Service Dog advice - Page 2

OldNewGuy, that was a very mean thing to say... You don't know me, Why would you just assume that I would have exactly what this lady is looking for ? I did assume she was looking more locally and felt it was the descent thing to do by pointing her in the right direction as far as I know, the names mentioned above are people with good hearts, lots of knowledge, and are probably better "hooked up" with foreign relations than I. Wow you sure were quick to Assume that I am a pile of Sh** were'nt you ?? That was not nice of you at all, Tell me please what did you offer this dear lady ? How did you help or offer to help her ? Shame on you !!! She came here looking for help and you start in by Bashing me.

What "opportunity" is it to give away a dog? I know what you are saying, but believe me that this is the other big scam: People actually come to you saying that they are going to do something truly wonderful with your dog and you can really put it in your brag bag and run with it. Trust me.. Nobody cares! And these people seldom fulfill their promises to "make you famous", etc. Once again, this lady NEVER asked for charity. She only asked for a fair deal. That is the HONEST approach. Anyone who expects something for nothing (or implies that it is due) is not acknowledging the need and right of both parties to receive something of equal value in a transaction. It COSTS money to raise dogs. Few of us can afford to give them away, even in the vain hope that we will gain some recognition for it, someday. My experience is that doing a good deed is like wetting your pants in a dark suit; You get a warm feeling, but nobody notices! Many times, I was satisfied with the warm feeling, and did not even WANT any credit or recognition. What bothered me is that somehow, I always ended up feeling cold and pissed-on.

Thecowboysgirl, You get some rest and ask away tommorow, I will be happy to help any way that I am able, And if I can not answer your questions I will try to find others who ARE HELPFUL and HONEST to answer your questions. You seem really nice, and as DDR said, You never have asked for charity and for OldNewGuy to assume so was rude and uncalled for, I am sorry you had to expeirience that. But on this board it's an open forum and opinions often vary. I will look forward to hearing further from you. And hope I can help !!

Our neighbor has tried two rescue dogs as service dogs. You get what you pay for.... I am not saying if somebody can swing a good deal for you the dog won't be good, but the place you're working with gave you good advice. Look for a quality dog, get the best you can afford and realize there is a lot of training before and after you receive the dog. Good luck and may the dog you find be the one for you.

DDR the following is a post on my guest book on our website. This is a happy ending 1 of 3 that I have placed, this one just because the other two I placed with law enforcement officers. and both are in training. In early 2005 I sadly lost a sweet 12 week old puppy at the moment I was so ready to have a German Shepherd puppy in my life again. Mitch heard about the tragedy, and from that moment on a friendship ensued, as she became singularly focused on my "having a little girl." She worked with my while we investigated the possibility of breeding my male with her line of dogs so that I may have a pup, but that failed. And so, without thought of herself or "the money," she offered me a little girl from her next litter. "Cami" is now here with me, a rambunctious and beautiful black & red little girl. Mitch cares a great deal about her dogs, and her breeding program is conscientious and responsible; the pups you might get from her are well-tempered, healthy, and beautiful. But more than that is the passion that she brings to caring for animals, and to those of us who love to share our lives with these amazing animals. I enthusiastically recommend that you place your trust in her hands and let her bring a remarkable joy into your life, as she has done for me. Mark Pullman, Washington Mark, OldNewGuy, am I still the horrible person you knew I was all along ????????????

ONGMC, this really gripes me, the more I think about it. This lady says that she needs a super-socialized, stable, physically and mentally sound, intelligent, and very trainable two year old dog. What she is describing qualifies as top-value inventory in a kennel, if indeed such dogs are even available for sale! Seldom that they are, from a breeder.. The reason being that we never keep pups this long unless we plan to keep them "forever" (or until retired). We would probably only keep such a pup to go forward with that particular bloodline, because it is actually much cheaper to buy an import. For whatever reasons, the Germans and Europeans are much more willing to sell their young dogs and start over. Americans tend not to do that. It is genuinely difficult to find a top-quality two year old just sitting in a kennel with a price tag on it. Now, most of us breeders have some older dogs we'd like to place, or dogs that are coming back to us from divorces, military deployments, etc. Maybe we have a shy pup or a cryptorchid that we cannot sell and we will cautiously give those away, hopefully after screening the new prospective owners. But the real prodigy dogs which we have put two years of care and training into are surely not available as donations and gifts. If we have such a dog and are willing to sacrifice it for a price, should it not then pay for the costs of other unprofitable dogs? How about the old pensioners that we all feed, and the dogs with big veterinary files? They cannot pay for themselves, can they? So, the better ones do. And naturally we wish that they were all "better and best" and none unsaleable, but it doesn't work like that. What you have suggested is unreasonable, and more than that, I think that it is unethical to make such demands of others, or even to suggest it.

