Shelter pets

[Jyssyca]

Hi! I'm new to this forum but I believe this community is where I belong! I help manage a no-kill animal shelter and I would love to hear from others who have either worked in or adopted from a shelter. Nothing warms my heart more than shelter success stories.

 

[Worldwide Epiphany]

You're an animal angel, Jyssyca....God bless you for caring for His creatures!

 

[Hiker of faith]

Got my dog from the humane society about 3 years ago. Darn good dog, darn good companion. I'll have him till he passes on, of that I'm sure.

 

[Jyssyca]

Aww! That is wonderful! I have found that shelter animals make some of the most wonderful pets. At my shelter today, I adopted out two little black lab mix puppies to a couple that wanted an animal companion in their life since they weren't able to have children. I pray that those two will provide many years of happiness for these wonderful people! God has really blessed my day by sending that couple to my shelter.. I'm all smiles now.

 

[alwayz_remember_Calvery]

I adopted a puppy from a shelter about two years ago (two years on 7-31) and he's the best dog. the one thing i now worry about is because shelters have a large number of dogs living in a small space and they are always adding new ones is the chance of the dogs picking something up. My dog was at the rescue for about a day before we picked him up and in that day he picked up kennel cough. I'm not saying anything bad about shelters and rescues and i'm not saying that just because you get a dog from a breeder that doesn't mean it'll have any problems, but be aware of the fact that a shelter dog has probably been exposed to more viruses and other critters than your average puppy from a breeder. Anyway, my dog is one of the best that i've ever had.

 

[awashinlove]

I adopted a puppy from a shelter about two years ago (two years on 7-31) and he's the best dog. the one thing i now worry about is because shelters have a large number of dogs living in a small space and they are always adding new ones is the chance of the dogs picking something up. My dog was at the rescue for about a day before we picked him up and in that day he picked up kennel cough. I'm not saying anything bad about shelters and rescues and i'm not saying that just because you get a dog from a breeder that doesn't mean it'll have any problems, but be aware of the fact that a shelter dog has probably been exposed to more viruses and other critters than your average puppy from a breeder. Anyway, my dog is one of the best that i've ever had.

But it's a breeder's cared-for puppy that leaves deserving abandoned dogs in such conditions.

 

[country woman]

Thats so true awashinlove you said it. And this is true I have known some people who have done this.

 

[SugarMag]

I adopt my cat in April from a no-kill shelter.
Her history was - someone found her injured as a stray (punctured and infected paw) and turned her over to the shelter. Their volunteer vets took care of her and I adopted out.

After a month with me her paw did not get better- so I took her to my vet. The xray shows her foot was broken where the claws come out, and it healed badly and wrong because it wasnt treated. She is my little crippled baby.

She is very sweet and an all around good cat.
I did the sensible thing: I let her choose me - instead of the other way around.
Good thing too - I was there over an hour and no cat wanted me LOL!

It is an open room with the cats milling about as they please - NO ONE even looked at me! I was crushed to say the least, until Smidge noticed me and marked me immediately .

 

[barbarab]

I have not worked in a shelter, but I have adopted both a cat & dog from one before! It is hard for me to walk in one though unless I'm ready to adopt one. You know what I mean?! However I have started my own bird rescue. People don't always think about the birds. They are little children . If they are taken good care of & past from home to home they get depressed & start plucking or worse. It started with my sister, then when I moved here to FL I took up the cause here. There are so many who get birds & then relise how demanding they are or how loud they can get & just get rid of them. It saddens me & I want telp the birds & the people who find they aren't able to care for one( for what ever reason).I love the birds. But I still like all other animals too, I owned many different animals!!!A "zoo" at imes even!

 

[fieldlily]

We adopted our four year old girl kitty from a shelter who rescues cats a couple of years ago. She had been abandoned, was lost, and wandered into a kind couple's yard. They put her in their garage and fed her for sometime, but had other cats and didn't feel they should keep her. So they gave her up to the shelter. An acquaintence of mine knew I might take her so called us.

We met this lady who works at the shelter at the clinic where the kitty got a check up and shots. She had been spayed some time before.

At first she was very hostile and hissed and scratched when anyone tried to pick her up or hold her. We were very leary, but the lady suggested we take her for a few days on a trial basis.

I got her home and gave her the spare bedroom where I slept with her for about a week. We have other cats so it was good to introduce her gradually to the household while at first giving her her own food, water, and space to be safe. She stopped hissing and scratching except if she was surprised. I talked to her, petted her, and reassured her. She gradually changed. She continues to change every day and now is the most loving kitty I have ever had. There are still moments when she reacts so one has to be careful and best to wait until she approaches us.

