Rescue Pets - a wonderful, loving addition
We recently adopted a rescue dog whom we love to bits. He's an Australian Cattle Dog X. Normally, we wouldn't look at a working breed, but given he's kind of lazy, we are a good home for him. He still gets 1-3 hours of walk a day, cuddles and playtime and then sleeps the rest of the time.
I found him through the Pet Rescue Austrlia website/app. They coordinate postings of available pets from a number of organisations. We adopted through Australian Working Dog Rescue.
I took some convincing to consider a rescue pet. I always thought it's better to buy a dog from a registered breeder so you can know about health and personality issues. After all, rescue dogs must have all sorts of problems, otherwise why would no one want them? However, DH was adamant that, with so many animals needing loving homes, that he wanted a rescue dog. I eventually came around to the idea and then became almost fanatical :)
Our boy was surrendered to a pound in Canberra and had 8 days before being euthanised. He was left in the overnight cage, so at least we wasnt just dumped on the side of the road. The pound contacted AWDRI who arranged to transport him to available foster carer in Victoria. He spent about 4 weeks in foster care before we took him for a trial adoption. The process was we filled in an application form, had two phone interviews and someone came out to inspect our backyard. We then picked him up. After an initial shock of bringing a new soul into our house, he's fitted in well. After the two week trial, there was no way we were giving him back.
He does have separation anxiety, which we are working on. We're working with a dog behaviouralist on this as well as general obedience (VicDog - I highly recommend). He's a gorgeous sook who wasn't socialised well as a pup. But since his rescue from the pound, he's learnt what playing in the big world is like, he loves playing with other dogs, he's learnt to play with toys, he responds well to people. He may never fully overcome the separation issues, but in less than four weeks since we adopted him, he's flourished. He's certainly not as timid as he was. He now prances as he walks, tail wagging high in the air. We'll continue working on providing him with strong leadership and helping him with his separation anxiety.
I figure all animals need work of some sort. After all, animals aren't toys, they have their own personalities and quirks. He's less work than a puppy would be. Our boy has a loving nature, is eager to please and responds quickly to training.
When looking for a new pet, I highly recommend that people seriously consider a rescue animal. Our beautiful doggie is part of our family and I couldn't imagine life without him.
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