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01-23-2013 at 3:22 PM
aeasterl03...
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aeasterl0320 is not online. Last active: 05-21-2013, 8:22 PMNewbie

NBR-Question about pets

Okay, so I want to preface this by saying I have done everything I can to keep my dogs, but I'm at the point where I can't keep them anymore.  Reason being, my son is allergic and has been hospitalized to due to having respiratory issues from his allergies.  We have put him on oral steroids, breathing steroids and have tried preventative measures to keep his breathing under control while keeping the dogs, but he is still getting sick and still having breathing issues.  Due to this, I cannot justify keeping my dogs when they are making my son so miserable.

 My question is where can I find a home for my two dogs? I know there are no kill shelters, but I really don't want to dump them off there.  I have already asked friends and family if they were willing to take them, but none of them are available to take on any new pets at this time.  I'm at a complete loss because I want a good home for my dogs, but need to put my sons health before my dogs unfortunately.  Any recommendations? 

 P.S. I know that there are many people out their that would keep their dogs given the situation and I love my dogs very much, but watching my son struggling to breath due to his allergies kills me.  I know he is allergic because he has been seen by an allergist, did the test and we have spoken at length with the allergist about our options on keeping the dogs.  We have tried every one of them to make my son comfortable to no avail.  
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01-23-2013 at 3:43 PM
letzgoraci...
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Sweetie, you gotta watch out for your son first.  It doesn't make you a bad pet owner--so don't be to hard on  yourself.

My advice is to call the no-kill shelters first.  I have found those organizations tend to get over-crowded, but I am sure you want to avoid the Humane Society or animal control :(   I would send some emails to a few different no-kill organizations and explain your situation.  It might help if you make a donation when you leave your dogs....just to help them out.

It is a rough decision....but you gotta put your little man first.
 
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01-23-2013 at 3:49 PM
lkm2006
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I would see if any of the local shelters have a Facebook page. I follow several and they often post about the dogs needing a foster or new home. Maybe that way, you could keep them until they are fostered or re homed and they never have to experience the shelter.

I'm sorry you are forced with this decision, it does sound like you have exhausted your options and I know it must be hard on you and your family.
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01-23-2013 at 3:50 PM
aeasterl03...
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Thank you. Would you recommend a cash donation? Otherwise I have a brand new bag of dog food that I can also take in with them.  I don't mind donating both either, would you recommend doing that?
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01-23-2013 at 3:53 PM
OhBaby+201...
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Not sure where you live, but you could try an online service like kijiji.ca. This is where we got our dog.  just not sure how immediately you want to let the dog go.  Otherwise what PP said about contacting the shelter or other no-kill groups are best.  Good luck
 
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01-23-2013 at 3:54 PM
aeasterl03...
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lkm2006:
I would see if any of the local shelters have a Facebook page. I follow several and they often post about the dogs needing a foster or new home. Maybe that way, you could keep them until they are fostered or re homed and they never have to experience the shelter. I'm sorry you are forced with this decision, it does sound like you have exhausted your options and I know it must be hard on you and your family.

 

Thank you, we thought that putting him on some meds might help (OTC allergy meds, nebulizers, inhalers and such) but I feel like we are now a walking pharmacy just to keep him comfortable.  It's not worth it to me.  He's taking an albuterol inhaler every 4 hours, 2.5 ml of Vitamin D, 4 puffs of Flovent, 5 ml of Claritin daily and that is just barely making him function.  He still has a horrible cough that won't go away and I still find that he's getting at least 1 nebulizer treatment a day. If I can make any of these medications go away by getting rid of my dogs, I have to do it.  I just do feel horrible because I feel like I am failing my dogs. 
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01-23-2013 at 3:55 PM
letzgoraci...
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I would say a cash donation would be good (if you can do that financially) Also anything you can send with your dogs (toys/bed/food/etc) will probably help their transition also.
 
