I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong place, if I did mods please move it to the proper place.. I'll give you some background on myself since I'm new here.

I have owned 2 labs in my life. Both lived to old age before passing on. It has been 3 years since my last lab,(I currently have a westie) and I would like to get another lab. A little about me, since no one here knows me. I hunt, although I hunt my dogs have always stayed indoors with me and the rest of my family, we do not even own an outdoor kennel or doghouse. My labs were family members first and hunters second. Most of the time we went hunting it seemed like we would just walk in the woods. I was more into the companionship than the actual "hunting dog" thing. With all that being said I want another lab. After much thought I realize I would like a dog to just be a companion and maybe go for a walk in the woods. I am not interested in doing the puppy thing, I know there are plenty of adult or young adult dogs out there. Also my life has changed and my wife and I both work. No one would be home from 8am till 3pm. I crate trained my dogs and as they got older the doors to the crate were left open and they had the run of the house. I guess the only requirement I have is for the dog to be house broken. I also would be reluctant to take a choc female, just because I dont know that I could look into her eyes and not see my Abbey, the original and best of all times. So the questions I have are...

Am I asking too much? and
How do I go about recueing a dog in say Ga. if I'm in NY?? How does all this work?? Again I'm new here and in the past I went to a reputable breeder and bought a pup but I'm not looking for that again, I'm just looking for a house broke, lab, who's cool to hang out with the family...


Sab

Well if you had an Abbey (spelled with an E), then you must be good folk! My Abbey was a black though.

I do not think you are asking too much. All of my dogs are rescues and none came to me as a puppy. I would rather adopt an adult any day.

I work and my dogs have to spend part of each day home alone, usually crated. They are fine. I do not like it when they have a super long day in their crates, but when it happens, so be it. They get let out and the next you thing you know, they have forgotten their extended day in the crate.

All of my rescues have come to me housebroken, but big warning here. Any dog, no matter how well trained, should be treated by you as unhousebroken until you have your communication and patterns established. That does not take long and is not hard to do.

If you are looking for purebred, be aware that some labs listed as "mixes" are in all probability PB. If a shetler or rescue does not know for a fact that the dog is PB, they will sometimes call the dog a mix to avoid people claiming they were misled.

I do not live in your area and therefore do not have suggestions for good rescues to consider. I am hopeful others on the Board who do know your area will have some suggestions. You can always search on Petfinder, but if you can find a reputable rescue to work with, you may end up with a dog that is the perfect match.

Good luck!

Susan

thanks for the kind words... What do I do if I see a dog up for rescue in another state?? Do I call and ask them to ship?? Am I supposed to drive there?? How does that work, because I look thru here and see plenty of dogs I would take but they are far away. How do I overcone that?? Any thoughts


Sab

How nice of you to want to help out another lab. I understand your thoughts on another choc. We lost our yellow male almost 2 yrs ago. I couldn't even look at yellow males:( So I had rescued two females. BUT....almost a month ago, a handsome sweet yellow boy needed my help. I made myself go look at him. He is 7 and lived tied to a dog box all his life. One look into Buddy's eyes, I knew I had to let myself love another yellow male. So, he came home with us. I really did have a foster home for him but............. after we got home, I just HAD to keep him! Our first 10 days was tough as he wanted to lift his leg and pee, he had never lived inside. We got through that and I really believe his big eyes tell me daily, thank you for saving me and letting me live inside. The site of him all curled up in bed sleeping, is so worth it. Wow, sorry got kind of long.
Anyhow, you wanting to help, even if far away. There are great people who will help with transport, to help get the lab to you. Or you can try to help your local dogs.
I know Rudy's rescue has helped some of our local shelters here in PA.
Good luck and thank you for wanting to help another lab.

Sab- Depending on shelter, some help with transport. You can offer to drive part way, as well.
Do you have a preference on sex/color/ age? Some shelter aren't rescue friendly, but most are. Some also have transport coordinators. Or come here and post, and someone might be close enough to help:)

thanks for the kind words... What do I do if I see a dog up for rescue in another state?? Do I call and ask them to ship?? Am I supposed to drive there?? How does that work, because I look thru here and see plenty of dogs I would take but they are far away. How do I overcone that?? Any thoughts


Sab

Sab,

The answer varies from shelter to shelter and from rescue to rescue. Some will not adopt out of state; others are happy to do so. Some require a home visit and if you are out of state then you may need to help arrange a home visit. For example, a rescue in your area of other breeds or animals might be willing to help with the home visit.

