dog rescues in dfw?
Does anyone know of dfw-ish dog rescues (all breed is fine / pit bull or lab if its breed specific) that does private surrenders? I've been googling my best, but nothing I can find takes private surrenders from the public.
If that fails, who has info on no kill shelters in the area?
Several months ago my girlfriend's brother called with a question. Would she watch a friends pit-(lab?) mix for a couple of weeks. He'd been evicted and needed a place for his dog while he bounced back on his feet.
A couple of weeks? Sure she agreed. When she got him in she learned that he has a prey drive for kitties. Seeing that she has two, he was delegated to the backyard only. Neither of us really believe in backyard dogs, but this was temporary...
That was several months ago. The owner has went weeks without giving us an update on things. I've been paying for his dog's food. The dog has recently incurred some issues that although not immediate or dire, he needs to see a vet. Animal lovers that we may be, we don't have the money to throw down vet bills for an animal that is not ours.
Thats the last straw, the owner is about to be given the ultimatum that he has a week to take it to the vet or find a new home - otherwise we're finding somewhere for him to go. We're not sitting around and watching an animal that needs medical attention not get it sitting in her yard.
But... we've grown quite fond of the dog. Fond being an understatment. I want to keep him so bad I could explode. However, he has a high prey drive for cats and small dogs. He gets along with my own pit-lab mix gloriously, but she has 2 cats and I have an additional small dog. I work too much and she doesn't have patience to invest in a behavioralist to employ the chance we might rehab him into accepting small animals.
Excluding his ill will towards small animals, he's so sweet he'll give you a tooth ache. He LOVES people. I have not met a people-friendlier dog. He loves everyone so much it hurts. All he wants to do is lay his big blocky head in your lap and gaze up at you adoringly.
He's such a great dog we'd hate to surrender him to the city shelter. The liklihood of an adult pit bull (he's 11 months now... not an adult but pretty grown) being adopted quickly are pretty nill. So we'd really like to find a rescue or no-kill shelter to surrender him to.
I have thought about taking care of the vet bills myself and charging the vet bills as an adoption fee for new owners. That will be my last ditch effort if nothing turns up with rescues/shelters. Since these facilities often get vet discounts and because they're experienced with screening adopters (I want to find a good home for the pup, I don't want him to end up on a log chain guarding a meth lab or in a dog fighitng ring - likewise, I want to make sure anyone taking him understands the responsbility a powerful, media-maligned breed entails) I wanted to try surrendering him first.
So, thats my dilemma. If anyone can help me find a safe place for this boy, I'd be extremely grateful.
Here's some pics of him (the yellow dog) with my own. Sorry they're not very good.
And lastly... for anyone who doesn't know much about the breed thinking "aren't those vicious monsters, you should just put it down!" here's a couple of the plethora of links debunking pit bull myths... http://www.badrap.org/rescue/ | http://understand-a-bull.com/
If that fails, who has info on no kill shelters in the area?
Several months ago my girlfriend's brother called with a question. Would she watch a friends pit-(lab?) mix for a couple of weeks. He'd been evicted and needed a place for his dog while he bounced back on his feet.
A couple of weeks? Sure she agreed. When she got him in she learned that he has a prey drive for kitties. Seeing that she has two, he was delegated to the backyard only. Neither of us really believe in backyard dogs, but this was temporary...
That was several months ago. The owner has went weeks without giving us an update on things. I've been paying for his dog's food. The dog has recently incurred some issues that although not immediate or dire, he needs to see a vet. Animal lovers that we may be, we don't have the money to throw down vet bills for an animal that is not ours.
Thats the last straw, the owner is about to be given the ultimatum that he has a week to take it to the vet or find a new home - otherwise we're finding somewhere for him to go. We're not sitting around and watching an animal that needs medical attention not get it sitting in her yard.
But... we've grown quite fond of the dog. Fond being an understatment. I want to keep him so bad I could explode. However, he has a high prey drive for cats and small dogs. He gets along with my own pit-lab mix gloriously, but she has 2 cats and I have an additional small dog. I work too much and she doesn't have patience to invest in a behavioralist to employ the chance we might rehab him into accepting small animals.
Excluding his ill will towards small animals, he's so sweet he'll give you a tooth ache. He LOVES people. I have not met a people-friendlier dog. He loves everyone so much it hurts. All he wants to do is lay his big blocky head in your lap and gaze up at you adoringly.
He's such a great dog we'd hate to surrender him to the city shelter. The liklihood of an adult pit bull (he's 11 months now... not an adult but pretty grown) being adopted quickly are pretty nill. So we'd really like to find a rescue or no-kill shelter to surrender him to.
I have thought about taking care of the vet bills myself and charging the vet bills as an adoption fee for new owners. That will be my last ditch effort if nothing turns up with rescues/shelters. Since these facilities often get vet discounts and because they're experienced with screening adopters (I want to find a good home for the pup, I don't want him to end up on a log chain guarding a meth lab or in a dog fighitng ring - likewise, I want to make sure anyone taking him understands the responsbility a powerful, media-maligned breed entails) I wanted to try surrendering him first.
So, thats my dilemma. If anyone can help me find a safe place for this boy, I'd be extremely grateful.
Here's some pics of him (the yellow dog) with my own. Sorry they're not very good.
And lastly... for anyone who doesn't know much about the breed thinking "aren't those vicious monsters, you should just put it down!" here's a couple of the plethora of links debunking pit bull myths... http://www.badrap.org/rescue/ | http://understand-a-bull.com/