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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I think it is too hard to rehome an animal

479 replies

SuperHans · 02/03/2011 22:20

I bought a puppy a few months ago and I really love him - he was the right choice for us. He cost £100.

He was vacc's and I will pay to have him castrated soon.

He has been such a success that I have been looking into getting him a companion. I would like to help a dog and rescue them but they want stupid amounts of money and loads of home vists.

I am just put off, and it is a shame because I could easily home another dog and give him a good life.

I think I will just buy another puppy I am afraid.

OP posts:
SugarPasteFrog · 02/03/2011 23:25

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SuperHans · 02/03/2011 23:25

Valhalla - there is no real problem with a home check - I just think - oh the garden isn't weeded, the hall isn't decorated blah, blah and I kind of want to pick the dog I like and go.

That's it really I think, I want to vist a "pound", pick my dog and take him.

Maybe it's my mindset that's wrong.

There is nothing in my home I am hiding apart from a dirty oven.

OP posts:
reelingintheyears · 02/03/2011 23:25

The home visit isn't a problem.

All they do is ask a few questions and check out the garden and sleeping arrangements.

No biggie really.

reelingintheyears · 02/03/2011 23:26

Why would they care if the garden isn't weeded? Confused

Scuttlebutter · 02/03/2011 23:27

Hans, you are wrong. Let's talk seriously about the costs of your dog. Every year, it will need vaccinating and an annual vet check up. It will need worming (and possibly flea treatment) every three months.
These days, any sensible pet owner will have insurance.

It will need an appropriate diet, preferably one not full of crap. It will need a collar, lead, bowls, possibly a coat, a bed, grooming equipment. You will need to bath it regularly and possibly have it professionally groomed/clipped/toenails clipped, depending on breed. If you have a car, you will need some form of safe transport system for it, such as either it's own seat belt, a dog guard for the boot, or a travelling crate/cage, as well as possibly some form of seat cover/blanket to protect from mud/hair.

You will need to take it to classes, either puppy classes if it is young or general obedience classes if it is adult. It may need toys and many owners invest in a crate. When it is an adult, you may well wish to do things like further obedience classes, Cani X, flyball etc. Even going further afield on walks will cost in petrol and time.

When you go on holiday, your dogs will need to go into kennels. This will cost as much as taking another person on the holiday. If you are busy in the day you may need to pay for a dog walker, and there may well be times when you will have to pay for care for your dog when you are away/having a day out etc.

Your home and garden will need to be dog proofed. This means that your fencing needs to be secure. We've just spent the last five days with our three dogs taking it in turns to vomit copiously all over the house (food poisoning - all are now recovering) - the washing machine has been going non stop, the curtains are at the dry cleaners and several large duvets are at the laundrette, and we've had to throw out two rugs. We've had to pay for vets visits - although we are insured cost will be beneath excess, so we are out of pocket for that. This is by no means unusual (not the food poisoning) but the fact that we visit our vet regularly for small things and that we need to do a great deal of extra housekeeping because of the dogs.

ALL OF THIS COSTS. A LOT. We have chosen it, and are happy to pay it. But the point is even for one or two dogs, this is expenditure you will need to find.

I would strongly recommend that you do a spreadsheet of your monthly budget, income and outgoings and take a long cold hard look at whether you can afford a dog.

You do not have a right to a dog. Bluntly, if you cannot afford it, all the love in the world will not help you, and more importantly will not help the dog.

If you really want to help a second dog, you might want to think about fostering, but to be honest I am reluctant to recommned that since you seem to be hostile to charities visiting you. All the reputable charities I know (and I do these visits myself) only tend to do one homecheck visit before an adoption - our charity usually does a courtesy follow up visit after the dog has been adopted to see how it is settling.

If you paid £100 for a pup then that was too little. Any of the reputable dog breeders on MN (and there are some) will tell you that this will not cover the cost of the pup if it has had the apppropriate care, including medical attention, vax and worming (essential for pups, and for pregnant mum).

As a charity trustee, I can tell you that the suggested adoption fee of around £100 - £125 will not come even close to covering the costs of the dog. These will include neutering, chipping, vax, worming, flea treatment, full vet check, often dental work (I volunteer for greyhound charity), any other veterinary work, behavioural assessment, etc etc as well as food and kennelling costs. As well, many charities will also ensure that if the dog ever has to be rehomed (no matter how old) it will be taken back. We currently have an 11 year old greyhound who was handed back last year to the charity - would your breeder friend be willing to do that in ten years time?

Hans, please think hard about this.

BaroqueAroundTheClock · 02/03/2011 23:27

you don't have the funds right now??

What would you do if your dog swallowed a tiny elastic band (heaven knows where from) and then ate grass to make herself sick. But instead of being sick the grass wrapped around the band and caused a critical blockage that could kill it. Requiring emergnecy surgery costing over £2000??

Vallhala · 02/03/2011 23:27

See Sugar's post above yours for an explanation on Premium insurance policies... she explains it far better than I can. :)

Go on then... you can't afford a rescue's donation but you know where to get 7 grand if your dog were to collapse tonight and be unable to walk? How does that work then?

