So irritated with people

As i'm perusing a site that lets owners post their dogs for rehoming I am struck again and again by the reasons they give for giving the dog up.

"I just don't have time for it any more" translation: "I have time for it but the novelty of owning a dog has worn off and I don't want to deal with it anymore"

"Our childs allergies have just gotten out of control" translation "Now that we have a kid our dog doesn't mean anything to us anymore and saying the kid has allergies is an easy out, noone expects us to give up our kid for our dog"

"Were moving out of town/state/country and can't take him with us" translation: "Of course we could take him with us if we actually WANTED to, but...well this new place is nice and the dog (pick one) smells/drools/farts/digs in the lawn/scratches at the door/tracks in mud"

"Were getting divorced so we can't keep him" translation "Its as good an excuse as any to get rid of the dog we don't care about anymore anyways."

They all act as if its a great heartbreak to have to "give up" their dog (giving up on the dog is more like it). "Oh i'm so sad I can't keep him but its just not FAIR to him to have him in these conditions" BS. You got a dog because it was cute/adorable/a novelty, and when it wasn't a perfect dog (cause theres no such thing) and you actually had to spend more than 20 minutes one time to have it trained to perfection you decided to "Give it up". Its exactly like the time my older sister got a baby bunny for her 4 yr old son for christmas one year, and by easter it had been dumped at animal control because my sister didnt want to take care of it anymore. The novelty wore off and exposed the fact that you didn't care.

...whew, sorry! It's that time of the month and i'm depressed from missing Atlas. Plus i've been searching all day and no luck on finding a new dog to adopt.

I know how you feel. I see it all the time as well...the worst ones are the people who DON'T try to find a home for their pets and either beat them, throw them out a fast moving car window on a highway (that's how I found my cat), tie them to a tree in the middle of the woods shoot them in the head then beat them with a baseball club (this little border collie mix did live, chewed through the rope....found the next nearest home...this dog lived the bullet missed every vital part of the brain...friendlist little dog considering the circumstances) People who Continually throw their puppy against a wall, move from their apartment and leave the dog/cats there for the landlord to find. Put them in a bag and drown them. There are so many things I have seen that make me so angry... These are just a few of the horrors I have seen with my own eyes...there are many more...too many horrors to list.

I am a firm believe if you get a puppy or a dog you are responsible for that animal for the duration of its life no matter what.

I agree with you. But it does depend on the circomstances. I had to give away the dog we had with my ex, because we divorced. We lived in a house with a small yard, and he had full run of the first floor and the yard all the time. I had to move to a tiny apartment, where I would be away 9 hours a day, and he had to go to his parents, who just don't want pets. So between my apartment and the house with yard of the people we found, there was no comparison.

I agree though, we didn't know much about dogs at the time, we had no time to train him (away 10 hours a day...), and the pup was an impulsive purchase from my ex. A min pinsher, a terrible choice for first owners, too, and not a breed I was particularly fond of too. So yes, it was the easy way out to give him away, but in this case it WAS just much better for the dog. But we would never have left him at a shelter.

I'm less stupid now, and I wouldn't do it again for sure, but the sad truth is that for most dogs that are given up, it's often a good thing for them to be able to finally have a good home. The main problem of course is that people are not informed at all...

In some cases I feel the person has a valid reason. Maybe they were evicted from their apartment and now matter how hard they try, they can't find a place that allows dogs? Then rehoming is the best option. If I ever have to rehome one of my pets, the first people I will look to will be my family and friends, because they are who I trust most.

But I think that when you get a pet you are responsible for it. When we adopted Colby from the shelter, we realized that we are responsible for this dog, for however long she lives. On her adoption papers it asks "If you move, where will the dog go?" we answered "with us". And a year ago, we moved (ugh), and we took our three dogs with us. They are our family, we aren't just going to dump them on the side of a road because we're moving.

yeah, i am sure there are lots of people who truly dont have another choice...

but for all those people, there are prob tons more who are just giving up...

i actually was actually a little scared that it would happen when we got a dog...that after we got used to having a dog, oakley would get ignored...but NOPE...not by me, thats for sure! I got in trouble probably EVERY SINGLE day when i was home for the summer for spending too much time with him, or not getting something accomplished because "oakley has to be played with" etc etc, lol

i miss that poopsie head

And another thing that ticks me off is hearing: "We just don't have time for him anymore" and then realizing they are talking about a 10week old puppy!! Now THAT ticks me off.

That is why a lot of times I do not post when people are rehoming because I feel there is no excuse. Would you re home your kids because you got a divorce, lost your job, are busy? So I feel my dog are the same. I guess it really is how you look at it. Too me dogs are my kids they mean as much to me as my human babies and we work together as a family.

Actually, some people DO put their babies for adoption when they feel that they can't give them a good home. It's not that different. Sure, they won't give them away if they are older, but see how many kids have no health care, ans are almost starving because of it? I feel that dogs are the lucky ones there, at least they have a chance of getting a better home.

At the same time, people won't say anything if you live in a one bedroom apartment with a kid, but if you work 10 hours a day and have a dog in the same apartment, it's a problem. You really can't compare dogs and children.

I'm not saying people always have noble reasons for rehoming their dogs, but it's often the best for the dog.

I really don't know why I am going to post this but, I own a single family home in town, (we are going to move to our land, when the house is finished), but my neighbors are 3 apartments in one house, and two of the three families that live there have dogs. So that is 2 dogs living tied to dog boxes in their backyard. They have about 10 feet of chain and absolutely no companionship. They feed and water them regularly (I keep tabs) but what kind of a life do these poor dogs have? One of the dogs had two litters of puppies in 1 1/2 years, thank god they got her fixed this summer. Now the other dog is a female too, looks like a sheltie, greyhound mix with long legs like a dog that needs exercise. I feel so sorry for that dog especially.
Everytime I look at them, I think how lucky my dogs are. My dogs are in a big backyard and in the house and go places with us. Rocket goes to work with hubby everyday. The labs go hunting. When we go to our camp we take them. The more I see of some other dog owners, the more I realize that I treat our dogs great, with lots of opportunities and companionship.
I am really proud of my dogs, even though Shiloh has a temperment problem with Rocket. We deal with it. If someone else had her she probably would be on death row.
My point is this, If the neighbors dogs have no life, they would be better off rehomed, with people that interact with them. Heck they might be better off dead. That may be drastic, but it is really a shame for a dog to be tied to a 10 foot chain its whole life, and there is nothing anyone can do, because they have shelter (old doghouses), food, and water.
Anyway I have rambled on about this and it really has nothing to do with the original post, I just get so mad about people getting puppies and then either sending them to a shelter or tying them in the backyard to avoid the problems that can be corrected with knowledge and training. I guess the ignorance of some people is unthinkable for me.
Julie.

Payge,
I agree 100%. Of course there are always exceptions to every rule, but I just can't see ever giving up on any of my pets. Before we got Murray and we were filling out applications at different shelters, they always asked - if you had to get rid of your dog, what would you do with him? I always answered - I have never had to rehome any of my pets and never would. To me, when you decide to take in an animal, you've made a lifetime commitment.