Chubbyrat, thank you for keeping Tassie and Rover, in spite of the problems.

I have had a different experience with pet adoptions.

We were told the truth about our boxer rescue dog, that the group had just received him days earlier and didn't know anything about him, guessing his age to be about two (our vet agreed). We took a chance and it worked out well. He was already housebroken and, with some behavior training, has become a valued family member.

Our three rescue cats are from groups our neighbor volunteers with, and again, no problems with misrepresentation.

I volunteer at an adoption center. We get the majority of our dogs from animal care and control, (The pound). The other dogs are owner relinquishment. When we take in a dog the dog goes to our centers vet and is spayed or neutered and given shots. The animal has a complete health workup. It is then tested for behavior issues. Some of our dogs have special needs, blind, diabetic, missing legs, etc. Sometimes we only have the dog for a day before it gets adopted. Not all health issues are discovered when we do the vet exam. Remember, these animals come from the pound.
Having said that, I got my cat from a reputable breeder. We discovered a heart murmur when he was one year old. Pets are no different that people. They get disease just like we do. If you want a disease free pet get a stuffed animal.

I am an animal lover! BUT I haven't been really happy about a mangy black lab dog that came to our place about a year and one half ago. She was super thin, appeared to have puppies prior, she didn't have half of her fur and she HATED to have a bath. Giving her a pill took hours because she always knew and would go running across the farm yard. Even the dog pill covers we're rejected eventually because she KNEW the pill was in there. Her skin smelled to high heaven with some black bacterial infection. The vet said we could have her fixed up in four months. Well that didn't happen and I believe she has a chronic skin infection. It is the grossest thing. After spending huge amounts of money on meds, shots, skin wash, spaying, science diet and other good brands, I don't even keep track anymore. And on top of it all, I think the lab might have bit my little dog in the back, possibly protecting her food. Abby, my house dog, died in 5 short days this last OCT. She was my sweetheart. I keep telling myself this lab came into our life for a reason. Maybe I'll never know why. I don't dislike her but I don't really want her and no one else does either. I know, that's more than sad. We take good care of her despite our feelings.

I've adopted five cats from a Wyoming Humane society and I've been very happy with them. The last two are orange kitties (named Boomer and Dinky after the birds in the disney movie The Fox and the Hound) who apparently tested positive on one of the tests..feline leukemia? I adopted them anyway because both are neutered/spayed and have been vaccinated. I've had them for three months and neither show signs of sickness. I'm sure there are some sick tomcats in the area but I have not seen any stray cats for many months.

Lori

lorifromutah,
This is extremely important!!!! Feline Luekemia is highly contagious. It has a high mortality rate in cats and the cats usually don't live past 3 years. The FLV cats must be kept separate from all other cats at all times. Sharing saliva or blood will transfer the disease. I know this because my friend has a FLV cat that I take care of. She has 5 other cats and they live in a separate condo from the FLV cat. This cat should never be let outside as it will pass its illness to any other cat it has a contact with. Please educate yourself on FLV in cats and separate the cats immediately.
donna

We have adopted two dogs, both from the "pound". The first, a golden retriever, was about 2 when he came to us. He was underweight, matted, and the friendliest boy we ever had. He was a delight and a companion for 10 years. The next dog was a collie/St. Bernard mix who was about 6 months old when we adopted him. He had a biting problem and only wanted to roughhouse (someone taught him this, and when he topped 75 pounds they got their body parts handed to them). I chased him around the house, clamped my hand over his muzzle, and petted and sweet-talked him. After six months and one chair later, he was a great dog that everyone loved. He learned that being sweet was a whole lot better than being aggressive. He was with us for 13 1/2 years. However, that first six months were the longest in my life!
I'd never adopt a dog I hadn't seen, nor a dog that had obvious health problems. That said, I'd take what God sent and be grateful for the companionship!

Most of our pets adopted us. They just showed up at either our home or work. The last one was our most costly. She hopped up onto our family room window sill and cried to us. We went out and brought her in. She was skin and bones and it looked as if someone had set fire to her head. Her ears looked melted onto it. Took her to the vet the next morning and we were told that it was cancer. She is a white cat who had been left out to deal with the sun. So, we had to have her ears removed. While our vet worked with us, it still cost us twice our rent. It was so worth it though. She is our little Sugar Pie Honeybunch. She is just the most adorable little thing. She rules this house with an iron paw. Keeps even the dogs in line!

Trish

Trish, would love to see a photo!

Yep. We bought, at top dollar, an Australian Terrier (large Yorkie type)that had been caged most of her life. She was almost impossible to housebreak; had food aggression problems, had to be given fair warning that she was being approached, had mangy looking fur. And we kept her, treated her, and loved her until she died at 14 years of age.

