Dogs Outside

[Boondox]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If I did not want their companionship I would have never brought them home )</font>

That's the hallmark of a truly compassionate man! Well said! Tuppence, my 3y/o *****, sleeps under the covers with us except in the warm months. Glenfiddich sleeps on top of our feet. Molson sleeps at my side of the bed and warns the cats away till he falls asleep. Tetley is sometimes next to Molson, but sometimes he sleeps on the spare bed in the guest room. Just as well since he snores like a chainsaw! And the cats sleep on our pillows and purr.

Can't imagine life any other way!

Pete

 

[chim]

Our "flat-coated retriever", as the tag at the humane shelter identified him, gets a Winter coat that makes him look like a bear. He spends all his time outside. When he runs up to me and I rub his coat, you can feel how warm his skin is. I've tried different methods of making life better for him. I had a flap for the door to his house, and he ripped it off. I got straw for bedding, only to find him lying outside on the snow with frost on his hair. He runs through our creek, almost regardless of weather. When the temps are below freezing, I see that he gets fresh water at least two times every day.

When I was a (town) kid, the only pets allowed in the house were goldfish. Wifey was a farm girl, and they subscribed to the "people inside / animals outside (or in the barn)" notion. Both of us were taught that animals were to be taken proper care of. Just what that is will differ from person to person. As individuals, we have varying ideas of what's OK in our relationships with our pets. I wash my hands between roughhousing with my dog and eating a burger. I wanna puke when I see a person sharing an ice cream cone with Fido............................chim

 

[fractal]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Come to think of it, a zealot drove us into rescue work in the first place. We had applied for a golden from a well-known and exceptionally well-funded rescue organization out of Boston. They sent a representative up for a home visit and found us perfect in every way...save one. We were not given a dog because we had no fenced yard.)</font>

Similar thing happened here. Daughters rabbit died - some nasty mosquito born rabbit virus. We saw a local rescue operation "bunns" at a local park and gave them a call. They too made a house call and saw the outdoor cage. Nice heavy guage wire in redwood frame cage on the front porch, nicely protected from the weather. Lady said "no fence, no rabbit". We don't have as many acres as you but fencing the yard was out of the question.

Wife went down to pet store and bought a rabbit for less then their "adoption fee". 3 years later and he is quite happy in that cage.

Guess many animal rescue societies like rescuing animals more than they like placing them /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Next thing they will excpect you to bring your cows/horses/goats inside on a hot day.....geeesh........

 

[TresCrows]

Well, going out on a limb but I do understand the fence for dogs unless you are way out cuz dogs roam, they become pests to the neighbors and they get run over which is not healthy for the dog or the poor person in the car who hits the dog by accident. A rabbit--and a fence-huh?---Okkkkkkkk. J

 

[cmsedore]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Come to think of it, a zealot drove us into rescue work in the first place. We had applied for a golden from a well-known and exceptionally well-funded rescue organization out of Boston. They sent a representative up for a home visit and found us perfect in every way...save one. We were not given a dog because we had no fenced yard. We have 155 acres at the end of a dirt road. Our land is surrounded by 3500 acres of state forest. We have no year-round neighbors. But we didn't have a fenced yard so we did not qualify! )</font>

I've run into this as well. In my neck of the woods (our ~160 acres of field and woods, anyway), the fence would be buried in snow for 4 months of the year, and would have to be 6-8' tall to keep a dog from stepping over it. My house would like like a prison yard. Kind of makes the whole idea a joke.

I refuse to deal with home inspection/fenced yard folks.

-Chris

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I'm just glad my girls (black lab and golden retriever) let me stay in the house with them! They have me very well trained.

 

[cstocks]

Yep, like the puppy I ran over in my pickup at sixty mph on a two lane highway yesterday. The pup and some other dogs were playing on the shoulder when all of a sudden the pup darted out in front of a truck coming my way. It managed to dodge the other truck but ran straight out in front of my truck. It all happened so fast there was nothing I could do about it but run over it. I was pulling my 20 ft. trailer and could not risk jack knifing or losing control by swerving and braking. As I passed I looked back in my mirror in hopes of seeing it run on across the road but that was not what I saw. It made me sick that I had hit it but it was unavoidable on my part. About a hundred yards down the road two teenage girls were walking down the shoulder and saw it happen. I saw their hands raise up to their faces in horror and saw the looks on their faces as I passed by. I don't know if it was their dog but I was sorry it happened and sorry they had to see it. Loose dogs and busy highways are not a good mix and folks who let their dogs run loose near busy roadways should expect the worst.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It wasn't fair of that owner to make you have to walk around with those feelings. That's awful. Not even to mention the poor dog, and the girls.

 

[bgott]

I bet all those animals play he11 on the love life! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif