Old Dog, New Home?
June 8, 2010 3:11 PM Subscribe
I need to find a new home for a 12-year-old collie mix dog. I live in Oakland, CA. More than you need to know after the break.
I want to be clear, I am not looking to just get rid of this dog. She was my mom's dog, and when my mother passed away (unexpectedly) I inherited her (because no one else could take her in). If I can't find a new home for her, one in which I know she will be happy, I will just keep her. But in my heart I know that she is not getting all the love and attention that she deserves.
My wife and I have a small house in Oakland. We already have one dog, and we are expecting our first child in August. When my mother passed away in November I brought the dog home to stay with us. She's a good dog. She's always had weak hips and spent most of her time just pacing around the house and the yard. That's just how she is. She'll run around a bit, but she's always been more of the lounging type (which is kind of odd for a collie mix). Health wise she seems old but okay. She has a small lump on her head, but it's just some type of cyst. She got it years ago and my mom had her checked out but didn't get it removed. Lately she's had some bladder issues, but only when she sleeps. She has no problem wearing a diaper at night. And if we put a disposable pee pad on her bed, she'll just sleep on top of it.
There isn't really any tangible reason we can't keep her. She isn't doing anything that we can't handle. It's just not really working. The biggest problem is that my wife and I travel a lot to see family. We're just one of those families. Every other weekend we're off to stay at her parents or go see a cousin or stay at my sisters. We can take our other dog with us because he's just a small little poodle mix who is very obedient. So we're paying to board the dog every other weekend and that just a little too much.
There's going to be some down time after the baby is born. But it wont be long till we're off on the weekends to visit family and the dog is left behind again.
Like I said. If I can't find a situation that I'm comfortable with I'll make this work. But I have to imagine that there's a person out there who wouldn't mind an older companion dog who just likes to sit at your feet and go for the occasional walk around the block. I've looked through some of the previous askme's, but I thought maybe some people might know of some more regional resources to finding old dog's a new home.
I want to be clear, I am not looking to just get rid of this dog. She was my mom's dog, and when my mother passed away (unexpectedly) I inherited her (because no one else could take her in). If I can't find a new home for her, one in which I know she will be happy, I will just keep her. But in my heart I know that she is not getting all the love and attention that she deserves.
My wife and I have a small house in Oakland. We already have one dog, and we are expecting our first child in August. When my mother passed away in November I brought the dog home to stay with us. She's a good dog. She's always had weak hips and spent most of her time just pacing around the house and the yard. That's just how she is. She'll run around a bit, but she's always been more of the lounging type (which is kind of odd for a collie mix). Health wise she seems old but okay. She has a small lump on her head, but it's just some type of cyst. She got it years ago and my mom had her checked out but didn't get it removed. Lately she's had some bladder issues, but only when she sleeps. She has no problem wearing a diaper at night. And if we put a disposable pee pad on her bed, she'll just sleep on top of it.
There isn't really any tangible reason we can't keep her. She isn't doing anything that we can't handle. It's just not really working. The biggest problem is that my wife and I travel a lot to see family. We're just one of those families. Every other weekend we're off to stay at her parents or go see a cousin or stay at my sisters. We can take our other dog with us because he's just a small little poodle mix who is very obedient. So we're paying to board the dog every other weekend and that just a little too much.
There's going to be some down time after the baby is born. But it wont be long till we're off on the weekends to visit family and the dog is left behind again.
Like I said. If I can't find a situation that I'm comfortable with I'll make this work. But I have to imagine that there's a person out there who wouldn't mind an older companion dog who just likes to sit at your feet and go for the occasional walk around the block. I've looked through some of the previous askme's, but I thought maybe some people might know of some more regional resources to finding old dog's a new home.
Is it the weekend jaunt that's the issue here? This might seem obvious but have you asked a neighbor to take it out and feed it once a day? This is what I do, not a big deal.
posted by geoff. at 3:23 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by geoff. at 3:23 PM on June 8, 2010
I adore senior dogs (and have rescued a couple of them), so I can attest there are indeed people out there who look specifically for older pooches! Luckily, some shelters specialize in taking in and placing senior dogs. I would check out the referrals under California in this list from the Senior Dogs Project website and just start making calls to the organizations in your area that sound like they might be a good fit.
posted by scody at 3:24 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by scody at 3:24 PM on June 8, 2010
Whoops, sorry, this is their list of groups that specialize in senior dogs.
posted by scody at 3:32 PM on June 8, 2010
posted by scody at 3:32 PM on June 8, 2010
Geoff, you must have amazingly nice neighbors and an easy dog.
'Round here, you have to pay someone to take it out twice a day (once a day???? How is that possible?) and that's $44/day. Boarding is cheaper, at about $25/day. And for an older dog with health issues that may need to be taken out to pee multiple times a day you really have to board or have a housesitter overnight.
Occasionally friends are willing to come and do this, but this is a lot to ask of someone to do fairly often for free, IMHO.
posted by k8t at 3:40 PM on June 8, 2010
'Round here, you have to pay someone to take it out twice a day (once a day???? How is that possible?) and that's $44/day. Boarding is cheaper, at about $25/day. And for an older dog with health issues that may need to be taken out to pee multiple times a day you really have to board or have a housesitter overnight.
Occasionally friends are willing to come and do this, but this is a lot to ask of someone to do fairly often for free, IMHO.
posted by k8t at 3:40 PM on June 8, 2010
have you asked a neighbor to take it out and feed it once a day?
Please don't do this.
posted by timeistight at 4:48 PM on June 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Please don't do this.
posted by timeistight at 4:48 PM on June 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
You should be able to find a rescue group for collies, or perhaps a group that rehomes animals from terminal patients who could help.
Your local city or county shelter may have information about area rescue groups.
Just be careful - not all "animal rescue" is worthwhile. Some are not even well-intentioned.
This is not your dog and you’ve already taken a great deal of responsibility so good on you for that.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 5:05 PM on June 8, 2010
Your local city or county shelter may have information about area rescue groups.
Just be careful - not all "animal rescue" is worthwhile. Some are not even well-intentioned.
This is not your dog and you’ve already taken a great deal of responsibility so good on you for that.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 5:05 PM on June 8, 2010
My sentence structure was not clear, the dog is only fed once a day, but the neighbor comes over and plays with it when it takes its dog out (multiple times a day).
posted by geoff. at 1:21 PM on June 9, 2010
posted by geoff. at 1:21 PM on June 9, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by availablelight at 3:16 PM on June 8, 2010