And, to even the scales, I have to say that anyone who sells a dog with no commercial value (or a lot of expensive health issues) to someone who is going to depend on it for service, is what I call "low scum". But.. You do see that happen. This is otherwise known as a "kennel reduction sale"... Clearing out the dogs with quirky behavior, bad hips, and other issues, usually show dog prospects that did not make the mark. You need to learn as much as you can, Cowboysgirl, until you develop x-ray vision to see through the scammers. It can be done, too. I bought quite a few dogs over the years and had nary a problem, but you have to be very dog-savvy and learn a lot so that you don't get scammed. But do be open to the fact that there are nice people in dogs who are willing to help you a LOT if you meet them halfway! ;-)

animlues wrote: "Our neighbor has tried two rescue dogs as service dogs. You get what you pay for...." So your neighbor tried two rescues that weren't what they were seeking--I have to ask just how experienced your neighbor is in selecting a dog for service work? If the individual doing the evaluation doesn't know what to look for, then it doesn't matter WHERE the dog comes from--it probably won't have the skills and demeanor needed to make it as a service dog. As for 'getting what you paid for', you've been on this message board long enough to know that price does NOT automatically ensure that the dog will fit one's aspirations for it...so that's a very silly comment to make. "Look for a quality dog, get the best you can afford and realize there is a lot of training before and after you receive the dog. Good luck and may the dog you find be the one for you." Now this part I can agree with--to a point. I'd amend it to say to look for the dog which is best SUITED for your needs, and which is healthy in body and mind. If the right dog can be had for the cost of an adoption fee, it won't make him or her any less valuable as your service dog. Since you're in New England, you might touch base with German Shepherd Rescue of New England; they might know of a suitable dog for your needs that is looking for a new situation, since they not only work with strays and shelter dogs but owner-surrendered dogs as well. Their web site is: http://www.gsrne.org They have a 24 hour 'hotline' number where you can leave a message explaining what you're seeking, and they'll get back to you fairly quickly. It can't hurt to get them looking around for you while you're searching, too.

And, Echomeadows.. I also donated dogs to police. I was real full of civic pride and spirit at the time, but to tell you the truth, a lot of police do not really appreciate the sacrifice and will even crap on you for your trouble. Myself and three other friends all donated dogs to a major metro PD many years ago to help them get their program started. It is still in existance today, and going strong. We helped to start it! But none of us were really happy with the outcome. Only one of us got any formal acknowledgement for it, at all. One fellow donated a very nice dog that he got back from a client, and the cop recipient actually had the nerve to get himself on the front page of the National Enquirer, saying that he had "rescued" this poor dog from a life in the back of a pickup truck, a real rags-to-riches story. The breeder and donor of the dog never got any recognition or mention at all! This cop was all about money and self-promotion. He lived in a multi-million dollar property in a very posh area. And he got the reputation later on for allegedly showing up at crime / burglary scenes in affluent neighborhoods, marketing his dogs and training skills. He allegedly even had a police helicopter bring him in with his dog, then he would go into his act. He also admitted to me that a dog I had donated to the PD as a pup was kept as his personal demonstration dog (for his prospective clients / sales), and that he had turned down an offer of $10,000 for it! This is AFTER I had been told that the dog was not put on the department K9 team because he "didn't make the grade". Yah, right! And I found out that AFTER the cops were coming to us, begging to get dogs and training gear and even training time (one of us was an experienced decoy, and they had no one else, at the time), they were going to the little old ladies at the local Rotary Club chapter, asking for money to buy police dogs and equipment. What they did later was a switch. They got the dogs and equipment free from us and used the money for other things.. maybe barbeque and beer!.. Who knows? I suppose that later on they demo'd the dogs we gave them, saying that they were paid for by the Rotary Club donations. Anyway, nary a one of us ever got any helpful leads for sales. A couple of us sold a few puppies for pretty low prices to police families, yes. But the big money opportunities went to insiders on the P.D. That's so often how it goes. It's unethical as hell, and a conflict of interest, but I'm just trying to save you some upset if you expect to get anything out of this down the road. A friend of mine was selling dogs to another major metro PD with a big K9 program, and my friend had excellent connections in Holland for dogs, which he was reselling to the PD. He had to pick up three dogs for them, but he also had a bitch due to whelp, so he sent his cop "friend" to his connection's kennel in Holland. I warned him not to do it, but he would not listen. Sure enough, as soon as that cop had my friend's connection, he stopped calling him and was dealing with the Holland kennel, selling them to the PD himself. Not only did he get my friend out of it and take the business for himself, but he had him turned in and forced off his land on a code violation. Try peeing in dark pants if you need to get a warm feeling... Just my advice. Otherwise, make them pay for what they get.

Echo, I did not assume you were a piece of s*** or anything else. I clearly said that until now I took you at face value and believed that the philosophy you had been spousing WAS the real deal for you. Read it again. Having said that, I will again try to explain: Anyone and everyone has a responsibility to be charitable to others who are less fortunate. When you state that you are not in it for the money and that the placement of the dog is your highest priority and you contact organizations when you think someone has witnessed something wrong, then you place an even bigger burden on yourself to show what you are made of. When the occasion arises you have to walk the walk or you lose all credibility. In your first post you said nothing about not having a dog available. It sounded to me like a brush-off. Had you explained that you did not have one available and what you would if you did, it may not have come across that way. As I said I didn't offer the lady a dog because I don't have one either. If I did, I would. Whwn you put your opinions out there for all to examine you better be ready to defend them if somebody starts to notice inconsistencies.