How to adopt a Boston Terrier, without waiting months?

October 21, 2012 11:57 AM

What's the best way to adopt a Boston Terrier (without waiting months and months)?

We know we'd like to adopt a Boston Terrier, ideally a young adult male. We initially didn't want to buy a purebred dog from a breeder, and have signed up with the local Boston Terrier rescue groups, and have been approved for adoption, but it's been months and nothing. Responding to animals on Petfinder and Craigslist almost never get a response. But now we're getting frustrated and are starting to think a breeder is the only way to go.

Are there other ways to adopt a specific breed dog, more quickly? We've been waiting a few months now and would like to move a little faster due to some upcoming housing and professional changes that will make now the right time to adopt.

posted by amoeba to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)

Responding to animals on Petfinder and Craigslist almost never get a response.

That sounds very strange, in my experience. Are your emails somehow off-putting? Have you tried calling instead of emailing? For the animals that are at shelters and not foster homes, have you visited the shelters right away?
posted by halogen at 12:13 PM on October 21, 2012

Best answer: You can try other rescue groups, not just breed specific ones. If they know there is good homes for a certain type of dog they can keep an eye out when they are pulling from shelters. Most rescue groups don't mind if you are after a certain breed.

Also you might try looking further afield some rescues will let you come and get the dog from interstate or have volunteer transport they can make use of to get the dog to you.
posted by wwax at 12:15 PM on October 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: We are in the New York area and do not care about AKC papers or anything like that, but really like the dispositions of Bostons (little gentlemen!) along with their size/energy level). We don't really want a mix. All the shelters we've been to have around 90-95% pitbull or pitbull mixes.
posted by amoeba at 12:18 PM on October 21, 2012

Best answer: Join one or several of the Boston terrier forums online. Most have a rescue section, and that section is most likely to have posts announcing BTs up for adoption or that are in need of being pulled from shelters. Get to know people on the forums, and more leads for adoption will likely become available to you as well.

Good luck to you. Bostons are neat, and I'm grateful you want to adopt rather than buy from a breeder.
posted by vers at 12:32 PM on October 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

We found our Boston Terrier through a local rescue group. She was two to four years old, at the time, the vet guessed. She's now almost 13 and we love her to madness. Like you, we were not interested in a mix.
posted by BostonTerrier at 1:28 PM on October 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seconding wwax. I do transports like this regularly in my neck of the woods. It makes it an even better run when we know the critter is going to a forever home, and isn't just being shuffled between rescues/shelters/boarding. I was once part of someone's "Welcome to Our Family, Young Dog!" video and [endless] pictures, even though all I did was drive the dog about an hour. I felt like an obstetrician must feel after delivering a baby...
posted by SuperSquirrel at 2:05 PM on October 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

Sebastian.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:03 PM on October 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Most likely circumstance is a communication issue.

You may want to look into how you're contacting the petfinder folks and/or craigslist. For the first email (assuming you're emailing) you may just want to inquire for more information about a given dog. Immediately running in and saying you are interested in adopting (if that's what you're doing; I don't pretend to have any idea) may send a message to the shelter/rescue/current owner that you aren't really considering the specific personality/history of the dog in question.

Also, be as personal as possible. If there's a location to go to (shelter, rescue), go visit. If the options are phone or email, choose phone (and if they don't answer, leave a succinct message indicating interest and email them maybe 48 hours later if you don't get a call back).
posted by Urban Winter at 8:51 AM on October 22, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks UrbanWinter, I think the emails might have been kind of businesslike, and in the ones I've sent, I don't really use a lot of the dog-adoption-zone-language, (like nothing cutesy about a "forever home" although I certainly intend to have the dog forever..). I have mostly listed our qualifications to be good dog owners, but was not terribly intimate/personal. Will give that a try.

The message boards and other rescue groups so far have been good suggestions.

Thanks all!
posted by amoeba at 4:15 PM on October 22, 2012