She has fit in pretty well with the others except with one...so we keep the two of them apart a lot. Needless to say we never took her back and she is part of our feline family. We even take her with us when we go southwest in the winters.

At first I would pray for her a lot...and just sit with her. As I did that I learned to accept her just the way she was...and, in time, she accepted me. Now we are constant companions. I think she is both a challenge and gift from above. She has taught me what love can do. She remains in excellent health and loves to romp and play. Our cats are indoor so she is not going to wander in these woods...in two years time she accidentally got out a couple of times, but stayed close to the house until I got her back in again. We have a wonderfully large, screened in porch where she can get outside.

 

[Worldwide Epiphany]

I worked many years at a veterinary hospital in Chicago that also had a separate facility which was the pound for that district of the police department. Animal Welfare would come once a week (or more often as need may be) to collect these poor animals...it was absolutely heartbreaking.

Well, as a veterinary technician, we all know that every pet I've ever had (with the exception of two dogs I had as a child) was unwanted by anyone else. Each and every one came to me from some sort of terrible situation and in several cases, trauma. And usually, I had a "full house!" LOL

Such was the case when this one particular little dog came in to the police pound. She appeared to be a little Sheltie mix, red all over with 4 perfect white socks ~ she almost looked like a red fox. She was actually tied to the doorstep of the front of the vet's office one morning, and given a police ID number and put into the pound. She had (of course) no tags, and appeared to have been severely kicked around...bruises n such not consistent with a hit-by-car scenario...and she was terrified....lashing out hysterically at any attempt of contact with her.
Several days later, one of the kennel attendants came to me in concern about her, because she had not moved from the corner of the cage she was in AT ALL the whole time she'd been there, other than to snap at whoever was attempting to tend to her. She had not eaten, nor been seen drinking, she had not defecated, and had only urinated twice. And she was still fiercely lashing out (baring teeth, "screaming" and snapping) at anyone who tried to get near her.
So, why, I'm not exactly sure, but as soon as I got a break, I decided to try to coax her into eating (and trusting) with a little pile of canned cat food in a paper tray. I opened the cage door, and put the tray of aromatic cat food a couple feet outside the cage on the floor. I sat down another few feet from the food and waited, occasionally reassuring her with a soothing voice. Suddenly, she sprang from her cage like a little gazelle, straight OVER the food, and directly into my lap!! She was trembling and leaning tight into my chest, with her nose tucked under my arm....just then, the kennel attendant came around the corner, surveyed the scene and matter-of-factly said, "Well, looks like you have another dog!" LOL!! Yup!! From that point on, she was completely cooperative with any human contact, in fact, would seek it!

She turned out to be an adult, probably about 3 years old. We got all her vaccines up to date, dewormed her, heartworm tested her and after a while for her to adjust, we spayed her. She was ship-shape by the time I named her The Little Red Hen and brought her home, and she fit in with the crew beautifully. She was an avid hiker, though totally a landlubber (LOL) and had this inate daintiness typical of a Sheltie, combined with graceful strength and tenacity. And she was one of those dogs I could implicitly trust off lead. Just a joy to have in the family.
Hen lived another 14 years (to the ripe old age of about 17) and we still miss her to this day.

I highly encourage everyone to adopt their pets from shelters...I've never had any regrets about any of my former orphans!

What a great thread!

God bless, all.

 

[fieldlily]

. I sat down another few feet from the food and waited, occasionally reassuring her with a soothing voice. Suddenly, she sprang from her cage like a little gazelle, straight OVER the food, and directly into my lap!! She was trembling and leaning tight into my chest, with her nose tucked under my arm....just then, the kennel attendant came around the corner, surveyed the scene and matter-of-factly said, "Well, looks like you have another dog!" LOL!! Yup!! From that point on, she was completely cooperative with any human contact, in fact, would seek it!

She turned out to be an adult, probably about 3 years old. We got all her vaccines up to date, dewormed her, heartworm tested her and after a while for her to adjust, we spayed her. She was ship-shape by the time I named her The Little Red Hen and brought her home, and she fit in with the crew beautifully. She was an avid hiker, though totally a landlubber (LOL) and had this inate daintiness typical of a Sheltie, combined with graceful strength and tenacity. And she was one of those dogs I could implicitly trust off lead. Just a joy to have in the family.
Hen lived another 14 years (to the ripe old age of about 17) and we still miss her to this day.

I highly encourage everyone to adopt their pets from shelters...I've never had any regrets about any of my former orphans!

What a great thread!

God bless, all.

Loved your story about the Sheltie girl. Thanks! Bless you much today...

