Annoying... GRRR.

AMK2009 · August 2009

I got a FB msg from a girl that I went to beauty school with asking what she should do about getting rid of her dog. First of all, I volunteer at an animal shelter, not find homes for other peoples dogs because they don't want to take care of them anymore. I asked her why she was getting rid of the dog to begin with and she said because the dog's had 4 ear infections and smells really bad. Like, seriously?? Sometimes I just want to punch people in the face for being so stupid. I hope she finds a great home for her dog somewhere where she will be taken care of and loved, and I hope she never gets another dog for the rest of her life... and I did tell her that.

hey_its_jenn · August 2009

That's ridiculous!!!! I hate people like that. Totally irresponsible people shouldn't be allowed to take care of living creatures. I hope she never has kids! For shiits and giggles, what kind of dog is it?

McBridetobe · August 2009

Ugh, I can't even believe that. Poor pup.Should we fire up the torches?

marburs · August 2009

this reminds me of that 'friends' song "smelly cat smelly cat, why aren't they feeding you?" but in all seriousness- that's really immature and sad for the doggie. Why did she get it in the first place? Probably because it was a novelty. I don't blame you for being mad- she sounds liike an idiot

e8jackson6 · August 2009

Ugh.. I really hate people. Smells bad? It's called a BATH!!

AMK2009 · August 2009

Jen, she does have a baby! I'm wondering if maybe that's part of the reason she wants to get rid of it, not that that's an excuse, but you know how some people think that kids and dogs can't co-exist. So annoying! I think she said it's a shepard mix!Obviously the poor dog isn't being taken care of and needs to go to the vet and get a freakin bath!! It makes me so angry when people get dogs, or any kind of animal, but don't want the responsibilities that go with it!

d78 · August 2009

Ugh. I hate people.

cobrien1976 · August 2009

My co-irker just did that. Bought a dog for her kid, the dog ended up being "too much to handle" and gave it back to the shelter after having it for three weeks. The poor kid is left in tears. I feel badly for the dog. I am sure with proper training the dog wouldn've been a great pet. The nerve of some people...

KimWard · August 2009

Oh my, that's horrible! I'm glad you were honest with her and told her she should never get another dog!! I wonder if you'll get a response back...

themissizz · August 2009

I do think that this is a case of a responsible owner, but I also want to add that I don't always think that dogs and babies mix.We may have to rehome one of our pits when the baby is born. We haven't made a firm decision on it, but his separation anxiety is so bad that we completely schedule our lives around our dogs. He is a special needs dog who needs to be medicated, paid close attention to for possible behavioral side effects of his meds, needs a ton of attention, a special crate, a special food (at $50 a bag, not cheap), etc. When you have a kid, you can't schedule your life around your dog. I don't feel that I'm being irresponsible at all. When we adopted the dog, he came from a pound. We were unaware of any behavioral problems, as pounds basically spay the dog, stick it in a cage, and euthanize if they don't find an owner within 7 days. They don't check for behavioral issues or care about the dog's background. We didn't know what we were getting into, but we've based the last year of our life upon making our dog's life happy and safe and working through his issues. However, our child has to come first in our life now. He's very moody and gets irritable easily, he also has outbursts of aggression (these are all normal side effects of his Prozac, which he can't be without because he goes totally crazy if he doesn't get it). Sorry for the rant, but I consider myself to be a pretty educated dog owner and don't believe that dogs are always great with kids.

pinksonya · August 2009

Aw, that's terrible. My mom always taught us that if someone doesn't like animals, they're probably not a very nice person. It seems to be true most of the time.

AMK2009 · August 2009

Stace, dog aggression with kids is the ONLY reason I'd ever consider giving up my dogs. But ear infections and smells? Give me a break...

d78 · August 2009

Good points, Stace. It sounds like you'll have a really tough decision to make. :-( That would be so difficult, but as you said, the child must come first now. However, if the only reason this girl is re-homing the dog is bc he smells because of (or in addition to) his ear infections, I don't consider that responsible.

themissizz · August 2009

Ooops, my OP meant to say that I think that this is a case of an IRRESPONSIBLE owner, not responsible.

McBridetobe · August 2009

Stace, I think your situation is more unique than the one Ang described. It doesn't seem like it would be fair to the baby or the dog or you guys. Are you hoping the obedience classes help?

kbielak17 · August 2009

Awww I really hope the dog ends up in a loving home. I hate hearing about people who don't care about their pets

themissizz · August 2009

Oh, it's definitely a unique situation. Again, I don't condone what this girl is doing. However, with not everyone would know the full ins and outs of our situation, they may just know that we had to get rid of one of our dogs because of having a baby. I just really don't like when it's generalized that people who have to rehome/return dogs are bad owners when there may be behavioral issues that people don't know about and sometimes dogs and kids just aren't good fits. KR- he isn't currently in obedience classes. He's a very good dog other than his problems with anxiety. The younger one is in obedience classes right now to help with her dog aggression and socialization issues, and it's helping immensely.

