a pound or store said 'I want that dog' paid the fee and left. In plenty of places you can still do that. But...those places generally don't give a sh*t about their animals, or the people adopting them.

All this rescue is saying is they need to make sure you're a nice person who can afford the dog and isn't lying to them. Which happens--a lot! Not only that but as you said there's requirements you have like the dog that's good with kids. In the event you picked out a dog that seemed great but hated kids and bit one, you would be pretty upset, a kid would be hurt and the dog would be without a home. This rescue's procedure seems rather simple and if you ARE a responsible person who is telling the truth, they should be able to find a dog to suit you. I think you just need to chill out about the procedures. Without it people and animals are at risk.

I'm glad you finally found a dog and hope we can hear more about her when you bring her home. And where did you eventually find a place to get the dog?

However I really don't understand how or why you keep bringing up abortion because regardless of your views on that, the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other. It's not even like you're comparing adopting a child to a dog. They're two entirely different things with quite frankly, opposite goals in mind.

I'm not going to argue your views on abortion but I am going to argue your views on standard adoption procedures being "insulting" to the humans. What is so bad about meeting their standards for getting one of their dogs? That means they CARE about the dogs. Usually the standards aren't too high either. You have to be a nice person, have the money, means and time to care for the dog, a vet in mind, and have a lifestyle that meshes with a particular dog. It's not hard for the majority of people to pass this. If you work in animal rescue you will see animals come to you abused, abandoned, neglected, badly trained/trained to attack, with health problems, and all sorts of horrible, preventable problems that HUMANS caused. Quite frankly, plenty of people are not fit to own dogs, or want them for purposes that are not safe for the animals, and occasionally not safe for the public as well. The alternative to this is saying "Oh, you want one of our dogs? Pick any one you want!" That will mean dogs that hate kids will go to homes with kids and bite them and be declared "vicious", dogs who need an experienced owners will go to inexperienced owners who will then call the dogs "unmanageable" and return them or get them put down, people will lie about living in a place that doesn't allow dogs and hide the dog then have to return it 2 months later when the landlord returns, people who want to breed, fight and torture dogs will get them and be allowed to do whatever they want with them. Along with that, many adoption forms are treated like a match-making process. This CAN be a tool to find the "perfect" dog for someone, which really, makes everyone happy. It's truly much more like getting a date on eharmony, while picking any random dog is like a blind date.

These are all situations I have seen, and heard of in my life. This is what *REALLY* happens when people give away or sell dogs without making sure the dog fits with that person's life. Again, if it is not done people and dogs get hurt, and dogs will get returned to the shelter. I don't really care how many people are "insulted" by a very standard procedure, because it protects humans and animals. Not only that, but there are certain private rescues with ridiculous standards, like always needing a fenced yard, having a ridiculous number of references, multiple home visits, high fees, and more. This IS excessive, but the Basset rescue you listed was pretty tame--save for the home visit, which I personally find excessive.

I've noticed that everyone who gets upset about a standard adoption process, generally let their ego get in the way of seeing the logic behind this. Typically they think "Well I'M a good person! How dare they ask me anything! How DARE anyone think I'm not suitable for ---?!" The thing is, it's not about *you*. It's not like they're creating this process just for you. They do this to weed out the bad people, people who don't care about the dogs, and those who can't care for them properly. So I hope you can understand why this is necessary.

Well, I took the gamble and got bit in the butt. I found this nice looking Yellow lab (Gus) at the local pound. He seemed very friendly and was the right age I was looking for (10 months). The pound had a record that concerned me though because he had been adopted from the pound at 6 weeks and then returned by the people that adopted him at 9 months. I asked the pound why the people had returned him and they just stated that it was, "Personal Issues". I took that to mean that the people could not provide for Gus anymore, but I wondered what kind of owner that loved their dog would choose to give him to the pound instead of finding him a better home. That was my question.

After getting Gus home we immediately fell in love with him. He seemed super friendly and responded well to training, something his previous owner gave him none of. One thing that concerned me though was that Gus seemed to be very hard mouthed for a Lab. He posses incredible jaw strength and is able to crush a cow leg bone (store bought) with a single bite.

