[ilovemypup]

I got mines through a man I know. His boy and girl labradors had puppies. Buddy was the only male left and he was desperate to get rid of him, or else he'd have to give him to the pound because he just couldn't afford it. So I guess, in a way, I saved Buddy, because our pounds, although helpful, are very overcrowded. Thank the Lord for him, I love him to bits!

 

[Abbylynn]

Gifts/bought .... rescued/many rescues .... some re-homed because I was financially able and was always trying to save them all! .... but we all know that is impossible!

 

[Miss Bugs]

Happy-bought from breeder
Misty-brought from working ranch
Electra-bought from breeder
Rusty-owner moving and could not keep him, we had had contact with him before, so his mom contacts us(actually the case, the womans husband lied and said the dog was allowed until the night before they had to be out of their old house, when he told her dog was not allowed so go dump him somewhere, she didnt know as she was undergoing chemo for breast cancer)
Gem, Gyp, Perky and Ripley are all from the shelter.

 

[mcdavis]

Hamish was my Dad's retirement present from me. He came to live with us when he was 8, after my parents had passed away.

 

[ilovemypup]

You've all seemed to rescue a dog in some way, which is pretty amazing! I know what you mean Abbylynn, if I had the money and the space I'd adopt every dog in sight!

 

[JulieK1967]

We had been talking about getting a puppy for a while when a friend adopted a puppy from a rescue group that also had the mother and the 4 litter mates. We decided to take the plunge after falling in love with the picture of the bold little girl sitting up front all eager and adorable. I called the group & expressed our interest and we grabbed her at their next adoption fair.

 

[Sighthounds4me]

Manero was purchased from a breeder. Henley came from the same breeder (he's Manero's nephew). Armani was given to me from a different breeder.

And we will soon have another dog (different breed) from another breeder. Details pending...

 

[momtolabs]

Mae- got her from a uncle. My mom gave her to my cousin for a birthday gift after getting the okay from her parents. Well what we didn't know is they are NOT dog people at ALL!! So when Mae was 10 months and out of the "cuteness" stage they were looking to get rid of her. We took her immediately. She would have been PTS at the pound because she is DA and had Food aggression, which we fixed.

Tank- got him from a cousin. He was kept in a basement 24/7 and was severely underweight. It was about a year after my other lab had passed and I was not ready for a dog with as many problems he had. I was in depression and had other problems going on. But I sucked it up and started to work with him and as I worked with him he helped me also. So he was a rescue who rescued me.

Bentley- got him from the pound. I was looking for a 2-4 year old dog(I really wanted a GSD). I was all set on NO puppies. Well my mom say him in the pound and really wanted him. SO I looked him up on Petfinder and he was there. He was six months old though so i was unsure( tank isn't the best with puppies). After I talked with the AC officer I decided I wanted him. He was due to be PTS the next day so my dad had to go get him at 9 a.m. when they opened. There where a few times I wondered if I did the right thing for Tank but now I don't regret it at all

 

[UF Girl]

Rescue, rescue and rescue.

Stoli was found on a farm run by some nuns and my BF's at the time Aunt's worked with them. We had been wanting a dog so she took him for us. He was approximately 4 mos at the time. He is a Catahula mix and an amazing dog. He is now 5 years old.

Bella was found walking down the road by some people and they couldn't keep her so they took her to my vets. They adopted her out but the family returned her because she chased their cats. I saw her the day she was being returned and fell in love but it was just a month after we got Stoli and the BF was not ready for dog #2. About 2 months later I was picking Stoli up from daycare and they were talking about how they were going to have to take her to the shelter because she had been there too long. She came home with me that night. She was just about a year. She will be 6 this year.

Sam was my first foster dog. He was with us for about 8 months when we decided to adopt him. He was basically ours by then anyway. He is a BC/hound mix and will be 2 in a few months.

 

[Amaryllis]

Rescue. And I couldn't have made a more perfect dog if I had access to the finest genetics lab and God's notes on creation.

 

[HollowHeaven]

Troubles came from a little BYB with a good heart but really not a clue. He had two chihuahuas and bred them twice. He was the smallest brother of a litter of two in the last litter. He was a 'gift' from my aunt. In fifth grade, I was told I was going to get a puppy, one I could keep in the house. Silly me pictured a pit or some big fluffy ball of whatnot that would grow into more big fluffy whatnot. Came home one day and noticed my bathroom light was on. There was this litttllee iittyyy bittyy tinsywinsy chiwa. At first I thought 'Oh no, not a rat!' Then he did that puppy thing where they rub their tinitiny noses on yours. Then he was very cute so I put him in my pocket. :3

I got Aleu from a BYB, at a flea market. .-. I was in eighth grade then and had just recently lost a puppy that I had literally raised. I had always wanted a siberian husky, and there sat one in a crate, all by her lonesome. Well, there was a lot of 'oh daddy pleeaasseeeeeee's before I finally brought her home. Biggest dog mistake I have ever made. Now I'm a heavy preacher of the dog gospel: Do not ever jump into something uneducated.

