Janie Grace Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 This dog thread has reawakened my dog-longing that is supposed to be lying dormant until my toddler (last child) is at least two. I AM going to wait til then, but I want to know... those of you who have an adorable, beloved mutt -- where did you find him/her? I totally don't care about pedigree. I'm happy with a mixed dog, as long as it doesn't have an aggressive breed mixed in. But every single listing I look at on SPCA sites (and other dog rescue sites) says "this dog should not be placed in a home with children." :( The only glimmers of hope are on Craigslist, where there are some families with kids who are moving overseas or can't afford a dog anymore or whatever. But those are slim pickings. So, if you adopted a mutt while you had children, tell me your story! And if you were me, where would you start? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We got our two pups from the city animal shelter back in March. We also adopted our previous dog from the shelter - she was about a year old. We just walked in with an idea of the type/age dog we wanted and picked one out - so our luck has been very good so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 We got our two pups from the city animal shelter back in March. We also adopted our previous dog from the shelter - she was about a year old. We just walked in with an idea of the type/age dog we wanted and picked one out - so our luck has been very good so far. How old was your youngest child (when you adopted your previous dog)? Were they reluctant to let you adopt because of having children? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Ours have always been pound puppies. We do only get puppies because we want to make sure they grow up and are okay around the kids. But we do know many who have adopted adult dogs and they have been great, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 My mutt came from a rescue group that works with shelters in Kentucky and Tennessee. I found her on petfinders.com. We went to meet her once, came home to think for a few days, then adopted her. She is one day older than my younger son. They were about 14 weeks old when we adopted her, and they've just turned two. There were many interesting days that first year. :tongue_smilie: Petfinders is great, and you can search by size, breed, age, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We adopted an older puppy from the pound. He'd been in foster care and his foster mom was working on basic commands, he was already potty trained, and she'd socialized him very well. She wanted him in a family, so she made sure that he was exposed to all ages of children. If you look on Petfinder (http://www.petfinder.com), there is a search option that allows you to see only the dogs that can be adopted into families with kids/cats/other dogs. I searched almost a year before we found our dog. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 How old was your youngest child (when you adopted your previous dog)? Were they reluctant to let you adopt because of having children? When we adopted our previous dog our youngest was about 2 years old. No one has ever asked about our children's ages at the city shelter - they were just glad to adopt out the animals to folks in good standing (no tickets for animal control issues). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Our older mutt we chose after hearing an ad on Tradio (radio call in show). He was a dollar with a dollar rebate. Lol we chose him over his brother because he was the more outgoing and friendly of the two. He was almost 8 weekold and he is our gentle giant. Our younger mutt we adopted from the pound at 5 months. He was surrendered at 12 weeks, but when the rest of his litter had been adopted one of the animal control officers fostered him until just before we adopted him because young pups don't do well alone in shelters and need to be socialized. He was housebroken and knew some basic commands when we got him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) So, if you adopted a mutt while you had children, tell me your story! And if you were me, where would you start? www.Petfinder.com I checked the site several times a day for a few weeks until I found the right dog for us. Many small and private rescue groups list dogs for adoption there, and you can search by gender, breed, age, size, etc. You can even specify in your search that your household has cats, other dogs and/or young children. I just ran a test search for a young, small dog in our area for a household with young children and got 145 results. Both of our cats came from local rescues, too. But we just found them at adoption events in PetCo stores. That doesn't seem to be as common with dogs. Edited August 25, 2011 by Jenny in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I think the secret is luck . . . and waiting until your youngest is school-aged :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnsinkableKristen Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We got our dog from the shelter about 3 months before I had DD2. She was a puppy and was really great with the other kids so we snatched her up :). As it stands, I think she (the dog) and DD2 consider themselves litter mates :lol:. They are the best of pals and the dog is SO much more tolerant of DD2 than she is the other kids. DD2 could sit right on the dog and the dog wouldn't do a think about it :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 I think the secret is luck . . . and waiting until your youngest is school-aged :D Oh come one... I don't think I can wait four years! And neither can my 12yo dd. I think we can make it work with a little guy in the mix. Thanks to everyone who suggested petfinders. Wow, what a great website! It was amazing to see some of the doggy faces I had discovered in a couple of hours of searching, all in one place. Not ready to move on this now, but when we are, petfinders will be where we begin. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMW Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I contacted local veterinarians and told them that I was looking for a dog for my 9yob. One particular vet ran a very nice business and had me "foster" a dog for a couple of days... that didn't work out (the dog bit one other son's ear, which required stitches... sad face...). But the vet lived out of town and either she or a co-worker passed by a crop field and spotted a tiny puppy and brought him into the office. I was contacted that day and asked to foster the dog for a month... The veterinarian provided shots and check up and estimated the age of the puppy... said that he looked like a weiner dog mix. We have loved our mutt so very much. He is SO sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 We got our dog from the shelter about 3 months before I had DD2. She was a puppy and was really great with the other kids so we snatched her up :). As it stands, I think she (the dog) and DD2 consider themselves litter mates :lol:. They are the best of pals and the dog is SO much more tolerant of DD2 than she is the other kids. DD2 could sit right on the dog and the dog wouldn't do a think about it :). Love it! What kind of dog is she? Sounds like a sweetheart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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