Puppies

Richardj

Here we have seven puppies, roughly two weeks old, possibly Beaucerons (a Northern French herding and protecting breed), that our daughter has agreed to foster and bring up for the next six weeks or so.  They are mostly about a foot long and in decent health, although there is a runt about two thirds that size.  We have them on good puppy milk being fed every three to four hours and will gradually move them onto good solid puppy food when they are ready.

They were found last Saturday evening in a bin bag on the edge of a busy road. As the people who saw them and were turning round a car nearly drove over the bag, it was that close to the road. They were only seen as one of them was crawling out of the bag.

This year has been especially bad for abandoned puppies and kittens in this part of France, although you usually find them in boxes found by the communal bins.

There are few words to describe how we feel about this.

axisus

Awww! Sad that they get abandoned. My girls are desperate for a dog, but Mrs A hates them.

digitalscream

It's things like this that make you despise people. A friend of mine used to run a large breed rescue, and it nearly destroyed her.

Good on your daughter for taking them in...I just wish for a world where people like her didn't have to.

JezWynd

So cute. They look like little bears. Well done you for giving them a home.

Alnico

Good for you and your Family Richard.

Words won't do my feelings justice so i will just echo what @digitalscream said.

Sambostar

Cook 'em.  Good eating.  Stringy tangy meat, if they are still alive you won't get ill from bad meat.

lloyd

People are cunts aren't they? Why would you leave them in a bag? If you're that kind of bastard at least have the decency to off them quickly with a spade or something. I'm on a rehoming page on Facebook and the amount of ex-breeder bitches that appear is tragic. I got a puppy myself but not from a breeder-he was an accident born of rape. I don't have anything against getting puppies but you need to check out the breeder first. Well done to your daughter, how many are you all keeping?

mikeyrob73

One of the few things that really fucking boils my piss is animal cruelty. Well done to you and your daughter for rescuing them. My own dog is a rescue dog and he is the most lovable little guy. 

joneve

fucking wankers. 

Top job fostering them. People are absolute cunts. 

CabbageCat

It's crazy. Puppies are worth good money. Why chuck them away?

BigLicks67

My Grandad took on an abandoned Border Terrier, which turned out to be the best dog he ever had and probably most laid back BT I've ever come across. Hope you find someone to take these dogs on.

Richardj

CabbageCat said:

It's crazy. Puppies are worth good money. Why chuck them away?

In France you need to be licensed to sell any animals. It is regulated and taxed. There are severe penalties if you try to sell puppies, kittens etc. without the appropriate paperwork and approval.

Of course you could just have your animals neutered to avoid this but that is too much effort and expense, especially when you can just dump them.  It's very much part of the culture sadly.

digitalscream

@Sambostar - you're not doing yourself any favours posting dickish stuff like that in a thread like this. Do you honestly believe that's funny?

fields5069

I've got a rescue dog as well. Admittedly it was a Gumtree litter that was handed in so no hardship or behavioural issues to deal with. I can't imagine getting a dog from a breeder while there are so many rescue dogs being fostered. I guess we were lucky in that we got a "designer" cross (Cavalier / Bichon Frise), but he's first-generation so anything could happen.

When he went for a health check a year or so ago, the vet asked "Do you have insurance?". "Yes" we replied. "Good", said the vet, "because you wouldn't get it now". Apparently we may have heart issues to deal with at some point.

joneve

fields5069 said:

I've got a rescue dog as well. Admittedly it was a Gumtree litter that was handed in so no hardship or behavioural issues to deal with. I can't imagine getting a dog from a breeder while there are so many rescue dogs being fostered. I guess we were lucky in that we got a "designer" cross (Cavalier / Bichon Frise), but he's first-generation so anything could happen.

When he went for a health check a year or so ago, the vet asked "Do you have insurance?". "Yes" we replied. "Good", said the vet, "because you wouldn't get it now". Apparently we may have heart issues to deal with at some point.

