give me some hope...adoption stories

[sally429]

I just typed a whole long story, but decided to keep it short...I recently took a job at the local pound cleaning the kennels. I like my job for the most part, but hate when it gets full there. Unfortunately we are getting full, particularly the cats. All of the employees are working hard to get some adoptions, but it can really be discouraging. I was hoping that some of you could tell me your pet adoption stories. I need some happy news.


Sally

[pajamajes]

i volunteer at the humane society and i love sharing "going home" stories.

a hound mix named olly went to his forever home today. :] the family (a lady and her daughter) were walking a young poodle. i got to talking to them and they said that the young girl was looking for a really affectionate lap dog. olly had been at the shelter for a couple weeks. he was cute in his own way, but he wasn't any fluffly poodle. so, i told the family about olly and they took him out for a walk. and that's all she wrote! happy home-going olly!

a woman came in looking for a big dog that looked intimidating. something about her house had recently been robbed. i would've said, "you should get an alarm system.", but i wanted one of the big babies to get adopted. they have a hard time sometimes. so i got out a couple black lab mixes and a yellow lab for her to walk. she said they were "too hyper". that's a whole 'nother rant for a whole 'nother thread! anyway, i got a young black shepherd mix female out for her and took her for a good run before i handed over the leash to the woman. surprise, surprise. this one's calmer. *rolls eyes* but! good news! tomorrow, she's bringing in her dog from home to see if he gets along with sabrina. so, hopefully, a happy home-going to sabrina! we shall see.

thanks for starting this thread. this could be a really cool one.

[Kibbleforlola]

I got my kitty from the local shelter. She had been there two years. Probably because she's black and has a scar over one of her eyes. People are weird about black cats. She is the greatest. I knew she was the one coming home to me when I walked in. She came right up and started to purrr. She's sweet and funny and I'm glad I have her.

[Irizary]

a woman came in looking for a big dog that looked intimidating. something about her house had recently been robbed. i would've said, "you should get an alarm system.", but i wanted one of the big babies to get adopted. they have a hard time sometimes. so i got out a couple black lab mixes and a yellow lab for her to walk. she said they were "too hyper". that's a whole 'nother rant for a whole 'nother thread! anyway, i got a young black shepherd mix female out for her and took her for a good run before i handed over the leash to the woman. surprise, surprise. this one's calmer. *rolls eyes* but! good news! tomorrow, she's bringing in her dog from home to see if he gets along with sabrina. so, hopefully, a happy home-going to sabrina! we shall see.

Honestly this doesn't sound like a really great story. When people are looking for animals just in order to "use" them like this, and when the dog is only acceptable after someone else has done the work of exercising them (and the woman sounds clueless that that's something she needs to do)...I don't think it will end well for sabrina. She may stay there, but I wouldn't be surprised if the quality of care is very low.

[pajamajes]

Honestly this doesn't sound like a really great story. When people are looking for animals just in order to "use" them like this, and when the dog is only acceptable after someone else has done the work of exercising them (and the woman sounds clueless that that's something she needs to do)...I don't think it will end well for sabrina. She may stay there, but I wouldn't be surprised if the quality of care is very low.

better than this story: a few people wanted to adopt this dog, but i didn't find them acceptable. so now she's got to be euthanized. or trapped in a small cage for her entire life. :[

i would say that a majority of people, at least around here, views pets more as possessions than as their own independent beings. of course i don't agree with or support this view. but if the humane society disallowed all people with this opinion to adopt, the shelter would have a 90% euthanasia rate. it's unfortunate, but true.

also, the woman said that she has a fenced backyard that's an acre in size. and she works from home. and she has an 11 year old son who is looking forward to lots of playtime with the new dog. of course i would never send a dog off with a family who i thought would abuse her or neglect her. but i didn't get that feeling in this case.

i'm sorry that you didn't find my story "really great". i usually think it's "really great" whenever there are more dogs being adopted than those going to "death row".

but this is supposed to be a happy thread?

[Irizary]

I've just seen so many situations in which I personally believe (hey, it's always a judgement call) that the animal would have been better off euthanized than living a miserable life in which they don't get their needs met. I've seen people beat their animals, chain them up alone outside for long periods of time in all weather (for protection or just out of neglect), etc. I don't know how it will be in the case that you describe, nor am I saying death is better - I don't know what she'll do, however it doesn't sound great - but I still consider it a tragedy when animals who are fully dependent on their masters aren't seen as special, precious individuals rather than utilities.

