Never again!

Giving Up A Pet

Lonesome (before)

Lonesome after

Kassie and Katie

8-10 week border collies - they weighted less than eight pounds - half what they should have. They had little hair left and were covered with fleas.

The reasons are varied: the dog digs up the yard, the dog chews the wrong things, we are moving,  the cute puppy grew up, etc..

Fortunately these people care enough for their pets that they look for homes for them by contacting us or by taking them to one of the local shelters. Sadly we see some of the many that are just dumped with the idea that they will find a home with "someone" or at the nearby farm. The dumped animal suffers the cruelest fate as the pictures of Lonesome, Katie, and Kassie attest - and they were the lucky ones.

The problem dogs: Every dog wants to please - the key is letting them know what you want. Most destructive behavior results from a dog that is bored. The dog that is left in the backyard and interaction is limited to a quick pat on the head when being fed or as  you pass through the breeze way easily becomes bored and can entertain themselves in unacceptable ways like chewing or digging. The smarter the dog the worse the problem! A barking dog may be either alerting you or calling for attention - even being yelled at is attention that they may consider better than nothing.

There may be a few alternatives to giving up your dog. I cure barking with a spray bottle (set to mist!) with 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water - if you catch them barking and do this it stops the problem quickly. Another alternative is training. We recommend Dogwood Dog Training which can be reached at
http://www.dogwood-dog-training.com/
The instructors each have 15 to 30 years of experience each and collectively have more titles on their dogs than all of  Europe's royalty combined. Their basic course is a bargain at $110 plus they teach you and you get to train your dog.  Finally, they help you with specific problems you may have and in my case recognized and helped me with problems I did not even know I had! My dog really enjoyed going and when he saw Sam Houston Race Park became very excited - crawling over me to get inside. Talking to others confirmed this behavior is common - the dogs and puppies enjoy their training and it really shows.  The training works - attend the basic course and you will be amazed at the results. Your dog will become the companion you envisioned.

Kassie after

Kassie

Katie had a broken leg

Katie after

Training not the solution or not an option:

Where to take them: Houston shelters are staffed by people that care for animals - they clean up after them, try to find them homes, are sickened when an animal's time is up,  and their hearts drop with every animal turned into them and they do it day after day. Because there are more animals than families that want them dogs are euthanized at a rate of  225  (82,000+ a year) and their kill rates range from 51% to 94% . That does not really tell the story as owner turn-ins are the first to die in many government shelters - often within 24 hours - they figure if the owner does not want them why would anyone else!

Alternatives:    Please give the above alternatives a try. If all else fails we will try to help you place your pet. The reality is everyone is full - we have way too many animals at the pound and have overflow at commercial kennels and vets which even at a discounted rates costs $150 a month per animal. The pound is overflowing - we have received more than a litter a week this spring and have had two dogs and seven pups die in the last month from heat - this is not the place you want your dog - not that any of the shelters are. If you provide pictures, a write-up, and vet records we will try to help you place your pet in a new home. Please make us your last resort - we have many pets of our own that have waited for months for one chance to go to adoption day.