Just to answer this - my wife and I got our first dog in January of this year - we didn't really know what to expect (well, we did..but you know what I mean) and we both work - so getting a rescue at the time wouldn't have been fair as it may have had anxiety separation, suffered hardship or have behavioural issues, as you mentioned, which would not have been fair on the dog. Hence we got a puppy from a registered and responsible breeder (she breeds working dogs and only breeds one or *maybe* two litters a year)...so we could learn the ropes, train her and bring her up correctly...once she is a year or so old, we will look at getting a second dog and this time it will be a rescue, as we're in a better position to do so, and have another dog that can help. 

So it's not always as cut and dry depending on circumstances. 

I do wish more was done to regulate breeding and clamp down on animal cruelty in this country though. I watch the Dog Rescuers on Channel 5 each week. 

The other week, a poor german shepherd was starved to death and left to live in it's own shit....You hear they have tracked down the owner for prosecution "they got a suspended 3 month prison sentence and banned for keeping animals for 5 years"

Wait, what?? Lock them up and throw away the key! 3 months suspended sentence? That'll really fucking teach them won't it? 

digitalscream

joneve said:

The other week, a poor german shepherd was starved to death and left to live in it's own shit....You hear they have tracked down the owner for prosecution "they got a suspended 3 month prison sentence and banned for keeping animals for 5 years"

Wait, what?? Lock them up and throw away the key! 3 months suspended sentence? That'll really fucking teach them won't it? 

Our next-door neighbour was convicted for microwaving a cat - similar thing, he was given a suspended sentence and banned from keeping animals for 5 years. Then he got together with his other half, who already had a dog for her son (who has mental issues), so the ban was lifted anyway.

Ludicrous.

On the other hand...there have been a couple of high-profile cases in the last couple of weeks where there's been some actual common sense with dogs seized under breed-specific legislation being returned to their owners (albeit with some serious celebrity clout used to pressure the authorities), so it's swings and roundabouts at the moment.

JezWynd

digitalscream said:

@Sambostar - you're not doing yourself any favours posting dickish stuff like that in a thread like this. Do you honestly believe that's funny?

Perhaps he pointing out that where we see cute helpless animals, much of the world looks at the same photo and thinks 'lunch'.

digitalscream

JezWynd said:

digitalscream said:

@Sambostar - you're not doing yourself any favours posting dickish stuff like that in a thread like this. Do you honestly believe that's funny?

Perhaps he pointing out that where we see cute helpless animals, much of the world looks at the same photo and thinks 'lunch'.

Given his track record, I suspect you're giving him rather more credit than is justified.

Sporky

JezWynd said:

digitalscream said:

@Sambostar - you're not doing yourself any favours posting dickish stuff like that in a thread like this. Do you honestly believe that's funny?

Perhaps he pointing out that where we see cute helpless animals, much of the world looks at the same photo and thinks 'lunch'.

I don't think that a thread about saving abandoned puppies is the place for that, just as a thread about someone's newborn isn't the place for paedophile jokes.

Sprocket was from a breeder - a reputable one, not a puppy farm. This was Lady BMcH's plan - as Sprocket is my first dog it was felt that a rescue might be too much.

digitalscream

Sporky said:

Sprocket was from a breeder - a reputable one, not a puppy farm. This was Lady BMcH's plan - as Sprocket is my first dog it was felt that a rescue might be too much.

This is actually a really good plan; if you train a puppy so that he/she is a perfect example of the dog you want to live with, then getting a rescue later on is a much smoother process because they often learn everyday general behaviour from other dogs much more quickly than from direct training.

That's a mistake we made with Mac, our first - he was a rescue, and we really didn't have any idea what we were doing. As a result, we didn't do enough to calm his anxiety or help him get past his...past...and so he's a bit of a stresshead, which is unfair to him. He seems to be calming down a bit these days with the addition of another big dog to the family, though, so he's enjoying his retirement a little more.

lloyd

Aye, my next will be a rescue, probably wait a year or so and get another.