[pajamajes]

but I still consider it a tragedy when animals who are fully dependent on their masters aren't seen as special, precious individuals rather than utilities.

i do too. :[ and i try to educate as many people as i can.

it's just a tough situation when there are so so so many animals in need and so few excellent homes.

also, something i hadn't mentioned, the woman (if she comes back for the dog) will have to be interviewed by an adoption counselor and will be asked questions to determine if this is a good home for the dog or not. so, i really hope that either this really is a good home for sabrina or she finds another family.

*huge sigh*

[Irizary]

I know and I'm sure you're great at your job - and it must be so difficult to know that in so many cases it's just not a standard of care you would prefer, but it's the best you can do. I do a lot of rescue and almost always, to be honest, that's how I feel. There are a very few notable exceptions though.

I wasn't trying to start a fight with you. I just read that story and thought, "Huh? That sounds like it could be a really sad life for that dog" - or at least one filled with a severe learning curve for the owner. But that's good that there will be another screening in which people can educate her about energy and exercise and use as a "guard dog" etc.

[imahag]

here's one. I had a dog, he was my sweet Bearieboy of 8 years and he got hit by a car and killed and I was devastated. My heart actually hurt. He was my only friend! About 3 weeks later, I was "talked" into going to the pound and finding another dog. I know, I shouldn't try to replace my other one, blah, blah, blah. I picked one out after alot of wanting all of them. I went thru the adoption process and they called my vet and I actually lied when my vet asked where Bearieboy was at. I told her I gave him to my daughter. My vet knew better because she knew I'd never give my pet away, ever. If the truth were told, the pound wouldn't have allowed me to adopt. Anyhow, I got the dog a few days later and she is a yellow beagle/lab. She was very young. I took her home and named her and a day or so later, I was boo hooing over my loss of Bearie and when I looked at this new dog, I swear she gave me the look like "hey, look at me! I'm here and I'm yours!" The pain got a lot easier to bear and she's now 5 years old and she's the best dog I've ever owned. The joke is my husband married me just to get the dog! She was thankful for a good home from day one. I'll tell you this, when the day comes that she's gone, I'll go right back out and save another dog. I don't care what people say about you shouldn't get another dog right away. The heck you shouldn't. There are so many animals that need a home, why not give them one when you're able??

[mlp]

Our current kids from shelters:

Caruso, a yellow and white tabby, who came with my SO. My SO got him from a shelter in Michigan; he had been declawed, and then his people decided they didn't want him anyway.

Kitter, who is apricot and white, and is now our oldest. She also came with my SO, from a Michigan shelter.

Zen and Tao, the Orange Meanies. They are very devoted brothers who came from a puppy/kitten mill in Arkansas that was closed because of cruelty. Many of the cats from that mill died in the first year; they had been fed poor quality food, and many died from cardiomyopathy. Our boys' hearts still appear to be fine, although Tao has seasonal allergies.

We adopted Toby because when Eli, our first chocolate lab, died, Jack wouldn't move or eat. We were afraid he would die, so I got on Petfinder to find another chocolate lab. (We thought it might help Jack more if we got someone who looked somewhat like Eli.) I ended up making a six hour round trip three days running before I finally was able to bring Toby home.

Tascha is our young Great Pyrenees, who we adopted because we missed Sophie, my first Pyr, so much. Tascha, our snow princess, is not a replacement for Sophie; we adopted her as a tribute to Sophie.

Jack and our other 16 cats weren't adopted from shelters - they're "direct" rescues.

Also adopted from shelters: Paco, a yellow crowned Amazon, who's blind in his right eye. That eye is also prone to infections. The veterinary opthamologist we took him to said it was because of a blunt force trauma to his head. Paco had been a breeder bird; when his mate died, he wouldn't mate with anyone else, so his owner "surrendered" him.

Bert, an orange wing Amazon, lived with an old man for twenty odd years. When the man developed Alzheimer's, his daughter agreed to take care of him, but didn't want to take the bird.

