Animal Shelter gaffe...

[Ara Ann]

Wow.

My best friend''s parents went to their local animal shelter yesterday, looking for a new poochie to adopt. They had been thinking about this for a long time and wanted a smallish dog that would travel well, good temperament, etc. The one they wanted to see yesterday had been adopted, but they went back today to see a couple more.

When they got there this morning, a worker was walking a cute doggie and they were instantly attracted to her. She is Pomeranian &-? mix, bout 3 years old and just adorable as can be. They adopted her and planned to take her to a vet this evening (they have a 30 day ''well check up'' vet visit, as part of the adoption)... So after bonding with her all day at their home (she was great and very loving all day)...they took her to the vet, curious about her ''mix/breed'' and age, over all health, etc., but were totally STUNNED to hear she is PREGNANT and due to deliver FIVE pups in 10-15 days! They had been told her owners surrendered her to the shelter (just 9 days ago) because they were moving...now they know it was most likely because she was preggers!

So HOW could the shelter have missed this!?!? Our shelter won''t even adopt a pet out unless they have been ''fixed''. Puzzling.

Anyway...they plan to keep her, but aren''t sure how to proceed with the pregnancy and delivery, my friend''s mom is the nervous type and may not be up for that...they sure hadn''t planned on PUPPIES when they chose to adopt an adult dog. At least the medical bills will be covered by the shelter''s policy! Yikes! And at least they found out BEFORE she went into labor! It could have been the doggie version of TLC''s show, "I Didn''t Know I Was Pregnant!" LOL!


Just wanted to share.

 

[decodelighted]

Honestly, its kind of like a *bonus* ... Pom pups can go for $2K & up EACH. They could stand to make 10K on this transaction!

J/K ... kinda. Its also a little true. But what a surprise! I''m glad they''re keeping her. I bet she''ll be a real love bunny. What *will* happen to the pups?

 

[Ara Ann]

Date: 9/25/2009 8:46:38 PM
Author: decodelighted
Honestly, its kind of like a *bonus* ... Pom pups can go for $2K & up EACH. They could stand to make 10K on this transaction!

J/K ... kinda. Its also a little true. But what a surprise! I''m glad they''re keeping her. I bet she''ll be a real love bunny. What *will* happen to the pups?

Well, Momma doggie is not a pure Pom, so the pups are also a mix...no money there! But they are sure to be CUTE, Momma is adorable. I am not sure what they will do with the puppies, they may go to the shelter once weaned. I think they are still STUNNED and probably haven''t thought that far ahead! But they are going to have to come up with a solution soon, they don''t have a lot of time left to decide!

 

[purrfectpear]

I can see the shelter possibly missing this. Unlike people, dogs can carry a litter and it won''t even be visible to the naked eye until they''re about a week from delivery.

 

[justginger]

That''s shocking. We''re currently taking care of a foster cat that is pregnant. She was picked up wandering the streets by a ranger, but when it came time to put her down at the pound, one of them noticed she was expecting (and she was only about 3 weeks along at that point). So they called our rescue organization and now we''re caring for her. There''s already a waiting list for her 5 kittens.

You should advertise the puppies now, so you can have a selection process for getting them into new homes. If you put if off, they''ll grow quickly -- less people will be interested and you''ll feel pushed for time.

You''d be surprised how much people will pay for a Pom cross. In Australia there are still pet shops that sell dogs and cats (disgusting, in my opinion) and their animals are OUTRAGEOUSLY priced. Someone decided that crosses are now nearly as fashionable as purebred animals. For example, a Jack Russell X Shiz Tsu was $795. It''s a MUTT. Why pay that kind of money for a mutt?? Anyway, if you advertise the dogs, I''d suggest putting them in for a price, not "free to a good home." People have been conditioned to expect that free things aren''t good or desirable. Even if you charge $50 each (which isn''t much if you''re including the cost of their first vaccination), people will still be more interested than if they''re free.

Good luck -- it''s a very exciting time for your parents. I''m counting down the days til we can expect to see kittens, think it''s around a week to 10 days or so.

 

[Ara Ann]

Date: 9/26/2009 6:39:37 AM
Author: justginger
That''s shocking. We''re currently taking care of a foster cat that is pregnant. She was picked up wandering the streets by a ranger, but when it came time to put her down at the pound, one of them noticed she was expecting (and she was only about 3 weeks along at that point). So they called our rescue organization and now we''re caring for her. There''s already a waiting list for her 5 kittens.


You should advertise the puppies now, so you can have a selection process for getting them into new homes. If you put if off, they''ll grow quickly -- less people will be interested and you''ll feel pushed for time.