 

[JacqS]

We have adopted two cats in the past - from shelters, a rabbit from a friend who could no longer care for it , and three weeks ago, we adopted a 2 yr old greyhound from the 'Greyhound Adoption Program' here in Aus...she is just beautiful, has fitted right into our family, has the two kids wrapped around her little claw (they can get into the treats cupboard and she cant! - and they do!!) really enjoys the walk to school in the morning, and everyone we walk past fussing over her!!! We took her to my 4 yr olds preschool last week for 'show & tell' and the kids all petted her and said how beautiful she is (not that I'm biased or anything!!) and she just stood there and took it all!!!
We dont know her history, whether she ever actually raced or not, we do know she has had a litter of puppies, and we do know that she will now have rather a better life than I would think probably most greyhounds that are found to be 'unsuitable' for racing, or 'past it' get!!

 

[Niels]

Here's a picture of my shelter kitty

There were so many great cats there. This one basically adopted me, although he was a little sick at the time (recovering from an upper resperitory infection). He's healthy now, and the vet has given him a glowing review.

 

[fieldlily]

three weeks ago, we adopted a 2 yr old greyhound from the 'Greyhound Adoption Program' here in Aus...she is just beautiful, has fitted right into our family, has the two kids wrapped around her little claw (they can get into the treats cupboard and she cant! - and they do!!) really enjoys the walk to school in the morning, and everyone we walk past fussing over her!!! We took her to my 4 yr olds preschool last week for 'show & tell' and the kids all petted her and said how beautiful she is (not that I'm biased or anything!!) and she just stood there and took it all!!!
We dont know her history, whether she ever actually raced or not, we do know she has had a litter of puppies, and we do know that she will now have rather a better life than I would think probably most greyhounds that are found to be 'unsuitable' for racing, or 'past it' get!!

Love this story. I have often wondered how it goes when the Greyhounds are adopted. Sounds like she has found a good home and a loving family. What is her name?

 

[fieldlily]

Here's a picture of my shelter kitty

There were so many great cats there. This one basically adopted me, although he was a little sick at the time (recovering from an upper resperitory infection). He's healthy now, and the vet has given him a glowing review.

Lovely kitty. Has similar markings to my Maine Coon girl who is a Maine Coon Classic Tabby with white. Is he Maine Coon also or just resembles one? They have such great, layed back personalities and are generally so sweet.

 

[Niels]

Lovely kitty. Has similar markings to my Maine Coon girl who is a Maine Coon Classic Tabby with white. Is he Maine Coon also or just resembles one? They have such great, layed back personalities and are generally so sweet.

Thanks! He does seem to look and act like a Maine Coon. I've read up on the breed standard, and he's a bit small (though at 1 year old, he may possibly grow some more), plus his coat isn't quite as long as I'd imagine a Maine Coon's to be (it does get longer from head to the big bushy tail, and the fur is unusual as it lies flat on his back etc., but over all, he's more of a medium-hair than a long-hair.) In any event, the vet and others say I was lucky to find a kitty with such a pleasant personality.

 

[bubblegirl23]

Bravo to everyone! I have heard so much violence to animals on the news lately! Just horrid! So glad everyone is being good to their pets.

We used to live in an area where people often dumped pets. Many we kept and loved until the passed of old age.

Birds do need help. I bought a Cockatiel from a pet store to find it hated humans. She just got more and more depressed.

I gave her to my grandmother who had other bird companions for her.

Three years on, she is very happy in her inside aviary with her friends. But still, she will not tolerate humans. I'm glad Nanna has her because I didn't have room to have friends for my bird.

 

[fieldlily]

Bravo to everyone! I have heard so much violence to animals on the news lately! Just horrid! So glad everyone is being good to their pets.

We used to live in an area where people often dumped pets. Many we kept and loved until the passed of old age.

Birds do need help. I bought a Cockatiel from a pet store to find it hated humans. She just got more and more depressed.

I gave her to my grandmother who had other bird companions for her.

Three years on, she is very happy in her inside aviary with her friends. But still, she will not tolerate humans. I'm glad Nanna has her because I didn't have room to have friends for my bird.

So glad to hear your Nanna took the Cockatiel. They live a long time.

 

[fieldlily]

Thanks! He does seem to look and act like a Maine Coon. I've read up on the breed standard, and he's a bit small (though at 1 year old, he may possibly grow some more), plus his coat isn't quite as long as I'd imagine a Maine Coon's to be (it does get longer from head to the big bushy tail, and the fur is unusual as it lies flat on his back etc., but over all, he's more of a medium-hair than a long-hair.) In any event, the vet and others say I was lucky to find a kitty with such a pleasant personality.

Yes, he sounds like a keeper for sure!