I found Diesel. Well, actually Aleu and Troubles found him. We were on a walk and they decided investigate this big pile of trash. The way they acted I knew there had to be something living down there so I looked, and up came this big black ball of snarling teeth and growling. I initially thought we were being attacked by a bear so I picked Troubles up and we ran. Getting curious, I came back down the other side of the ditch where people illegally throw their trash and wedged between two mattresses I noticed it was a puppy. I ran home, told my mother and she felt bad for him so she gave me a plate of scraps and said "don't bring it home."
Well of course I didn't, mom. He just followed me home, what was I supposed to do be mean to him? D: ;D
He was very very scared at me at first, did everything in his power to try to appease me so I wouldn't hurt him, and he kept watching the road and getting excited whenever a car would go by. When none of them stopped, he looked back at the ground. And that absolutely broke my heart.
I let a neighbor have him, but after 2 years of not caring for him (and I mean after the first week they stopped playing with him, feeding him, giving him water. all contact stopped.) when deciding they wanted to "get rid" of him I knew my heart just wasn't going to have that. After being the one who groomed him, fed him, walked him, got his shots, took him on car rides and just loved him, I wasn't about to let some stranger take my dog. So I just brought him back. Didn't ask, didn't care, and they didn't say a single word.

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

Bambi: From a breeder
Dycen: craigslist "rescue" that was suppose to be for my cousin, but when he moved out he left the dog.
Riley: Was suppose to be a temporary long term foster for a maximum of 4-6 months for one of my husband's co- workers. Lost touch with him after about the fifth month. (That was 2-3 yrs ago).

 

[Kayota]

The Dachshund my mom had gotten me at fourteen had run away the night we got her and we hadn't seen her for months, so my mom said I could get a new dog. I posted an ad on Craigslist for "any small breed dog" and got a number of calls, but the first one was for a supposed two pound chocolate purebred Chihuahua. They said we could pick her up that day, so we met them at a bank the next town over. Well... The dog they had with them was extremely rude doggy behavior wise to my mom's dog, hyper, smelly, coughing, covered in fleas and none of the things that they said she was... And I loved her! So we forked over the $25 and took her home and gave her a bath and treated her kennel cough and fleas, and with age and training she became the best impulse buy I have ever asked my mom to make and the best gift I've ever gotten. I wouldn't do it that way again but I have absolutely no regrets, she's the best dog ever! (Also, as a note, we did find the original Dachshund again. She ended up bonding strongly with my mom and I ended up keeping Roxie with me since she had already become my best friend.)

As for my mom's dogs, Mollie, the doxie that was supposed to be mine, was a BYB reject (they have rejects???) from Kijiji because of a severe overbite. She was completely terrified of everything when we got her and she still drools constantly any time she's in the car, although she's better when we stop. The breeder was mad at US for letting her get away (she told us there's no way she slipped her harness if it was properly fitted, but it was properly fitted and she slipped her harness...) and we were mad at her for not socializing her dog in any way, shape or form and then throwing her away like garbage after keeping her for three years.

Sophie was a birthday gift from my biological mom to my legal mom (my legal mom is my biological grandmother) after my biomom's friends divorced and couldn't keep the dog. If it weren't for Sophie starting this whole chain of events, I never would have gotten Roxie...

Padfoot was born to a dog we received from the aforementioned biomom (she's headinjured and doesn't care for pets very well) and was my puppy of choice out of a litter of many colors, being the only solid black puppy... His mom had had nothing but black pups in the past and to this day my mom just can't understand why I picked the black one... Well, what can I say, I REALLY liked Sirius Black at the time... My mom recently decided she could no longer care for him, which I was pretty happy about honestly, since he was wasting away in the backyard and I couldn't take him... So now he has a new home.

 

[NozOnyCalAur]

The family Chow Chow we had when I was growing up was bought from a pet store. I was 8 when my parents bought her so it would've been 1989 and I'm assuming back then it was more common place for people to go to a pet store and buy a puppy. She was 3 months old and the pet owner had a bunch of Schnauzer puppies in cages but the little black Chow Chow was roaming the shop floor free and my mother fell in love with her. Mom bought her, and Dad trained her, but other than telling my brother and I to feed, water and walk the dog, she really didn't have much contact with Ewok. Looking back, Ewok was dog aggressive, but not really people aggressive. She'd bark if you knocked on the door. I think we were lucky that she didn't really have that many health problems except she'd get what the vet called "Heat Spots" basically she'd lick her fur off in a red patch on her hips and she'd have to wear the cone of shame for awhile. My parents never spayed Ewok and she had two litters in her life time, first litter was 2 puppies that died, no one was around to break them out of the sacks, her 2nd litter was 6 puppies, 2 died, 3 got homes and my grandmother kept 1, Pansy. Pansy looks like a Chow/Chinese Sharpei, is dog aggressive but terrified of people. You knock on the door she hides under the bed. Knowing what I've learned now, we were terrible dog owners which is why I'm hoping to do things right with Auriel.

