Stop! Puppy time?

July 5, 2008 10:06 AM

Please, please help me consider my options with some lovely stray puppies I found.

About a week ago, I found four gorgeous stray beagle/terrier mix puppies in the Knoxville, TN area. They are absolutely adorable, sweet and loving, not very big, and have already had their first round of shots... you would think no problem finding homes, right?

Well, not so much. After contacting everyone I know, every no-kill shelter in the area, every rescue in the area, and at one point simply asking total strangers if they could take a puppy, I cannot find a single home for any of these dogs. I really, really do not want to take these little guys to shelter that euthanizes their animals, as I have already called around and everyone is full up, meaning that if I took them in they would be euthanized immediately. These are exceptional dogs, tractable and loving, and I cannot imagine putting them down.

Due to a combination of circumstances, I am no longer able to keep them myself until I find them homes. In fact, I can't even keep them temporarily in my yard (for their own safety.) I have, as far as I can tell, run out of options. Do you clever MeFites have any suggestions as far as something I can try?

posted by WidgetAlley to pets & animals (27 comments total)

You've run ads in newspapers, right? ("Free puppies to good home"?)
posted by iguanapolitico at 10:14 AM on July 5, 2008

Around here people seen to have good luck finding homes for puppies by setting up shop in a busy parking lot, WalMart or something similar. Set up some sort of temporary fencing to keep them safely confined and able to romp and play, and I suspect you'll find homes quickly, particularly if you can work your sob story into the conversation ;)
posted by COD at 10:18 AM on July 5, 2008

Craigslist? Also be SURE you post lots of high-quality pictures showing how cute they are. The big mistake a lot of "sellers" use is extremely terse descriptions, and here you will have an advantage.
posted by tinkertown at 10:20 AM on July 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

No, iguanapolitico, I have not... well, I tried, but the earliest they said they could get it in would be two weeks from now, and I can't hang on to these little guys for that long. I have, however, put out internet calls and so on.

(For those wondering, the reason I cannot is my father, which is a whole other issue. He is violently anti-dog and has promised that, if they come back, they will be booted over the fence and left to fend for themselves or dropped somewhere else entirely and... left to fend for themselves. With a grown dog I wouldn't be so concerned, but these guys are not old enough to take care of themselves yet.)
posted by WidgetAlley at 10:20 AM on July 5, 2008

Please do NOT put "free to a good home" in a classified ad for an animal. Place the ad, but don't reference a price at all. It will help weed out some NON-good homes.

Have you tried breed rescues in your state? (I know the puppies aren't purebred, but it's worth a shot.) From SOS Beagles:

Eastern TN (Nashville and East)
SOS Beagle Rescue, Inc.
2905 Walkertown Rd. Dayton, Tennessee 37321
Phone: [phone] - email: [e-mail]

Western TN (Memphis to Nashville)
MOSTLY BEAGLES
Olive Branch, MS - Phone: [phone]
email:[e-mail]

If you can find at least a temporary home where they can be fostered, you can list them online here.
posted by scody at 10:24 AM on July 5, 2008

Make some flyers and post them in vet offices, pet supply stores, at the dog park, etc. In fact, do what COD suggested, but go to a place like a dog park or pet store where you know you will find pet-loving people.
posted by kitty teeth at 10:27 AM on July 5, 2008

Did you call everyone on this list?
posted by SuperSquirrel at 10:27 AM on July 5, 2008

I meant to add - call a group even if they don't rescue beagles or terriers. Animal rescue works by word of mouth, and they may know someone who knows someone, etc.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 10:28 AM on July 5, 2008

Gosh, I should think before I post. If you really are serious about these guys getting to a safe place, don't limit your phone calls to local groups. Call everyone in Tennesee, and then go north and call everyone in southern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. petfinder.com is a good palce to start.

You could also look for someone willing to drive them somewhere else by posting a request at the Acme Pet Transport forums.

Please keep trying.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 10:33 AM on July 5, 2008

Yes supersquirrel, I have already called all of those, as well as the Beagle Rescue people. The problem being, *everyone* is full up. And I do mean EVERYONE. My household has been rescuing animals for a long, long time (20+ years), and we have never seen it as bad as this. Even the public shelters are full.

I have no doubt I could find homes if I looked long enough. The problem is, I have absolutely nowhere to put these little guys while I look. I cannot use my own backyard for this (see aforementioned comment about my father), and the people whose enclosure we were using are getting tetchy about getting them out. I literally have nowhere to put these guys and it's breaking my heart.
posted by WidgetAlley at 10:44 AM on July 5, 2008

I don't know whether this is an old wives' tale or not, but I have read that animal brokers (who provide animals to medical centers for research purposes) have been known to scour the classifieds for "free to good home" dogs which they then turn around and sell to medical researchers.
posted by jayder at 10:46 AM on July 5, 2008

Lotta farms outside of Knoxville in every direction. There are several farmer's co-ops around Knoxville, plus Sevierville, Maryville, etc. Try calling them to find out if they know anyone who could foster the puppies, wants the puppies, or just to see if they would post a flyer.
posted by junkbox at 10:47 AM on July 5, 2008

WidgetAlley, check your mefi-mail.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 10:56 AM on July 5, 2008

Whatever you do, DO NOT state "free to good home"!! As explained here, dogs offered "free to good home" are often 1) acquired by bunchers who gather free pets until they have enough for a trip to a Class B dealer who is licensed by the USDA to sell animals from "random sources" for research (beagles are especially desirable for research), 2) used to train pit bulls how to kill, 3) used as breeding stock in puppy mills. Even if they are taken by people intending to keep them as pets, they are less likely to be adequately cared for, because people tend to value what they pay for.

