Weds 20th July: Thank you for not adopting

The heading for today's entry may seem strange given that adoption is always our top priority, but committing to taking care of a dog for its whole lifetime is not something that should be taken lightly. People get a dog or puppy for all sorts of reasons, and sometimes those reasons aren't the right ones, or it's just a matter of not being the right time.

I get lots of adoption enquiries for puppies, and many times it's the child or children in the family who are begging their parents to get them a dog.  Sometimes it works perfectly but too often it doesn't, and that's why I wrote the following response to one such adoption questionnaire:

"Thank you for your interest in adoption, although I see that you are looking for a puppy for your 10 year-old child rather than as a whole family choice.  You have also answered "No" to the question about whether you could handle problems such as chewing, barking, jumping, house-soiling, all of which are part of having a puppy, and you have also answered "No" to the question asking if you can guarantee to keep a dog for its entire lifespan, which for a small dog can easily be 15-plus years.

It honestly sounds to me as though your child asked for a puppy and you are getting one for that reason.  I really need you to ask yourself whether you and your wife also want a dog (not a puppy, as the puppy stage is very short), and that both of you will care for it until it dies.  Children always want puppies, but that interest often fades very quickly.  Adopting a puppy is a serious and long-term commitment which comes with all of the things that you may not want."

Usually when I send a reply like this there is either no response or a disgruntled one, so I was really happy to receive this message instead: 

"Thank you for your quick response. You're right; we're not ready yet. We need training and more thinking before we commit ourselves."

Barney adopted as.........

I may have talked myself out of an adoption but I have also reached at least one family who have listened, and that made my day.  There are far too many puppies adopted on impulse, the consequence of which is an abandoned dog somewhere down the line. We have yet another doglet coming back to us on Thursday, a lovely young boy who was adopted on a whim as a baby.  It's clear that the couple who took him home full of promises have no time for a dog in their busy schedules, and I can't for the life of me understand why they even pretended to themselves that they did. 

Returning as......

I had my usual Wednesday at home today, babysitting Murphy who is struggling to come to terms with having only one eye after losing the other one on Monday, but also now being fearful of the big dogs that he previously regarded as his friends, or at least not his enemies.  He'll get over the physical injury quickly enough but it's the psychological damage that worries me more.  Murphy has always been a happy and confident little dog, taking himself off to the beach if it was too hot to join the morning walk, and even eating the big dogs' food under their very noses (which is why he's overweight, nothing to do with the meals I give him).  Now he's clearly feeling very vulnerable, and it's not easy for him or me.  Hopefully once the cone is off his head and he's adjusted to his one-sided vision he'll bounce back, but in older dogs these setbacks can be the beginning of a slow decline.