Dear Adopt-a-Pet.com, I adopted a Bichon Frise from Wags to Whiskers, a rescue group I found on your website. Chardonnay was unloved and her sole purpose in life was for monetary gain to the breeders. When she could not longer bear income-producing puppies, she was tossed out. Her entire eleven years was spent in a 4×5 cage.

She joins another adoptee Bichon Frise, Sir Lancelot, whose story was the same. Both are now living lives of royalty in my home in the country. Chardonnay went from a breeding dog to queen of the ball when she attended the Rescue the Animal Furball on Saturday. She now has her own designer gowns, a princess bed, her own dinnerware, at-home grooming, and the very best of medical care.  She is pure joy.

Thank you!
Camellia C.

This post was brought to you by Twinkie, the Teacup Chihuahua. Twinkie writes: “Aren’t puppies and kittens adorable? Of course! And, no, it’s not so you don’t loose patience and pull your hair out when they misbehave. According to evolutionary psychology, baby-cuteness serves a specific purpose. Baby animals are vulnerable, therefore by being “created” cute and appealing, they are cared for and protected, thus ensuring the continuation of the species. That’s why today, I want to point everyone’s attention to older pets.

My name is Twinkie and I’m a tiny teacup Chihuahua rescue. I’m sickly and, as my family calls me, cugly, cute and… you get the rest. I was adopted against all odds since I needed around the clock expensive care for several months. I’m a survivor. I’m also the reason my family and I got to do some serious thinking and decided that from now on, we’re going to try to rescue those in need the most.

Puppies and kittens usually find homes quickly. It’s the sick and the elderly that need homes with extra big hearts to rescue them! I know, it’s not easy. Some folks can’t handle to watch us suffer, while others do not want their young children to get used to and love an animal that will not be around for long, but I’m hoping to appeal to the rescuers who can.

Rescuing a senior dog or cat is truly rewarding. Think of his/her chances. Not so good, huh? That’s why there are special rescue organizations that focus primarily on the senior pets.

I would like to point out to the kind rescuers that adopting an older pet for whatever time is left, providing a stable, secure and loving environment, is the ultimate act of love. These rescuers accept death as part of life and instead of thinking of how they will feel after we’re gone, they think us, the pets. Not only that but an older dog or cat will usually have a calmer temperament, no teething, no toilet training issues, and no destroyed furniture. Besides, you never know how a young dog or cat will develop, whereas with a senior pet you always know what you get. So, why not join the senior rewards program and start collecting your “points”!

Now that I got this off my tiny chest, let me end by saying the obvious: Any pet adoption is a good adoption.” – Twink!

This post was brought to you by Twinkie, the Teacup Chihuahua.
http://twinkietinydog.blogspot.com/

Adopt-a-Pet.com has recently begun working with PeoplePets.com to raise awareness of animals adoption. Today, we’d like highlight a pet who is looking for a home with the help of PeoplePets.com. Meet Amber, a motherly Staffordshire terrier. Amber was pregnant when her owners left her tied to a fence outside the Humane Society of Garland County in Hot Springs, Ark., in May 2008. She had her babies at the shelter, and took “very good care of them,” according to volunteer Theresa Carter, who says Amber is “a good mother.”

Most of her puppies have found new homes, but 3-year-old Amber remains at the shelter. The “very gentle and loving” pooch enjoys long walks, but would do best in a home without small children or other pets because they frighten her. “She’s a wonderful girl and a staff favorite,” Carter says. Read more on Amber, and view where she can be located in Arkansas by clicking here.

Max is blind. Snow is deaf. Chumani is blind and deaf. All three dogs are white (a typical trait of deaf or blind dogs). And all three were pulled from Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C) shelters within the past year by the amazing Harriet Zucker of Red Hook Dog Rescue in Brooklyn, New York. A ten-year rescue veteran, Harriet has carved out her own niche in the NYC rescue community by rescuing deaf and blind dogs. Harriet says that many people who adopt a deaf or blind dog can’t imagine having any other kind of dog. You can read more about her incredible rescue (and the wonderful blind and deaf dogs she has for adoption!) in this great interview article recently posted in Out of the Cage!, the e-newsletter of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals.

Would you like to get a new dog that’s already housebroken, already had his shots, already been spayed or neutered, and who’s more than willing to learn a few new tricks? It sounds too good to be true, but a family-friendly older dog can be all that, and more.

