I guess its good they have been honest with you about there last dogs,

If they seem settled now, older, wiser, less likely to make life changing choices,

and you feel the dog is the right dog for them then it could work,.

I think you have hit the nail on the head, its the dog that suffers, I have had similar choices to make when homing my pups, its not easy.

We had to give up our first dog because we were fairly clueless owners (my parents had a boxer before but Millie was a totally different story!!) and her breeder evidently didn't vet us thoroughly enough. we tried with her for three years but in the end she was just better off in a home with another dog who could teach her the ropes. the situation wasn't ideal as we lived inside the grounds of a school, and kids would run up and down the fence all day tormenting her so she was always on edge. The boxer incidentally also had to be rehomed when my dad was made redundant, my dad had to take the first job he could because my sister and i were babies and we were losing our house and that situation wouldn't have been fair on him. so i guess my doggy track record is bad... but i know i would rather never have another dog in my life than have to go through the pain of rehoming one again, for all her faults millie was my first dog and i still miss her. i think as long as the adopter realizes that having a dog isn't a spur of the moment decision they shouldn't be treated differently from anyone else (hard to see if they really do understand that though). if it's a person who just brings the dog home, tries it on and decides it doesn't fit i don't think they should be adopted to twice. we got a lot of people like that at the rgt, one bitch got bought back because they found a scar on her!!

Hi,

I personally find it one of the most difficult decisions to make. At the end of the day, who am I to judge someone else and decide that either yes they can have a dog or no they can't (well not from DogWatch anyway).

I try to se eboth sides of the coin but I try to decide what is in the dog's best interests, rather than get emotionally involved with the people who've applied to adopt a dog.

It' very easy to have empathy or feel sorry for someone because of circumstances but sometimes, we have to be so hard on people but it turns out for the best in the end.

For example - we've just rehomed a 3/4 year old sringer spaniel to a disabled man. He spends his life in a wheelcahir and as soon as we got too his house with the dog, he was SOOOO grateful because nobody else would approve his home visit. He has a decent sized garden and played with the dog whilst we were there. Later that afternoon he took the dog to the park for a couple of hours. That dog will be spoilt rotten and will have the best life imaginable. But other rescues refused him.

Laura xx

OMG thats terrible,

Hmmmmmm I went for the fourth option.
I think there are reasons for giving up a dog...a marriage break up or bereavement for example, where suddenly there is not enough time for the dog. Illness in the family can also make it hard for the dog and may mean it needs rehoming...there are always good reasons and I think many valid ones. Never say never ...
A house move through choice? Well perhaps they had massive problems in their previous home???? Perhaps with neighbours etc?

They are now looking to get another dog though...are they in the same house that they moved to or a different house? Are they looking to get a pup? Male or female? Are they looking to rehome an adult?
It's hard to say and I can see why you are hesitating.

My gut reaction is that you need to talk to someone else at the rescue about it and make sure your concerms are noted. I also wonder if you need to speak to them again...if they are rehoming a pup...then can you be sure it too won't develop behavioural problems?

I don't envy you...it's a risk either way...good luck and massive credit to you for caring x

thanks guys,
It really is the rehomed dogs that are causing me a problem, I am going to speak to them again tommorow and find out as much more information as I can and see if the full info makes me feel better, I have to go back anyway to meet one other family member so will get a bit more info..

Its really hard though as this is a general homecheck with no particular dog in mind, I just dont want to be responsible for perhaps hearing in a few years time that a dog has been moved....

mmnnnn will sleep on it. But keep opinions coming as its most appreciated.

There were the people who adopted a bitch even though their child was terrified of dogs too.. poor girl had 3 or 4 homes in the space of about 6 months, one of them lasted three days and the longest was two weeks in the case of dogs like her i would say that a potential home would really need to prove themselves before adopting.

You said brutally honest.....It would be a no for me. Sorry. IMO, obviously, before I get shot down!

you wont get shot down from me hunny as thats how i feel about my own baby !! I think thats why its such a difficult one for me....