A moral/cultural conundrum: online advert (i.e. "eBay") dog or puppy?

Just catching up on your shelter visits, Emily. Have you thought of looking at specific breed rescue sites - particularly labrador rescue, of course! There are several in the UK, eg Labrador Rescue South East and Central. There are sometimes socialised dogs who need rehoming because the family situation has changed and the puppies/dogs are boarded at foster homes rather than in kennels. You can also register your interest.
Brogan was very much the right dog for you, but there will be another 'right dog' waiting for you.

 

There will be another right dog true.
But there will never be another Brogan.
That is the toughest hurdle to surmount.
Stick with us and we will help as much as we can. in the meantime if you want us to point you to other posts to brighten your day just give us a nod. There is almost always someone here x

 

Goodness what a journey. But one day you will find the right dog for you, and (just as important) you will be the right person for the dog. You will look into that dog's eyes, and you will just know that it is right.

 

You might want to have a think about black Retreiver Cross as a rescue organisation to consider, I have fostered four dogs from there and one from Cyprus. One lab went to an ex military man, and Indy (who stole my heart..) went as a service dog to Tom Isaacs, founder of the Parkinsons trust. Jem from the BRX has an uncanny knack of matching dogs to owners!

 

Yes, yes, yes, BRX are lovely! Please have one of their dogs!

ETA: they're on FB, you know. Maybe that's the reason you joined back up. It was meant to be...

 

Also what about a failed Guide Dog, I believe if they have failed for that job some can be trained to be assistance, medical detection dogs etc. @Boogie will be able to confirm. You have lots of ideas to mull over. x

 

This is what I'd do in the US. I've not looked in the UK as usually rescue groups don't want to adopt out to people outside the country (or state in the US) because they can't do proper checks on them, which I totally understand. But I also haven't contacted any to specifically ask, so certainly worth at least inquiring. There's surely also breed rescue in Germany - I'd kept my eye on a few Rottie rescue sites, but should look into Lab ones as well!

 

Shortly after joining the Forum and inspired by Mags, I checked out information about 'failed' Guide Dogs and they are pretty clear on their website that you must reside in the UK to get on the waiting list to adopt one. I didn't actually contact them, which I could still do, but it seemed very unlikely they'd consider someone like me. But hey...leave no stone left unturned, right?

 

I do hope you are right. I did meet one dog recently that if he were not happily the part of someone else's family, I would have taken without a second thought. That alone gives me a bit of hope that despite all my famous dithering, I will know enough to seize the day when the right one for me comes along.

 

Thank you, that's really kind.

I may have to track down this famous "duck" thread as a rainy day cheer-me-up. And then of course I've selfishly started a thread of smiley dogs..sort of self-help non-pharmaceutical Prozac for dog lovers!

 

Ah I didn't realise, but yep keep looking under those stones and you never know what you will find x

 

Great tip - thank you! I'd no idea that so many rescues came out Ireland. I've had a look at FB and can't quite sort out which dogs are actually still available, but they sure do seem have a lot of lovely ones. They also (again, understandably) have a home visit requirement that I wouldn't pass as I'm not in the UK, but I can always ask them and see what they say!

 

I really need to find this "duck thread"!

OK, not so much that you are all quietly calm and collected, but as Mags said to me when I got to visit her, it's just really nice to be able to talk to someone who finds dogs as interesting as I do. I've now got two categories of friends when it comes to the dog search subject: (1) just get over it already and get a dog or I'll get one for you, and (2) could we talk about something else because my brain's gone numb with the dog talk?
So...I'm REALLY better off shutting up about the search in most other areas of my life except here.

 

What I've not done is seen if there are any equivalent type of organizations in Germany... where I actually live, lol. I really need to get over my language issues and stop leaning so heavily towards the UK resources when I don't live there. Though seeing @snowbunny 's success in Cornwall has kind of put the idea of getting a rescue or puppy from the UK back on my "hey, that's not a bad idea!" list. Looks like a very nice spot to spent some time waiting for a dog/pup to be travel ready.... plus the added bonus of possibly getting to witness the magnificence of Benson's tail in person.

 

There are ways and means. Jemina is very open and supportive. Often the dogs are in foster, and an depth assessment takes place as well as some preliminary positive+ training. A few dogs are already lined up for suitable homes, and don't get to their fb page.

 

Sounds good. I will send her a preliminary email, explain my situation and what I'm looking for, and just see what the reply is. If they have fosters in Ireland (in addition to the UK), I'm always up for a trip as a good friend of mine lives in Kinsale.

 

Don't be too concerned if you don't hear back quickly..she does get very, very busy! By all means mention you know Kate and Marcus with Casper...

 

No worries - I can only imagine the number of inquiries they get. And I will happily and shamelessly name drop you.

 

Just a wee update: I had two more doggie visits this weekend, one with a foster dog and one with another shelter. The foster dog visit went well and I may do a second visit. It was much more my speed than the shelter visits as it was in a home (of course) and I could really get a better sense of a dog happy in his environment. I took him for a nice walk around the neighbourhood and it was actually fun. I don't know if he's my dog - no hearts and flowers or angels singing though he was a sweetie - but he's staying on the list for now. Or with my luck, he'll be instantly adopted this week, as has now happened with three dogs I've seen. I'm like a doggie adoption good luck charm or something.

The third shelter visit was today and I honestly think I'm going to have to cross this off my list of ways to find a dog. The chaos and noise makes my brain liquefy and dribble out my ears. I just can't think. I sure as heck couldn't remember my Spanish and present myself as a moderately intelligent human who can form proper sentences. I didn't have any problems speaking yesterday in the foster home but today I was completely tongue-tied. They did have one dog who was a decent possibility (Lab/border collie mix) and who I'll keep in mind. He was super high energy and did want to absolutely murder the herd of cows I tried (and failed) to walk him by, but he is also super smart and loves people. The shelter manager said, "Well, you don't live with a cow, do you?" when I said something - and she is totally correct. I DON'T have a cow at home. However, I walk by cows here in Spain probably 5-6 times a week and come across horses fairly regularly as well, so socialisation with livestock would be something we'd need to really work on for safety's sake.

Neither of these dogs are likely "the one" but with every experience hopefully I'm learning more and getting closer to the goal. It's also good for my Spanish.

 

Well, you certainly sound a lot more positive, which is great! Ruling things out may not be as rewarding as ruling things in, but it's all moving in the right direction.

Great, you can come with me to shows when I start showing in Spain