<p>It was way too quiet around here once my second of two D’s went to college so we went out and adopted a dog to substitute for her. It’s not a one for one replacement in all aspects but it helps. :)</p>
<p>We adopted a 3 year old boxer and he’s a great dog. He’s rambunctious and very playful as are most boxers but he’s also well-behaved and he loves people - especially males (I think he figured out they’ll play with him more). He’s such a good dog I can’t believe anyone would have taken him to the animal shelter. Luckily a friend of the local ‘Boxer Rescue’ org spotted the dog in the shelter, got him out, and brought him to the boxer rescue place where we got him. </p>
<p>On a side note - many of the people who run the animal rescue places are saints for these animals. They make huge sacrifices (financial, time, abode, sleep) and their lives revolve around their mission. I have the utmost respect for these people.</p>
<p>^Our 12+ lab-mix also came from a shelter–I feel the same way. I can’t believe anyone gave him away (we got him when he was 2). He’s been a joy to us. Has some looming health problems which cloud how long he’ll be with us, and I will be devestated to lose him.</p>
<p>acinva - That’s great that you do this for the dogs!</p>
<p>Garland and Woody - I wonder if sometimes some of these animals are just so happy and content to live in a good home receiving the attention they deserve they end up easy-going despite their tribulations.</p>
<p>Congrats on your new family member! Boxers are such wonderful dogs. I grew up with them and ours passed away 5 years ago. My youngest has been wanting another dog for quite a while now and has really been missing her big sis since she left for college for the first time a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your new family member! That’s the only way we do it too. We are on our second adoption through a rescue group. Our first was a St. Bernard/Shepherd mix who was absolutely the best. We lost him last year at 15 years old! H really wanted another dog, so he found a 3 yo. purebred St. Bernard through another rescue group. She’s been a little more challenging, but is turning into a wonderful friend - just very emotionally needy.</p>
<p>Bless you, acniva, for your work with rescued animals! </p>
<p>I adopted my border collie/aussie mix five years ago. My goal is to eventually get her trained to the point that she can be reliable off leash and into agility or frisbee (which she loves to play at home) or something…At our lesson yesterday, we worked on distratction (with another dog in the room) and she definitely showed the trainer how she can behave badly if she is “jealous” of another dog. Kind of pitched a doggie fit. </p>
<p>Funny thing is, later on in the day my newly married son and I were at a store buying a birthday gift for his new wife and witnessed a toddler pitching one of those tantrums we all have experienced. He jokingly asked me if I missed those days and I laughed and told him that I sort of did, but that Reese (my dog) had done something very similar earlier that very day…</p>
<p>i, too, rescued a peke-a-poo (well, a mix of some sort, anyway!) from a rescue agency. the people that run these agencies really devote a lot of time and effort–and the “foster” parents that had my dog were wonderful, too. </p>
<p>it is nice to come home and have some excitement and life in the house…i guess it gives me a chance to take care of someone else. i am much better at taking care of others than i am at taking care of myself!</p>
<p>We have a kitty. She also came from a shelter and she is so wonderful. She actually follows us around…and greets us, much like a dog. I’m getting ready to leave for work and she is snoozing in her bed. She is a wonderful pet and far less maintenance than my kids!!!</p>
<p>Unfortunately, unlike uscd<em>ucla</em>dad, I now have the daughter and a new dog with us since she graduated. </p>
<p>She came home with a retired racing greyhound in May. She was an animal care major and Justin was her training dog for her last semester training course. I knew this would happen, and I hoped that this class would be anywhere but her final semester. We already have a Newfoundland.</p>
<p>I was overruled by the two “wimmin” in the house, clearly destroying my assumed position as alpha male here. </p>
<p>Could not ask for a better dog. Adjusted well and quickly, bonded with the Newf (both are neutered males), and is a great companion. </p>
<p>She was in a program that has a school owned and operated vet clinic, and they have a close association with a local shelter that provides a cadre of shelter dogs each semester for the training course. This was the first time the shelter had accepted retired racing greyhounds. Each dog is paired with a student, the dogs are clicker trained for basic obedience as well as some agility. The dogs are (hopefully) all adopted out at the end of each semester. D is not the first, and by no means the last student leaving the school with both a degree and a dog.</p>
<p>If anyone is considering adopting a shelter dog in the general Worcester MA area, feel free to PM me for more info.</p>
<p>I also replaced my kids with two dogs. (Although a tad before they actually left.) I ADORE my dogs – BUT – I do sometimes wonder why I took on more responsibility. I’d like to be able to make stops on my way home from work, but I can’t because the dogs need to be walked. I’d like to be able to travel without having to make arrangements. I’d like to not have to do dog grooming. Oh well. They are really sweet.</p>
<p>Hugs to all who have adopted from places like Human Societies and Animal Shelters.</p>
