I'm confessing here but I'm hoping in talking about my experience I can educate and enourage others to avoid the mistakes I made. I hope to find a means to do this in my community as well.
This is Sophie. Sophie is a weimaraner and we purchased her from a pet store in October of 2007. She was just a couple of months old and she was our first family dog.
Now, I was aware of the exercise requirements of a weimaraner, they are highly demanding dogs, high maintenance and incredibly smart. Sophie proved to be a perfect example of the typical Weim.
Both my husband and I spent a great deal of time on Sophie, from crate training to obedience training. She was a challenge but ultimately my hopes were that I would return to being as active and healthy as I had been when I first got married. Gary and I spent our honeymoon in Costa Rica hiking on a daily basis and being outside and active.
But things had changed and I was hoping this little girl would help me get back on track. That was not the case. She suffered from separation anxiety and she was highly demanding in her exercise needs. I couldn't keep up. I failed. I was so sad and disappointed in myself that I couldn't give her what she needed. It was a hard lesson.
We decided to find Sophie a new home. I finally was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and the symptoms I'd suffered from for so long were not just "in my head" but I need to take better care of myself, which was not happening.
It took a few weeks but we found Sophie the perfect home. Sophie never spent a moment in foster care, she was with us this whole time and we did everything we could to meet her needs.
I did a home visit with Sophie's new family and we talked about her breed and what she needed. Her new family has a Dad that works out of the house all day, two other dogs and a yard bigger than our house and yard combined. Mom is a runner and the entire family enjoyed being outdoors, camping and being as active as possible. This was the perfect family for our Sophie.
I got a great deal of flack for rehoming Sophie although I knew in my heart I had done the right thing. I had also given this amazing family a new friend. There have no been regrets.
But I do want to say how I learned from this experience. Buying from pet stores is not the answer. They tend to keep backyard breeders and puppy mills in business and most of the time these operations are inhumane although perfectly legal. It's appalling.
Right now in Orange County, CA there is a huge number of abandoned dogs and cats due to the housing crisis. I loved owning a dog but I knew that I needed a different kind of dog.
I contacted local rescues and I was open and honest about Sophie and Jane from Critters in Need Pet Rescue understood. She let us foster our lovely new friend Kona.
Kona has been living with us for the past few weeks and she's been such a joy to me and my family. We've had our ups and downs (Some housebreaking issues, mostly due to us) but she's been the easiest, sweetest girl ever. To think that she was close to being put to sleep at the pound she was rescued from is heartbreaking to me. But there are many like her who are dying everyday.
But we are going to keep our girl and we will be adopting Kona. So now what? Well, we have more room and love for another lost soul and here comes Jasper. Jasper was also recently rescued from a high kill shelter and we will be bringing him home tonight.
Now doesn't he just look like a little love? Who could give up such a guy to a high kill shelter? Why?
Doesn't matter, I will be fostering Jasper and we will find out if our family will be growing by another little life. And you know what? I will foster again and again and do whatever I can to help this rescue because they are making a difference.
Kona is such a joy to me and so happy and so loving. I can't imagine my life without her and most importantly, she's so good with Charlotte, patient and affectionate. Kona has become one of my new best friends and I look forward to coming home to her everyday, just as Charlotte does.
So, think about it. You may not have the time and energy to have a puppy but your local rescue can help place an older dog in your home and you can save a life. And more importantly, they will most likely be willing to allow you to foster a dog to see if it's a good fit. Most rescues are more than happy to allow home fostering because it keeps these dogs from being boarded if they don't have enough foster homes available.
And for practical purposes, rescue dogs not only cost much less than buying a puppy from a store or a breeder, their cost is completely tax deductible. Rescues work as non profits and provide veternarian care, food and shelter. SO even if you don't foster or rescue, maybe find your local rescue and donate a few dollars.