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01-23-2013 at 3:55 PM
aeasterl03...
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OhBaby+2013:

Not sure where you live, but you could try an online service like kijiji.ca. This is where we got our dog.  just not sure how immediately you want to let the dog go.  Otherwise what PP said about contacting the shelter or other no-kill groups are best.  Good luck

 

I've never heard of it, I'll go check it out. Thank you. 
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01-23-2013 at 3:59 PM
mrsmcdonal...
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aeasterl0320:
I just do feel horrible because I feel like I am failing my dogs.nbsp;

I would rather fail my dogs, knowing I did everything possible, than fail my child and her/his health.
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01-23-2013 at 3:59 PM
mrsmcdonal...
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01-23-2013 at 4:01 PM
heddy79
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Try petfinder.com.  Please, please, please charge money for them even if its only $100 for both.  There are people who take free pets and sell them to labs for experiments/testing so if you charge, this is less likely to happen.  A no kill shelter is also a great choice. GL.
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01-23-2013 at 4:04 PM
aeasterl03...
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heddy79:
Try petfinder.com.  Please, please, please charge money for them even if its only $100 for both.  There are people who take free pets and sell them to labs for experiments/testing so if you charge, this is less likely to happen.  A no kill shelter is also a great choice. GL.

 

I definitely didn't know that, thank you for warning me.  I absolutely do not want that happening, so I will definitely sell them rather than give them away.  The only way I would not sell them, is if I took them to a no kill shelter.   
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01-23-2013 at 4:10 PM
KatieM558
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You could also try a rescue group for the breed.  They are usually small and house the dogs in foster homes.
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01-23-2013 at 4:37 PM
dande2129
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letzgoracing81:

Sweetie, you gotta watch out for your son first.  It doesn't make you a bad pet owner--so don't be to hard on  yourself.

This. I think you've done a lot more than a lot of people would, and it doesn't sound like this is a decision that you came to lightly whatsoever. I can't imagine having to give up my dogs, but I also can't imagine my son suffering for it.

Are they a specific breed? I would Google rescues in your area and see if they have spots for them. Rescues have volunteers that open their homes to foster dogs while they are waiting to be adopted, or the rescue can advertise the dogs for adoption (usually on a website with pictures and information) while you keep them for that time.

I'm sorry :-\ 
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01-23-2013 at 5:00 PM
bethparr19...
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Rescues are definitely the first place I would try.  I got one of my dogs from a miniature dachshund rescue.  His previous owners had surrendered him to the rescue when they couldn't keep him anymore.  He was severely malnourished when he got there but was happy and healthy after being in his rescue foster home for a while.  Most are breed specific, but there are some mutt rescues too!  Good luck!
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01-23-2013 at 5:01 PM
baby oh ba...
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You can post on Craigslist in the pet section. Craigslist has a rule about adoptions only. But you could get a couple of spam emails but they are very obvious. Meet with the people in person, do a reference/vet check, charge a fee.

You can also ask local rescues to put your dogs on their Petfinder page or help connect you with adopters. Last I checked, the Petfinder message board was full of spammers but they may have cleaned it up. GL! Your dogs will be ok.
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01-23-2013 at 7:24 PM
5dogs
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No-kill shelters and rescues groups really would be your best option. I know the rescue group I am with is full, but we have a waiting list and try to match people up as we can. We screen all adopters, do a home visit, interviews, etc and follow-up. I routinely get pictures and brief updates from fosters I've placed over the last 11 years.

Google your local area + "dog rescue" or "XYZ breed rescue" and ask if they have room, and if not if you can do a waiting list or do a foster situation (if you are willing to keep them until they're placed). Do they need to be placed together or can they go individually? Be honest as to why you're giving them up (ie. specify all you've done for treatments for your son), any quirks or training issues, etc. Honesty is absolutely the best policy. Allergies is unfortunately one of the big reasons why we get turn-ins.

Good luck!

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01-23-2013 at 10:30 PM
amberrae45
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I'm an avid pet lover but I understand where you are coming from. I hope your son gets better.

