Every once in a while we have this urge to adopt a dog, and then after talking about it, it all subsides. On the face of it, the reasons for not having a pet seem all practical. However, deep inside, at least as far as I am concerned, I have this huge fear of losing the pet.
I had a cat when I was in my mid teens and had loved it to bits. She (can't say it) was so loyal and attached to us that unless one of the family members fed her and patted her while she was having her meal, she wouldn't touch it in spite of being ravenously hungry. One day she just vanished and a few days later we found her body with a wound to her head.
Then I have heard these heart breaking stories about having to put the pet down because of some terminal illness. That will be too much for me to bear. Hopefully, I will get over this someday and go for a Dog. They add so much to your life.
We have been to the dog shelter in Nyon a few times and come back totally moved. Its so difficult to look away from those dogs who keep looking at you so longingly.
I think all pet owners can sympathise with how you feel Nyonais. We adopt our pets knowing that it is in the nature of things that we will probably outlive them. When the time comes to say good-bye, it hurts deeply, and no matter how often we go through the experience of losing a dearly beloved animal, the pain is just as intense. But we also remember the joy of sharing our lives with our animals, from whom we can learn so much. They ask for so little, but give us so much. I sincerely hope that one day you will be able to share the obvious love you have for them with a very special being who will be waiting just for you. Take care.
Quick question about the process of adopting a cat (I've done a search and haven't found an answer to the question, but sorry if I've missed something).
We've filled out a questionnaire to adopt a cat from a rescue centre an hour or so away, and have been asked to make an appointment to visit him when we're back from holiday (which will be about a month from now). All being well when we visit, and if he likes us, do we get to take him home with us then? Or is the first visit just to see how we all get on? If the latter, I'd rather visit him before we go away so we can collect him once back!
When we adopted in the UK, Cats Protection did a home check before we were allowed to have them. Again, if that's standard, I see no point in delaying that either.
I can email the centre to ask, but if it's a stupidly obvious answer I'd rather find out first than ask them something daft.
Do contact the rescue and ask what their procedure is - not a daft question at all. Each rescue follows it's own policies, so we would just be guessing.
Wearing my rescue volunteer hat:
I am always impressed when a potential adopter asks these kinds of questions. Showing that one is thinking through the details is a sign of a responsible owner, in my book.
last year I have relocated to ZH from Abu Dhabi and brought with me my 2 cats (Mimi and Lucky) everything was going ok until we moved to a new appartment in ZH where apparantly Lucky is unhappy, she is constantly attacking Mimi and urinating out of the box as protest to something we dont know......this situation led to making Mimi unhappy as well because she is constantly being chased and also a stressful situation for me and my wife as well, so we decided that the best solution is to find a new home for lucky where hopefully she can be happy and everbody else as well, Lucky is a special cat, I rescued her 7 years back from the street in Abu Dhabi where I used to live, and she is lucky to be alive coz I found her the last minute, she had a kind of a terrible trauma which made her "Deaf".
I really feel very sorry for posting this but the situation is not getting easy here for all of us (me, my wife and an 8 months old daughter), but sometimes we run out of choices,
If any one is looking to adopt a cat please PM me.
(I didnt find a thread dedicated to posting pets for adoption, am I at the right place here??)
Thanks Meloncollie - I did wonder if it was a shelter-by-shelter decision. Sadly they think the cat needs to be rehomed more urgently, and they can't wait until we get back from our vacation. (Sad for us, I mean, obviously the cat's needs come first!) Still, I'm sure the right cat will come along.
Isak - when our old cat became unhappy, our vet referred us to a behaviourist who works with his practice. In the end we didn't see her, as we worked out some ways of helping Maud feel more secure, but if you want to keep Lucky then that might be an option? Also, have you tried the plug-in Feliway dispensers? They can help to calm nervous cats.
Hi Maudethecat, thank you for your input. We have used the diffuser you mentioned plus the spray. I will not start to list all the things we have tried, such as Bach Flower Therapy drops, several toilettes in different places throughout the house, several feel good actions, giving her intense attention etc. I did fail to mention that Lucky is not only deaf but sighlty mentally disturbed which must have been from the accident she had. As I mentioned we found her on the street in a very bad state, took her to the vet who was able to save her and then we obviously adopted her as putting her back on the street was no option. Therefore she does not function like a normal cat. One never knows as one day something seems to be like this and the other day different. There is only one thing we are sure of. Cats who become deaf either become very frightend or they become dominant. Lucky became dominant. The moment she was better she started to attack our cat which we already had before, Mimi. But since moving to Switzerland, the attacks have gotten worse and the peeing everywhere has started plus the we call it bow wow...she miaus loud and strangly (obvisously because she is deaf). Our lack of sleep in the first 3 months with our newborn was only to 50% due to our baby, the rest was caused by her. There are days where it is better and others where it is worse. We are very caring animal lovers and we take our responability seriously but she really has been pushing us to our limits. Further we feel terrible that our other cat Mimi who is on permanent medication due to a therioid problem is always under stress by her. That is why we posted our message as a solution for either one of them would help...
