I have belonged to the pug group in my area for a long time. Also helping out with the rescue. But this weekend I met my next dog.

This pug was at a Menonite puppymill in New York, used for breeding and done so every six months probably. Now, that she is 6 or 7 and unable to breed, the owner of that place was just going to shoot her and leave her to DIE in the woods.
What the heck??? How can people be so heartless. The dogs are considered LIVESTOCK and can be disposed of However they want.There was another place close to there with about 500 dogs.
Luckily a woman rescued the 2 pugs from there.
One of which will be a new member of our family this coming sunday. She cowers in fear...who knows what they did to her. The rescue had her all checked out medically and she is ready to go.
Her name was a number first, then the rescue called her Hannah. I would love something that would be something that could describe her situation...such as the name "HOPE" or something like that. I may just use it as a middle name...don't know. Anyway, please comment, and thanks for any ideas.

Ellen

PS) please don't buy an animal from a pet store

Diamant...it's swedish for "diamond", and it sounds like you've got yourself a real gem! I have always gotten my pets from the Humane Society or some other type of animal rescue program. My sons' dog came from the Humane Society, and my cat came from Helping Hands for Little Paws.

Margarette

Maybe Helen? How about Faith?
There are a lot of suggestions.

"Faith" would be ineresting as she's shown it!

I'm astounded that anyone still buys pets from a store when so many animals need a home.

I have a question. How are animals cared for in pet stores anyway? I imagine they are treated well, (Not abused, etc.) but do they ever let them out to play?

Only one of the pet stores by me even sells dogs and cats. All of the rest set up adoptions from the local shelters. I don't shop from the one that has dogs and cats.
All of them have small critters- Rabbits and ferrits are the biggest mammals you can find in a pet store around here.
Gwyd

I bought a dog from a pet store 13 years ago as a rescue. She was a sheepdog and was 4 months old and way too big for her cage. ( she should have sold much sooner when she was smaller ) She was obviously a puppymill dog as her markings were incorrect for a sheepdog and nobody would buy her. She was marked down several times and had a few weeks left until they disposed of her so I bought her to get her out of there.

I got the impression she was never out of that cage.

I was correct in my guessing she was a puppymill dog. She developed several health problems over the years and it cost my many thousands of dollars for medications and surgeries. I don't regret a bit of it. She had a very happy life and brought me much happiness.

The reason I bring this up is that I hated the name Kayla back then. This was before it was a popular name and I had never heard it before. that's the name that was on the cage and I promised myself I'd change it. I never did. Note to Ellen: Don't sweat the name much. Hannah is a cute name. Regardless I'm sure you'll be just as happy with your new pup as I was with Kayla.

Best,

Tim

I hope you all realize how good I'm being by not posting the names I'm thinking of.

When we bought our schnauzers, Holmes and Watson, we went to a professional breeder who specializes in schnauzers and Neapolitan mastiffs. We inspected the premises and looked at the puppies, as well as the dam. The sire was not available, since he lived elsewhere. The puppies were allowed to play outdoors in their back yard for several hours a day.

The most impressive part about the place we got them from was that when we called and asked how much the puppies were, they said, "Before we will allow you to have one of our dogs, you must come here and let us interview you." We had to agree to neuter the puppies and not to leave them outdoors all the time. We also had to agree to send a photo of them to the breeder each year, just to let them know that the dogs were allright.

I couldn't have asked for two better dogs.

Bill,

Your post reminds me of why I always buy from a reputable breeder. I also had to pass such a examination from the breeder the first time. All the dogs I got from them are top notch. Course anything furry and with a wet nose makes me happy. LOL

Best,

Tim

Bill, its nice to see that some breeders are taking the extra mile to make sure the pups are in good hands.
My dog just recently went through some surgery. Thousands of dollars, but worth every penny. He is truly like a family member to us. Just like a smaller, and furryier little brother. But since the surgery, Terry has not been able to jump as high as he used to. (The surgery was on his leg)
So I am in the process of making a step so he can jump on my bed at night, without waking me up. He will sit there and whine, (He doesn't bark in the house) until I get up, and lift him on the bed. But we love him very much.

