House inspection for a rescued dog - any advice?

Colibri

Just had the check. Lovely woman named Lisa! I think it went well but we'll see soon :-D

adser53

Best of luck

barbiegirl

Colibri wrote: »

Just had the check. Lovely woman named Lisa! I think it went well but we'll see soon :-D

Best of luck :-) I'm sure you'll hear soon :-)

Colibri

Just got the word now.






We're collecting him tomorrow morning I'm absolutely over the moon!
Thank you so much everyone for the advice, it came in handy alright










Leon, an 11 month old Labrador mix


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koneko

Be sure to post more pics when you can

You must be so so excited!

RubyGirl

Well done, was it as daunting as you thought. He's fab. Best of luck with him.

LucyBliss

Brilliant news! I'm delighted for you and that Leon gets to have a forever home. Please do post more pictures when he gets settled. He looks lovel.

Colibri

We've had him now since early afternoon now and.I must say he's absolutely brilliant. He was fairly shy alright but it seems as if he has warmed up to us. Very gentle dog, not a hurtful or aggressive bone in his body. Playing with a toy ball today, he wasn't a bit dominant or aggressive. He played with it, let us take it and waited for us to throw it. Bad on the leash but that'll be corrected in due time too, along with the rest of his training! He was neutered last week so his hormones are a little weird. Poor thing tried to hump my baby brother a few times! He should get over it though. He is beautiful too :-) pictures asap!

Colibri

Sprawled across the couch now, fast asleep! What a dog, pure slob:-)

koneko

We should organise a little Boardsie meet up in Marlay Park or something to get him some doggy pals

candy_pants

Hi Colibri, hope your house visit went well if its already happened and good luck if its still yet to take place! Keep us posted!

Hope you don't mind me highjacking this thread but I have some house inspection questions too!

Our very much beloved dog of 14 years was put to sleep in November. Myself and the rest of my family have not discussed the possibility of rehoming another rescue dog, and are not yet ready anyway but for if/when the time comes (I hope it does, I love dogs and miss their company, plus I feel we owe it to my dog to rehome another stray) I have some questions.

We have a good size and secure garden, the dog would sleep inside at night, and we have a little laundry room for shelter during the day.

Obviously basic needs like food/water, vet visits, and lots of love would be catered for.

However, I'm 26 living at home with my parents in their late 50s/early 60s. Being that I should move out soon (when I can afford to...), will this be a problem? My mum has always been at home and my dad is retired so the dog has company, plus other family members (and myself obviously) for when they may be away.

Are older families (i.e. families without young children) discrimated against when rehoming a dog? I recently fell in love with a gorgeous DSPCA puppy but felt he should be in a 'young' home, maybe this is an opinion shared by shelters?

Obviously when/if the time comes, we have to all be completely onboard but would my moving out at some stage plus the lack of children/teenagers in the house put off shelters?

Thanks so much in advance - I love the animal forum on boards, its like vicariously pet-owning through all the posters!

Catherine


PS. I must have missed the last few posts as I didn't realise you were approved and already homed the dog! Congratulations! Hope its all going well for all of you!

katyt

candy_pants wrote: »

Hi Colibri, hope your house visit went well if its already happened and good luck if its still yet to take place! Keep us posted!

Obviously when/if the time comes, we have to all be completely onboard but would my moving out at some stage plus the lack of children/teenagers in the house put off shelters?

Not at all! Oh the arrogance of youth! The fact that there is someone at home puts your parents way above a younger, out all day working person. Also, there are many dogs who are not good with children of any age.
A good organisation will help match your parents to the right dog when the time is right.
By the way, a good time to think of having the 'are they too old' questions is when your parents are in their mid-eighties!

candy_pants

Oops, bit embarrassed now!
I didn't mean it that way, just wondered if there was bias towards rehoming pets to younger families - especially puppies (not that I have a preference towards puppies over older dogs). Although it would need to be a family decision and something we all agree to, I know I'd be the one to 'push' (for lack of a better word) the issue at home so I wanted to know if I were to move out in the future if this would be a problem!

But that's good to know that this wouldn't be a problem, apologies for my youthful arrogance!!