Ziggy, a blue and gold macaw, also lived with an old man. When he was hospitalized for the last time, his children wanted nothing to do with the bird, of whom they were afraid.

We made a ten hour round trip last year to pick up Finnegan (cockatiel) when Belle, the parakeet who was Frisco's (cockatiel) companion, died suddenly. I had purchased Frisco about 25 years ago from a Woolworth's. His cage was so filthy, and he was such a bedraggled mess, that I couldn't leave him there, even though I didn't want to encourage Woolworth's sale of animals. Finnegan had walked up to a young woman in a Quick Trip parking lot; she brought her to the shelter. They tried hard to find Finnegan's family, with no luck.

At Thanksgiving, we'll be adding three more shelter cats to our household. When my SO's youngest son came home from Iraq, he and his fiancée (now wife) lived with us while he wet to school. She was lonely; she's from Puerto Rico, and has no family of her own here, so she and I visited a couple of shelters so that she could have a cat of her own. Well, we came home with three; she was having such a hard time deciding between them, I just paid the adoption fee for all of them. She has since developed allergies, has a baby she's nursing, and can't take meds because they end up in her breast milk. So, Sylvester, Santos and Sara will be living with us again, this time permanently.

The story that's making me happiest at the moment is the fact that all nine of the dumped cats that we took in this year have integrated well into the household. They're all content, healthy, and just generally thriving.

[pajamajes]

woah, mlp! care to share how many fur kids you have? sounds like a wonderful handful. :D

[mlp]

woah, mlp! care to share how many fur kids you have? sounds like a wonderful handful. :D

20 cats at the moment, going up to 23 at Thanksgiving:
Kitter, Caruso, Sebastian, Serenity, Zen, Tao, Doc, Ayla, Tuesday, Double, Lola, Sita, Shiloh, Babu, Dazzle, Moonshadow, Binky, Pepper, Cricket, Y.A.C.
(Sylvestor, Santos and Sara are joining us at Thanksgiving)

3 dogs: Jack, Toby, Tascha

1 macaw - Ziggy, 1 yellow crowned Amazon - Paco, 1 orange wing Amazon - Berie, 2 cockatiels - Frisco and Finnegan

and outdoors:
2 Pekin ducks (Dagwood and Dumpling, a very devoted couple)
27 hens, all named Anna (As in Ana 1, Ana 2, Ana 3, for those of you who have heard Lawrence Welk)

We really never planned on having this many, but in less than a year, we've taken in 11 cats who were dumped here. (Well, five who were dumped here - two of those were pregnant, and had their litters before we could catch them, so six of the eleven are kittens who were born here.)

[Purp]

Let's see...I'm not sure all of our animal stories could fit on one posting...so, I will give you three. Our most recent animal is Basil, who we believe was dumped in the park nearby and made it to our house to adopt us.

Frederick (R.I.P.) and Kabadula (R.I.P.) were rescued by my sister and brother in law who lived in Zambia, Africa, and had to move to Mawali and couldn't take them, so she sent them to us here in Seattle...

Oh, and Lucky the Chocolate lab, whom we gave to another family since we live in a small house with 3 cats...we rescued him on the road down to the valley near our house, and took him home. We suspect he was either seperated from his family from the flooding in our state (WA) 2 years ago, or he was abandoned by someone who had to move to a place that didn't allow pets. Lucky was very well behaved and well trained, someone invested a lot of time into him. But we could also see where there had been a rope around his neck, so maybe it was for the best he isn't with his former owners anymore.

[jikin]

My cat Ivanna was originally from an animal hoarder's house. When the shelter took her she was emaciated, covered in fleas, and preganant. When they got her back into shape they sent her over to Petsmart for their adoption area. I had been looking for a playmate for my younger cat when she reached out and grabbed my coat. How could I resist? She's a wonderful and affectionate little kitty.

