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credit: kellygiffordOver the past few months my wife and I have talked about possibly adding a puppy to our family. Our talks never developed into much, we had the intention but never set the wheels in motion. Last week my wife and I went to visit a friend of mine in Spring City.
It was the first time I had been to his house in a few months. Since my last visit, he adopted a Black Labrador from a guy in Philadelphia that could no longer care for it. From what I am told, the dog was kept caged in a small apartment for the first 2-3 months of its life. As soon as a suitable adopter was found, the puppy was given a new home. My friend went on tell tell me how the dog, Bruno, went from being terrified of the grass in his back yard, to playing in it for hours at a time.
After playing with the dog for a bit, my wife and I got to talking about adopting one once again. Unlike before, this time we took the next step and did some reading on the adoption process. With a variety of different facilities within driving distance, it has become tough to make a decision on where to start.
We have decided to look into the local Humane Society. Since making the decision, I have sent them an email asking for some additional information on the adoption process itself. I’m looking forward to hearing back from them so that my wife and I can work to get ourselves a new family member.
With any luck, my wife and I will be able to find a Siberian Husky, Black/Chocolate Labrador, or German Sheppard puppy. We are not looking for a purebred, just something with dominant characteristics.
Do you have any pets?
Care to tell us about them?
10 thoughts on “Adopting a Puppy”
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I’ve had tons of pets.
Most are not in the fuzzy category…Bearded Dragons, Leopard Gecko, I love my fish, scorpions and tarantulas…
haha. I love dogs though and have been kicking around the possibility of getting one. Either a Rhodesian Ridgeback or a Drahthaar. I wish you the best of luck in finding a great friend!
You can never go wrong with a Labrador Retriever.Mine is 6 years old now and she is one of the loves of my life.
Once again, great topic!!
I’ve got 2 labs…Boofa is the male and he’s an American yellow lab and Tootsie is the female and she’s an English chocolate lab. Difference between the English and American labs, the English are short and stocky…usually with a big head. Americans are tall and slender. When we purchased Boofa, he was 6 months old and kept in a crate for God knows how long. He was afraid of everyone and everything. He’s pushing 10 years old and is much better now. Tootsie, we bought her from a breeder about 3 years after owning Boofa. About 4 years ago, we decided to breed them and boy was it alot of work. We had to hand deliver each pup because Tootsie wanted nothing to do with them. After all 8 pups were born, we had to bottle feed for a few weeks. All the pups were sold before even being born and after 7 weeks they were able to go to their new homes. Raising a puppy is much like raising a baby…they cry during the night, the require to be let out every few hours to house train them and they get into just about everything. Have Fun!!
Another thing to consider, whatever dog you choose, make sure it’s a dog that’s good with kids. You being married, I’m sure you’ll have kids and the dog will probably be still around. The German Shepard and Labs are great with kids. The Husky on the other hand are very hyper. My dogs are able to tune into a Kid Mode and they play rough but not to rough with my 3 kids..ages 6, 3 and 2. Another thing we all those breeds is the shedding. One word, SUCKS!!! They shed twice a year..summer coat and winter coat. Ok, I think I’ve rambled enough.
Walt,
it’s so refreshing to see that you guys are looking to adopt rather than ‘purchase’ from a breeder.
If you guys aren’t dead set on the breeds mentioned above and open to suggestion, I highly recommend adopting a retired racing greyhound.
although this is an organization in my neck of the woods, you can get some useful info here:
gratefulgreys.com
dk
dk_fxn,
Your suggestion is something that my wife and I have talked about. One of our neighbors has a greyhound and walks it past our house often in the spring/summer.
Since seeing it the first time my wife has wanted to adopt one.
I’m not set on the breeds, they are just three that my wife and I both agree on.
I just heard back from the Humane Society today and think the wife and I are going to take a visit this week or next week to look around see what is available for adoption.
-Walt
Walt,
Might want to look into local rescue options as well. Sometimes you can find Lab Mixed ones there. I must say I’m envious. It’s the one thing I think I’m missing. As much as I love my cat (and the others that came before her), a dog has a kind of “pure bliss and love” that is unlike others.
My wife and I rescued our dog, Luna, from a place in Northampton county. She was 4 mos. old at the time, and we believe a Jack Russel terrier mix.
You could not ask for a sweeter, gentler dog, especially with our 17-month old son. After having her, I don’t imagine we’ll ever own one over 40 lbs. I don’t imagine we’ll ever NOT own a dog, for that matter…it’s one of the most rewarding relationships you can possibly have, IMHO.
Walt,
You and your wife’s lives will be changed once you bring it home. We have 4 basset hounds and they have changed are lives dramatically for the better. The love they bring out is such a stress reliever. They love you unconditionally. Congrats on a great decision!!
Our 14 year old mutt (golden retriever/lab/terrier mix) Jake died last year Easter weekend. He had a stroke on Good Friday, and we had him put to sleep on Monday. Greatest dog ever.
At first, nobody said anything about getting another dog. After a couple weeks everybody admitted what they had been thinking, and said they wanted another. Mom said she wanted 2. So, we took for hunting for male golden retriever puppies. We got our first, Jackson (named after Stonewall Jackson), about a week later. Then we needed to find him a brother. We found Beau (named after P.T. Beauregard) a couple weeks later, and they’ve been great. They fight like hell during the day, but when it comes for bed time they insist on sleeping in the same kennel and cry if they don’t. Great pups.