Some rescues are very picky, perhaps too picky. On the other hand I would not want to work with a rescue that had basically no policies or procedures at all. In terms of labs, I think rescues tend to be realistic that owners work and the dog will be home alone at times. Rescues can have stringent rules about children and their ages, whether you have fencing and what kind, whether you rent vs. own, and whether your dog will be kept inside as a family member (you already said yes to that).

Some rescues are able to help get the dog to you, but personally, I wonder how someone can be certain the dog is a good match without even meeting him or her.

Personal opinion time: When I am considering a dog for foster or adoption, I assume that it is 100% up to me to get the dog to me. I plan to go get the dog myself or to pay to have it brought to me. I do not rely on transports or someone else being responsible for the work and the expense. Part of that is just me; I don't like to ask for help; I would rather be self sufficient. Part of it, however, is a commitment factor. I think if I tell a rescue or a shelter how I plan to get the dog to me, it says I am serious and that I see getting the dog as part of my responsibility. Regardless, this time of the year, I would be cautious about any true long distance adoption. Any kind of travel can be canceled due to weather.

I know eventually someone who knows more about rescues in your area will add to this thread. Meanwhile, if there is a dog on this board you are interested in, start checking the dog out. Find out where it is (which shelter or rescue); look up adoption requirements; see what kinds of questions are on the adoption application.

Susan

Sab,

We are in GA and we adopt out of state but you would have to come and pick up the dog. Of course we would also have to approve you for adoption before hand. Once you are approved we can schedule for you to meet our dogs. We do not ship dogs and we will want to meet you and your wife in person but it would not be the first time one of our dogs end up up north. We have people who drove 12 hours straight to come and adopt one of our labs. So if you ever want to do an excursion to Atlanta submit an application to adopt from our website and email me. I am confident I can find a dog you like that we will be fine with your schedule.

Elena
Labrador Friends of the South

Sab wrote:
thanks for the kind words... What do I do if I see a dog up for rescue in another state?? Do I call and ask them to ship?? Am I supposed to drive there?? How does that work, because I look thru here and see plenty of dogs I would take but they are far away. How do I overcone that?? Any thoughts


Sab

Since it varies with the shelter or rescue (some won't help transport at all),
I suggest you find a dog you're interested in, contact the shelter/rescue to get the adoption approved and then post for help under Crossposts or Transport sections. There's enough members here who are willing to help whenever they can. (And if it can't be done--trust me....they'll let you know!--LOL)

Wow, I really didnt expect all the responses. OK heres answers to some questions or thoughts you guys/gals brought up. 6 foot stockade feanced yard that I've owned for 11 years. I know the previous owners...they're my parents, I bought the house from them when they moved to Fla, so I'm not planning on up and moving soon(at least 15 years) I don't have a problem driving to get my dog. When I got Rosie my BLF I drove 8 hours straight to get her. Does anyone know of any Lab rescues here in NY?? I thought this board was a "central" location kinda place where all rescues posted thier labs. I've been checking my local shelter and looking on petfinder but I havent seen any yet. Thanks for the info and if anything pops up let me know.

Rudy's Lab rescue is in NY.

labs4rescue (http://www.labs4rescue.com) adopts to NY

you could try north shore animal-i know they are a large shelter on LI

Long Island Lab Rescue (http://www.lilrr.org/)

I urge you to get ahold of Kathy, Shantis Mom. She manages a shelter in NY and has an abolute love for labs and the work of lab rescues. I will PM Kathy with a link to this thread. Right now, she is not on the board frequently because of work and limited internet access. Kathy might know of rescues or dogs in your area that would be a good match for all concerned.

Susan

Susan

That would be mongo cool. Thanks

And I'll check out the other sites. I've been to North Shore a bunch of times(I work in that area frequently) and I've never come across a lab there. Maybe I've never hit it right, I've checked there twice while I was up that way.

Sab

Here is Kathy's shelter petfinder page:
http://search.petfinder.com/shelterSearch/shelterSearch.cgi?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=NY395&sort=&preview=1

She has quite a few labs listed and I can promise you she will be honest about each one. She knows labs and I trust her opinions :)

Susan

That would be mongo cool. Thanks

And I'll check out the other sites. I've been to North Shore a bunch of times(I work in that area frequently) and I've never come across a lab there. Maybe I've never hit it right, I've checked there twice while I was up that way.

