Here we go...

[PawNclaws]

Do you all remember the Lab my "friend" needs to rehome. Well remember how I said, she had told me that Starr "would be spayed before going to a new home". Well turns out she "may not be". Starr is also lacking in vet care, has had no recent Vaccinations(not that she was aware of- WHAT ? ) NOR a rabies vaccs. She ALSO has a cut on her head from running through a glass sliding door, and , get this, has not gone to the vet.... I'm am so angry ... I do not know what to do you guys. I really want to take her in and find her a home my self. My "friend" has shown NO effort what so ever, in the attemp to find her a home. She has yet to send me any thing helpful. I had to call her to get basic information !.. I really feel sorry for this poor Labby.

I'd take her but I'm lookin' at some potential problems :

1) Well we just got Bella a month ago. She is not fully done with her vaccinations - so bring in Starr who "may or maynot be UTD with her Vaccs.", puts Bella at a slight risk.

2) Starr has never been in a carrier or kennel- so she is NOT kennel trained. She's been tied up in their back yard during the day and has a barking problem. So having her in the house would not be possible , as all our dogs are kenneled at night. Having her outside would carry a risk of the possibility of her getting "knocked up" by the male dogs behind us, until a spot opens at the Low Cost clinic(only about $55/$65 for a spay for a dog like Starr) whom are usually booked 1 month in advance . We'd have to have her sleep in the shop(we don't use it), and have her tied outside until we finish fencing off the rest of the yard(we have an area fenced right now, just for the dogs to play)..

3) She lacks training. She only knows 2 real commands - Sit and Down . Nothing else. So she'd be hard to control and need *some* training before being placed.

4) We already have 9 dogs - NOT all get along together(Blackie and Aj do NOT like Buddy !!) We have Daisy, an intact maturing female. We know she likes other dogs, male or female, BUT we don't know how Starr will react to another bitch. Since Starr was and still is not, spayed. I know it would only be until a home can be found for her, but that could take a while !

WHAT IF my friend wants me to "pay" to get Starr ? OR decides she isn't moving, and wants Starr back- after all I put into her ? I'd need a small "signing over contract" of some sort to protect me.. Bill or sale maybe ? I'm sorry, but I'm at a lose of trust with this person. I just don't find any truth behind her moving. She got back with her BF, has a steady job as a nurse, and seems like she's not going anywhere. I just feel she's making this moving bit up, just to be rid of the responsibility of Starr...

I dunno, I know what's right, but I'm just weighing out the "Can" and "Can-nots" .. We have no major problems. Money wise, well we can handle another dog to feed and Vet(I take care of 1/2 and my family the other 1/2). BUT She'd have to live outside until she found a home- which we don't agree with- BUT it's better then her ending up in our already full shelters w/ the chance of being PTS.

What would you do in this situation ?

BTW- Here is the most recent pic they've sent- Starr at 1 year

[Ilovemypup]

Aww shes beautiful!!! I would call AC , but starr might not find a home.. I am sure someone would take her but you never know..

I really don't know what to say , sorry!

Just to say good luck and I hope she finds a better home!

[IceyBlueSibes]

Hmm, if it were me... I'd probably take her in myself and find her a home. Atleast she'd have a better chance at finding a home than if she were to stay there, and they get "fed up" with trying to find someone to take her and just take her to the pound. Cause as you said, she'd have a larger chance of being PTS if that were the case.

However, that's just me. I'd find a way to work around the problems if it meant better life (vaccs, vet care, attention, etc) for her before she found a forever home.

I'm really sorry to hear that this "friend" of yours isn't taking proper care of her. I bet she probably didn't think of the responsibility she'd have to put into owning a dog. Which is the sad part that many people really don't realize. It lasts for life, not like a toy you loose interest in once you get tired of it.

[PawNclaws]

Originally Posted by IceyBlueSibes

Hmm, if it were me... I'd probably take her in myself and find her a home. Atleast she'd have a better chance at finding a home than if she were to stay there, and they get "fed up" with trying to find someone to take her and just take her to the pound. Cause as you said, she'd have a larger chance of being PTS if that were the case.

However, that's just me. I'd find a way to work around the problems if it meant better life (vaccs, vet care, attention, etc) for her before she found a forever home.

I'm really sorry to hear that this "friend" of yours isn't taking proper care of her. I bet she probably didn't think of the responsibility she'd have to put into owning a dog. Which is the sad part that many people really don't realize. It lasts for life, not like a toy you loose interest in once you get tired of it.

I'll be calling the Shelter w/ the Low cost Clinic before work tomorrow to ask if they can help ( I know they do assistance w/ Vaccinations and Spay/Neuter). I'll see what they say and then sit every one down. It will have to be every one that agree's. I don't own the house, and I'm not the only one living here. However, my family loves dogs and are just as angry as I am. So we'll see how that goes. I'm pretty sure they'll agree to foster her for a few months.

Icey, she's had Starr for almost 4 years !!! That fact alone makes me mad that she isn't looking else where to move, that would allow pets. I wish she would of thought about the future before she got Starr, I knew it was a bad idea.. I have allot of " they have, I want" people around me. When we became friends in high school, she had NO interest in Labs(none of dogs either) until I told her we had Labs and she met Dixie and Bud. All the sudden she started begging her parents for a Lab pup. Her dad said no, but gave in.. I wish he hadn't. Now here she is, just starting out as an adult(even though I feel she is NOT acting like one), and now "needs" to give her dog up... It's a case where she should of waited until she was settled before getting a pup- she is not one to think a head anyway, so I am not shocked. I am shocked to know the truth about their lack of caring for their dogs and that fact that she now want to get rid of Starr... What shocks me the most, is her lack of concern as to what happends. It's just a very sad situation.

