[skyler]

Man, today has been pretty rotten. Two weeks ago we adopted an adult dog from a rescue. He looks like a corgi, but with a German Shepherd head - 50 lbs but very short. They told us he was a basset hound mix and that he was crate-trained, potty trained, leash trained, and good with cats, children, and other dogs. We immediately realized he wasn't crate-trained, leash-trained or potty trained, but we were okay with it until he really settled in and we saw what kind of dog he really was.

Long story short, he bit my 15 year-old cat a couple days ago (she's okay because I reacted immediately), then yesterday he bit me hard without warning because I tried to nudge him into his crate. This morning after our morning walk he bit me repeatedly and growled and snapped at me when I approached him after he refused the command and treats to enter his crate. The rescue woman took him back today and now we're grieving.

[Robert]

Wow, man, I am really sorry.  Kudos though for going to a rescue and trying to help a hard to place adult. Hope it hasn't soured you on the idea in the future. The world needs people like you who try.  Sounds like you'll recover emotionally, but that dog is far worse off.  Sorry.

[ethinson]

First, that sucks you had to go through that.  Second, it sucks they freakin lied to you! I hate hearing stories like this where they tell a family a dog is great for kids and then the kid gets mauled.  I'm glad the damages for you were only emotional, but still terrible. 

Is the rescue part of a larger organization like the SPCA? If not, I wonder if you could report them to someone like SPCA and have them checked out.  It sounds like they aren't doing a good job. 

Thanks for trying to do the right thing.  Bummer.

[majorvices]

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This post in solidarity from my cat (seriously, I walked away from the computer for coffee and came back and she typed this.)

You did the right thing. The dog either needs put down or require someone with serious handling skills and no other animals in the house.

[MDixon]

I had a buddy who paid a plethora of money for a puppy only to find it had behavioral issues emerge. They ended up returning it to the breeder who had to put it down a week later.

We had our eye on an older cat for adoption and he was a loner and did not do well in areas with other cats. He had been in the shelter so long he lashed out at people. We could not bring him home. Really sad the time in the shelter caused the behavior issues.

We adopted two kittens last year. They were left in an animal shelter drop box. One has issues from time to time, probably due to being separated from his mother too early, but is miles ahead of where he was when we got them. They are part of the family now, warts and all.

Hope you find the perfect companion, or at least one with a tolerable disposition!

[narcout]

Man, that's a bummer.

My wife and I still laugh about how the dog we adopted in 2007 was billed as having no prey drive. 

Edit: To clarify, we kept the dog, but dog/cat relations have not been good.

[case thrower]

Don't give up hope.  There are some great rescue dogs out there just waiting for you.  To type this, I had to move Samson out of my lap.  He's an 8 10 12# Yorkie mix who's my best bud.  We've also had some who had their issues.  When my son was still in high school, we got a 6 month old Dalmation mix from the local humane society.  The mother and the pups had been abused and while she wasn't a bad dog, she did have issues.  Every time my son walked into the house, she would growl and slink into the other room.  After he'd been there 10-15 minutes, she'd be ok, but I guess he must have resembled someone from her past.  And she did that until she got leukemia and we had to put her down 14 years later.  The sad thing about these dogs is that you have no idea what they've been through and they can't tell you.  Right now we also have a chihuahua mix we've had for 3 months now.  Bend down to put a leash on and she cowers, but she's getting better.  And it just seems like all she wants is to be your friend.  Like I say, they're out there.  Good luck!

[majorvices]

Over the last 20 years I have rescued 5 dogs and 5 cats. Agree rescue animals can be great.

[narcout]

Well, about an hour and 45 minutes after I posted the edit to my response above, our pup went into cardiac arrest and passed away.  She was totally fine at 9:50 when I left the house for a haircut and in serious trouble when I arrived home 40 minutes later.  The vet said she likely had cancer in her heart that was never detected (and would have been untreatable even if it had).

This is a picture I took of her yesterday evening, not knowing it would be the last.



She was a real sweetheart, and we'll miss her very much.

[case thrower]

My sympathies.  I know it hurts.

[Robert]

So sorry. Losing a pet is one of the hardest thing I've ever known. We feel so helpless when we can't do any more for them.

[skyler]

my sincere condolences 

[MDixon]

So sorry for your loss.

We had to say goodbye to our Maine Coon last year after 19 years. That was a tough decision and I still miss him.

[kmccaf]

I'm so sorry to hear that. After losing my cat last year, we adopted another last month. A big black 4 year old Maine Coon. She was so intensely shy, that I thought she wouldn't be able to live with the other cat. After a month she finally started to come out of hiding. We were considering bringing her back, as it just didn't seem like it would work out, and oh boy was that hard to think and talk through. I hope you are able to adopt one that is right for your family.

[narcout]

my sincere condolences 

Thanks, to you and everyone else.

I don't know if you've been through the adoption process before, but it was considerably more difficult and time consuming than I would have thought (though I've only been through it the one time). 

There seemed to be a (not friendly) rivalry between some of the agencies/shelters which made it hard to know who to trust, people would not return multiple phone calls, the more "desirable" dogs were gone very quickly, etc.  It took us a while to find a good match.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you.