Thank you!

barbiegirl

Leo looks fantastic :-) Sindy got along great with Fargo, and we're picking him up on Friday. All good news :-)

the_syco

candy_pants wrote: »

Oops, bit embarrassed now!

IMO, I'd say that "stronger" dogs who tend to bring the owners for the walk may be ruled out, but a smaller dog may not. Also, a docile dog may suit them better. What sort of dog did you have, and do you know if your parents want another dog around?

barbiegirl

Meet Fargo, he arrived today and so far Sindy and he are fine. The odd putting in place over toys etc. and a few accidents by Fargo but we'll get there.

candy_pants

Oh my goodness! Both dogs are gorgeous and Fargo is a little cutie! He's so tiny. Looks like they're getting on well - good luck with everything!

the_syco wrote: »

IMO, I'd say that "stronger" dogs who tend to bring the owners for the walk may be ruled out, but a smaller dog may not. Also, a docile dog may suit them better. What sort of dog did you have, and do you know if your parents want another dog around?

Sorry the_syco, I'm only seeing this now. Well, Dad was always the 'walker' and is probably fitter than any of us but our dog was very strong at first alright and pulled quite badly and not sure if Dad would be up for that again. Coco (our dog), was incredibly laid back but would go mad for walks/food.

We rehomed her from a homeless man who had to go into a hospice so we were always unsure of breed/age but we think she was a greyhound/beagle mix. There seem to be a lot of lurcher pups around that are gorgeous and supposedly really chilled/lazy so that could be perfect.

Your last question is the big one. My parents don't want one now (I think they need a break as Coco was very old and dependent towards the end) so obviously its out of the question for now. But secretly hoping they'll come around in time. I desperately miss canine companionship and feel we owe it to Coco to rehome another stray. (Sorry for hijacking the thread!)

seamus

candy_pants, if your parents/family aren't ready to rehome a dog at the moment, it would be worth asking them to look at fostering for one of the rescues.

Able-bodied retired people are the backbone of many shelters' ability to take in rescue animals because they have the time & experience to look after animals before they're rehomed.

The hardest part is probably giving the animals back, the shelter look after all food/treatment for the dog while it's in foster care.

candy_pants

Fostering is something I have thought about and would love to be able to do that for a shelter. I'll definitely broach the subject, but I don't know what the reaction would be. I also gave thought to fostering potential guide dog pups but both I would find really difficult. I know its weak and selfish but I don't know if I'd be able to give up a dog I had bonded with and I'd need to really think about that before committing to fostering. Like you said, it might be a good way to get my parents used to another dog in the house. Thanks for suggesting that.

Barbiegirl, how's Fargo going? Are you taking time off with her?

revileandy

I tried to rescue a dog in 2007 and didn't even get a home visit! I work close enough to home but I'm gone for 10 hrs each day, Mon - Fri.

I was told I'd be out too long, the dog would be lonley, the dog would self-harm(!) etc. and I wasn't suitable.

Ended up getting a lovely collie from a chap who was emigrating and I'll be damned if she's not the happiest dog on the planet. Sure, she's out the back during the day but she gets loads of attention, loads of exercise and has been to more places in Ireland than most of my mates.

I'd hate to think dogs who could be re-homed are being put down when people like me get rejected in such an off the cuff manner.

I'm not home 10 hours a day but still have plenty to offer, I don't see how the alternative is better.

barbiegirl

candy_pants wrote: »

Barbiegirl, how's Fargo going? Are you taking time off with her?

I'm working from the house today, we'll both be home all weekend then in work for a couple of hours Monday morning then I'll work from house for the afternoon. So far so good, though it is only a couple of hours they're getting on grand.
But I have noticed he sure does fart a lot!!! We'll be looking at his food I think, or getting gas masks ;-)

candy_pants

barbiegirl wrote: »

But I have noticed he sure does fart a lot!!! We'll be looking at his food I think, or getting gas masks ;-)

Haha! Dogs do have a particularly whiffy brand of farts alright! And they always look so guilty/embarrassed that you can't help not minding!

barbiegirl

I wouldn't mind if he was embarrassed but I don't think he even notices. :-) lol
He is also crying a little and Sindy keeps looking at him as if to figure out what is wrong. I think he misses his foster brother, but he'll soon get used to his big sister :-)

Colibri

Here he is