<p>A year before younger S went to college, I got 2 rabbits from the local Humane Society. When I come home, the rabbits rush over to see me and stand up on their hind legs to greet me because they’re hoping for treats. :)</p>
<p>The bunnies are cute, playful, litter trained and confine themselves to a large area rug in my family room (They do this because they refuse to walk on the room’s polished stone floor.). They never complain about what I feed them. They also are quiet and don’t need to be walked. Since they are prey animals, despite their enticing furry softness, they aren’t cuddly pets, but if one gets joy out of watching animals, rabbits can bring lots of pleasure.</p>
<p>OK, Northstarmom, do you let this rabbits run around your house all day like cats? That’s very cool. My friend has two long haired lops which look like maltese dogs and act like cats. </p>
<p>We now have 3 dogs, all rescued: Suzette the Wonderdog is 12 now. Her mother was a ****zu and her father was also a dog. Was dropped at the pound because she had “cherry eye.” $80 later, we owned her. A deranged Benjie-type. The other two are both Jack Russell’s which were abandoned. Spot is the female and Sport, the male. Other than his lack of respect for my furniture while I’m away, everyone gets along well. I don’t know what I’ll do when my twins go to school next year… I think I prefer to replace them with an RV - or a maid.</p>
<p>It’s no accident that we adopted a dog when our son turned 13! I knew I was going to miss that total adoration, unfailing devotion, and unconditional love that a teenager just wasn’t going to provide. Through a friend of a friend, we adopted a miniature poodle who had been abandoned and was found on the street. He’s now 8 or 9 years old–extremely smart and a great family dog.</p>
<p>We adopted a border collie/beagle from a rescue. What a sweetheart! You’d never guess the border part of her, except her legs are WAY too long for a beagle, and she likes to herd us. Kira’s happiest when we are all at the dinner table – then she can go “off-duty.” Only drawback is that she tends to be anxious when we leave, and unless she’s crated, we can expect a piddle (only on the rugs, never the floors) upon our return. We call them her “political statements.”</p>
<p>I’ve thought about a second dog, as she loves it when we dog sit for our neighbors, but it’s so much tougher to find folks willing to sit two dogs vs. one. I feel like we can’t continue to ask our neighbors to watch her when we are out of town because of her piddling (last time, one came over with a carpet cleaner while we were gone!). We take her with us everywhere except when we fly – I just can’t reconcile myself to putting her on a plane. This summer, we took her to a doggie “resort” where one of our neighbor’s dogs (also a nervous Nellie) had a good experience. Kira seemed to be fine with it, but it was not cheap, and the hype! Oh please!</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad, hope your boxer isn’t a drooler! Has your D met her “replacement” yet?</p>
<p>We have a 11 yr old Bichon that misses ‘his girls’ terribly. The poor thing actually perked up and ran to the door at the sound of a school bus the other day, even tho it’s been many years since D’s rode a bus. Broke my heart, but also confirmed my suspicions that he’s getting a tad crazy. He still sleeps on their beds, although he has always been my dog, follows me everywhere, and sits at my feet whenever I’m home. He’s been also making more and more ‘political statements’ (I LOVE that Countingdown!) and has become very afraid of thunder and fireworks. The vet suggested another dog, older, rescue not a puppy…anyone have any tips for introducing an older dog to another one? Does it seem to calm them down at all when they have to be left alone? He is a neutered male. The vet gave me the number of a Bichon rescue group, but they are in California, so I need to find out if they have nationwide contacts, or what. It certainly doesn’t have to be a Bichon, but shedding and allergies pose somewhat of a problem. Thanks! P.S. I’d also like to do this myself before my D’s and H do it “for me” lol, they worry that I’m lonely.</p>
<p>", Northstarmom, do you let this rabbits run around your house all day like cats? That’s very cool. "</p>
<p>My rabbits can’t run around the house like cats because, as is the case with most rabbits, they chew through electrical cords and also gnaw the underside of furniture. However, they happily stay on a 10’ x 5 ’ large area rug that’s near no electrical cords or furniture. They do this because the rug is on a polished stone floor, and my rabbits refuse to walk on the floor because with their claws, doing so is like ice skating. So, they have a bunny playland in the middle of our family room.</p>
Broke my heart, but also confirmed my suspicions that he’s getting a tad crazy. He still sleeps on their beds, although he has always been my dog, follows me everywhere, and sits at my feet whenever I’m home. He’s been also making more and more ‘political statements’ (I LOVE that Countingdown!) and has become very afraid of thunder and fireworks. The vet suggested another dog, older, rescue not a puppy…anyone have any tips for introducing an older dog to another one? Does it seem to calm them down at all when they have to be left alone? He is a neutered male. The vet gave me the number of a Bichon rescue group, but they are in California, so I need to find out if they have nationwide contacts, or what. It certainly doesn’t have to be a Bichon, but shedding and allergies pose somewhat of a problem. Thanks! P.S. I’d also like to do this myself before my D’s and H do it “for me” lol, they worry that I’m lonely.</p>