All was well until my mother dropped off her little Miniature Pomeranian (Butch) for us to care for while she was on vacation. As soon as Gus saw butch in my mom's arms, he lunged at my mom almost knocking her over. It all happened so quickly, I thought he might have been just trying to play with the little dog. But that night when my son was walking Butch on a leash, Gus ran out the door when it was opened and attacked Butch viciously. Had I not right on his tail, he would have most certainly killed him. His ears were laid back and hair all bristled up. I got there in the nick of time as Gus had just got the little dog in his mouth and I only saved him with a swift and hard soccer kick to the rear of Gus, landing me on my butt between Gus and Butch. Gus reeled around and came right back at the tiny dog full force and I had to land a punch to his forehead to stop him. In all my years, I have only seen one other large dog attack a tiny dog like that for no reason. That was a neighbor's Pitt Bull that broke through a wooden fence into my back yard and grabbed our lhasa apso puppy out my 8 year old daughter's arms and crushed it's head in front of her. Most large dogs do not act that way towards tiny dogs.

I reasoned that Gus might be suffering some ill effects of being in the pound, so I decided that I might be able to fix Gus with training. After multiple attempts to introduce Gus to Butch and two other little dogs (in a controlled situation), Gus immediately responded with aggressive and deadly force. It's as if a switch is flipped in his brain when he sees a small dog and he goes right for the kill. So we started keeping gus in our dog pen during the day until I could have time to work with him more.

Then today the unthinkable happened. Our friends visited with their 3 year old grandchild. He was out walking with his grandma and got close to the edge of the dog pen and Gus viciously tried to attack the baby for no reason. Fortunately, he was penned or it could have been really bad. With the kind of jaw strength Gus posses, I cannot imagine the damage he could do. I cannot see the slightest bit of Pitt in him, but there has to be something besides Lab in there somewhere.

I don't know what his previous owner did to him for him to be this aggressive at 10 months old, but it is obvious why they got rid of him.

Unfortunately, there is no possible way I can keep Gus. My family is torn apart and devastated, but I will not tolerate an animal of any kind that will show even the slightest aggression towards any human. I have never owned a single animal that would, and never will. My family knows that this is a hard and fast rule in our house. I will be calling the pound in the morning to return him. I will also be telling the pound that they should do a much better job of getting information about dogs that are voluntarily brought in. They should warn people when they bring dogs in that if they do not disclose that the dog has demonstrate aggressive behavior towards humans and other animals, that they are responsible if that dog is adopted out by another family and it injures a human or another animal. If Gus would have hurt my friends grandchild, I would have gone to the ends of the earth to sue both the pound and the previous owners. As it is, my family is now suffering the emotional wounds of losing yet another family pet.

My suggestions to all of you, is to think hard before you again make the recommendation and encourage people to get a dog from shelters. I am not saying anyone here is responsible for what happened, but I had not thought about looking at shelter dogs before I was encouraged to do so on this forum.

Okay, I have some answers for you, and also I have to say I'm thoroughly annoyed and quite angered with many things you have said, especially because some are flat out wrong and prejudiced.

First of all, likening this dog to all shelter dogs is ridiculous. Just because you had a bad experience does not mean that many other people--millions, don't have positive ones. Not only that, but you went on and on and on about how you thought good rescues' and shelters' procedures were "insulting" and ridiculous. Well, if you had gone to one of those instead of becoming personally offended by standard responsible procedures, you'd probably have gotten a better dog with a more thorough history and behavior tests. I find it ironic that you were bothered this shelter had a poor history on this dog yet you find anyone questioning people coming in or out to be a violation. A shelter that asks a lot of questions does so because they would know their animals well and would know how they behave around small dogs/pets and children better than this one did. Just the fact that they adopted out a 6 week old puppy is a huge red flag. That's entirely too young. In fact, puppies separated from their litter before 8 weeks can often have a very strong bite--because they didn't learn better bite inhibition from the other puppies. That might be part of why Gus was like that.

