Bought, Rescued Or Foster

[MidnightPaws]

Thank you for rescuing and not throwing in the towel so quickly.  You are right, yours should always come first and if  you can re-home Kay to someone  you know and trust and would give the love you give to yours, that definitely would be the way to go...instead of putting her back into a shelter and reversing all you have accomplished with Kay.....Thanks for considering a Foster.   You deserve a pat on the back.....

Oh no i would never put her back in a shelter, especially the one she came from. And thanks! 

[Julieanne]

I will add in that I would foster a dog until a home is found, though keeping a dog is a huge commitment which is why I would want to be sure it's the right one.

[SA DA KA]

And those of you who Foster, and he/she blends with your pack and family and is financially and Vet care feasable, and you end up keeping it you are not a Foster Failure, you are a Foster success.  For you know this Foster pup has a fur ever home and you can share your experience to others and maybe convince someone to be a foster fur mom or dad.....

[Sid_Wolf]

I bought my first, Kira, off freeads   at 14 weeks old

 

When she was about 7 months I joined here, and added Grey when she was 18 months old, he was FTGH on here due to seperation anxiety

 

Keyu was also advertised in the FTGH section on here, she was 6 months old and had been rescued from a bad home by the advertisers, but kept trying to eat their cat, typical Keyu 

 

I would like to foster/rescue another from a proper rescue, but as my garden only has 4ft fencing down one side most wouldn't pass me and now with a baby on the way we're even less likely to get a pass. Not to mention we're now happy with 3 and I think thats our limit for next few years at least

I donate (as Indi-Dog) to the rescue auctions quite a few times a year, and help out on breed rescue stands at events if I'm not already running my own stall, me and Stacey helped on the SHCGB stand at Discover Dogs in November which was great fun

[sharloid]

We have 2 that we got as puppies and a few days ago we started fostering a third.  

[Jay]

I think what turns most people off around here anyways, is that foster groups are so strict. I totally agree needing to vet the person interested but sometimes they make it so difficult people give up. I live in a townhouse so many might not approve me even tho I have experience. And all of our rescues are in Illinois and some wouldn't adopt to out of state even tho I'm 20 min from the border Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cherrie-Nanook-Indy]

We bought Nanook at 8 weeks, Indy and Kaya are both sort of rescues, Indy had been taken in by someone who had seen his suffering and wanted him out of there but didn't have the time / knowledge to keep him so home he came with us, Kaya we got via someone on here who was fostering her. I would consider buying a pup again but not for a good few years yet, I would also consider rescue again as I have found it so rewarding especially with Indy, when he first came to us he wouldn't go anywhere near my husband and was scared of his own shadow, now he loves his daddy and (tries) to show he is a big boy now and looks after us. I know that if I were to foster I would end up keeping them so I dare not do it because we don't have the room at the moment lol

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[valkyries]

bought my first Odin he was my first husky, i never realised just have many were in rescue until after we got him and joined the husky world.

so when we wanted another i refussed to buy i had to give a dog a second chance, hence Loki she was our second and a rescue. hubby was adament no more 2 is plenty lol ye ok that wasn't a problem we only ever wanted 2, but then i saw a picture of a husky who only had 2 days left his time was running out. Hell no i spoke to hubby and thats how Thor came to us. 3 months of pure hell with him and Odin wanting to kill each other, blood every where theirs and ours, but it was all worth it and yes if i had the room i'd do it again.

[LittleLuka]

And those of you who Foster, and he/she blends with your pack and family and is financially and Vet care feasable, and you end up keeping it you are not a Foster Failure, you are a Foster success.  For you know this Foster pup has a fur ever home and you can share your experience to others and maybe convince someone to be a foster fur mom or dad.....