Me and my husband have decided to adopt a dog or a puppy. This is not a quick decision, we have been thinking of this since last year. I have some questions if anyone may be able to answer:
a) What is meant when a place asks if you have a private garden? I assume they mean if you have a fenced grassy area easily accessible from your house? We live in a 3 family building which has a large grassy area all around it but has no fence so I do not know if this counts as a "private garden".
b) Does anyone have experience adopting a dog from a neighboring country? Some sites that I have been looking at are:
Both of these places have dogs from other countries. I was curious what the adoption process may be like for a place like this, if anyone knows.
My #1 concern is that we do not have a yard and that shelters/rescues may not like that. However we live out in the country, there are many places nearby to walk a dog, and I do not work so the dog would never be home alone
Lovesdogs, no, I don’t think your garden would be considered suitable by refuges here. They usually want a fenced enclosed space so there’s no chance of a dog getting loose.
Some questions. Firstly have you checked with your landlord/agency that you can actually have a dog? Many places don’t allow them so please double check that it’s okay before you go any further.
Secondly, have you read the threads here about having to do the SKN theory and practical courses? These are required for all dog owners in Switzerland.
Thirdly, have you checked what your canton/commne requires of you as a dog owner. The rules are different from canton to canton for things like breeds that are banned, whether they must be on a leash at all times, etc. Again you need to know this before getting a dog so you understand what you can and cannot do.
Aw Well that's too bad. Hopefully I can find a dog that would be okay without a yard requirement. Not that I plan on keeping him or her inside all day...we already like to be outside quite often, go on walks, and hikes, and those sort of things
Yes. Small animals are allowed where we live. The girl who lives on the top floor of our building has a dog also
Yes, we've just recently completed the SKN theory already
My husband has been researching it (as I only have decent conversational German at the moment).
Thanks for the link! I will look at the other threads as well.
Yes, we knew about that as well. Thanks for the help!
Lovedogs, the fact that you do not have a fenced-in garden should not deter you from adopting a dog. (Most people in Switzerland live in appartments anyway). The fact that you have done the SKN course is entirely to your credit. Why don't you go along to your local animal refuge and take it from there? There are so many animals waiting to be adopted; it would be a great pity if you and he/she missed out on this opportunity. Good luck, and please let us know how things to. Don't give up!
Certainly not! There are other refuges here in Switzerland besides the official cantonal ones and it may be that they would not require an enclosed garden as part of their adoption requirements. Even canton ones could be different, they vary just like everything else here. Check on www.local.ch for animal refuges and then have a ring around to ask what their requirements are.
A good rescue centre will try to match a prospective adopter and their situation with the right dog. Some dogs need more space than others, and are not suited to apartment living, unless the owner is at home a lot and can take them for regular walks. But do make sure that wherever you live, your contract allows you to have a pet, and which pet. Many renters will not allow you to keep a pet.
They rescue dogs on the island of Lanzarote and rehome them here (and I believe in Austria).
We found a dog that we liked on the website and contacted them and were put in touch with the representative that works here in CH. She asked us many questions and we sent her pictures of our house, the surrounding area, and our family, and filled out an application. We were approved about a week later but it took a couple of weeks to get our dog here (which was okay, since they told us sometimes it takes up to 6 weeks so I was happy just waiting 2). In the meantime they neutered him, gave him a round of shots, and microchipped him. The cost was around 600CHF for everything.
The way they transport the dogs is they have volunteers who fly with the dogs if they are visiting Lanzarote on business/vacation/etc. The dogs come into either Germany (Munich or Stuttgard) or CH (Zurich). Our dog flew into Germany last night and my husband drove out there to pick him up and take him home.
So far he has been the most darling little dog. I was a little nervous about adopting a dog we'd never actually met before but he's just the sweetest thing. I am fairly sure he had some training before as he is already fairly good at sitting, laying down, giving his paw to shake, and walking on a leash.
I'm extremely pleased with how the whole situation turned out and how smooth everything went. I've taken lots of pictures of him on my phone and once I get a chance to upload them onto my computer I will post a few here
Heartfelt congratulations on the arrival of your little boy! I'm sure you will have many happy times together. Please keep us updated on his progress, and photographs will be more than welcome.
My wife's been busy again....... Starsky, an Amstaf, was abandoned, chained up outside a supermarket in Hungary and he was clearly quite sick. He was taken in by a shelter, his front right leg was swollen and in pain and they found he had bone cancer. The vet suggested just putting him down but he's such a charmer the volunteers found the cash to have his leg amputated.
That was 2 weeks ago and he's now on the farm with us. He is so beautiful, and so gentle and submissive that the other dogs accepted him immediately. He's clearly a bit confused after all he's been through in the last few weeks and obviously still in some pain from the operation and he sleeps at every opportunity. But he can get around and follows my wife everywhere. When he looks at you with those big black sad eyes and big smile.... your heart just melts.
Who would pay 1000's for a perfect dog from a breeder when you can rescue a chap light this, all it costs is some care and love. We've no idea how old he is, or how much longer he has (the xrays show he's clear of the cancer at the moment), but he'll be very happy from now on, however long he has.