My SIL has an allergy to dogs as well and she just takes her dog to get a monthly shot that helps reduce the amount of allergens its skin produces. If you really wanted to keep your dog maybe you could look into that option.
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01-24-2013 at 6:31 AM
hugmonkey
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Its so hard to give up pets :(Advertise your dogs on Craigslist.  That's where I got my cats.  The girl who gave them to us made us send her pics for a while to make sure they were in good hands.  It's really hard to give dogs to a no kill shelter.  I had looked into it when my ex and I split up ( he wound up keeping them).  But it seemed like the no kill shelters only accepted dogs from other shelters.

as far as the allergies, did the allergist ever mention immunotherapy?  I'm not sure how young a dr will start it at though  I was pretty much in the same boat because of my pets--almost completely unable to breathe and with allergy shots and I can now hold and pet my furry friends with no meds.  Having been in the situation of having difficulty breathing, however, if no options have worked, as tough as it is to do, the dogs have to go.  

Good luck finding a new home for them! 

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01-24-2013 at 9:08 AM
somebuddie...
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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be VERY cautious about putting any animal for adoption on craigslist (or any other free listing site). CL has become a HAVEN for people looking for docile dogs to be used as bait for training dogs for fighting, even when people ask for adoption fees or do interviews. I'm near Philly and this is a HUGE problem. 

I work with several rescue groups in my area. My recommendation is do a google search for rescue groups near you or post something on social media asking for ideas/suggestions for places near you who could help. You may be able to find someone willing to foster your dogs until they can find a permanent home. Also, anything you can do to make the dogs more desirable helps- rescue groups are often volunteer based and don't have spare cash/food/space to take extra animals. Also consider speaking with your vet to see what they suggest. 

Good luck! 

 
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01-24-2013 at 9:51 AM
Heartstrin...
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I agree with the rescue organizations. I live in NJ and have Boxers, so I would go to njboxerrescue.com. They don't take just purebreds and have links to other rescue sites that take dogs without Boxer backgrounds, so it is definitely worth looking into. They have a host of foster families, so the dog isn't kept in a kennel, but in a home, usually with other Boxers/Boxer mixes (unless they can't be kept with other dogs).

Good luck and I know it's hard, but your son is your #1 priority!
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01-24-2013 at 10:46 AM
RedheadBak...
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somebuddiesgettingmarried:

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be VERY cautious about putting any animal for adoption on craigslist (or any other free listing site). CL has become a HAVEN for people looking for docile dogs to be used as bait for training dogs for fighting, even when people ask for adoption fees or do interviews. I'm near Philly and this is a HUGE problem. 

I'm in Philly, and volunteer with Animal Control and the SPCA. This is an urban legend. Both shelters have had great success with posting adoptable animals there and getting them out of the shelters. If CL is a haven for anything, it's spammers. 

OP, a cash donation to a rescue may or may not help your case. If they don't have space or a foster home, then they don't have space. For calculating how much, the average cost of housing, sheltering, and keeping a shelter or rescue animal healthy is about $100 per day. If you cane offer to foster your dogs in your home until another foster home or a permanent home is found, they'd probably appreciate that, or at least do a courtesy post on their social networks for you. 

Are you trying to adopt them out together? That will take much longer, pairs of dogs are very hard to adopt out. 
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01-24-2013 at 3:04 PM
danuli8
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I agree that no-kill shelters and rescue groups are your best bet. As PP said, if you offer to keep them in your home until a new home can be found, you won't be actively taking up shelter space and they may be more likely to help you that way. My local shelter will accept owner surrenders (that is what this is called), but they charge a fee for taking the animal (surrender fee). I would network, network, network. Try putting up flyers with color pictures at your vet, your grocery store, your local pet supply store, your workplace, any school or preschool your son attends, playgroups, etc. etc. I helped an elderly neighbor up the street re-home a cat she could no longer take care of by taking pictures of her with my digital camera and making color flyers. Everyone on the street put those flyers up at school, work, the vet, etc. and we found the cat a wonderful new home. It will take some time and effort, but you can re-home your dogs and make sure their new living situation is safe and loving.
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