On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:57:58 -0400, Shari wrote:

How long do they have to find homes before they are taken off by the
euth tech?

Dakota came from a no-kill shelter but Gypsy Rose came from a regular
county shelter and had been there for a week when I adopted her...

Animals are so innocent. They are so totally at our mercy and we let
them down, and when they die it's usually the fault of a human.
...
How often do adult dogs get adopted? Do most people go for the puppies
or do you get a fair amount of folks adopting dogs 6 months and older?

There are about 90 runs/cages. Whatever it takes, the shelter starts
each day with 20 empty runs/cages. There are very few weekdays without
euthanasia. Sometimes, adoptable dogs have to go into an isolated area,
because 20 empty runs/cages weren't enough that day. A dog gets to stay
until it gets sick or the shelter runs out of space.

Dakota and Gypsy Rose are two fortunate dogs. I am so happy you've loved
them so much. I often feel fortunate because of the dogs I meet. A 4.5
year-old female Great Pyrenees, Nea, was turned in by her owner this
morning, because he no longer has time for her. I can tell by her
behavior that she has been very mistreated. She ducks, when my hand gets
near her head, and she watches my hands to see if I'm about to hit her.
She is free of burs, but is very dirty. Her collar had begun to grow
into her neck. I'll be giving her a bath tomorrow, if I have the energy
after work.

Tomorrow is going to be a very hard day. A pit bull, Popi, is going to
be killed. His only fault is being terrified, after being chained
outside with no food, water or shelter. I got to touch him, with a
finger tip, for the first time today. I could probably pet him, in
another day or two. That doesn't sound like much, until you know he had
to be handled with a control stick. He is not actually vicious: merely
insecure.

So, I agree, animals are so innocent.

Not all puppies get adopted, of course, but the demand for puppies is
far greater than for adult dogs. Many of the ~40% adopted dogs are
adults. Sometimes a dog gets adopted because it looks like someone's
previous dog; sometimes because it is already fixed and therefore cost
only $20. Otherwise, a dog has to have something really noteworthy going
for it.

The breed with the least potential for adoption seems to be the Chow
Chow, my favorite breed. Most Chow Chow mixed puppies get shunned; all
because of the erroneous bad reputation Chow Chows have. Like most
breeds, Chow Chows are whatever their owner makes of them, or fails to
make of them.

Well, enough rambling.


________________________
Every dog is an individual, as is their guardian: no single training method works for all.