Sab

Sab,

I already sent her a PM. She might not be on again tonight, but she will have the PM when she next checks. She is in Potsdam, NY; she moved there a few months ago from Houston. She tries to get us to believe that Potsdam has lots of snow, lots of cold weather, and precious little Internet technology. :rolleyes:

Susan

Sab,

I already sent her a PM. She might not be on again tonight, but she will have the PM when she next checks. She is in Potsdam, NY; she moved there a few months ago from Houston. She tries to get us to believe that Potsdam has lots of snow, lots of cold weather, and precious little Internet technology. :rolleyes:

Susan

You are so funny Susan ;)

Well Potsdam is about as far from Long Island as Ga is - not really but it seems that way.

I do run a small shelter up here in the boondocks and I do have labs - and I will transport at least part of the way. If you look at my petfinder sight and see any that call to you - I am at work from Noon on today and would be more than happy to talk to you.

315 265 3199


Kathy

try labrescuect also

If you are looking to rescue a Lab in Georgia....there are MANY BEAUTIFUL ONES that were just posted in this thread...looks like a breeder has dumped them here...:(

http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/overloaded-pb-yellow-t7274735.html

I was just searching last night and both labsforrescue and the Connecticut rescue currently have lots of beautiful, young labs! Check them out via petfinder! Best of luck to you.

Here is Kathy's shelter petfinder page:
http://search.petfinder.com/shelterSearch/shelterSearch.cgi?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=NY395&sort=&preview=1

She has quite a few labs listed and I can promise you she will be honest about each one. She knows labs and I trust her opinions :)

I really agree with Kim on this. Kathy wants a good match for both dog and human and she KNOWS labs and has worked a lot with lab rescues. She would give you solid information!

Susan

OOFFFAAA, thanks for all the help guys. I truely didnt expect all the suggestions and offers of help. I have been checking the sites of the rescues you have all provided me with and I have seen a few, 2 to be exact that have got my interest. I'm going to email the folk or call tomorrow. I'll let you all know what happens from there. Thanks again

Sab

Would you by any chance be interested in a fabulous 18 mo. old lab/GSD mix? She has a very high prey drive, is super sweet, housetrained, loving, but likes to chase the horses on her present farm. I will pay to have her sent to your house if necessary. Please see this thread about her if you're interested:
http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/lexi-now-desparate-t7275109.html
Here's a link to her pictures:
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=9778827

I will help cover charges for Lexi :)

Sab,

Another person you might contact is Joe Morengo in southwestern Pennsylvania, as he has many, many rescue contacts throughout the East Coast.

http://www.sparro.org/

He at the moment is on his way home from Texas on a rescue transport.
http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/headed-out-texas-t7275145.html
This is the work Joe does, and so much more.
Check out his web site and the Labs available.

Joe may even have knowledge of a Lab available near you, or a way to get the
"right" Lab to you.

talley/Judy

Just figured I'd give everyone an update...
I took some advice and checked out a rescue in Ct. They have a choc male,I know I said no choc because of Abbey but this ones a male, and it's handsome as hell and needs some extra lovin. I emailed the lady in charge and I plan on calling her tomorrow. When I showed my wife, and middle son, they fell instantly in love. This boy will need some help but I fell in love with him instantly. My only question I have for the rescue is how he gets along with other dogs. If he's good with others we're doing it!!!. I'll fill in the application and keep fingers crossed. I'll keep you all updated and thanks for all help.

Sab

How about a link or pictures??? We want to fall in love too!!!
Good luck with everything. I hope it works out for you.

OK lets see if this works...

http://labrescuect.com/tn_roloe3.JPG

He is a cutie. Will be anxious to hear if you adopt him.

OK lets see if this works...

http://labrescuect.com/tn_roloe3.JPG

OMGosh!!! I see why you are in love!!!:love:
Hope all goes through for you and your family! Good luck! Keep us posted.

OMGosh!!! I see why you are in love!!!:love:
Hope all goes through for you and your family! Good luck! Keep us posted.
Suzan (Payton%Cooper) and I both know what it is like to fall in love with a chocolate boy. We both got choco's from Kim in LA this past year. Teddy has only been here for 2 weeks and he acts like he has always been here with Angus. :D

Rollo fell through, he went to another home on christmas eve, and seems to be doing well. However, Merri, the lady at the rescue told me she might know of a yellow male so I'm hopeful...I'll keep you posted

Sab- There are 2 great labs here in PA that need a home, wether it be adopt or foster:)

Kim


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