McBridetobe · August 2009

KR- he isn't currently in obedience classes. He's a very good dog other than his problems with anxiety. Aw, okay. I had them mixed up. The younger one is in obedience classes right now to help with her dog aggression and socialization issues, and it's helping immensely. I'm glad it is helping her!

AMK2009 · August 2009

Many people get rid of their dogs when they have babies. I see them turned in all the time at the shelter for this reason, and very rarely is it for a good reason. Or just look through the pet section on craigslist, you'll see this alot. In my opinion, unless it's an aggression issue where you fear for the child's safety, then these people should not own dogs to begin with. People shouldn't take a dog into their home until it's not longer convenient for them. If money got tight and the only 2 ways we could cut corners was to get rid of Ellie because of what we spend on her monthly for her medications and vet checkups for her CHF or to cancel our cable and internet, I can guarentee the tv would be the first to go. Both of my dogs are members of my family, and unless one of them started acting aggressive to my child, they aren't going anywhere.And really, this argument is moot because giving up a dog because it has an ear infection is completely different then giving up a dog because you fear for your child's safety.

daveys_baby · August 2009

Stacey, I agree with you. We decided years ago that we weren't getting a dog until we had kids that were old enough to fend for themselves. I know that might be the extreme, but there have even been cases with even small dogs having seizures and attacking unprovoked and leaving people scared or worse. I'm sure there are alot of people who would have returned your puppy after a week if they knew what problems it had (even just the cost of food/meds).

d78 · August 2009

That's terrible that so many people give up their dogs, but as Stace mentioned, you may not always get the whole story. I think in Stace's situation, it makes sense to try to re-home the dog and I don't think she & her DH are irresponsible dog owners at all. With this doggie, though, I hope she finds a good home with responsible dog owners.

skybluejen · August 2009

oh my gosh, that's so sad! Our pit bull has terrible allergies and gets ear infections if she spends too much time outside. I'll admit, a bad infection does smell, but if you treat the ears with drops from a vet and clean them nightly, they are manageable. That girl sounds just plain lazy...take your dog to the darn vet! I can understand the dog/kids point, though. This is something we are starting to worry about with our dog. She is very dog aggressive to begin with, and has serious separation anxiety. We just made the decision this past weekend to take her to a trainer to see what we can do about helping her with social interaction, jealousy, and all of her other issues. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't trust her around a baby right now (not that we're planning that yet!!). FI talked to a trainer on the phone last night, so I'm excited to start working with a professional to help her.

themissizz · August 2009

Unfortunately, this thread has struck a serious nerve in me today and does irritate me.I get that you work at a shelter and you see dogs returned for selfish, dumb reasons. My issue is that you seem to generalize that everyone who brings a dog back to a shelter is a bad owner. The old saying "there are no bad dogs, only bad owners" does NOT hold true, which I know first hand. It really, really pisses me off when people pass judgement about situations that they're not in when it comes to dogs, because my husband and I have been through weird situations with dogs who needed a LOT of behavioral work. I can deal with vet bills, I can deal with obedience classes and training bills. Should people just start neglecting their dogs and ignoring them if they find themselves without time or money to properly care for them? We have been very blessed that in the past year we have been able to afford the blood work/xrays/vet trips/meds/crates that Ben has needed. I can see how there are other people that couldn't have afforded it though, as it's cost us thousands of dollars over just the last YEAR. That is not a feasible expense for many people. Yes, my dogs are part of my family, but my human child is my first responsibility and the one that I care about most. If that makes me a horrible pet owner, then so be it.

AMK2009 · August 2009

I'm not saying that Stace and her DH are irresponsible dog owners at all. I think it's very admirable that they've kept this dog as long as they have. I know that special needs dogs are not always easy to deal with, and most people would not put up with it. And if she feels that the dog may have aggression issues when the baby arrives, then of course rehoming the dog is the best thing to do.Even as Jamie mentioned though, people get afraid of crazy things, such as a dog having a seizure and attacking a child. Sure, maybe that could happen, but really your child's more likely to get hurt playing at the playground then he is by a dog who's never showed any aggression. So does that mean you'd never let your kid go to the playground?? And again, I'm not saying anything against Jamie. I'm glad they thought it through and never got a dog, instead of getting a dog and then getting KTFU and then deciding they were afraid, even though they've never been givin any reason to be, and then giving it away. (Which by the way, small dogs are more likely to bite then big dogs anyways)Two reasons why people turn their dogs into shelters when babies are born: 1. because of money and 2. because people don't want to spend time with their dogs once the baby arrives. Sure, maybe I don't know the whole story. But if they're giving these 2 reasons, then I don't need to... they're irresponsible.