Also, no, it is NOT uncommon for a good number of large dogs to see small dogs as prey. Just because you haven't seen it in anything else than that traumatic attack on your dog doesn't mean that it doesn't happen a lot. If a big dog isn't well socialized to small dogs, and/or they have a high prey drive--which Gus clearly did, then they will probably go after and kill them if they have the chance. I'm concerned too and curious about how you were/were planning to train him with little dogs. Because if you put him in the same room with them right away it likely just riled him up more and made him want to go at them more. Like putting a Redbone in a room with a caged raccoon.

And he "must have some Pit Bull in him"? REALLY?! HOW is it people justify a dog's aggression by saying "Well it must be a Pit Bull!" instead of facing the fact any breed can be dangerous or aggressive?! That maybe it was his experiences or brain wiring that made him act in such a way? This logic is absolutely insane. Believe it or not Labs are responsible for many attacks on children. Not only that, but thinking that a breed makes a dog either dangerous or safe is one of THE most dangerous things that the American public believes. People will assume that a Pit Bull who has a therapy dog certification might one day snap and kill because it's a "vicious" breed. People will assume (like you did) that because something Labs can't be very aggressive, because it's a "friendly" breed. Different breeds have some personality predispositions, but all dogs need to be looked at individually. The dog you got was unstable, reactive to children and small animals, with a high prey drive and poor bite inhibition. His breed (like many dangerous dogs) likely had very little to do with that. And really, him being in a shelter probably had nothing to do with it either. After all, he was there for what, a month? I'm pretty sure whoever had him for the previous 7 months is who created or exacerbated his bad behavior.

You did not go to a responsible rescue. You went to one that fit your standards of "respecting you" and giving you whichever dog you thought "seemed nice" instead of answering and asking a lot of questions to find a dog that IS actually nice and won't go after small dogs and children. So no, you can't blame us for any advice we gave you because you didn't actually follow it.

To end my rant here, I am sorry that you went through such a bad experience and that poor Butch went through this too. But do not try to place any blame on the entire shelter world or a breed that has absolutely no involvement in this at all. This was all due to human irresponsibility, and what sounds like a very unbalanced, reactive dog.

traciek88 said:

Okay, I have some answers for you, and also I have to say I'm thoroughly annoyed and quite angered with many things you have said, especially because some are flat out wrong and prejudiced.

First of all, likening this dog to all shelter dogs is ridiculous. Just because you had a bad experience does not mean that many other people--millions, don't have positive ones. Not only that, but you went on and on and on about how you thought good rescues' and shelters' procedures were "insulting" and ridiculous. Well, if you had gone to one of those instead of becoming personally offended by standard responsible procedures, you'd probably have gotten a better dog with a more thorough history and behavior tests. I find it ironic that you were bothered this shelter had a poor history on this dog yet you find anyone questioning people coming in or out to be a violation. A shelter that asks a lot of questions does so because they would know their animals well and would know how they behave around small dogs/pets and children better than this one did. Just the fact that they adopted out a 6 week old puppy is a huge red flag. That's entirely too young. In fact, puppies separated from their litter before 8 weeks can often have a very strong bite--because they didn't learn better bite inhibition from the other puppies. That might be part of why Gus was like that.

Also, no, it is NOT uncommon for a good number of large dogs to see small dogs as prey. Just because you haven't seen it in anything else than that traumatic attack on your dog doesn't mean that it doesn't happen a lot. If a big dog isn't well socialized to small dogs, and/or they have a high prey drive--which Gus clearly did, then they will probably go after and kill them if they have the chance. I'm concerned too and curious about how you were/were planning to train him with little dogs. Because if you put him in the same room with them right away it likely just riled him up more and made him want to go at them more. Like putting a Redbone in a room with a caged raccoon.

And he "must have some Pit Bull in him"? REALLY?! HOW is it people justify a dog's aggression by saying "Well it must be a Pit Bull!" instead of facing the fact any breed can be dangerous or aggressive?! That maybe it was his experiences or brain wiring that made him act in such a way? This logic is absolutely insane. Believe it or not Labs are responsible for many attacks on children. Not only that, but thinking that a breed makes a dog either dangerous or safe is one of THE most dangerous things that the American public believes. People will assume that a Pit Bull who has a therapy dog certification might one day snap and kill because it's a "vicious" breed. People will assume (like you did) that because something Labs can't be very aggressive, because it's a "friendly" breed. Different breeds have some personality predispositions, but all dogs need to be looked at individually. The dog you got was unstable, reactive to children and small animals, with a high prey drive and poor bite inhibition. His breed (like many dangerous dogs) likely had very little to do with that. And really, him being in a shelter probably had nothing to do with it either. After all, he was there for what, a month? I'm pretty sure whoever had him for the previous 7 months is who created or exacerbated his bad behavior.

