Mennonite... Puppy Mills?

[Coldwinterskies]

My kids have only known older dogs; when Finn is gone, they will need a puppy. Their whole memories of our pets are of sickly or older dogs not too interested in the invaders who took over their house. They need a puppy, and I'd like another Jack Russell like Nellie. But I am terrified of breeders these days. No idea where to even start to find one that isn't skeevy.

It's not at all uncommon for shelters to end up receiving Mama dogs with litters of puppies, so when you decide you want another dog I would encourage you to try looking at a few shelters for a JRT type pup before going to a breeder.

I would also encourage you to consider adopting a young adult JRT. Plenty of JRTs end up in shelters as young adults because people have gotten tired of them after the puppyhood novelty wore off. In fact, I think Jack Russells are probably more likely than the average dog to end up at a shelter because it can be so hard to handle their behavior/energy level if you are not well informed about their quirks ahead of time.

I adopted both of my dogs as young adults from a shelter. One of them was 1 year old and one was 2 years old. They were both plenty energetic at that age, and easier to train on things like housebreaking since they already had mature bladders. The 1 year old (who I just adopted in December) is still so extremely, EXTREMELY energetic and playful that even doggie daycare was not enough to wear him out. :)

[Palimpsest]

That is really disappointing about Robin being a scammer. I guess those residual flows have stopped.

I am on the last of my three dogs- Max, 14, was put down 2 years ago. Nelliebelle (my beloved namesake and the best damn dog ever. Period.), 17, was put down last summer. Both of them were just so old and full of big and little dog old age issues that there was no fixing it.

Old Finnegan (15 in August) is still bopping along (poor fellow is proof Corgis and basset hounds should not date) but he has horrible gas due to age and an intestine that was surgically shortened years ago after he ate a corn cob. My dogs ate nothing but homemade raw food until the kids came along a few years ago. Finn still loves a good spinach salad but I have him on a grain free, locally made single protein food now because of the horror of his gas attacks.

My kids have only known older dogs; when Finn is gone, they will need a puppy. Their whole memories of our pets are of sickly or older dogs not too interested in the invaders who took over their house. They need a puppy, and I'd like another Jack Russell like Nellie. But I am terrified of breeders these days. No idea where to even start to find one that isn't skeevy.

Nelliebelle, I do know you want a puppy, but Lucy rather jumped off this page at me. :lol: russellrescue.com/available-terriers/#

Note to the uninitiated: Russell Rescue, Inc. is probably one of those rescues that are labeled as being far too picky, but a lot will depend on the local adoption volunteer. I used to own a Jack Russell too and they are the best. They are also very intelligent and energetic little dogs, who love to work. Rescue very much prefers to place them in homes experienced with the breed. I know I couldn't cope with a JRT's energy level and exercise needs these days, much though I miss my girl!

[Palimpsest]

The situation for dogs in Puerto Rico is pretty grim, so I would not say that in itself is a bad thing at all.

There is a beach in Puerto Rico that is called "Dead Dog Beach" because that's where a lot of people dump their unwanted dogs, and evil people will go to that beach to torture and kill the poor helpless dogs. :cry: Here are some articles that talk about rescuers who are trying to help the dogs at Dead Dog Beach:

http://nypost.com/2014/08/24/hundreds-o ... erto-rico/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/nyreg ... scuer.html

There are a number of rescue organizations that try to help "Satos" (the PR word for street dog) by caring for them and then sending them to the mainland USA where they have a better chance of adoption. A lot of these organizations actively seek tourists who are visiting Puerto Rico who will agree to let a rescued dog travel under your name on the plane trip home so they can send the dogs to a mainland rescue less expensively than shipping it independently.

Just a couple of them:

http://saveasato.org

http://www.thesatoproject.org

Yes, I do know about the Satos, but thanks for the info anyway. :D Indeed, my first reaction when hearing that rumor was, so what's the problem?

But I should clarify. The rumor I heard was that the demand for very small breeds, and especially for very small breed puppies, vastly outstrips the numbers available. So NSAL was being accused of actively encouraging the breeding of specific tiny breeds in PR and buying the litters to bring to the mainland. As I said, I have absolutely no proof of this and NSAL is not in my state. I don't want to cast aspersions on their name wrongly.

