Have you rescued a dog from the pound? Good or bad experience?

I've got two dogs off of the street, and two from a shelter. I've had tens of dogs from shelters in the past. Each and every one has been a great companion. Sometimes they are a little shy, as they may have been abused. Most shelters put the dogs through a test to make sure that it is suitable for home life. They are even sometimes better than purebred dogs because:1. Mutts are proven to be much healthier than purebred dogs.2. As a general rule, mutts are smarter than purebred dogs.3.Shelter dogs and taken in strays almost seem grateful, and most are extremely grateful.I can vouch for all of these points, because I have two purebred dogs, too.

Let me tell you, I adopted my dog from the shelter and to this day I never regret it. Heh, when I first got her she had just been recovering from a spay surgery and she was two years old. She had these big ol' ears(haha they were bigger than her head) and she was jet black just about 15-20 lbs. She tested me alot the first years or so, but when I got her she had a huge scar on her forehead when she had come into the shelter. No one really knew how she had got it, they said when they found her she had it. She was slightly shy and it took her a long while before she trusted me, but ever since she has been such an amazing little dog. She has the strangest little look which sometimes just makes me laugh and she does the silliest things. She is very smart though for a mixed breed. Some of the tricks she learned, I practically never even remember teaching her, and she acts just like any other dog, ready to play and be paid attention to. I seriously sometimes would think things would have been weird without her in my life. Now to this day she has slowed down alot more she is going on about 7 years old. I now just try to enjoy every minute I can with her, but this dog has been there through the ups and the downs in my life. I remember just resting my head by her side at night sometimes and listening to her snoozing at the foot of my bed. Trust me though mate, you won't regret it. These animals all have a story, especially these ones from the shelter. They really need someone that will just love 'em unconditionally and offer them a better chance and quality at life.Definately consider it.

I have only adopted 2 dogs from shelters.First dog in May 2005 from the Humane Society, approx 4yr old, female, 40lb-ish German Shepherd/Terrier mixWhen my friend and I moved to the city she "had" to get a dog, so we went to the Humane Society and found a cute dog that got along with my mother's dog(we rented her basement apartment). We took the dogs for a walk, let them play in the pen and they got along fine so we decided to get her, they never told us about her background just that she had 2 homes before us. 2 weeks later we got a letter in the mail from the HS with her history, her last home gave her up because she was aggressive with strangers and bit a small child that required stitches. At this point she had only shown a small amount of aggression towards strange men but I thought it was just her protecting me. With in a couple months she became very hard to handle and aggressive so I called the HS to see what I should do, of coarse they wanted me to take her to the dog behaviorist and therapy classes. I didn't want to spend more money on a dog that really wasn't even mine(my friend paid for the dog and I paid for the food, collar, leash, food dishes, etc), even though I was the one that took care of her all the time, because really they shouldn't have adopted her out just to anyone after biting a child and showing aggression. My friend moved out and left the dog with me, soon after she bit my Step-brother and my Dad(didn't break the skin) so I knew I couldn't keep her anymore. I took her back to the HS less then 5 months after we got her.I volunteered at an animal shelter in my hometown and fell in love with a Dalmatian 2 weeks before I was taking the other dag back to the HS(I had to make an appointment to take the dog back to the HS) so I put him on hold for a week.Second dog I got late Oct 2005 from an Animal Shelter, approx 9 month old, male Dalmatian.He was dumped in someone's yard and the guy fed him and kept him outside for a week before it got too cold out and he was worried the dog might freeze so he called the shelter. He was the perfect dog from day one, healthy, house trained, knew basic commands, liked other dogs and cats, walked nice on a leash, never even barked at anyone, etc. He's the sweetest dog anyone can ask for.

"Pounds" really differ from bad to good. Experiences will differ from shelter to shelter.Brutus - 6 month purebred Akita - WAIF (Good shelter) - They had his hips x-rayed, encouraged me to talk to their vet, liked I had Akita experience. I had Brutus 11 years - a wonderful, mellow Akita. Great experience. Brutus was neutered and fully vaccinated.Toto - 10 month old purebred Cairn Terrier - B/KCHS (Great shelter) - Toto had already failed 3 adoptions and was labeled "Special Needs". The shelter was VERY up front about his dominance tantrums and offered both Trainer and Behaviorist support. That was 11 years ago - Toto just needed an experience owner used to working with independent dogs and his tantrums cleared within a week. He has been a wonderful pet. Toto was neutered, microchipped and fully vaccinated. He had had several sessions with a professional trainer and several a professional behaviorist .... but Toto is smart, so with a less experienced owner, he immediately took over the house. I had to laugh a lot as his tantrums failed here and he looked puzzled.Foxy - 10 yr old Siberian Husky - KCAC (medium shelter trying to improve) - I was informed that Foxy was older and had the start of spine problems. She had a bad case of worms but is doing great. It's been about 2 years now. She is basically a healthy senior and a doll. Some ouzzling behaviors but she is not an escape artist, very well behaved, non destructive - lovely Siberian that I just can't imagine why the owners wouldn't reclaim her. Foxy was microchipped and vaccinated.Evita - 5 month Akita/? cross - AK&OAC (really, really bad shelter) - Eva was thin and totally unvaccinated, unspayed, wormy. But a couple vet trips got her straightened out. I've had Eva about 4 years now - she was very hyper but has calmed down and is turning into a nice dog.SO a good shelter is going to let you know any behavior problems. The dog will be desexed and vaccinated and often microchipped. Counselors will try to help match you to a dog that's right for you.A bad shelter - you walk in and take a dog for the fee (usually smallest fee). You should go straight to a vets to have the pup/dog checked. The shelter will usually return the fee if a health problem is found and you return the dog. But you are pretty much on your own. Especially in some states, Parvo and Distemper are huge problems in pups as well as heartworm positive dogs.So you need to research shelters and rescue groups just like you would a breeder - some are good and some are bad.

Getting a dog from the pound is great, however you may end up with health problems. When a dog comes in unvaccinated and gets put in an area containing several other dogs who came in and may have already been sick, even if the dog gets his vaccinations it may still get sick. Pounds don't hold dogs for very long so you are likely to get them very soon after they have been brought in. As for behavioral problems, you may get this from anywhere. Best bet if you want a healthy dog and want to know what you are getting into go through a rescue group. These dogs have been pulled from pounds and put into foster homes where they have been spayed/neutered, have vaccinations and have been treated for any illnesses they have and have had a chance to unwind from shelter life. You will know up front if the dog has a long term disability that will need to be managed and the fosters are usually very upfront about any behavioral issues because they want the dog to go to a home that is willing to be a forever home for that dog and dumping a dog off on someone with behavioral issues and not telling them usually ends up with the dog just being returned. You will likely pay a little more through a rescue, however it often ends up being cheaper than getting a very sick dog from the pound and making several visits to the vet to get the dog well again. Plus you have to realize that the rescue has paid money to a pound to get the dog themselves and has had to pay for the vet bills, food and sometimes trainers, boarding, transportation etc. for that dog so asking a fee of usually $200-$300 isn't really all that steep for what you are getting. Plus they will work with you based on your family and lifestyle to place the best possible match with you. I have had dogs and friends who have adopted from the humane society in the past and they turned out to be great dogs but they were very sick in the beginning and you just never know what you're going to get.