Auriel came from a Pekingese breeder, she met my personality requirements, but not the breed standard, but she's perfect for me.

 

[Charis]

Back when Dawson was living with us for two years (as my parent's were rarely home) we decided to get a second dog so we had have smaller, more lap sized dog and a companion for Dawson. We went to the pound and found the cutest, sweetest little 6 month old, flea bitten, matted mess of red dog. She was so covered in ticks they were crawling off of her. There was no more skin for them to adhere to. She was hacking up a lung from kennel cough and miserable. Texas law is dogs must be fixed prior to being released so she continued to sit in the shelter for 6 more days (as that was the closest appt they had for her). I visited her every day. On the second day we noticed a Siberian Husky on stray hold. It was not yet available as the hold wasn't up. We continued to inquire daily and somehow in the all the rush of a packed shelter office our interest (although we expressed it everyday we came and visited our little puppy) was missed and she was put on the euthanasia list. On the final day of us visiting Sierra we asked one more time about the Sibe in stray hold and were told she was off stray hold and due to be put down after closing that day. Needless to say we signed papers right then and there. Sierra was home the next day and Misty two days later after they sedated her and tried to spay her - only to find out she already was.

I will say after adopting a husky because "we wanted one" I am a strong advocate for researching the breed prior to acquiring one. While we would never give up Misty - we will probably never have another Sibe. They are not a breed for everyone.


Sierra with her already adopted kennel mate the first time we saw her:

Misty the first time we saw her (she was not going to sit still)

 

[Rowdy]

Both of my guys are from the same collie breeder in Sacramento, Ca. We had originally wanted a smooth coat, but she didn't have one. Then one day on the website we saw that she had a 10 month old blue merle rough coat male for sale. He was supposed to be a show dog, but he only had one descended testicle. We decided to go and see him. She hadn't contacted us because she knew we wanted a smooth. But we fell in love with him. So he became our Toby. About a year later the breeder called us about a smooth tri male she had, who was 4 months old. She'd been holding him as a show dog, but like Toby, one of his testicles wasn't descended. She offered him to us on a contract that stipulated that she could show him if his testicle descended by 9 months. After that we could neuter him. We took Toby down to see if they'd get along. They did, so he became our Cameron. The testicle didn't descend, and we had him neutered at 10 months.

We laugh that we're running a home for wayward uniballers.

 

[kadylady]

Luke came from an "opps" litter, saw an ad for them online. I know now that this wasn't the best option and won't do it again, but don't regret it a second. Luke is the light of my life and the best dog in the world (obviously my biased opinion lol) but I will admit that I am totally paranoid about his health, specifally joint health. He is half lab and half golden retreiver, 2 breeds that have enough health problems to worry about.

We adopted Zoey this February from the local Humane Society. They have a facebook page and they post all their adoptable animals on there, that was my downfall...lol One Tuesday they posted 12 puppies that had become available for adoption. That night we came home with Zoey! Her adoption picture is in my signature.

 

[Keechak]

Kechara from a casual poor quality breeder
Lark and Hawkeye from the same working/show breeder

 

[cookieface]

When we decided to add a dog to our family, we started looking at petfinder and other rescue sites. We found a few dogs who appeared to be a good fit for us; unfortunately, we were rejected by their rescues (no fence, limited / no previous dog experience) or found the adoption process too intrusive (20 page applications, random follow-up visits for up to 3 years). After being heartbroken several times, we decided to get a dog from a breeder. That was the beginning of a 7-month process to research both specific breeds and breeders. With the help of some great people, we found Katie.

the day we met her

a few days after her first birthday

 

[JessCowgirl88]

Winter I got from my friends cousin. Her gsd/rott mix female got out and ended up having a littler. my friend knew i was looking for a puppy and had told me. i went to look and just seeing the conditions i could not help but had to take one, they were just giving them away all of them had homes except 2 which the other was pending so i took winter no questions asked. She is precious is so many ways and such a wonderful dog. She turned out to be quite the dog and quite the protector of my family and my 3 year olds best friend/guardian/water buddy/everything. She was maybe 6 weeks. It was sad they just wanted them gone She is now 2 going to be three in oct/nov.

Snow we rescued from a shelter. They said lab mix but we really feel otherwise. We were looking at the shelter and had seen some dogs and puppies that caught our eye and all the way down at the end of the shelter was this little ball of fluff just eyes bright and full of life saying take me home. They had special rooms for possible adopters to get to know the dog play with them with toys and such and she was just so vibrant and no worries in the world. She looked like a double to winter at a young age only bigger and she has been something else ever since. She is so full of energy and life and just gogogo lol. She is attached to me at the hip all the time. She will be 1 in october. She was about.. 3/4 months when we got her