[pajamajes]

20 cats at the moment, going up to 23 at Thanksgiving:
Kitter, Caruso, Sebastian, Serenity, Zen, Tao, Doc, Ayla, Tuesday, Double, Lola, Sita, Shiloh, Babu, Dazzle, Moonshadow, Binky, Pepper, Cricket, Y.A.C.
(Sylvestor, Santos and Sara are joining us at Thanksgiving)

3 dogs: Jack, Toby, Tascha

1 macaw - Ziggy, 1 yellow crowned Amazon - Paco, 1 orange wing Amazon - Berie, 2 cockatiels - Frisco and Finnegan

and outdoors:
2 Pekin ducks (Dagwood and Dumpling, a very devoted couple)
27 hens, all named Anna (As in Ana 1, Ana 2, Ana 3, for those of you who have heard Lawrence Welk)

We really never planned on having this many, but in less than a year, we've taken in 11 cats who were dumped here. (Well, five who were dumped here - two of those were pregnant, and had their litters before we could catch them, so six of the eleven are kittens who were born here.)

that's wonderful! sounds like an animal paradise with all those friends.

[catt101]

I've adopted three cats from shelter, and they are all linked together. I adopted my first indoor cat, Belle(she is no longer with us). She was the perfect kitty, she tricked me into thinking she was a lap kitty at the shelter, little did I know she was a wild little feline. Before we could take her home on Christmas eve, they did all the routine stuff. Belle ended up having feline leukemia and it was either take her or she would have been put down. Honestly I didn't even have to think twice, I knew the minute I saw her she was the one and so we took her home that day.

Because we adopted Belle, and we were told she only had 6 months to live, they gave us my two boys, Mullet and Blade for free.

Its not the happiest story, but Belle got to live the remainder of her life happily free and she brought me many good memories and my two little boys.

[Kitt]

About a year ago my step-sister was mentioning in passing how all but one of her cat's 'accident kittens' had found a home, except for the runt, who she was planning on having put to sleep just because she couldn't find a home for him and because he was the runt, so I quickly screamed "NODON'TDOTHAT! I'll take him!" So the gangly, ears-too-big-for-his-head kitten with fleas became MY gangly, ears-too-big-for-his-head kitten with fleas, who grew up into a beautiful, entirely too smart cat named Louis (think French. Lew-ee) with hobbies that include eating my pencil while I'm trying to do homework, eating my actual homework in retribution of injuries to his pride (he missed the sill and hit the window. I made fun of him. An hour later, I found my Tech. Theatre project due the next day completely destroyed in the middle of my bedroom floor with Louis sleeping soundly next to it. Purring.) sleeping on freshly laundered clothes, and killing basement crickets and leaving them outside of my bedroom door. He even figured out that knocking my cell off of the nightstand makes the battery fall out, and then the alarm won't go off. But only ever on weekdays. This cat knows what's up. And I love him dearly <3

[mlp]

that's wonderful! sounds like an animal paradise with all those friends.

It is. I am very, very fortunate to be in their lives.


Its not the happiest story, but Belle got to live the remainder of her life happily free and she brought me many good memories and my two little boys.

I amm so very sorry about Belle, but glad that she had a loving home at the end. And now your boys have a wonderful home. :smitten:

[daisy10207]

What a great thread!! I love reading these kinds of stories. I volunteer with at the local shelter and it can be really hard to see them waiting month after month for someone to come and adopt them. It's great to remember the happy side of it! I'll share my own rescue stories and a few from the shelter:

We adopted our girl Daisy from a private, no-kill shelter in town two years ago. I was walking around, looking at different dogs, when a volunteer walked by with her and I just melted. She was only five months old at the time. A black lab/shepherd mix with the cutest floppy ears. I just couldn't resist her. She had been a stray puppy, found on the railroad tracks in a neighboring town. She's kind of a handful but I love every second with her.

My second dog, a pit bull named Rocket, was also a stray puppy. A good samaritan found him wandering emaciated in a creek bed and brought him home. By sheer luck, my husband ran into this person while walking Daisy and the dogs instantly hit it off. The guy told my husband about Rocket's story, and that even though he was an amazing dog, he couldn't keep him and was planning to take him to the shelter. My husband said, no way, he's coming home with us! He brought him home that very same day. I truly cannot imagine my life without him now! He is the biggest lovebug I've ever met. I thank my lucky stars every day that my husband was in the right place at the right time and this sweet little soul came in to my life. :)

There are so many happy endings at the shelter too. Let's see....a huge pit bull named Boss was recently adopted by a great family. It was so wonderful to see a pittie being adopted because so many people look right past them. Also, the other day a lady drove up and was literally just sobbing in her car. I ran up to see if she needed help - she told me she had lost her Yorkie and feared it was dead. I had never seen someone so upset. Well, it turned out her dog had been picked up by animal control and was waiting for her inside! The look of joy on that woman's face was priceless. I still remember it so clearly. :)

[Wolfie]

All of my dogs and cats, past and present, are rescues/adoptions. Generally they find me before they make it to a shelter. But two have come from shelters.