You need to tap into the beagle rescue network. Rescues frequently take mixed breeds so long as the dogs are identifiably one of "their" breeds. Scody gave you a good starting point. Talk to those rescues, and if they can't take them, ask them to help you find a beagle rescue who will.
posted by HotToddy at 10:56 AM on July 5, 2008

I don't know whether this is an old wives' tale or not, but I have read that animal brokers (who provide animals to medical centers for research purposes) have been known to scour the classifieds for "free to good home" dogs which they then turn around and sell to medical researchers.

Not to turn this into ChatFilter but that's a meme that I'd very much like to get to the bottom of. I've heard it a lot over the years and it smells more and more like a putrid urban legend. If it was true the puppy mills would be out of dogs and rolling in dough.
posted by crapmatic at 11:54 AM on July 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I have worked with these people, they are out of Oak Ridge. If you could possibly foster them that would help the group out. They are a very active no kill non specific breed rescue group. Tell them Michele from Birchwood recommended them.
posted by meeshell at 12:40 PM on July 5, 2008

crapmatic, the Humane Society of the United States has a great deal of information on Class B dealers on its web site. Just type "class b" into their search box. Here is their overview of the situation. Sadly, it's not an urban legend.
posted by HotToddy at 12:44 PM on July 5, 2008

For what it's worth, your local newspaper might find a worthwhile story in the fact that all shelters, animal rescues, etc. are so full someone trying to do the right thing (saving cute stray puppies) is left with nowhere to take them. This might also rouse some interest in adopters for your pups. Just a thought.
posted by lindsey.nicole at 12:49 PM on July 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

BTW, I didn't mean to start a problem with the "free to good home" suggestion. I should have been more specific. Where I come from, we screen our potential adopters very carefully. I might start with a "free to good home" ad to get attention, but that doesn't mean "I'll leave one on the porch for you and you can pick him up." The point is that the ad gets the attention of everyone, and then you slap 'em with a 14-page application. The other way to do it would be to just leave out the "free" part, as others have said. I was just going with the EMERGENCY aspect of the problem.

Anyway, I should have just said, "You've run ads in newspapers, right?" :)
posted by iguanapolitico at 1:19 PM on July 5, 2008

Also, I think Best Friends might take all animals, if you can get them to Utah.... (I sure can't find that kind of information on the site, but you can check if Utah is an option!)
posted by iguanapolitico at 1:22 PM on July 5, 2008

I'm going to echo the people who say don't put "free" and don't limit yourself to local shelters. There are shelters that will sometimes even arrange for puppies to travel out of state in order to find them homes. For example, a lot of Katrina's misplaced pets are now living in homes in the San Francisco Bay area. Key points for adoptability are the dogs health and... yeah, cuteness helps. I was just trying to place an obese senior beagle and that's MUCH harder. You should be able to find someone.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:43 PM on July 5, 2008

Ditto not limiting yourself to local rescue groups. I'd call rescue groups (beagle-specific and otherwise) in the metro areas of every major city of every state bordering TN, working your way outwards from closest to furthest.
posted by scody at 2:32 PM on July 5, 2008

I second whoever recommended talking to the local newspaper. If you manage to get a photo of the dogs with a heartwarming article, I suspect that one way or another your problem will be solved.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 2:48 PM on July 5, 2008

I've heard that sometimes veterinarian practices will help with this; maybe you can be hooked up with a kind vet tech or someone else associated with the practice who will help you out, or at least be able to give you some advice.
posted by amtho at 3:02 PM on July 5, 2008

craigslist has a) people who want to adopt dogs or puppies and advertise for them that you could screen and b) lots of small rescues/ informal groups that you might be able to talk to and see if they could hook you up with a foster home. If you can contribute anything financially to the puppies keep that would surely help get them a foster home.

Also try your vet. Vets and vet techs often know of someone who is looking for a dog.
posted by fshgrl at 3:46 PM on July 5, 2008

Petfinder.com have a pet classifieds section, where you can list adoptable pets. They also have a list of animal shelters in your state, that you can scour for a no-kill shelter.
posted by Susurration at 6:32 PM on July 5, 2008

It's not an urban legend - it has been successfully used in sting operations and I think there's even a 20/20 or an episode of animal cops where they do this.

DOG PARK. Can you take a pup to the dog park and put up flyers at the dog park? (If you have one.) Places frequented by people who already have dogs are good places to find people who might like another.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 7:00 PM on July 6, 2008