Adults

Note about adopting adults, please read. Recently I placed a beautiful young adult female in a home I thought would ideal.

The lady had a good vet reference, though it had been a few years since her old dog passed away. We talked for a long time and I explained that adults would need lots of time and love to help them adjust to their new home. They will need housetraining because a breeder's dogs are used to living a different life than the life of a dog who has been raised as a pet from puppyhood. They live as part of a group and are used to doing everything together, thus do not know what to do when they are in a new home. The woman assured me she understood this and had all the time in the world to work with her just as if she was a new puppy. She assured me she could deal with accidents and understood she had to start with the basics. She was also told this dog would need lead training as she was used to a safely fenced yard. Many of my dogs are lead trained , but not all. This was a gentle loving dog who had played with two family's children when they came together for their new puppies. They were amazed at the dogs gentle and loving dispositions as they interacted with all the kids and enjoyed playing. This is hard for me to even talk about without breaking down in tears again. The nightmare that followed still brings me great pain and is hard to write. My beautiful girl was abused by this woman . She called me a few days later screaming that the dog was running through the house wildly as if possessed and had accidents on her carpet. She had tried to drag the frightened dog on the leash while screaming at her and injured her trachea. The woman screamed like a nut that she was turning the dog loose and I should come find the ********* dog. You cant imagine my terror as we raced to her home only to find the dog gone and the lady screaming like a lunatic. I gave that dog a **** good licking I showed her.

I feared she had got to the highway or into the woods and was dead or would die. Thank God, we found her in a yard down the road. She was lying exhausted and unresponsive to us as if in shock. Upon examining her more closely we found swellings and bruising over her back and hip area . We noticed her coughing from the injured trachea when you touched her throat. She did not even appear to recognize me. She just stared blankly. Anyway, she is all better now and physically recovered, I am not sure about emotional scars. I know I sure have them. I am terrified everytime I think of what happened to her and my heart is just broken. She finally has returned to her loving self and is playing again. When her dark trusting eyes look into mine You cant imagine the pain I feel at my mistake in placing her with this woman. I tell her how sorry I am. I don't think I could ever try placing her again. As a breeder the only way to continue is to place some retired or young adults from time to time. If you didnt , you would soon have more dogs than you could care for. Up until now they have all worked out well and the dogs loved and spoiled in their new homes. If you inquire about an adult, please dont do it because you expect it will be no work like a puppy. As someone who has rescued Shih tzu as old as 9, I can tell you they do bond deeply to their new owners. All they ask is for love and patience and they have so much love to give once you have their trust. The 9 year old boy I rescued bonded to me as if he had been born here. You have to be realistic when adopting an adult. They do not cost the money a puppy does, but will need housetraining as if they were a puppy and lots of love to help them adjust. Please inquire only if you seriously can give an adult the same time, patience and gentle training that you would give a puppy. They have a lot of love to give the right people.