Sorry, dogs from reputable breeders still take the place of dogs that could be rescued. Don't ease your conscience quite so easily. I understand the desire to have a specific breed, but when 8 MILLION dogs and cats are killed in shelters ever year, it's time to put aside our specific desires and do the right thing. To breed purebred animals during an epidemic like this is just not addressing the situation with the urgency it deserves, I feel.

Plus there are a lot of purebred rescue organizations out there.

Tim, if anything furry and with a wet nose makes you happy, please make the decision to never again buy from someone who is deliberately bringing new dogs into the world, whether he's doing it in a good way or not. Each of your breeder-bought dogs represents an animal being killed in the shelter, doesn't it?

Josh

And doesn't every McNugget you eat represent a Chicken being killed?

Every piece of paper you read represents a tree being killed

Every drug you take represents a human being dieing because they couldn't afford the live-saving drug they needed.

Every diamond you wear represents a maimed, raped and murdered child who died in order to get you jewelry.

Everytime you walk down your street or look outside your windows and don't see animals or animal waste all over the place represents many dogs, cats and other wildlife that were killed so humans could live in your area.

The sad fact is that every second of every day that we live here typing on our personal computers discussion magic relies on the hardships and death of other human beings, not to mention animals, plants and the environment.

They are just dogs, and regardless of how much you like dogs, they are still just animals.

Josh you make a good point. When I lost " Kayla" after 12 good years... it was only just over a year since I had also lost " Barkley". ( my other dog ) I had 3 different friends offer me their dogs. I did not have any desire to go through that loss again for a long, long time and instead went for a dog I'd see another 12 years from so I bought a puppy. Call me selfish but I chose the breed I love the most. Sheepdogs are not something you'll find at a shelter.

As I said you make a good point but using the same logic "Kayla" would have become one of those dogs that was put down if I had adopted a dog from the shelter instead. So how can I win???? Buy Kayla from the pet store and another dog dies......adopt another dog and Kayla dies?????? Life isn't fair. We each have to make our own decisions there. I can live with mine as I spend a lot of time and effort for the betterment of any animal. I'm the guy who took his nieces turtle to the vet because her mother wouldn't spend $25 on a vet visit when letting the turtle die and buying a new one for $8 was cheaper.

All my dogs are always fixed because as you point out there are far too many unwanted pets in the world these days.

If you will only adopt a pet and not purchase one then I will not argue with you there. Kudos to you for giving one of gods creatures a second chance at life.

Best,

Tim

Zoe is also a nice name.

SEVEN, I remember george mentioning it on seinfeld. or any other number you might like

Hi Tim,

You make good points as well. It's always a matter of just trying to do what feels right and making our best guesses as we go along.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go walk my dog (in the pouring rain. See the storm system over the Carolinas right now that's making national news? Well, picture me out in it with a 7 month old black lab puppy!)

Josh

I appreciate everyone's kind words and advice. And GREAT name choices. I have decided, to use ASHA (which means hope in Hindi). That's really where this dog was at.

And Bill--How were neo mastiffs?? We just saw regular ones at the dog show here...a giant pug basically. Neos are the same as FANG from Harry Potter. They look very cute.

Joshua--I too sometimes have feelings like yours about the whole breeding even if they are reputable, but I know there is a HUGE difference. I know there are so many dogs (and cats) out there that are homeless.

This particular story brought it to real prospective, and it felt my duty to bring her home to our family.

Here's something I found online about those operations.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/video/9163069/index.html

Thanks everyone! I will share a photo next week.

Have a good thanksgiving. Hug your pets and remember they are living creatures that deserve love and respect that so many people forget.

:)

Ellen