Looking for Yellow Lab Mix

Hi. I recently lost my 7 year old Yellow Lab to cancer. It was about
the most heart breaking thing my family and I have had to go through
and we decided not to get another dog. But since he's been gone,
there's a gaping hole on our lives and the house seems so empty.

I'm looking for a yellow lab mixed breed up to 3 years old. I live in
New Hampshire and am willing to travel 150 miles or so if necessary so
see the dog. I can give the dog a good, loving home and already have
everything I need. After having this last dog since he was a pup, I
would say that we are definitely dog people and would treat a new dog
as one of the family.

I've been looking at the shelters with little luck. Even if I find a
dog that looks good, they seldom return my phone calls or emails. I'm
hoping someone out here knows someone with a litter or a young dog
that needs a home. It would be much easier to do it this way than to
go through a shelter. I would like to avoid the pet stores and have
had some really bad luck with the amateur/hobby dog breeders.

Please send any leads to , as this email account no
longer works.

Thanks.

"Mike" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking for a yellow lab mixed breed up to 3 years old.

I've been looking at the shelters with little luck.
I would like to avoid the pet stores and have
had some really bad luck with the amateur/hobby dog breeders.

Very good idea to avoid the pet stores and the backyard breeders.

Have you checked at www.petfinder.com ?

What about going and visiting the shelters? It's a lot harder to ignore
someone standing right in front of you. Many shelters will also keep an eye
out for a type of dog if you impress them and they want to help you.

Anyone know if there's a lab rescue somewhere in New England?
--
~~Judy
Owned and entertained by Spenser - the best dog in the world.
http://home.epix.net/~jrussell

On Wed, 02 Jul 2003 23:24:54 GMT queenmother whittled these words:
"Mike" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking for a yellow lab mixed breed up to 3 years old.

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1828793
http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1807328
http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1800281
http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1830572

Anyone know if there's a lab rescue somewhere in New England?

http://www.labrescue.com/facts.html
http://www.nearr.com/

Thanks for the pointers. Some of those links are just the dogs I'm
looking for. I'm skeptical as to whether or not I'll be able to
actually get one, but I'll fill out a few applications to adopt now.

As for www.nearr.com, they are not excepting applications for the
month of July. Say they are flooded with applications. This is just
a very small example of what I've been going through.

Will keep you posted on my progress.

By the way, if anyone has tried to send email to , I
apologize if your message was kicked back. I had it blocked because
of spam problems. It is open again, so feel free to send an email.


wrote in message ...
On Wed, 02 Jul 2003 23:24:54 GMT queenmother whittled these words:
"Mike" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking for a yellow lab mixed breed up to 3 years old.

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1828793
http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1807328
http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1800281
http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1830572

Anyone know if there's a lab rescue somewhere in New England?

http://www.labrescue.com/facts.html
http://www.nearr.com/

Well, we got a beautiful lab pup and he's everything we had hoped for!

We had been dealing with rescue leagues that actually have buildings
and keep regular hours. They're wonderful to work with and were very
sympathetic over our situation. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a dog
that was a good fit for us. I still like to visit the humane society
folks as a volunteer to walk their dogs.

Then we started with the "private" shelters and "virtual" shelters.
This is when I really began to get discouraged. Some of these
shelters are run by real flakes who have no intention of adopting out
a dog. I've talked to people who have 6 or 12 dogs at home, declare
themselves as a non-profit, and have no intention of adopting out the
dog. I think they just want the tax write-offs.

Then there's the dogs who are in foster care. I found one lab mix who
seemed great but the so-called shelter would only let us foster him.
This means they can come along any time they want and take him back.
No thanks!

There were shelters who wanted to see our mortgage and tax statements.
I really have to draw the line here; it's not of their damn business!
Then there's the shelters that make you fill out these elaborate
appications and never bother getting back to you - I mean, how rude
and inconsiderate can you get? Some of these folks are severly
impaired socially and don't have a clue what common courtesy is.

I had given my vet and some friends as references. They had only
great things to say about me and my entire family. I live in a rural
area with a fenced in yard, crate, kennel and everything else a dog
needs. Our last dog was in the house most of the time so most of the
things outside went unused. We are experienced lab people who raised
our last dog from a pup until he died of cancer at 7 years old.

So to my surprise, my vet called and said she had gotten a few phone
calls asking for a reference and was wondering how we made out. I
told her that just when it seems like we may have a chance at getting
a dog, something falls through at the last minute. I also told her
that we have stopped using the private and virtual shelters because of
the application process. I'm also sensitive to the fact that her and
my friends value their time and really don't need the phone calls from
these shelters.

To my surprise, she suggested that we just go to a pet store and look
around! I told her about all the horror stories I've heard about pet
stores and over breeding and such. Her response was that this is
nonsense. Just the opposite. She has found that there is no
correlation between pet store dogs and health problems. She did warn
about the backyard breeders, though. My sister surprised me even
further by saying her vet, who has since retired, had told her the
same thing years ago.

So, last weekend we went to a pet store and there was one lab pup, a
male. When he saw me, he stuck his paw through the fence as if trying
to play with me. It was destiny and love at first sight! We bought
him on the spot and my family is thrilled!

Regards,
Mike

Mike wrote:
Well, we got a beautiful lab pup and he's everything we had hoped for!

First of all, let me say that I'm very glad that you found a pup
you like. And I'm also very sorry you had a bad experience with
rescue folks. (I'm one myself, and believe me, it's something that
has to be fit in around all the other 1,001 things in my life.
That's not an excuse, just something of an explanation.)