 

 

i worry about that with Sera ... lol she's so beautiful. we will have to see how she does with my two idiots. LOL she's bossy so i hear which is just what they need

[LittleLuka]

I think what turns most people off around here anyways, is that foster groups are so strict. I totally agree needing to vet the person interested but sometimes they make it so difficult people give up. I live in a townhouse so many might not approve me even tho I have experience. And all of our rescues are in Illinois and some wouldn't adopt to out of state even tho I'm 20 min from the border Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

yeah it is pretty difficult. Luckily, i have a fenced in backyard so it wasn't that hard for me. the rules are strict though. however, if you actually speak with the rescue a lot it gets easier because they know you. I'm actually about to start working with Hogan's Husky Heroes (our local rescue) passing out pamphlets to the local shelters and other things. that makes it easier to foster/adopt!

[raindog]

I don't think that the two options - rescue or buy a pup are mutually exclusive.

 

As someone who founded and runs what is probably the biggest Siberian Husky rescue in the UK, you might expect that I would be anti-breeder and pro-rescue full stop!

This is not the case. Without good, ethical, responsible breeders the breed that we love so much would very quickly deteriorate to the extent that after a few generations it would be almost unrecognisable. Good breeders insist that there are no health problems behind their breeding lines; they ensure that the dogs they breed are of high quality and will breed true to the breed standard; and they ensure that the dogs are still capable of doing the job for which they were developed over thousands of years by the Chukchi people of north-eastern Siberia. These kind of breeders should be both cherished and encouraged.

 

Unfortunately the vast majority of breeders are not like this - they don't bother with Kennel Club registration, don't bother with health tests, don't show their dogs or find any other way of evaluating the quality of their breeding dogs, don't work their dogs in harness to ensure that they still have the working capability which defines the breed; don't vet or home-check their prospective puppy buyers, and often overbreed their dogs. The only thing they do bother with is ensuring that they line their pockets and view their dogs as income generators rather than well-loved family members.

 

It is from this second group of "breeders" that 99.9% of rescue dogs come from. In 6 years of operation, SHWA(UK) have rescued and rehomed over 600 unwanted Siberian Huskies - of these only three were bred by what we regard as ethical, responsible breeders (0.5% of the total). All three of the breeders had "return to breeder" contracts with the owners and as soon as the breeders knew we had their dogs they collected them immediately and took responsibility for their rehoming.

So, by all means slag off the bad breeders, avoid them like the plague and rehome a rescue rather than buy a puppy from them, But don't include the few good, ethical, responsible breeders in your condemnation - they are the protectors of the breed and the people who will try to ensure that the breed endures. If you look at the photos of the original imports from Siberia to Alaska, they are easily recognisable as Siberian Huskies. It is the work of good breeders which have ensured that this is the case. In simple terms, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!

[LittleLuka]

i don't think it's wrong to breed. i agree fully, without breeders we would no longer have the beautiful siberian husky. the US has a SERIOUS problem with overpopulation of dogs/strays.

 

"Approximately 5 million to 7 million companion animals enter animal
shelters nationwide every year, and approximately 3 million to 4 million
are euthanized (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats). Shelter
intakes are about evenly divided between those animals relinquished by
owners and those picked up by animal control. These are national
estimates; the percentage of euthanasia may vary from state to state" - ASPCA

 

THIS is why I don't see myself purchasing another dog, because I can't sit by any longer and not help the problem. The more dogs that are adopted, the less that are euthanized. I'm sure you can relate owning a rescue, i just don't know the differences of our countries.

[lebe03]

Bought Polee as a pup

Rescued Obe whilst with my now ex partner

Bought Deifen

[Keeonah]

Its not a bad thing that you bought though. I wonder what happens the the puppies that breeders cant sell.