[PawNclaws]

Well I didn't get to call today.. The clinic doesn't open until 10am and work came soon after. Anyhoo, I'll be able to call tomorrow since I don't work until a little later. Soooo, I'll let everyone know what happends soon there after.

[IceyBlueSibes]

I hope you're able to do something. Poor girl, I bet she isn't getting the attention she deserves right now either.

[Ritz459]

What a messy situation....

Do you know anyone who you could borrow or cheaply buy a kennel from? That way when you have her outside she wouldn't have to be tied up. You could also keep her in the kennel at night if she is used to being outside and wouldn't bark up a storm...of course, that complicates things with her not being spayed, but IDK.

I was able to buy a used kennel and doghouse for Chloe for $70. The kennel is small (6'x10'), but since I wanted it to be used as a crate it is working out nicely. Its a little banged up and the door won't open unless you have it in the right position, but it is much better than spending $300 on a brand new one.


Even though you will have to keep her outside, at least you can house her outside properly and not as a chained dog with no human contact. If she is used to being kept outside, I'm sure coming to stay with you for a while can only be a step up.

I hope you are alble to do something, the poor pupper.

[PawNclaws]

Originally Posted by Ritz459

What a messy situation....

Do you know anyone who you could borrow or cheaply buy a kennel from? That way when you have her outside she wouldn't have to be tied up. You could also keep her in the kennel at night if she is used to being outside and wouldn't bark up a storm...of course, that complicates things with her not being spayed, but IDK.

I was able to buy a used kennel and doghouse for Chloe for $70. The kennel is small (6'x10'), but since I wanted it to be used as a crate it is working out nicely. Its a little banged up and the door won't open unless you have it in the right position, but it is much better than spending $300 on a brand new one.


Even though you will have to keep her outside, at least you can house her outside properly and not as a chained dog with no human contact. If she is used to being kept outside, I'm sure coming to stay with you for a while can only be a step up.

I hope you are alble to do something, the poor pupper.

Oh, we have an outside kennel. It's not very big, just 6X6X4(we use just for holding if we're giving baths or for Blackie to be in so he doesn't get hassled by the "big dogs" while we're outside).. We also have a fenced yard for the dogs to play. However, we don't know how Starr reacts to other intact females. Daisy loves any dog-intact or not, but we're not sure about Starr. So, if we all agree to take her in, she has to be kept away from our dogs, not only for that, but also until I could get her in for her shots and vet exam so we don't put Bella at risk. Starr is NOT kennel trained. She's never been in one - indoor or outdoor kennel- so that could make her bark even more.. We can tie her up and let her go in and out for the first few days. We can let her sleep in the shop at night. We'd just move all our boxed stuff down stairs and lay an old blanket in there for her to sleep on. Hopefully they'll be nice enough to give us one so she'll be comfy and able to relax, should every one vote OK on taking her in.

Well I called the Low cost clinic and it will cost us $ 91.00 for her Spay / Kennel Cough/ Rabies and Parvo /distemper, etc booster . I don't see any reason why she can't afford this. It's by far cheaper then paying over $200. If every one agrees, we'll get her on some quality food, get her to the clinic and then start her adoption. We're not sure on the adoption fee, but probably around $100 just to cover our cost of the spay and shots. We'll seee !

We're talking about what we can do right now. I'll give an update as soon as I here something. Pray every one gives their OK and that this "friend" of mine lets us take her and take care of all that needs done(which I'm sure they won't object seeing they won't have to worry about it)

[PawNclaws]

OK, we talked it over. The concerns are as followed :

1) Her barking problem
2) Not being kennel trained
3) being housed outside all day with her barking = upset neighbors.

I'm really trying to think of ways to possibly work around these. The kennel part, we would chain her up and let her go in and out of an open kennel(put food and water w/ a dog house in there). That could get her use to it pretty fast if she's an easy to train dog. We do not have an extra in-door kennel, so I don't know what to do there.

Barking - get a tarp and block her view- however, that would be after she is OK with being in an outdoor kennel. Explain to the neighbors, should they come to us, what the situation is with her and hope they give us some time to help her barking prob.. The neighbors around us, aside from 2, all have dogs. The 2 behind us have 2+ dogs , one has 1 big Huskey mix and the other has a Lab X . The couple next to us have no dogs, but seems to like them. The lady below us(on the other side of the drive) doesn't seem to not like dogs, as she is also by 2 other people who also have dogs. So I'd think they'd understand.

Other then that, we're still talking.. I work at 4pm but we're leaving early to look at a van, so I probably won't give the final update until tomorrow afternoon..

[TribalRats]

Perhaps a rescue could help you

[PawNclaws]

I'm sleepy b/c I just got off work, so forgive me if I mis-spell..

Tribal, we will be calling our vet, the shelter and the 2 rescues around us.. I don't want to place her in one, because I've seen on petfinder and we have quite a few( dogs ) in Lewiston(LC Animal Shelter and Helping Hands Rescue). I will call and ask if they can assist us in finding her a home though..

From what I've gotten from everyone, I guess we're going to foster Starr... I'm about 95% sure that's what we came to , but I'm goin to double check. Today has been extreamly busy, stressful, and down right tiring... I'll give a full update tomorrow after work and "car shopping"- finally got word from the insurance . We'll get what they think the vans worth possibly Thursday, so we're looking for a new van-or SUV. Seen a nice van today. Hopefully we'll find one soon because as soon as we get the van or what ever, the sooner we pick up Starr.