However, the rumor did make me suspicious because of this background: When one person I know put in a request for a Boston Terrier puppy at NSAL, it was filled very quickly. Too quickly? An out of state adoption, BTW. I agreed to be a reference for her, but no-one from NSAL called me to check. Then, all this was several years ago, another person I knew (co-worker who I did not consider a responsible dog owner) "always" adopted her Chihuahuas from there and kept recommending NSAL to others. Again, out of state adoptions. To my knowledge, 2 of her Chihuahuas came to sticky ends. One had apparently died in a hot car before I knew her. The other hung itself by the leash in a "freak accident." She was soooo upset about Rosie for at least a day. Then she just went down to NSAL over the weekend and picked up a new Chi. She named that one Rosie too. :|

[PennySycamore]

Nelliebelle, I am sorry about your two elderly dogs. I lost my elderly terrier, Lucy, to renal failure on Valentine's Day. She was 16. I do love Jack Russells. We had one many years ago and my brother just lost his a few months before Lucy died. My brother's JRT didn't even relax when he was asleep.

Palimpsest, I hope the kidney diet keeps working for your dog. There is or was a yahoo group for parents of dogs with kidney failure. I should have subscribed. Lucy did stay relatively healthy for about 3 or 4 years though. Her decline in kidney function was precipitous.

ETA: I saw that Burt Ward on an episode of Dog Whisperer once. I think that says enough.

[Walking Cat Bed]

It's not at all uncommon for shelters to end up receiving Mama dogs with litters of puppies, so when you decide you want another dog I would encourage you to try looking at a few shelters for a JRT type pup before going to a breeder.

I would also encourage you to consider adopting a young adult JRT. Plenty of JRTs end up in shelters as young adults because people have gotten tired of them after the puppyhood novelty wore off. In fact, I think Jack Russells are probably more likely than the average dog to end up at a shelter because it can be so hard to handle their behavior/energy level if you are not well informed about their quirks ahead of time.

I adopted both of my dogs as young adults from a shelter. One of them was 1 year old and one was 2 years old. They were both plenty energetic at that age, and easier to train on things like housebreaking since they already had mature bladders. The 1 year old (who I just adopted in December) is still so extremely, EXTREMELY energetic and playful that even doggie daycare was not enough to wear him out. :)

The local SPCA gets pregnant/just given birth mama dogs pretty frequently. They nearly ALWAYS have puppies available for adoption, as soon as the puppies are old enough for spaying/neutering and are healthy. It's the same for kittens, which is how I adopted my Tessie -- she was being fostered and socialized, and I took her home a few days after she was spayed. (They also welcome visitors to play with/snuggle any adoptable animals, since they only have so much time to spend with them, and prefer that to college students adopting animals they can't take care of.) Puppies at a shelter doesn't mean that shelter is corrupt, often it means that the shelter takes in mamas.

And I'll probably go for a year-old or older dog, honestly, for exactly your reasons -- accidents are less frequent, training's still fairly easy, and the puppyness is still there.

[Maggie Mae]

I really encourage people to give shelters a chance and try inquiring at several shelters about adopting a certain breed before just automatically going to a breeder to buy a puppy. Just about every popular breed can be found at a shelter.

Some shelters will even offer to take down your name and call you when they get a dog of that breed, but even if they don't do that, you can check the "Available Dogs" website for several shelters for a few weeks and there is a good chance you can find a dog you like.

Yes, almost all shelters will end up with a lot of pit bulls because sadly irresponsible people love breeding pit bulls and then dumping the poor creatures at shelters. :cry: However, I have two poodle mixes that both came from my local shelter. My local shelter doesn't always have poodles available at any given time, but since poodles are popular dogs, homeless poodles and poodle do show up if you just watch the incoming dogs for a few weeks.

I really want a shelter dog, but I can't risk a grown dog with my parrot. With a puppy, we can train it to understand that the cat and birds are also pets. And there will be a period where the bird is bigger, which I think will be helpful.

[Palimpsest]

Nelliebelle, I am sorry about your two elderly dogs. I lost my elderly terrier, Lucy, to renal failure on Valentine's Day. She was 16. I do love Jack Russells. We had one many years ago and my brother just lost his a few months before Lucy died. My brother's JRT didn't even relax when he was asleep.

Palimpsest, I hope the kidney diet keeps working for your dog. There is or was a yahoo group for parents of dogs with kidney failure. I should have subscribed. Lucy did stay relatively healthy for about 3 or 4 years though. Her decline in kidney function was precipitous.

ETA: I saw that Burt Ward on an episode of Dog Whisperer once. I think that says enough.

Thanks so much for the yahoo group recommendation, Penny. I'll look for it. Miss P seems to be doing OK on the kidney diet. She likes it, has perked up a bit, and has gained a couple of pounds. We caught it early. OTOH, her blood work indicates that her kidney function is going down a bit faster than the vet would like. She has other health problems too - heart and bad arthritis. I surprised she doesn't rattle with all the pills she takes! Our goal for her is just to keep her happy and comfortable as long as possible.

And ITA on the Dog Whisperer.