You''d be surprised how much people will pay for a Pom cross. In Australia there are still pet shops that sell dogs and cats (disgusting, in my opinion) and their animals are OUTRAGEOUSLY priced. Someone decided that crosses are now nearly as fashionable as purebred animals. For example, a Jack Russell X Shiz Tsu was $795. It''s a MUTT. Why pay that kind of money for a mutt?? Anyway, if you advertise the dogs, I''d suggest putting them in for a price, not ''free to a good home.'' People have been conditioned to expect that free things aren''t good or desirable. Even if you charge $50 each (which isn''t much if you''re including the cost of their first vaccination), people will still be more interested than if they''re free.


Good luck -- it''s a very exciting time for your parents. I''m counting down the days til we can expect to see kittens, think it''s around a week to 10 days or so.

Thanks for the advice and hope the new kittens arrive safely!

About the pups (they will belong to my best friend''s parents, my parents have a kitty)... So far, they may already have 3 of the 5 spoken for! My friend said three of the workers at the vet office are each very serious about taking a pup! And they may keep one as well, which would only leave one up for adoption. And I know they''d find it a good home, they aren''t the kind to advertise a free animal...I am saddened to see how many people DO give pets away free...makes me wonder what happens to them!

About the kittens you are expecting, that reminded me of a ''birthing'' story! Years back, there was a stray and pregnant cat hanging around my sister''s house...my sister is a major cat lover and tried to tame her and wanted to make her an indoor cat...kitty had her first litter in the neighbor''s garage (we took one of those kittens) but she got pregnant again, before my sister could get her into the house! I helped with that second litter and OMG, that cat was running around as the kittens were being born! They were dropping out as she moved around the room! and the cat was HOWLING like a woman giving birth! I''ve never seen anything like that! Is that normal cat-in-labor behavior? Thankfully all the kittens were placed in good homes and my sister kept momma for several years...but I''ll never forget that experience!

 

[Ara Ann]

An update about the momma poochie...

Seems my friend''s parents have decided to keep momma pooch and foster the puppies at their home. They had returned her to the shelter (the shelter''s suggestion) until they decided how they wanted to proceed...momma pooch could have been kept at the shelter until after the pups were born and weaned, but sounds like she will have a home birth instead.

And they think she is Pom-Corgi mix. Corgis are great dogs, so it wouldn''t surprise me, after hearing about how sweet she is!


Hopefully her pups will be healthy and good too!

 

[decodelighted]

Awesome news. And I can''t tell you how much I want one. Corgi/Pom? SO CUTE. Gah! Too bad Tallulah enjoys being the only pup around here.

 

[Ara Ann]

Date: 9/29/2009 2:36:04 PM
Author: decodelighted
Awesome news. And I can''t tell you how much I want one. Corgi/Pom? SO CUTE. Gah! Too bad Tallulah enjoys being the only pup around here.

My spoiled rotten little Chihuahua Max is the same way...no other doggies allowed in our house!


I just hope ''Sophie''s'' pups are cute, still no idea about the father dog of course...hopefully they aren''t part Pit Bull, LOL!

 

[Ara Ann]

The puppies are here!

Four girls and a boy and momma is fine.


But, my friend''s parents didn''t end up keeping her at their home for the birth...after speaking with the shelter reps and the vet, they were told ''Sophie'' would need a C-section, since she is a smaller dog, carrying 5 pups and they had no idea how big they would be. The surgery charges would have fallen on her parents had they chosen to keep her and would have been at least $800.00...so the vet agreed to foster Sophie and the pups AND pay for almost all of the delivery and boarding fees! And my friend''s parents will still adopt Sophie! It was a win-win, all of the doggies will be well taken care of and once the pups are weaned, they will take Sophie home with them.


No idea what they look like yet, but I hope to see pics of them at some point! I LOVE puppies!

 

[iwannaprettyone]

Please come back with pictures, we''d love to see.

 

[ckrickett]

Date: 10/7/2009 9:37:08 AM
Author: iwannaprettyone
Please come back with pictures, we''d love to see.

I was just gonna ask the same thing!!!

 

[luv2sparkle]

me too!!!!!!! Can we adopt one? I dont know about not being valuable. Have you seen the prices for some mixes? It''s crazy!

 

[Ara Ann]

Not sure when I''ll get to see any pics...my friend isn''t sure when she can get over there to see the pups...but she''d BETTER take pics when she does go!

And three ARE spoken for already, the ladies at the vet do want them, whew...and my friend''s dad has give her instructions to ''work on'' her mother, HE wants a puppy too! LOL! Since my friend is the designated dog sitter, she''s not to keen on taking mom and pup if they go away without them.

They won''t know what mix the pups are though, since the father dog was MIA, ahem...just hope they are as sweet and cute as the mother!

I can''t wait to see pics myself!!!