You did not go to a responsible rescue. You went to one that fit your standards of "respecting you" and giving you whichever dog you thought "seemed nice" instead of answering and asking a lot of questions to find a dog that IS actually nice and won't go after small dogs and children. So no, you can't blame us for any advice we gave you because you didn't actually follow it.

To end my rant here, I am sorry that you went through such a bad experience and that poor Butch went through this too. But do not try to place any blame on the entire shelter world or a breed that has absolutely no involvement in this at all. This was all due to human irresponsibility, and what sounds like a very unbalanced, reactive dog.

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I never said "It must have been the Pitt Bull in him'. You just made that up. I said the only other dog that I had ever seen attack a small dog was a pitt bull. I actually said that I could see no evidence of Pitt in him at all. So try reading before go on a rant.

As far as the rest of what you said goes. Your are free to your opinion. Opinions are like poop. Everyone's poop smells good to them, but stinks to everyone else.

I have lived in 6 different countries and I am fluent in four languages. I have seen and dealt thousands of dogs outside of this country and I have can say unequivocally that I have never seen so many unbalanced dogs with problems as I have seen here in the USA. Make of it what you will, that is just my observation based on my personal experience.

As far as Pitt Bulls go. They are just a dog, but they are dog with a much greater capacity to due damage and kill them the large majority of other breeds. Before you go off on another rant let me save you the time and list all the stupid regurgitated defenses that pitt owners use (It's like you all read them in a book.)

1. The Chihuahua defense. "Chihuahuas are far more aggressive then Pitt bulls are." First of all this argument is so dumb, it is an insult to the intelligence of the person who try to use it. Equating a Pitt Bull with Chihuahua is like comparing an air soft gun to a 44 Magnum revolver. One might sting you and the other will tear a hole through you the size of a dinner plate.

2. The German Shepard Defense. " It's really German Shepard's that are doing the attacking, but people just blame any dog attack on Pitt Bulls." This is actually a very insulting statement, because it assumes that every dog expert in the world is a complete idiot that cannot tell the difference between a German Shepard and a Pitt Bull.

3. The American Pitt Bull Terrier Defense. "It is not a true Pitt Bull unless it is a full blood American Pitt Bull Terrier, and there are almost no attacks reported for true American Pitt Bull Terriers". This defense is just so dumb, it is almost too dumb to address. It is simply as person's last ditch desperate attempt to defend the Pitt Bull breed by trying to create an impossible qualifier. As in saying, "If the authority did not ask for the dogs AKC registration after the dog attack, then you can't blame it on a Pitt".

There are some other, but I think I made the point. Here is the truth. Pitts are dogs, just like another dog. They are no different except for this one thing; they have a much GREATER CAPACITY, to inflict damage and kill then just about any other breed of dog. This is a result of their breeding. Anyone who denies this point, is simple living in denial. Any dog can become aggressive and bite, but few dogs can kill a human as easily as a Pitt can. So in this case owning a Pitt Bull is actually more dangerous then owning a gun. I Gun cannot get up of it's own accord and go kill someone or their dog. A Pitt Bull can!

I believe that anyone who chooses to own a gun, must except the responsibility that they are choosing to own a deadly weapon and must take full responsibility for that and take all measures to assure that that gun does not fall into the wrong hands and hurt someone. Like wise, I think Pitt Bull owners bare a much greater responsibility then say someone who chooses to own a Chihuahua, and needs to accept that they are choosing to own a dog that has the CAPACITY to kill a human and they should therefore take all possible measure to make sure that dogs never has the chance to do so.

That is my opinion. It might stink to you, but it sure smells good to me.

