Big step today

[Tigger]

I'm off to the dog home ;o) ... its been 1 yr since we lost my old pal "Charlie" a little fantastic dog that was a great friend for 17 yrs .. this is her

Untitled by fotosespana.es, on Flickr

But we are now ready to offer another little dog a home and as the local dog home here have loads of dogs we are off to have a look around ... going to be interesting and maybe a tad upsetting but I know we can offer a mutt a great home and theres so many waiting for new owners

Should be interesting

[planetc]

Re: Big step today

good stuff, rescue is the way to go. Lovely shot of Charlie, my first dog shared the name.

[SamFisher]

Re: Big step today

Both our latest Springer and previous Working Cocker have been "second hand" dogs.
Bought from people who thought getting a puppy was a great idea until the reality struck home.
Their loss has been our gain as both dogs turned out to be lovely wee characters.
Sadly Lucy the Cocker died almost 2 years ago at only 10 years ago.
We swore we wouldn't have another but we only lasted 3 weeks before Bracken came on the scene. He is now 2 years old and full of life as Springers usually are

Hope you find the dog of your dreams Ian

LUCY

Lucy amongst the heather by mike.stephen99, on Flickr

BRACKEN

Bracken 45 by mike.stephen99, on Flickr

[Tigger]

Re: Big step today

sadly not to be right now - all the dogs there are big breads and my wife wants a westie / terrier size, but least they have our number now, so hopefully soon - so many dogs there I don't know how the people work in the nose all day, let alone the smell, god knows what its like at summer

[planetc]

Re: Big step today

This little lady is up for homing, been with us since easter because we got quite attached to her but always intended to find her a home.

[Tigger]

Re: Big step today

nice looking mutt... I could never foster dogs as I would end up keeping them all -

A friend of mine looks after Podencos (Spanish hunting dog) and shes got about 10 but they are all working dogs that are very big and rescued after the hunters finished the hunting season ...

[Parsen66]

Re: Big step today

Good luck with finding your new pal mate. Charlie looked a brilliant friend.

I remember as a lad my dads dogs coming and going, always tough. At the moment we have two, a border collie and a collie something or other cross lol. It's nice to come home to a wagging tail, and the dogs say hello too

[Tigger]

Re: Big step today

cheers Alan - All the dog pounds have got our contact details now so its just a case of waiting

[the black fox]

Re: Big step today

We tried a couple of months ago with a dog centre bichon frise .lovely dog but unfortunately after 6 weeks or so with us it went for the great grandson without any provocation from him .so with a lot of heartbreak we had to return it .
We shall probably look for a puppy in the new year ,sadly we have learned you can't teach a old dog new tricks the hard way

[Tigger]

Re: Big step today

thats always going to be a risk with rescue dogs Jeff, thankfully its just me and the wife so hopefully not a problem

I've been talking to a few other people and they all seem to think I'm going to struggle to find a small dog / puppy as those don't tend to get abandoned but sold at markets - I really don't want to buy one as the dog homes here are so full and need space, but on the other hand we only want a small dog, and a puppy

[planetc]

Re: Big step today

The Greek rescue we are involved with has puppies, but they don't travel until they are 4-5 months old.

[Tigger]

Re: Big step today

cheers Paul, we've heard back from a couple of local rescue homes so we are heading out to see them over the weekend - only problem with mix breeds you can only look at legs / foot size to try and judge how big they will grow...

A friend of mine made a classic mistake of seeing a puppy and falling for it in the pound - its probably about the size of a small donkey LOL... soft as they come and lucky for them they have a good size house

[planetc]

Re: Big step today

Yes, they can be unpredictable. There are plenty of them to choose from though and if you take your time I'm sure you will find a rescue that suits you.

[planetc]

Re: Big step today

Here's an idea for you when you get hitched

http://www.buzzfeed.com/chelseamarshall/this-photographer-and-his-dogs-have-created-the-most-magical?bftw&utm_term=4ldqpfp&s=mobile#.rg71kaoeR

[SamFisher]

Re: Big step today

We took on a rehomed Springer pup years ago
She was only 6 months old and had never been socialised
She was great with me and my 3 year old daughter could do anything to her.
It was the wife that she didn't like and went to bite her a few times so the dog had to go
Incidentally, her name was Bracken as well.

Looking back, I should have kept the dog and kicked the now ex-wife into touch.
It would have saved me a small fortune in solicitor fees - money well spent though