My Ziggy Rant

As most of you know, I’ve been fostering Ziggy for two and a half years now. It is more due to a feeling of responsibility (I chose to pull him from the shelter where he was going to be euthanized as a puppy, so I am responsible for his life) than it is because I like having him here. In fact, most people know I would gladly give Ziggy to anyone who would take care of him. I’ve even been known to offer cash rewards to people to take him. Everyone thinks that I love him and I do, but many people also think I’m happy that he’s with me. I’m not. I try so hard to get him a home because he doesn’t fit here and it’s not fair to him or to me that he’s been here for two years. So today, I’m going to not worry about who might read this or what they might think; I’m just going to take this opportunity to whine and feel sorry for myself. I try not to do that often, but after the news from the vet a few days ago, I just can’t help myself.

Puppy Ziggy

For the past two years, I’ve tried to do what the experts suggest when it comes to getting a dog adopted. I’ve promoted Ziggy at every turn, even creating and maintaining his website and Facebook page, and buying him business cards to advertise around town. I’ve tried to stay positive and share all the good things about Ziggy. I’ve tried to make him more adoptable through basic training, working with various professional trainers, earning his CGC, learning tricks, and participating in dog sports. I’ve been honest with potential adopters about his issues, but I haven’t dwelt on them excessively. I know this is true because I constantly hear “I can’t believe he’s not adopted yet” – mostly from people who don’t know him well. I just want to shout “Then you take him!!” But I know they have other dogs, or cats, or children, or breed restrictions, like most of the rest of the world. The truth is, as much as I want him to be, Ziggy is not really adoptable. And since I’m tired of always talking about the good side of Ziggy, today I’m going to break all the rules and tell you about the bad side of Ziggy, and about the reasons that he isn’t adopted yet, and probably never will be.

Basic Hurdles

1. Ziggy is a pit bull – the breed is banned many places.

2. Ziggy is deaf – this makes it more challenging to communicate with him.

3. Ziggy needs to be only pet – most experienced owners have other pets.

4. Ziggy needs an experienced owner due to his behavior issues (see below).

5. Ziggy needs a home with no children – he is not child friendly.

Behavior Issues

1. Ziggy guards food, water, bones, and toys from others. With training, he no longer guards from me, but still guards from all dogs and cats.

2. Ziggy is mouthy, especially when excited. He knows better with me, but sometimes with new people he forgets and tries to grab their hands.

3. Ziggy is a counter surfer. No matter how much we work on this, he still steals food off of countertops whenever he can.

4. Ziggy is demanding. He barks loudly in an attempt to get his way.

5. Ziggy is chewy. He has to stay crated to keep him from chewing furniture, shoes, boxes, TV remotes, or whatever else he can get his mouth on.



Not to mention his drinking problems.



Medical Issues

1. Ziggy has food allergies – he is allergic to almost everything under the sun (and probably a few things in outer space too).

2. Ziggy has grass allergies – he gets red and itchy after lying in the grass, walking on grass, or looking at grass.



"Where's my benadryl?"

And this week at the vet I found out that Ziggy also has a bad knee joint which has ended his agility classes. And when the vet told me that he should avoid stairs and that he needed to be on a glucosamine supplement for the rest of his life, she was really confused when I started laughing hysterically. Because glucosamine supplements aren’t expensive, but it was just one more thing that Ziggy had wrong with him – one more thing that would make him harder to adopt.

My options have not changed. I can keep trying to find him a home, or I can have him euthanized. Please don’t judge me for whatever I decide unless you take Ziggy yourself! Some of you, especially those who rescue, will see the wisdom in giving up and having him euthanized, not only for my own sanity, but also so I can save many, many other dogs in his place. I have other dogs, and I have cats, and he lives in a crate most of his life because he can’t be out around the other animals. It’s not much of a life, and with such a slim chance of him ever being adopted, it’s not much of a future. But those of you who love Ziggy, don’t worry, I’m not at that point yet. I think of that option almost every time I think of Ziggy, which is often, but the truth is I do love him, and I don’t think he is suffering, so I’m not ready or willing to make that decision. I’ll keep doing what I can to make his life happy, and even if he can no longer go on bike rides with me or do agility, we’ll find other ways to spend time together. In the past I’ve contacted many sanctuaries about Ziggy, with no luck, and no other foster home or rescue group has been able or willing to take Ziggy either. So for now I’ll keep trying to find him a home, and keep sharing all the positive things about Ziggy. But I’ll let you in on an inside joke (is it an inside joke if the only person who knows it is me?) Every time I see “Ziggy-the-adoptable-dog” on Facebook, my mind always changes it to “Ziggy-the-unadoptable-dog”. For some reason, that makes me smile.


Please pray harder, Ziggy!



Kill versus No-Kill

This is a big issue in the rescue world.  I've had conversations about this very subject a lot lately, and thought I'd share my thoughts with you.  Because yesterday those nine white puppies I talked about last week were euthanized.  And even though I only spent five minutes with them, I miss them!

Many people are concerned about whether or not a group is no-kill.  I've had people tell me they wouldn't adopt from a group because they were not a no-kill group.  I've had others tell me they wouldn't adopt from a group that was no-kill because they wanted to go to a city shelter and save one that was almost out of time.  But in the end, whether a group is open or closed admission (kill or no-kill), we're all in this together.  We're trying to save animals - trying to prevent unwanted litters from being born and then killed - trying to help those who can't help themselves.  So the more important question to ask is not is this shelter a kill or a no-kill shelter, but how do they take care of the animals that they have?  Some shelters have constant disease running rampant, animals suffering due to a lack of attention, and in the case of some no-kill groups, animals living for months or years in small cages with minimal human contact.  Other groups have animals that are well-cared-for, with shelters or foster homes where the animals are given time and attention and worked with to make them more adoptable.  Some shelters are open on weekends and evenings for adoptions, and others aren't.  Some do off-site adoptions and some don't.  There are a lot of things that can define a good or bad shelter or rescue group to me, but whether they are kill or no-kill is not high on the list - it's more about quality of life.  Some shelters are more worried about their numbers than about their animals.  I'd rather adopt an animal from a group that can tell me all about that animal instead of from a group that warehouses pets simply to "save their lives" and knows very little about them.  The care that the animals are getting, and the efforts made to find them good homes, is what matters to me.  So if you're thinking of adopting another pet, or donating money, please don't worry so much if the shelter is open admission or "no-kill".  Because either way, you'll be helping to save a life - and just like those nine puppies I couldn't save, there are many more puppies and kittens and dogs and cats just waiting right now for your help.