I've also had a rescued guinea pig and several rescued ratties in the past.

[amaroque]

I've only had one cat but I got him from the shelter. I went with friend to see if any of the cats "resonated" with me. Each cage I went up to I put my fingers though the cage and tried to entice them to come over and say hi so I could see them. Only one ventured over to me and he started purring right away. He was a smoky gray cat with yellow eyes and a tint of green. I wasn't prepared to take him home that day but he obviously made an impression on me. His name was Bullet and the reason he was there was that his previous caretaker was in jail. I went back the next day and he acted like he remembered me right off the bat. I took him home and we were best friends for the next 15 years. I finally had to say goodbye to him this past June but I know that we each brought the light to the others life in the time that we had. I miss you buddy...

[NZVeggie]

My parents recently rescued a 9 month old german shepherd from the local animal shelter. She came from a home where she was neglected. She didn't know what playing was, and was extremely timid. But a few months on with some love and encouragement (from both companion humans and a fellow dog) she has come along great and loves playing tug of war.

[v0.1beta]

When I was very young, I remember we had many pets and most of them were just passing by. Actually, the only animal shelter in our town at that time kept the pets for a few weeks only before they were euthanized. And of course, that would break the heart of many people who worked there, so they had a scheme, they managed to steal quite a few dogs and cats at the very last moment, and somehow, they would end up at our home for as long as it would take for a large net of people to find them a nice home. I remember the post office clerk was involved in that operation, and you could have guessed by the number of dogs running around in the tiny village post office at all times. We had so many desperate cases, and everyone of those stories ended for the best, so many pets coming from everywhere. The ones that we kept till the end were the ones we found ourselves, or the pets whose owners had died. Usually the owners, before they died, were so worried for the fate of their pets that themselves or their relatives would find us and ask us what could be done. My mom then promised to keep the pets with her, and care for them for the rest of their lives. And she did. For cats, dogs, birds, ... we had a few very old hens too.

Oh, and there's also the story of a vet and a bad hunter. Someone came to the vet with a young healthy dog to put to sleep because the dog refused to hunt. The vet said he would keep the dog for himself, but the owner refused, the vet argued, but the owner still insisted the dog was a bad seed and needed to be killed. So the vet cheated, gave the dog a shot, had the owner believe it was dead and leave, and made the dog his best friend. I know of that story because, every summer, when the vet goes on vacation abroad, the bad hunter spends a few weeks at my mom's.That dog's such a sweet, smart and gentle soul.

[pajamajes]

:smitten:

[VeganTigress]

All 3 of my cats are rescues.

Loki 8 years old (black siamese mix) - He was in the shelter I worked at for 6 months, no one wanted him and he doesnt meow, he hums. I cleaned his kennel for months and he was standoffish at first but we bonded and he was my first cat. he is amazing :)

Foster 6 years old (maine coon mix) - He came into the shelter after being out for 3 days in -40. His ears came off due to frostbite, along with an inch of his tail, tip of his nose and the pads of his feet. He was throwing up orange peels and carpet because he tried to eat anything he could. Have 2 months of Fostering, i couldn't let him go so he became my little foster :)

Perry Winkle (5 years old DSH) - He came into the emergency clinic I currently work at. He has been hit by a car 4 weeks prior and his back leg has been fractured. It was so bad that we needed to amputate so now he is my sweet little 3 legged kitten.

I am actually more of a dog lover but these boys tugged at my heart and I could not imagine not being with them :)

I attached there pictures for you all to see. I love animal photography :) Sorry they are BMPs Images, I am working on fixing that..lol!

We also had a stray come in with a mircrochip and when we got a hold of the owners the dog had been gone for OVER a year!! They were crying they were so happy!

I love happy stories!!!

Kindest Regards,

VeganTigress