As has been documented in a completely different thread one of my girls had a litter. It happened because of some bad information that was given to me by a "breeder". Anyway, as admitted before, I made a mistake over this but decided that I would make sure that I didn't make anymore. I had 3 out of the 5 pups that didn't sell. I have kept them and I will continue to look after them for the rest of their lives, or mine. As Mick has said 0.5% of dogs in rescue come from breeders that can be bothered to do it properly. When I was selling mine I had a proper, return to breeder, contract drawn up at a solicitors, this resulted in one of the 3 that I still have, as the owner couldn't look after her. I also vetted any potential buyers which put a lot of people off. Obviously they had something to hide. I found 2 people that in my opinion deserved a chance to own a superior breed of dog and so far they have proved me right. The other 3, as I said before, I will now keep. I would like to be able to foster as well and have offered my services to a Husky Recue with the view to be able to learn more about the breed and help out if and when possible but after the initial process I have heard nothing. Sorry forgot to mention Sasha and Nina bought, Skye rescued and Keiko, Eclipse and Sapphire bred.

 

Gary.   

Edited February 26, 2013 by Keeonah

[goingsolo]

We have had 5 dogs, First a puppy, then a rescue. The Third (darling Caveliar called Daisy) came via an advert at work as her owners no longer wanted her. After we lost her we decided on another dog and top of the criterier was age:3 to 4 years so we went to our local Dogs trust where we found Charlie who was 4 months!  When thinking of getting a Husky Rob hinted at a puppy but as mentioned on the intro section, we found Solo at Dogs trust so adopted. Puppies need homes but adult dogs suit us better

[Applebear]

Knarly was given to me 14 years ago and Rolyx was adopted [approx] 2 years ago from shelter. There was no reason, I just felt some odd connection and regardless of Ro being clashy with my personality and lifestyle, I still feel very connected to him...we're kind of like the odd couple in 3D.

 

My next one is being bought from a breeder. I think it's important to realize there ARE ethical breeders who are not adding to the problem, and take 100% responsibility for every single dog they bring in the world. My breeder is there for life of the dog...that means if I have a stupid question 10 years down the road, she's there. If something happens and I can not keep the dog...they go back to her. All her pups have homes before they are born and she works with other  ethical breeders to improve the breed. She health tests, shows and screens potential homes...even when I decided to go with her, she hadn't decided to go with me.

 

I did check rescue first, but all the dogs they had in the breed I wanted were older and didn't get along with other dogs. In the end, I decided there was nothing wrong with getting a pup from a ethical breeder. Some may disagree with this, but I feel confident I took responsibility in my choice and made sure I wasn't supporting a byb/mill [and like many, I have made this mistake back before I knew better]. My next dog, could easily be a rescue or breeder...it's whatever speaks to me or feels right at that time. 

[Husky-gunner]

Rescue always and I would NEVER buy a dog again a long time ago I bought a boxer puppy and he started having fits at only 5 months old after a month of tests and trying all types of medication he was diagnosed with epilepsy, and at 13 months old he had a fit that he just couldn't recover from and had to be put to sleep cant even start to tell you how hard all that was to deal with so hence why I rescued dyson my husky and did not buy plus all money to rescue is put to good use and not lining sum ones pockets

[SA DA KA]

Knarly was given to me 14 years ago and Rolyx was adopted [approx] 2 years ago from shelter. There was no reason, I just felt some odd connection and regardless of Ro being clashy with my personality and lifestyle, I still feel very connected to him...we're kind of like the odd couple in 3D.

 

My next one is being bought from a breeder. I think it's important to realize there ARE ethical breeders who are not adding to the problem, and take 100% responsibility for every single dog they bring in the world. My breeder is there for life of the dog...that means if I have a stupid question 10 years down the road, she's there. If something happens and I can not keep the dog...they go back to her. All her pups have homes before they are born and she works with other  ethical breeders to improve the breed. She health tests, shows and screens potential homes...even when I decided to go with her, she hadn't decided to go with me.