So to my surprise, my vet called and said she had gotten a few phone
calls asking for a reference and was wondering how we made out.
*snip*
To my surprise, she suggested that we just go to a pet store and look
around! I told her about all the horror stories I've heard about pet
stores and over breeding and such. Her response was that this is
nonsense. Just the opposite. She has found that there is no
correlation between pet store dogs and health problems. She did warn
about the backyard breeders, though. My sister surprised me even
further by saying her vet, who has since retired, had told her the
same thing years ago.

Well... I used to work in medical research, and I really like to
have hard data to back up my opinions on this subject. So I did a
search of the medical literature about it. Unfortunately there
is very little written in the scientific press about pet store
puppies, but here is what I did find:

--------

J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1992 Aug 1;201(3):471-4.


Morbidity and mortality in pups from pet stores and private sources: 968
cases (1987-1988).

Hird DW, Ruble RP, Reagor SG, Cronkhite PK, Johnson MW.

Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Veterinary
Medicine, University of California, Davis 95616.

Morbidity (greater than or equal to 1 disease condition) for pups sold
from 3 pet stores from January 1987 through December 1988 ranged from 54
to 68%. In 1 store, morbidity was higher for store pups, compared with
pups originating from private parties, for such disease conditions as
"kennel cough," diarrhea, and several species of gastrointestinal
parasites. In-store mortality ranged from 5 to 9.5% of pups arriving for
sale.

--------

Am J Public Health. 1987 Mar;77(3):345-6.


Intestinal parasites in pet store puppies in Atlanta.

Stehr-Green JK, Murray G, Schantz PM, Wahlquist SP.

We examined 143 pups from 14 Atlanta area pet stores for intestinal
parasites and reviewed deworming practices and information given to
customers. Seventy-four (52 per cent) of the pups had at least one
parasite including Giardia sp. (34 per cent), Toxocara canis (12 per
cent), and Isospora sp. (9 per cent). Eighty-eight per cent received some
form of anthelminthic treatment while at the store. Only six (43 per cent)
of the stores routinely informed clients of the need to continue deworming
procedures once the pup left the store.

--------
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1994 Jun 15;204(12):1906-13.


Source of acquisition as a risk factor for disease and death in pups.

Scarlett JM, Saidla JE, Pollock RV.

Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell
University, Ithaca, NY 14853.

Data were obtained and analyzed for 2,144 pups examined at 65 veterinary
hospitals in the northeastern United States to determine whether there
were significant differences in the frequency of disease and death among
pups acquired from private owners, Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals/pounds, breeders, or pet stores. All health problems reported
by owners and veterinarians in the first 2 weeks of ownership were
tabulated. The prevalence of serious disease among pups (resulting in
death, euthanasia, return, or extensive treatment) was 4% for all
sources and did not differ significantly between pet stores and other
sources. Pups from pet stores had more respiratory tract disease, but
fewer fleas and parasites of the intestinal tract. Data supplied by the
veterinarians indicated that the risk of intestinal tract diseases was
significantly (P or = 0.01) higher among pups from pet stores and
Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals/pounds, compared with
those from private owners. The prevalence of reported behavioral and
congenital problems did not differ among the 4 sources.

--------

Unfortunately all these studies only dealt with puppies in the
first few weeks after acquisition. There are, of course, numerous
inherited diseases that don't have their onset until adulthood,
and the ability of breeders to decrease their incidence by careful
selection of breeding stock is well-documented.

This is not to rain on your parade; I just thought I would give you
some facts. Good luck with your new baby; I'm sure he's adorable.

Dianne

"Mike" wrote in message
om...
Well, we got a beautiful lab pup and he's everything we had hoped for!

To my surprise, she suggested that we just go to a pet store and look
around! I told her about all the horror stories I've heard about pet
stores and over breeding and such. Her response was that this is
nonsense. Just the opposite. She has found that there is no
correlation between pet store dogs and health problems. She did warn
about the backyard breeders, though. My sister surprised me even
further by saying her vet, who has since retired, had told her the
same thing years ago.

So, last weekend we went to a pet store and there was one lab pup, a
male. When he saw me, he stuck his paw through the fence as if trying
to play with me. It was destiny and love at first sight! We bought
him on the spot and my family is thrilled!

Well, I hope you are one of the lucky ones. Unfortunately, that pup's
parents continue to live a life of hell, supported by people who buy the
puppies at pet stores. Congrats for contributing to that, instead of doing
the moral and ethical thing and either rescuing or buying from a responsible
breeder. I only hope you don't regret this decision in the future, because
you have a much, much larger risk of horrible health problems. I'm sure your
vet will appreciate the extra income if that comes to pass, though! No
wonder he recommends pet store dogs... think about it. What a shame.

Christy

Mike,
I am glad you found a pup and sorry for your loss. I too have
experienced problems with shelters and so called non-profit rescues,
people who work full time and have 13 foster dogs are not doing the
world any bigger favor than puppy mills, too bad people in this ng
seem to have so much time to gripe about your means of getting a dog
(all dogs deserve a chance)it is obvious you tried to use shelters
etc.
I hope you have nothing but good experiences with your puppy.
Michelle

Michelle wrote:


world any bigger favor than puppy mills, too bad people in this ng
seem to have so much time to gripe about your means of getting a dog
(all dogs deserve a chance)it is obvious you tried to use shelters

Michelle, if I looked for dogs from rescue and couldn't get one, I
wouldn't run to the nearest pet store and buy one. I would carefully
research breeders and pick the most ethical and responsible one I could
find. I am sorry he took the easy way out and lined the pockets of some
despicable people who treat dogs with no more regard than they do livestock.

I really hope that his puppy turns out to be fine. I for one would not
leave that to chance, and would give my puppy the greatest probability
of being even tempered and healthy.

Suja

I wouldn't want to show anyone my tax records either,

I admit that the tax record thing seemed somewhat over the top. Is that normal?
Janet

//Dear Artemesia! Poetry's a sna
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