And as for "is he better being adored by me or in a kennel" Mercy was in a kennel for her last year of life, where she was adored by us all. She died today of kidney failure. As a rescuer, as a homechecker, as one who KNEW that dog and loved her I will risk insulting you by telling you this: you would not have deserved her, you would not have been good enough for her and she was better off in kennels where we all between us, the rescue owner and volunteers alike, could give her what she needed. Some of that was love but love didn't pay her vet bills. RIP, run free little Mercy

Joolyjoolyjoo · 02/03/2011 23:27

"Is he better being adored with me or in a kennel?"

But SuperHans those are not necessarily the only 2 options! If the rescue refuse you, the next person who comes along might be someone (like Val! Grin) who is more than happy to pay out AND who will love the animal.

Yes, the dog that you have now loves you and you love him, and that is great. You say you have a no-kill policy, but if it came down to paying £5K for specialist treatment or being able to afford to feed your children, how would your no-kill policy stand up?

I'm not trying to be mean. Noone ever thinks (or likes to think) that serious illness/ accident will happen to THEIR dog, but it happens, and good owners have something in place to ensure they can deal with it if it does.

SuperHans · 02/03/2011 23:28

No wonder there are so many dogs waiting for homes.

OP posts:
worraliberty · 02/03/2011 23:29

'Pick and Go'? It's a dog, not 5lb of potatoes Confused

Joolyjoolyjoo · 02/03/2011 23:32

Waiting for the right homes!

And meantime, being well cared for and (if most of the rscues I've been involved with are representative) loved by the staff/ fosterers.

these people work with these dogs day in and out. They already love them. Ask yourself, would you give your much-loved dog to any old person who wanted him without first checking that he was going to a good home where he would always get all the care he needed?

ChippingInMistressSteamMop · 02/03/2011 23:32

SuperHans - what would you do if the Putney Clinic said they wouldn't pay for an operation that your dog needed because it was too expensive?

SugarPasteFrog · 02/03/2011 23:33

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BaroqueAroundTheClock · 02/03/2011 23:33

"oh the garden isn't weeded, the hall isn't decorated blah, blah"

They're not rental agent coming to inspect your home to see if you're looking after it properly! They honestly don't care. Admittedly I did blitz my house before I had my homevisit........however by the time she arrived (late after having recieved a phonecall about an animal that needed rescuing) it was a tip again. She wasn't there to check on that. Thankfully the cat (and I know when we had a dog when I was much younger she was the same) doesn't actually care if the house is a bombsite and the garden needs weeding, and the guttering is falling off.

The rehoming charities have a duty to ensure that the dog is going to a suitable home - where there aren't already 10 dogs crammed into a tiny 2 bedroom house with no garden, where the home owner full understands the cost of treatment (and hopefully understands that while the PDSA is fabulous - it doesn't cover everything, and itself relies on the public to fund it) etc.

reelingintheyears · 02/03/2011 23:33

I couldn't begin to imagine giving our collie back..
It would be a nightmare for her.
And us.

She was as mad as a bag of frogs when we got her six years ago and wouldn't cope with being away from us now.

If she has to wait in the car for 5 mins she howls the place down.
And i can't leave her at home alone for long for the same reason.

SugarPasteFrog · 02/03/2011 23:35

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SuperHans · 02/03/2011 23:36

Well - I am looking for cheap insurance. Argh!

Deary me, I know people who have had kids with less thought.

Anyone, recommend cheap insurance?

And I do think my lovely dog is happy with me, therefore happier than he could have been elsewhere.

And I do think that there are dogs in kennels that could be happy with "cash strapped" people. I am setting up a business, things won't always be this bad.

My kids are living through it, why shouldn't the dog.

And his name is Dog.

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SugarPasteFrog · 02/03/2011 23:36

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Vallhala · 02/03/2011 23:36

Oh FFS!

Now you're making me angry because you are either being deliberately argumentative or you are stupid.

One of the main reasons there are so many dogs looking for homes is because idiots go to the man down the road who has bred his bitch with some random dog, done no health checks (eyes, hips, heart etc depending on breed) on the parents or pups, not vaxed, not wormed, not fed them the right food, not checked the owners and who is not willing to take the dog back if it goes tits up in 10 years time.

Does that kind of idiot ring a bell with you?

Also, re pound dogs - if you are willing to go to a pound and take in an unknown, UNASSESSED dog to your home with your KIDS, more bloody fool you and I pity your children.

I have done it. Hands up to that one. But then again I know a fuck site more about dogs and have a fuck's site more support from dog related organisations than you ever will.

worraliberty · 02/03/2011 23:38

Regarding the state of your house and garden...I imagine they would feel happier leaving a dog with someone whose not going to return it a few weeks later because it's dug holes in the perfectly manicured lawn, or pissed around the house a few times (as they often do when marking their new territory) so that's really not a problem Smile

SugarPasteFrog · 02/03/2011 23:38

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Joolyjoolyjoo · 02/03/2011 23:38

"No wonder there are so many dogs waiting for homes"

Why is this? Because people go out and get a dog on a whim, then lose interest or can't afford it and it ends up in rescue!! Rescue centres don't kidnap these dogs, you know! The dogs are there because someone got a puppy without thiking it through. Is the answer really to rehome them to someone else who can't afford them?

reelingintheyears · 02/03/2011 23:39

Vallhala.....Wine?

SugarPasteFrog · 02/03/2011 23:39

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reelingintheyears · 02/03/2011 23:40

Is pedigree chum vile? Confused

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