Of course there's more messed up dogs in the USA than other countries. We breed them in such a way that we just breed for looks and not personality so plenty end up screwed in the head. You may be a well traveled, talented linguist but that doesn't make you an expert on dogs, dog breeds, or behavior. Everyone can have their "own opinion", but their education and experiences vary greatly. You're going to take an opinion on medical advice from a nurse much more seriously than someone without medical training. Considering I and many other people on this website have much more dog experience--as trainers, shelter workers, daycare workers, walkers, groomers, breeders, etc., then our opinion is actually more valid than an average person's.

Again, it doesn't matter what your experiences are in terms of large dogs not going after small ones. The part of the "Pit Bull" breed many people forget to leave out is the last part--Terrier. Have you ever seen a terrier tear up rodents? It's a sight to see. They are relentless, tenacious and very efficient killers with a sky high prey drive. Make a terrier twice as large and more muscular and it will possibly see its prey, not just as very small rodents, but larger animals like cats and small dogs as well. And even if you did not directly say Gus must've had some Pit Bull in him, you said that you didn't see any in him, which clearly baffled you because it would've made sense in your head if he looked it. So that logic is very clearly vicious behavior = Pit Bull behavior.

Is it true that bully breeds attack many people? Yes, and that's for a few reasons. First of all, they're the #1 choice for poor dog owners and one of THE most common breeds in the entire country. They're the most abused and neglected breeds of dog there are. If you take a strong dog with no socialization, bad experiences, poor or dangerous training and a high prey drive and then treat it like crap and put it in situations that stress dogs out, bad things will happen. Are there also a good number that are bred to kill and already live casualties of dog fighting that need to be put down? Sadly, yes.

I have to say I've never heard anyone say it's German Shepherds attacking people instead of Pits. But in terms of a Pit being able to kill "Easier than other breeds", well that depends on what you mean. Is the Chihuahua/other small dog vs. a Pit Bull aggression argument that valid? No, not really. The ability to kill and inflict more damage than breeds of smaller size? Yes, of course that's obvious. But dogs of similar build and size, no. Speaking of German Shepherds, they actually have a more powerful bite than bully breed mixes or Pits, as do Rottweilers. That *IS* a fact there have been studies on, not an opinions. So no, your opinion doesn't matter because it's wrong and probably just taken as assumptions you've heard from the media. There's a lot of BS rumors around that their jaws "lock" on prey or they "cause more damage" than other breeds. No they don't. Not in comparison to dogs of similar size/strength. Pretty much all dogs over 50-60 lbs have the capacity to kill an adult human. Most dogs have the capacity to kill children. Dogs are a predator species, and their bodies and anatomy is still made to kill prey. Do owners of large dogs have to bear more responsibility than that of a small dog? Hell yes. But placing all the blame on Pit Bulls or bully breeds is just a jerk thing to do.

That's it, I'm done.

Let me see if I understand this correctly.... You get insulted by reputable rescues and shelters that ask a ton of questions, do home checks, and try and make sure they pair you up with dogs that will best fit your lifestyle, the types of rescues and shelters that those of us on DF recommend people go to. You decide to go to a shelter that does minimum checks, know nothing about the dogs in their care, that allow a person to choose whatever dog they please so long as the person can pay the adoption fee, and then get ticked off because you ended up with a dog that is completely inappropriate for your home? DF was not the problem, you were for being to impatient to go through a legitimate adoption process.

Good dog rescues consider the dogs in their care as theirs. They take the time to know their dogs, they invest their time, sweat, and tears into rescuing and caring for those dogs. They want their dogs to go to the best home possible, a forever home where the dog will fit in and thrive, and they want the new owners to have the best possible dog for them so that they do not have to go through the heartache you went through. Good breeders are the same.

By the way, I'm one who uses the APBT argument. Saying all dogs with a short coat, square head and blocky build is a pit bull is the equivalent of saying that all tri colored dogs with a square head are a rottweiler, and all black and white dogs with a longer muzzle and medium length coat are border collies. Pit Bull is an umbrella term that's now used to describe any dog with a short coat, square head, and blocky build regardless of breed. The way it's used is a descriptive term and not a breed. Dogs with that shape do not have any greater capacity to do damage then any other dog their size. They do not even have the strongest bite. Any dog that's the size of those generally labeled pit bull can kill a person with the same ease as those labeled pit bull.

