5 Things No One Told You About Adopting a Rescue Dog
Our dog Daisy is the first dog I have ever rescued. My husband Brian and I weren’t even expecting to adopt a dog at the time we met her. Brian had been volunteering at the humane society about a mile away from our college for the last couple of months, and one day he called me while he was there.
“Konner, you need to see this dog. Can I come pick you up?”
Oh, here we go. First of all, I’m weak when it comes to animals, but Brian is extremely weak. He would rescue any and everything he came across if I wasn’t there to remind him of logical reasons as to why we can’t have 5 dogs, 2 cats and 3 aquariums in our home. But that’s why I love him! And what fun is it always being the voice of reason, anyways? I decided to humor him and go to the shelter to see this dog I just “had” to see. Nothing bad could come from petting some cute pups, right? Wrong.
Brian actually took me to the humane society to see a dog named Petra. She was a small German Shephard mix and was very timid. Once we put Petra back in her kennel after trying to get to know her for a few minutes, we saw a happy little dog a few kennels away that was dying to played with. When we met her (Goldie, now named Daisy) we fell in love. Although she was only 15 lbs, the shelter did not have any room for her indoors, so she was in one of the large outdoor kennels with a sweater on to keep her warm. We almost cried at the thought of leaving her there because it was cold and raining. We filled out the adoption paperwork the next morning and adopted her a few days later.
We have now had Daisy for 3.5 years and I can’t believe how much I’ve learned about adopting rescue dogs within that time. I didn’t realize how many different aspects there are when compared to buying a dog from a reputable breeder, where you know the parents’ background and the puppy’s characteristics in comparison to their littermates. I hope these 5 important things that I’ve learned in the last few years will help someone else that is thinking about adopting a rescue dog.
1.–You have to fill out an application and it must be approved
Shelters usually have an application that is at a couple of pages long, where you must detail your home, a description of who else is living in your home, and any other pets you may have. You usually also have to detail where this dog will be staying during the day and night. I have heard some adoption applications even ask for references. Many shelters also require visiting your home prior to approving your application to make sure that it is a good fit for the dog. One of my family member’s adoption applications was rejected because they wrote that the dog was going to be living outside for most of the day. That particular shelter did not allow people to adopt if the dog would be mainly outdoors, even though it was a very large, energetic dog.
2. Rescuing a dog costs money
I thought that “rescuing” a dog meant it was free because you are sort of doing the shelters and humane societies a favor. Wrong! The shelter we rescued Daisy from, just like many others, is a nonprofit corporation. This particular humane society’s financial support mainly comes from donations. Daisy’s adoption fee was $250, but it included her spaying, age-appropriate vaccines, and a registered microchip. The price was totally worth it to know that Daisy was getting her medical needs taken care of prior to us bringing her home! Many shelters also have price specials, including discounted adoption fees for senior-age dogs.
3. You will not know your dog’s medical history
Dogs that are found in shelters usually strays, surrendered by their owners, or rescued from abusive/neglected homes. There is often a fee associated to surrendering your dog at a shelter, and many people have avoided that by leaving their dog tied to a fence or in a cage at the entrance of the shelter where we adopted Daisy. Often times, other than medical problems that the shelter was able to diagnose, you aren’t going to know if your dog’s full medical history. This can get costly as the dog gets older depending on its medical needs. Fortunately, Daisy hasn’t had too many medical problems other than dry skin and ear infections, but her breed is prone to ear infections. She also has a lump on her side that has grown, but we have spoken to two vets and they are not worried about it.
Here is a photo of Daisy the week we adopted her! She was infested with fleas when we brought her home; Brian removed countless fleas every day for the first week.
4. You will not know your dog’s behavioral history
One of the other concerns when adopting a rescue dog is that you will not know what your dog has experienced before he/she met you. This can result in habits that may not be able to be broken easily or at all. There is only so much you can infer after meeting the dog a couple of times in the same setting at the shelter. Different settings cause different reactions for certain dogs; some dogs are great when they are surrounded by people, but have extreme separation anxiety when left alone. Other dogs may be good with dogs but not kids. There are countless behavioral issues that a dog can have, with some being manageable for you and your lifestyle, and others that may not be.
Daisy is wonderful with people, especially kids. She is a very happy dog and is usually well-behaved. Her biggest issue is with other dogs. Her first owners must not have socialized her well because she has issues interacting with other dogs and differentiating playing and aggression. Most of her issues lie with showing her dominance with dogs smaller than her, but she has gotten into a few scuffles with larger dogs too! She was also terribly afraid of large items that can be loud when moving them (garbage cans, cardboard boxes, etc.). We have been working on these issues with her, and she has gotten a lot better, but her habits and fears are still there. It is really important when thinking about adopting a rescue dog that you try to find out as much as you can about the dog prior to adopting. For example, if you have other pets in the house, you may want them to meet the potential new family addition.
5. You will be happy knowing you gave this dog a better life than it would have had sitting in the shelter
Daisy is not always the easiest dog. Out of all of the dogs I’ve had in my life, she is definitely the most stubborn! But she fills our life with so much love and happiness. It breaks my heart to think that someone didn’t want her, but I am very thankful that we were able to give her a great home for the rest of her life. Though, I believe she changed our lives for the better, more than we did for her. She is an amazing dog and there are plenty more out there just like her in shelters, waiting for their next forever home.
