[SadieAnn]

Hey guys! So, I posted in my introductory thread (back in April, oops) that we're thinking of getting a pit bull, maybe next summer. We've had them before (Sadie Ann being our first and she was a one in a million dog).

I've been mentioning the idea to my husband about not going the puppy/breeder route, but instead looking for a shelter/rescue. Looking on Petfinder, there is a place about 90 minutes away from us that seems like a nice one to check out and there are a couple females we're interested in. (now granted, who knows if they'd even be there when we're ready)

Would you drive up there to check the place out and meet dogs, even if you weren't planning on adopting one at this time?

I follow some pit pull pages on FB and I'm a bit leery at times b/c a couple of them don't seem like they evaluate the dogs they get in, they just rush out and get them from places that are going to put them down--and I know there are times that being put down is the best thing for them.

The place I'm looking at doesn't strike me as one of those that does that. The adoption application is pretty long and involved, so they don't let just any ole person take one of their dogs.

Just wondered if there are specific things that we should look for in a rescue/shelter?

 

[Cain's Mom]

Before we got Cain we were at our local humane society every weekend. We wanted to find the right dog for us and weren't going to find the first cute dog and snatch it up. We didn't end up going through the humane society but if you see some you like and would like to see and are willing to make the drive to look and meet the dogs, go ahead. It was months before we finally decided. Do you have any another dogs? If you go through a shelter it will be more unlikely you are getting a pure bred APBT but more likely a mix, but mixes can still show signs of dog aggression so if you do find one you like, you should do a meet and greet before just bringing a new dog home. And even if they do fine still be prepared for one day them not getting along.

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[SadieAnn]

Yeah, I definitely don't want to just see a cute one and run w/it. We would get a female, so I looked around on the website's female page, going thru the bio's not just looking at the pics, for ones that are fine w/cats, since we have three. We do have a Cavalier, but she is getting up there in years, w/health problems, and she's overly submissive.

Looked more on the info pages and it says they're all volunteer/foster, so they don't have a specific facility, the dogs are all in foster homes working on training until they get adopted. They do meet & greet's the first Saturday of every month at the local Petco, so that would be nice to go to sometime I think. Husband may not think it's such a good idea b/c I'm sure he's convinced I'd throw a fit until we came home w/the one I like. It also says they do a home visit at your home before adoption.

 

[Cain's Mom]

Yeah, I definitely don't want to just see a cute one and run w/it. We would get a female, so I looked around on the website's female page, going thru the bio's not just looking at the pics, for ones that are fine w/cats, since we have three. We do have a Cavalier, but she is getting up there in years, w/health problems, and she's overly submissive.

Looked more on the info pages and it says they're all volunteer/foster, so they don't have a specific facility, the dogs are all in foster homes working on training until they get adopted. They do meet & greet's the first Saturday of every month at the local Petco, so that would be nice to go to sometime I think. Husband may not think it's such a good idea b/c I'm sure he's convinced I'd throw a fit until we came home w/the one I like. It also says they do a home visit at your home before adoption.

If they're in foster homes you could always see of you could speak with the foster. You can ask any and all questions that way and they can tell you more about behavior etc.

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[SadieAnn]

That's true, good advice, thanks!

 

[redog]

Were are you located? There's many tricks to finding good dogs at the shelter. I can tell you this, the more you show your face, the more willing they are to help you out. Ask what days the county brings in strays and don't focus on only apbt's. they tend to think you're up to no good. Let them think you're looking for a dog that fits your lifestyle.(cough cough apbt's) Have your application filled out and on record so when the right one shows up you don't have to wait and maybe have someone else get priority. Be ready for the sneaky questions and always beware of the volunteers. They're mostly all crazy and think they were sent by god to save every dog in the world and never good at judging people accurately

 

[Just Tap Pits]

I second dave. I got lucky with my rescue mutt and got a call for him. Check for a rescue, the animal control, shelters, even craigslist and hoobly may have something.

 

[GoingPostal]

You just have to look into each rescues/shelter, their policies and go ahead and fill out an app so you know if you are approved or not. Just like breeders not all rescues are reputable and some are downright nuts. When we were looking for dog #2 we filled out a lot of apps and got info on a few different dogs and ended up finding a male on petfinder who was at a shelter. Very good pit bull knowledgeable shelter-would adopt from them again in a heartbeat but there was a few I talked to that it didn't matter how great the dogs they had sounded I didn't want to deal with them.

Rescues with fosters should know the dog better but again depends on the people involved. We got one dog from craiglist and two from shelters, last one was a foster fail.

 

[SadieAnn]

Thanks for the continued advice guys, it's appreciated! I'm in NW Iowa. This is the place I've been looking at Females - There is a different shelter not too far from here that I adopted a kitty from last November. I correspond w/the woman who runs it now and again to update her on how the kitty is doing. They have a female pit bull currently, and she could very well still be there when we're ready. The cat we got had been there for 2 1/2 years. There are some Humane Societies not too far away we could check too. I don't know how knowledgeable they'd be about the breed, as far as evaluating them. I thought maybe a breed specific one would be more so, but maybe not?