You may think you want a puppy, but consider whether or not your schedule will allow for the time and effort that young dogs require. Older dogs, many of whom were given up because their owners got sick or moved away, may be able to make the transition much more smoothly. So if you’re ready to adopt, give the older, calmer canines a look. Tap into an online rescue site or visit an animal shelter. Lots of adult dogs are waiting for homes, and many of them are move-in ready.

Their clinics are dusty spaces with limited electricity and no running water. Their operating tables are whatever desks available covered in garbage bags. Most of their clients have never seen a veterinarian before. Despite the odds, Canada’s Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB) complete their work on boundless ingenuity to save lives and reduce animal suffering. Their work is captured in the new webseries Vets Without Borders , launching on September 15th, Vets Without Borders follows a team of VWB volunteer vets and vet techs to Todos Santos, Guatemala.

Todos Santos is a small mountain village where rabid dogs have attacked people, killing them with the disease. The vets are there to spay/neuter and vaccinate the dog population, but in a community with no other vet care there are many crises to overcome.

From aiding a Rottweiler found dying in the street to a cardiac arrest during a spay surgery, the vets’ skills are pushed to the max in an environment where they have only the bare essentials. Webisodes #1 & #2 premiere on September 15th, followed by two new webisodes on the 22nd and the 29th.

If you’ve ever lost a pet, you know how frantic you felt in that moment you realized he or she was missing. We’ll bet you wished for a way to instantly notify all your neighbors to be on the lookout. Now there’s a way to do just that. FindToto is an amazing service that telephones up to 10,000 households in your area to alert them about your missing pet. You pay according to the package you select: notifying 250 households will cost $85.00, and prices go up to $875 if you want 10,000 neighbors to be called.

FindToto is also useful when you find a stray pet without a collar or other ID. In fact, Adopt-a-Pet.com staff member Laurie Wisneski recently tried the service after finding a dog in her front yard. She opted to call 250 of her neighbors, and less than a minute after being notified that the calls had gone out, she received a call from the pup’s relieved owner. How’s that for effective? We love FindToto!

Congratulations on choosing to adopt a rescue dog! Rescues and shelters everywhere house wonderful dogs, each of them just waiting to become a member of your household. While shelter dogs come from various backgrounds and experiences, they all share one important fact: they are dogs, and the dog you choose needs to be understood and treated as such. Just like us, dogs need order and leadership. They seek structure, structure which you must provide. Your dog needs to know that you that you have a set of house rules. This makes the transition from the shelter to your home easier, faster and more rewarding.

Below are tips to help ensure a smooth transition for your new furry friend.

• Hold a family meeting to create rules about caring for the dog. Will he be allowed on the couch, the bed, and in all rooms of the house? Where will he sleep and eat? Who will walk him and clean up after him? As a family, you must all be consistent with your decisions or you will confuse the dog, usually resulting in the dog making his own rules and causing unnecessary tension.
• Have the necessary items your dog will need from the start: ID tags, a collar and a 6 foot leash, food and water bowls, food, dog toys, a crate and bedding, and basic grooming tools.
• Bring your new dog home when you can be there for a few days (ideally) so you can supervise him as he learns your house rules.
• Just before you bring your dog into the home, take him for a walk to tire him out a little. Walks are not only good exercise, but they also serve as a training tool and an opportunity to establish the lines of communication that better educate him.

Establish Ground Rules in the First Days

• At first, limit your dog to one room or area. This allows him time to become familiar with the smells and sounds of his new home. Try to limit your time away from home those first days; your spending time with him will help him to become more comfortable in his new, unfamiliar home.
• Keep your dog on leash while inside your home for the first few weeks so you can immediately teach him what behaviors are and are not acceptable by showing and guiding him through the appropriate exercises. For safety’s sake, NEVER leave a leash on your dog when he is unsupervised.
• Your rescue dog should NOT be left alone in the house with your existing pets until you have carefully monitored and controlled their interactions for a period of time.  [See our dog to dog and dog to cat intro articles for tips.]
• Expect housetraining accidents. Your dog is in a new territory and is establishing a new routine, so accidents probably will happen. Review housetraining information available from the shelter, your veterinarian or your local Bark Busters trainer. [More housetraining tips here.] The key is to be consistent and maintain a routine.
• Dogs instinctively like to den, and a crate makes the ideal place for your dog to sleep and get away from household hubbub. While crate training also makes housetraining and training in general easier, limit the amount of time the dog is crated. The crate should be roomy enough to allow your dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably. An alternative to a crate is a dog-proofed part of your home, such as a laundry or mud room. You can use a tall climb-proof baby gate or dog gate to block off the area from the rest of the house.
• Most rescue dogs have been given basic vaccinations and many have already been spayed or neutered. It is important that your dog is examined by a veterinarian within a week after adoption for a health check and any needed vaccinations. While there, arrange for the spay/neuter surgery if needed.
• For the first few days, limit guest visits to allow your dog to get comfortable with his new family. When you do have guests, ask their help in training your dog by instructing them not to pay attention to him until he has calmed down. One way to communicate this request is to post a sign on your front door informing visitors that you have a new dog in training.

