The end of an era

[basquesteve]

Thank you all I am sorry to be a 68 year old retired Artillery cry baby Captain to day has been weird no getting up at 5 .30am for her pee and scratch and the first time after 4 years going into the local bar after always having to sit and drink outside We have found a good home for many of dog items and a fortnights food throwing away stain carpets etc Yes sometime in the future we will look after another dog probably an older one from the SPA rather than puppies


Is embarrassing me 15 years ago Again thanks for your kind words

[mysty]

We all cry when it happens.
Nothing wrong with that

[Blaze]

They're beautiful, such affectionate little dogs (my brother had one called Beatrice). They take up such a huge place in your heart...

[basquesteve]

Its was a long day yesterday I drove 1500 kilometres there and back 14 hours on the motorways, almost as long as a couple of my bus shifts 25 years back
Bearn to Châteauneuf-du-Pape plus but now the proud owner of two male Teckels wired haired dachshund puppies total cost puppies food fuel motor way costs beds collars etc 2,000 euros I will let you know of our experiences of trying to adopt a dog its terrible and a waste of time

[hughnique]

I've heard tell of people paying shedloads for a rescue dog, especially a young one, you would think that they would be grateful to rehome them, but then, I suppose, costs are incurred, and some people can't be relied upon to give a fair donation. As for our canine friend, we take each day as it comes, 4 years ago she was given 2 years to live as she had an aggressive tumour removed, which turned out to be skin cancer, but still going along, 10 years old in January. Now she has a bit of incontinence and her joints are giving her a bit of stick, tablets and supplements control those items as far as we know. But she will be the last, we are getting up the ladder ourselves and we have always had Dobermans, with the exception of a staffy cross we came here with, he done 16 years so quite well, not so lucky with the Dobes though a bitch at 2 years, burst uterus and our big fella, 50kg and with a head like a shed, he went at 6 with the old Dobie curse DCM, really does break your heart. I don't think the breeders help, most just in it for the money, not interested in breeding out inherent faults, I had our current bitch speyed as I had reservations selling pups to anyone French just to chain them up to a post for a guard dog, they don't seem to have the same affection as us brits do towards their animal mates.

[Spardo]

I can re-assure you [mention]hughnique[/mention] that most of the hundreds of French families who I have delivered rescue dogs to, majority Dobies, have been every bit as caring of their animals as any other nationality. I hated going to breeders to collect, mainly puppied out females, but then I thought that at least they were now going to have a decent end of life, and mainly first, family life. My latest rescue, Noubia, is a prime example. She has had an awful life during and after her abandonment by a breeder in southern Spain. She is gradually re-gaining confidence after at first terrified of going into a car, and of leaving the garden. She was only put back on the adoption register after her first French family had a sudden and catastrophic family event.

As to costs, I think the adoption cost from PAD, the Dobermann association, are around €250 to €300, plus any final delivery charges, and Phoenix in the Dordogne, have always made no charge but instead an estimate of the costs incurred in their keep to date and expected donations to equal or exceed that.

I may be wrong [mention]basquesteve[/mention] but it sounds like, with a cost like that, you have adopted, not rescue dogs, but puppies from a breeder. Not something I have ever done, but I wish you well with them and look forward to your further reports on them.

[Blaze]

Spardo is right [mention]basquesteve[/mention] - rescue services are more likely to charge about 250 - 300€ per dog to cover vaccination, sterlisation etc. The amount you paid is far too over the top for a rescue service. Still, your two dachsies are lucky to have found a good home.

Our 2 Aussies are 15 and 13 1/2 and we are dreading the day of their departure. They're both so active (particularly around meal times) it's hard to believe they really are their ages. But when it happens, our first port of call will be the SPA and a local rescue service. We have always found dogs and cats that need a home and have never gone to a breeder. It's heart-breaking to see the number of animals desperately needing a home - they aren't all abandoned or ill treated, nor do they all have behavioural problems. An owner dies, or moves into a flat where dogs are not allowed ...

We make the most of every day our two monsters are with us ...

[Pathca]

There are issues in the UK with adopting pets from rescues,people are having to meet a lot of criteria to even be considered,therefore an awful lot are rescuing now from Europe

[Sparkle]

[mention]basquesteve[/mention] do post some photos when you can.

[Spardo]

There are issues in the UK with adopting pets from rescues,people are having to meet a lot of criteria to even be considered,therefore an awful lot are rescuing now from Europe

Really? Do you mean that the rescue associations, like Dogs' Trust and Greyhound Gap etc., are too strict in their conditions? I do remember, because I really wanted to adopt another rescue Greyhound years ago, that Nettie told me sadly that GG do not allow them to go abroad.

In 11 years of working with Dobermanns I don't know of a single case where one was adopted to the UK, a few have gone there subsequently with their returning owners though. Are they classed as 'dangerous' in the UK as they are in Spain, but not in France or Portugal? Hence my frequent forays south of the border in my active days.