Wow... Just Wow. : (

It made me almost sick to my stomach, John, reading about your attitude towards getting a pet. You are not interested in adopting a dog...you just wanted to buy one - with Zero hassle...just like going into a grocery store to buy an apple. Adoption means, understanding that you are dealing with a living creature that has a personality and energy level that needed to fit with it's new home/owner(s).

You claim to be smart...4 languages... phf.. I speak 4 languages too (English, Spanish, Korean and a little Amerian Sign Language) and I passed a Mensa test, so technically, I'm a genius.

Yeah, I can figure out all their little spacial/pattern tests, and such - I also know how to structure a proper sentence but rarely do so, but at least when I don't use my smarts to do things right, I'm not putting anyone in harms way...like what you did in ignoring the smart thing to do by working with the adoption process.

You also have it in your head that age and having certain mental abilities, automatically means people should respect you.

I'm 53 - but learned a long time ago that respect comes from behaving in a way that makes people respect you...it's not just set on your plate just because you got old or can do math quicker than someone else, or have the ability to pick up foreign languages.

There's book smarts and then there's common sense, and you very much lack the latter, from what I've read here. How anyone can ever feel insulted because an adoption agency wants to know about the person and place they will be delivering an living breathing animal into...is beyond me...but you managed to feel that way.

Everyone I've ever talked to when faced with the adoption process (even those who don't speak several languages and who have average IQs) understood the agencies are actually helping you weed out dogs not suited for you. You, though, got your hackles up and just wanted to grab the first dog that caught your fancy, pay for it and take it home and you found a place that let you do that.

It sounds like you checked out some rescues, and a few 'real shelters'...then ended up at a city owned "animal control" facility (also known as dog pounds) that is probably kill shelter, and who will 'adopt' out animals because they are not interested in matching up dogs to the right owners, they are just trying to get cage space for the next stray dog or surrendered dog that comes through the door.

Most of the 'animal control' places, don't have dog trainers, or even enough staff to let you know about a dog's personality...sometimes they barely have the staff to keep the cages clean...much less analysis a dog and do some basic work with it....especially since in those kinds of places, the dogs are there for 3 days before being put to sleep and in some of the 'better' ones...the place will keep a dog as long as there is cage space...so maybe a dog can be there a for some time.

I think in the back of your head, you knew the difference...that the right way would have been jump through some hoops, fill out some forms, have some interviews with a real shelter/rescue interested in you and the dog that might end up with you, almost everyone here advised you do do so. But you felt you were above all that...and found a place to basically 'buy' a dog...no questions really asked, nor living conditions looked into ...they took your word for it all.

This is what I mentioned to you before you got the dog you did...and I still can't believe how prophetic it sounds now:

StormyPeak said:

..........Adoption, should be a process...not just go in grab any animal and take it home. I think jumping through a few hoops and asking or getting the right questions in and narrowing down a dog with the right personality type for your home will save you a lot of grief and irritation in the long run.

It would be terrible in owning a pet that you fall in love with, but one who is a constant cause of stress, or a money drain due to having to get it special training help, or vet services because no one at the shelter took time a assess all the personality and health faults of the dog and pass that information on to potential owners...............Stormy

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Then...the absolute gall, to come in and blame people here for your ego trip that made you skip filling out a few forms or bypassing on a dog that you didn't have enough information on...and getting what you got.

In my first response you....go back and look at the animals I have adopted from both shelters and rescue groups. And I clearly in my response advised that skipping a dog you might like due to the shelter not having enough information on it...was better than taking the chance on getting a problem dog.

You blame the dog because it came from a shelter. I and others here, have had many well mannered 'shelter dogs'. It's not because it's a shelter dog that this all happened. It's because you ignored Great advice, then didn't want to give any rescue group any information that would help them weed out dogs not fitted for your life.

Unfortunately, your arrogance has a dog in your home that will now have to be sent back, or put to sleep. You (not the dog) put at risk other pets and family members...just because you didn't want to do a little paperwork and weed out dogs with issues.

After reading what you wrote, all I can say now, is that I needed Mensa to tell me I was a genius, but you...you made me feel like one.

Stormy