Help my friend find a dog! Snowflake details inside.

November 19, 2013 3:32 PM

I have a good friend who wants a dog. Here is the criteria. We are looking for ways/places to go check out/ideas on how to find a dog for her: -My friend lives in Northern California, and is willing to travel a reasonable distance (50 miles give or take). She is willing to pay adoption fees. The dog: -Must be male. -Can be of any breed/mix. -Must be young to adult, but not a puppy. -Must be medium to large in size. -Must have all shots/vaccines. -Must be neutered. -Must be a rescue dog. Help us find places to look around for rescue dogs. We have been striking out... maybe there's some places we aren't finding/thinking of besides the pound, pet shops, rescue agencies, etc?
posted by nurgle to Pets & Animals (21 answers total)

I hate to be Captain Obvious, but how about a shelter? Bail some dog off death row.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 3:34 PM on November 19, 2013 [5 favorites]

Have you tried PetHarbor.com. It lists dogs that are available from all over the state. I think the dogs are all in shelters and rescue groups.
posted by cairnoflore at 3:36 PM on November 19, 2013

Seriously, I can't believe that she can't find a dog that meets her very, very broad requirements at the pound. Is there something I'm missing? Just keep checking back every week or so.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 3:37 PM on November 19, 2013 [5 favorites]

Check out Muttville, based in San Francisco. It's a great organization.
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:37 PM on November 19, 2013

I agree with ablazingsaddle. Here are 35 dogs meeting her criteria from the rescue where we got our dog.
posted by juliapangolin at 3:38 PM on November 19, 2013

PetFinder.com?
posted by elizardbits at 3:38 PM on November 19, 2013 [2 favorites]

Have you tried petfinder.com? You can narrow by all these criteria, and you will have your choice of hundreds of dogs.
posted by rockindata at 3:39 PM on November 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Why exactly are you striking out? Is it just that the right dog hasn't come along yet? If so, be patient. The perfect little buddy is out there and will pop up eventually.

PetFinder is one place to look.
posted by marshmallow peep at 3:39 PM on November 19, 2013 [2 favorites]

every breed of dog there is has a core group of aficionados who oversee and rehome rescues. i used to date a serious golden retriever woman. find a local breeder on the internet, call them and ask about the rescue situation.
posted by bruce at 3:40 PM on November 19, 2013

I agree that Petfinder is a great place to start. If your friend wants to deal with a group instead of a shelter and is close to the San Francisco Bay Area, I'd recommend Rocket Dog Rescue and Loup Garou. Rocket dog currently has more large dog options while Loup Garou seems to have all smaller dogs right now, although that could change quickly. While I love Muttville, they're a group that specializes in senior/old dogs, so that's not the best fit for your friend.
posted by quince at 3:52 PM on November 19, 2013

Petfinder is the go-to for this. Likely not to find the specific dog she will ultimately adopt, but definitely to get a sense of what shelters and rescues are in her area.

The local "pound" will most likely have a presence on Petfinder. Their listings aren't usually the most up to date, and the descriptions of the animals aren't often as lovingly rendered as the ones for the boutique rescues. But to be perfectly honest, I adopted my dog from a local SPCA as opposed to Special Snowpups R Us and my dog is awesome.

I feel like a lot of people gravitate to the boutiquey rescues for whatever reason, when there's nothing at all to indicate that it's actually better to go through such groups. If anything there will be more hurdles to jump through, higher fees, and the dogs have all the potential problems of the ones in shelters. Most of the boutique rescues get their dogs from the pound in the first place.

Most shelters will neuter and provide shots as part of the adoption fee. Any reputable "rescue" organization will, too.

Breed specific rescues can be good, but since your friend doesn't have any particular breed she prefers, it seems like an odd avenue to go through in this particular case. Wouldn't it be better to go to one shelter/rescue with a lot of different dogs than go to 10 breed specific rescues?
posted by Sara C. at 3:53 PM on November 19, 2013

PetHarbor.com lets you enter your criteria and look at any shelter in the US for a dog. PetFinder probably does something very similar.
posted by cairnoflore at 3:53 PM on November 19, 2013

petfinder.com is where i got my dog. they are amazing and coordinate with rescues, shelters, etc. i even was given coupons for pet stores when i got my dog. i think they should be running the gov't they are so well-organized.
posted by wildflower at 3:59 PM on November 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Is it the neuter that's causing you to find no dogs in what should be a massive supply of dogs? Most shelters and rescues won't perform the surgery on an unadopted animal but will do it or require it be done within a short time (sometimes included in the adoption fee or with a discount from a participating vet) once the dog is adopted.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:08 PM on November 19, 2013 [8 favorites]

nthing Petfinder.com.
posted by wwax at 4:34 PM on November 19, 2013

I got my dog from the San Francisco SPCA.
posted by trip and a half at 5:20 PM on November 19, 2013

My wife and I got both our dogs from the SF SPCA, but that is far from the only option up here in N. California (as noted by many other posters so far).
posted by Pecinpah at 5:51 PM on November 19, 2013

Lyn Never: "Most shelters and rescues won't perform the surgery on an unadopted animal but will do it or require it be done within a short time (sometimes included in the adoption fee or with a discount from a participating vet) once the dog is adopted."

Sometimes dogs in shelters aren't up-to-date on shots for the same reason - the shelters can't always afford it. But included in any adoption contract will be instructions to get the dog fixed and up-to-date on shots.

I just worked a transport today (near Chicago). We had at least 5 dogs on transport that meet your friend's criteria, except for the neutering.

If you really can't find a good match in your local area, expand your search geographically. Some rescues will arrange transport.

But really, just be patient.

And thank your friend for wanting to adopt!
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:23 PM on November 19, 2013

Be more specific. Dogs vary in need for exercise, tolerance of other dogs, shedding, attachment to owner, and more. Pit bulls are medium to large, and there are usually a lot of them available, but would that be a dog for her? Rescue - when you adopt a dog from a shelter, that saves a dog from death. Where I live in Maine, there aren't a lot of strays, so they bring dogs from other states. Those dogs would have died, because there are still so many un-neutered dogs, irresponsible breeders, etc., and a lot of dogs get put to death. Go visit shelters, take lots of dogs for walks, sit with them, throw a ball, etc. I didn't expect to bring home a small dog last time I adopted, but I did, and he's totally great.
posted by theora55 at 6:37 PM on November 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

I agree with theora55 about going and meeting lots of dogs. We went to the shelter with a whole long list of requirements in the cat we wanted, and came home with the absolute perfect kitty for us who only met about half of those requirements. :) Your friend might need to chip in to have the neutering/shots done, but if she cannot afford these, probably she cannot realistically afford a dog, since there are much more expensive problems that can come along with having a pet.

And, you can totally visit the same shelter a few times if you don't find that perfect fit the first time(s) you go - I'm in the Bay Area, and we found there was a ton of turnover. So, just go, let them know what you're looking for, and be patient if you don't meet that perfect dog on your first visit.
posted by rainbowbrite at 6:45 PM on November 19, 2013

Northern Cal. is drowning in unwanted, wonderful dogs. I work with a rescue group up in the Seattle area, and we get tons of dogs from high-kill shelters in Northern California. Everyone has good suggestions -- please keep looking! Start with the local shelter, use Petfinder (pretty much all rescue groups list their dogs on Petfinder, but not all shelters do), go to adoption events at local pet stores. Trust me, that dog will be out there.
posted by emcat8 at 11:26 PM on November 20, 2013