A Trained Dog Makes for a Happy Human-Canine Bond

• • Get guidance for training your dog. A well-trained dog is a happier dog and a joy to have around. Your animal shelter may have performed a behavioral evaluation on your dog to help the adopter understand what, if any, potential behavioral issues the dog may have. Knowing this information ahead of time may be helpful when you begin training with your new dog. If you already have a dog, whether he was adopted from a shelter or not, a helpful tool (called the Behavioral Rating Quiz) to determine how he compares to other dogs is available at www.BarkBusters.com.
  • Dogs need consistent pack structure. If they don’t have a consistent set of rules to follow, then they try to become the leader, which can create numerous behavioral problems. Thus, you—and all humans in your home—need to be consistent. Practice obedience training, set rules and apply them calmly and consistently, and praise your dog’s good behavior. He will be much more comfortable in a pack with structure and will bond more quickly to you.
  • It is amazing how quickly dogs learn what is acceptable and what is not.Dogs have a language of their own, and once we understand it, we can communicate better what we expect of them.

A Bright Future

Hats off to you for bringing home a rescue dog! Your patience and training will help to create a bond that will reward you both for years to come. With the right balance of discipline, understanding and affection, your rescue dog will become a loyal, grateful and loving companion.

This guest blog article is written by By Liam Crowe, CEO and Master Dog Behavioral Therapist at Bark Busters USA. 

Liam Crowe is the CEO and grand master dog behavioral therapist of Bark Busters USA (www.BarkBusters.com), the world’s largest dog training company. Since inception, over 500,000 dogs have been trained worldwide using Bark Busters’ dog-friendly, natural methods, which focus on fostering a positive relationship between owner and dog to establish a lasting emotional bond based on respect and trust.

Good news! Recently, Adopt-a-Pet.com issued a press release encouraging the Department of Homeland Security to please consider shelter dogs for duty, instead of breeding up to 12,000 dogs to find 3,000 dogs for the expansion of their canine force. Now, months later, we have good news to report!  Homeland Security listened to our plea (and thousands of others from animal lovers and organizations across the nation), and is encouraging shelters to submit dogs for their program! We’ve included the basic requirements and how to submit a shelter dog below.

Previously, the Los Angeles Times posted a story which outlined the Department’s plans to purchase 3,000 additional bomb sniffer dogs at an average cost of $4,535 each. Adopt-a-Pet.com Executive Director Abbie Moore responded, “There are thousands of wonderful, energetic, and highly-trainable dogs in U.S. animal shelters who would be perfect for the Department of Homeland Security’s current needs. In addition to saving 3,000 worthy lives, recruiting shelter dogs makes fiscal sense and stands to save taxpayers well over $1 million. I can’t think of a downside to adopting versus buying these dogs. It’s the humane and prudent thing to do.”

According to an August 10th, 2010 letter (click to see a PDF of the actual letter), from Rafeael Borras, Under Secretary for Management, U.S. Department of Homeland Securty: “DHS has found that there are a number of specialized characteristics that are essential to a canine’s success in our rigorous training program. I encourage animal rescue facilities to submit proposals to be considered for an award if they can provide the type of dogs required and meet the contract requirements.” (Note: that is our bold emphasis.)

Mr. Borras continues, “DHS dogs are trained with respect and receive a high degree of veterinary care. They typically live with their handlers, whom often adopt the dogs after they have been retired from DHS service…. please do not hesitate to contact me at (202) 447-3400.”

Animal shelters and breed-rescue groups are encouraged to submit proposals to the DHS for their eligible dogs to:

Att: Unsolicited Proposal Officer
Training and Development Division
Program Directorate
Office of Procurement
Customs and Border Protection Agency
1310 PA Ave, NW
Washington DC

Candidates must be:

• Twelve to 36 months old
• Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, or Belgian Malinois
• Alert, active, outgoing, and confident
• Able to pass a series of tests for courage and toughness

Read our original Adopt-a-Pet.com Press release here.