 

I did check rescue first, but all the dogs they had in the breed I wanted were older and didn't get along with other dogs. In the end, I decided there was nothing wrong with getting a pup from a ethical breeder. Some may disagree with this, but I feel confident I took responsibility in my choice and made sure I wasn't supporting a byb/mill [and like many, I have made this mistake back before I knew better]. My next dog, could easily be a rescue or breeder...it's whatever speaks to me or feels right at that time. 

What impressed us and you used the word several times, was "ethical".  A good breeder will not give up their pups unless you meet their standards and criteria and to hear they will want back the pup or adult regardless of the circumstance....Wishing you all the best....

[SA DA KA]

Rescue always and I would NEVER buy a dog again a long time ago I bought a boxer puppy and he started having fits at only 5 months old after a month of tests and trying all types of medication he was diagnosed with epilepsy, and at 13 months old he had a fit that he just couldn't recover from and had to be put to sleep cant even start to tell you how hard all that was to deal with so hence why I rescued dyson my husky and did not buy plus all money to rescue is put to good use and not lining sum ones pockets

First, we are sorry to hear of the loss of your boxer puppy due to epilepsy, RIP little one.  We have friends who spent thousands of dollars in 13 years for a Springer Spaniel who had epilepsy. In the last few months of his life, six thousand alone in medical bills.  Thank you for being a rescue angel...

[SA DA KA]

I bought my first, Kira, off freeads   at 14 weeks old

 

When she was about 7 months I joined here, and added Grey when she was 18 months old, he was FTGH on here due to seperation anxiety

 

Keyu was also advertised in the FTGH section on here, she was 6 months old and had been rescued from a bad home by the advertisers, but kept trying to eat their cat, typical Keyu 

 

I would like to foster/rescue another from a proper rescue, but as my garden only has 4ft fencing down one side most wouldn't pass me and now with a baby on the way we're even less likely to get a pass. Not to mention we're now happy with 3 and I think thats our limit for next few years at least

I donate (as Indi-Dog) to the rescue auctions quite a few times a year, and help out on breed rescue stands at events if I'm not already running my own stall, me and Stacey helped on the SHCGB stand at Discover Dogs in November which was great fun

Thank you for being a rescue angel and for donating for we do the same from House Wolf K-9 Dog Biscuits....and Raffles we have in our shop where all the proceeds go to rescues and shelters...Congratulations on the new arrival....

[Sid&BellaNTX]

Sid was my first Siberian.  I had done quite a bit of research before getting him and wanted one from a reputable breeder.  I picked Sid up at 8 1/2 weeks old and except for about a month when he was 4 years old, we've been inseparable.    I was looking at getting another pup from the same breeder but realized there's WAY too many pups in shelters that would love to have a place to call home.  That's when I adopted Bella.  I really can't imagine life without either.  In May, Bella and I will have been together for 2 years!  Love my Bella.    My third(I say MY third until he finds a forever home) is a foster named Levi.     I love fostering and will continue as long as I can.  A life fostered is a life saved.  That's the way I see it.  I know not everyone is in a position to foster but if you have ever thought about it please, please give it a try.  It is definitely one of THE best experiences.

[Sarah]

We bought Kimba as a pup and then kaiser but rescued Koda well rehomed really from a couple who were not able to give him what he needed, i couldn't rehome from a rescue as we have a cat so i'd be dismissed so we got koda before he went down the route of going into fostering / rescue

[Stormy]

I bought Shadow at 7 weeks old and Skye at 12 weeks old my next will be rescue.

[LuvMyKai]

Bought Kai as an 8 week old pup as he is my first ever dog and i wanted to grow through everything with him. When i get my own places and get more dogs, they will be rescues/fosters.

[goingsolo]

We bought Kimba as a pup and then kaiser but rescued Koda well rehomed really from a couple who were not able to give him what he needed, i couldn't rehome from a rescue as we have a cat so i'd be dismissed so we got koda before he went down the route of going into fostering / rescue

We have 2 cats and another dog and had no probs rehoming solo, they bought him here to meet him and it was fine.