AMK2009 · August 2009

Stace, I'm not quite sure what exactly you're getting all pissy about. I was never judging you or your situation, so it kinda seems to me that you might be bored and trying to pick a fight? I stand by everything I said... if you get a dog, you need to be prepared for any financial responsibilities that go with it, whether it's vet appointments, medications, x-rays, whatever. Dogs aren't cheap and you can't get one expecting to only have to buy a bag of dog food every week or two. It doesn't work that way. And the fact that you're getting pissed at me over this is weird, because obviously you don't fall into that category.

daveys_baby · August 2009

Even if hypothetically I did get KTFU after buying a dog, I still wouldn't send it to the shelter (unless there were other circumstances like Stace mentioned such as not being able to put food on the table). And I know it's totally irrational ;-) but none the less it's something I would have a hard time living with myself over if something like that did happen.I had a Yorkie as a child who was not aggressive at all to people or animals. He never had any reason to feel he'd have to "hunt" for his food. However, one time a switch must have just flipped in his brain and he started to attack a mole. We could not get him away from the thing until it was dead. I just have a hard time believing that what his breed was bred to do (killing rats in English mines) was ever fully wiped clean even after generations of being in families.IMO what it all comes down to is that no matter how much of a part of the family they are, in the end, they're still animals to me. They don't have the ability to reason the way that humans do so if they're agressive and nothing is working they're not going to reason with themselves that it's wrong to attack other dogs or people. All the money, hours of training, TLC isn't going to completely cure them and it's not your fault for protecting people around you by getting rid of the dog.

AMK2009 · August 2009

I don't really get the point to the yorkie story... that's what they do, they're hunting dogs, whether they were raised to hunt or not. It wasn't a switch that was flipped. This isn't reason to think that a switch might flip and make them attack a child (if that's even what you were saying, I'm not sure?).

themissizz · August 2009

No, I'm not bored and trying to pick a fight. I just get really annoyed when, as I said, people generalize that everyone who returns a dog is a bad person. A sister of a friend had to rehome her dog when she had her baby because she just couldn't handle all the stress that having two dogs and a new baby caused. She had the dog for 5 years and loved it very much, she hadn't intended to have to rehome him. We're not moms yet, we don't know what type of stress is placed upon a new mom or how we will be able to deal with it. A person's mental health shouldn't suffer because they got in too far over their head and they shouldn't be criticized because they have to take steps necessary to have the happiest/least stressful family/home situation as possible.

daveys_baby · August 2009

Yes, years ago they were raised as a breed to hunt, but they haven't raised them to do that for many years. My point is that there is still predatory instinct in all dogs no matter how many years they've just been for show or companions. As far as attacking a child, no, I don't think mine would have, but there is still the possibility and if it's going to show one instinct out of the blue then who's to say that even a meek little dog wouldn't do something else unexpected? As far as kids, I would be especially worried about bigger dogs that were trained to fight eachother, bears and even bulls (it's sad and pathetic that those were considered entertaining to people) because they can easily overpower people. I think in a lot of instances, people forget that they are animals and there is a certain unpredicability about them. Not to mention the fact that little kids do dumb things, touch/pull/poke things, because they're curious. What if they do something that angers the dog or makes it feel threatened? I think it's in everyones best interest to keep a close eye on kids around animals.

themissizz · August 2009

Trust me, there are a lot of other people that I would try to start a fight with if that were my intention. I just really do disagree with you on this one, and I see that neither of us will see eye to eye on this topic and there really is no reason to continue debating it, which was why I stopped responding.

AMK2009 · August 2009

A sister of a friend had to rehome her dog when she had her baby because she just couldn't handle all the stress that having two dogs and a new baby caused. She had the dog for 5 years and loved it very much, she hadn't intended to have to rehome him. If thinking this is sad makes me a judgmental biotch, then so be it. I'm totally expecting a new baby to be very stressful, but would that ever make me give up my 2 dogs? Never in a million, bazillion years. Ask me that a year from now, and I guarentee I will give you the same answer. I hope that your sister's friend never gets another dog, it's not fair to the dog to be rehomed everytime something stressful comes up... which goes back to my original post.

Annoying... GRRR.

Re: Annoying... GRRR.

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