Was she what we had expected? No. But she was a purchase, unlike a pair of shoes or jacket, that we honored. Through our efforts she came around and we had a mutual loving relationship until she died. I still miss her.

We answered an add in the newspaper for our dog. She was 7 weeks old, weighed less than 2 pounds (weighs less than 7 now)she had fleas, mange, worms and ear mites. The add of course didn't mention any of this, but as soon as we saw her we fell in love with her and it was obvious that she needed us. We took her home with us and to the vet the following day. The vet ask if we had paid money for the dog and we said yes, he then asked if we could get our money back. We didn't want our money back-she needed us, if we had taken her back she would have surely died. That was 13 years ago. She has a touch of arthritis it her hip, but otherwise a very healthy dog. She has been worth her weight in gold. Her name is Precious, and she is.

Bless all of you for loving your pets. We found Sasha at a rental we owned at the time, no one knew where she came from, I fell in love with her immediately, can't explain it, we'd had doxies before I didn't even like pekingese. When we had to put her down about 7 years later (vet said she was about 6 when we found her) I felt so empty. My DH saw an ad in the paper for a white male peke. I told him I didn't want white and I didn't want male. He said let's go "look". Yeah, sure. Once I got my hands on Caesar that was it. His coloring was wrong, brown nose instead of black, he had a huge hernia and his nostrils were almost shut. Took him to the vet the next day and learned he'd need surgery on his nose, plus hernia removal, plus being neutered. That all happened when he was a little older. So here we are a couple of years later with a whopping 22 pound pekingese that I can barely carry, and he is the love of our lives.

Two kitten experiecnes:

Paid $94.00 for adoption fees for kitten at local pound.
When we reached home GD who was 14 and experieced with cats took her from the car and the kitten began to scratch and claw (bringing blood) until Gd was forced to let her go and she was never seen again.

Second cat was purchased form a dealer at the local (Canton TX) trade days. She had a fatal disease and despite huge vet bills had to be put away. When told about this the dealer offered another kitten free of charge. We call him our "warranty cat" and he is healthy, going on 2 years old.

Thanks O DOnna for the warning and advice.

FL is rampant in our area which is why I had to euthanize all cats but two, which I spayed and neutered. I've had those cats (Kitty and Kitty Kitty) for three years. Kitty was the female and a hunter and disappeared last summer. Kitty Kitty was so lonely I adopted Boomer, Dinky, Sylvia and Boogie. There was one more neutered male but he prefers to live at the neighbors. He is happy and loved so I am okay with this.
I've been told by vets that in kittens that young a positive result most often is false. I know the ladies personally who run the shelter. If there were any doubts Dinky and Boomer were infected they would have been euthanized and not placed.

Both of my dogs were supposedly healthy and fit, and yet they have cost us thousands of dollars with their health problems. I realized it right away when I picked each of them up. I'm not very smart in that I could have done better screening, but on the other hand, I'm brilliant because I have two of the most wonderful dogs in the world, so it worked out. ..lol. My youngest dog has some behavior problems on top of her health problems, but she absolutely requires love and affection (they both do, really), and I am so happy to have the opportunity to give that to them. When the older one required $1,400 in medical care this past fall, I was so grateful to be able to provide that for her, which improved the quality of her life.

I always advise everyone I know who is on a tight budget NOT to get a dog, because you can't count on continued good health, even if you do get a healthy animal to start with, and it is not fair to deny the pet medical care or give it away because you can't afford that care. That's too hard on the dog.

lori,
My friend's cat was born with FLV. He was going to be euthanized when she rescued him. She was thinking the cat would test negative as he got older but that did not happen. He tested positive. Please be sure to keep the FLV cats indoors and away from other healthy cats. It would not be fair to infect other cats if they are in fact carrying the disease.

I just love reading these stories. Seems almost everyone here at the KT has a heart of gold. Keep them coming!

Trish

I worked, as a groomer, for a Vet and he brought me in on a consult with some new clients. They bought their Bichon puppy at a pet store and wanted to know when her hair would turn fuzzy. I said it never would as it was clearly a Maltese.

LOL... Coffeemom!

I went to the 'pound' one time to get a kitten, but they didn't have any so I got put on the waiting list. In the mean time I found a kitten through the want ads so I got it. I finally got a call from the pound and went ahead and got that one also because we lived in the country and had plenty of room. It was my first experience with a pound kitten and I didn't realize the poor thing could possibly come home with a major disease. I didn't have enough time to get him to the vet and he died within a short period of time. The other little kitten I had gotten through the want ads caught what the first kitty had, but it was diagnosed as 'worms' at the vets office. He died also. I felt really bad about it. My friends later told me that it was probably feline leukemia that killed both of them.

Coffeemom:
That's funny to me as we were sold a Maltese who turned out to clearly be a Bischon!

Now I'm LOL.
I did have a client with a "rare" two color Maltese.
Huh????