Which do you choose when adopting

General discussion, but do must of you pick the older ones, the ones that don't have much time left but it would be a complete joy to spend whatever time they have with a loving family or do you go to the younger ones, so you know you will have (most likely) years upon years of enjoyment with them?

I only ask because my heart breaks for all the dogs, but mostly the older dogs that everyone usually passes in the shelters

I wanted to add, I know there are a million reasons you choose the dog you do no matter what age or gender (connection with them, health issues, etc...) and any dog that is adopted is a plus IMO. This is just a general discussion.

Message edited 4/8/2008 11:23:28 AM.

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

I have two shelter dogs...one we got as a puppy 10wks old from NSAL and the other we got at 7 mths old from the local shelter down here in NC. We just adopted the ones that we felt a connection with.

Our vet, who also volunteers at the shelter told us that our morgan is very lucky we adopted her (she is part pit) the local shelter destroys all pits....someone luckily made a mistake and labeled her a shepard. Soooo grateful for that mistake, b.c I wouldn't trader her for anything

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

For us? We chose a puppy. I admit it was purely for selfish reasons... We wanted a young dog that was healthy and would be with us for a long time.

I'm just not sure I could take having a dog for a short time and losing him/her.

But I do feel any dog rescued is a great thing.

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

i chose the breed and the temperament. although i could say i'm lying because when i saw O'Malley and had my first encounter with him, he snuck under the fence and started running. (still in the shelter of course) they told me he was an escape artist but when he looked at me with those eyes, i feel instantly in love. i looked at a few others (i was looking for a small dog cause i was living in an apartment in florida) but i didn't connect with anyone like i did with O'Malley (and the cutest thing was his name was spike, this little shy jack russell) I knew he was for me. he was 4 years old

with Jameson, we were kinda looking for a smaller dog but my friend/tattoo artist had 2 pitbulls and they were amazingly sweet and well behaved. we found Jameson at a local shelter and she was so sweet giving kisses and just had a great temperament. we had looked at other shelters after seeing her but no one stuck in our mind like her. we ended up getting her. they said she was 3 years old, but the vet said she's about a year, maybe a year and a half. i don't really care about the age. although if it was like 10 years old, i probably wouldn't adopt it. at the point im in my life i wouldn't but maybe in a few years when I have a house and can afford to have 4 dogs (ha!!) i will.

we actually bought my new pup Finnegan from a breeder upstate. I wanted a dachshund from day 1 and couldn't find any in shelters or petfinder for over a year. i'm gonna end up donating alot of money to little shelter though. so this is my first puppy and he's 6 months old.

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

When we were "in the market" for a dog we decided that we wanted a young one. I didn't want to worry about a dog having a bad history and the possibility of anything from their past "setting them off". I recognize that although they're all cute and cuddly, that dogs are still animals and I wanted to raise/train our dog OUR way. We also have DD and wanted a dog that would have the energy to play with her, whereas an older dog might not be interested. We made this decision before we even started looking so as to not be swayed.

We found Kasey and she was already about 3 or 4 months (they didn't know exactly) and was pretty much house-trained and knew basic commands like "sit". She was a good fit for us and since she's a large breed she's still very much a puppy even now that she's over a year old.

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

I have done both. My first rescue, Hans was 10 yrs old when we adopted him. He was a mini-pin & all the vets told us that if he saw 12 we'd be lucky. Well he lived to be almost 19 and taught me so much about resuce, and pet health.

He was trained when we got him, which was great, and did not need a tremendous amount of exercise, which was also great b/c MiniPins can be hyper and since he was older his temperament fit very well into my lifestyle at the time.

He was awesome

Message edited 4/8/2008 2:06:02 PM.

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

Two of our cats we got as little kittens. It was the only way I could convince DH to let me have more than one.
But then he became a total cat person, our third cat we adopted as an adult, she was about a year old.

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

whichever one chooses you



generally, older dogs are the ones i go for. even thought it breaks my heart they wont be around for long, id rather give them the chance at a few good years before they go. puppie always get adopted

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

For dogs, I always adopt puppies just because I am so afraid that an older dog might react badly to my cats and possibly maul/kill one (I know someone this happened to and the story alone was pretty scarring).

For cats, I would adopt either, but I would lean towards younger adults if I did adopt an adult, simply because I don't handle my pet deaths well, so I want to delay that pain for as long as possible. Considering how poorly I took my last pet death, I don't think DH would approve if I brought home an older pet (dog, cat or otherwise)

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

I would adopt an older pet. Especially if it's a dog. I would want one trained. Puppies are great, but need much more attention for training than I could handle. An adult dog would suit us better. Lots of love and attention but not having to crate train them. I'm sure we would have to train them somewhat but nothing like a pup.

I just love kittens..I adopted our two when they were 7 weeks old. They latched their claws into my shirt and wouldn't let go. Meeeewwww...meee-ewwww...oh, but they cried for their mommy..I became their human mommy.

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

We adopted retired greyhounds. Sara was 2 and Hailey was 4 when we got them so, still young. I wanted a younger dog b/c the thought of adopting an older one that would die in a couple of years made me sade.

However, If I ever get another dog, I will adopt a senior greyhound (over 7). Through the adoption groups I've worked with, I've really come to understand the senior dogs better and they all hold a special place in my heart. I want to be the person who shows them to never give up and that there is a forever home for each of them no matter how old.

Re: Which do you choose when adopting

I love greyhounds. I think LI greyhound rescue does such great work!