Could this be the future First Dog?

[shireen]

There are two Portugese Water Dog mixes on Petfinder.com. Both are absolutely ADORABLE!!! I hope they get new homes soon.

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13116876
More About Gatsby
Gatsby is a lovely 'sheepdog' looking boy, although his coat is not as long as a sheepdog. He is very sweet and needs a permanent home.






http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12605284
More About Bear
Hi, I'm Bear & I am a sweet & wonderful boy. I was found with my best friend, a Shitzu named Findley, running down the road in North GA. A pretty lady saw us & stopped to see about us. She tried looking for our owners & contacting the local shelter but no one came for us. My friend was adopted & I am still looking for a home. I am housetrained & I am very obedient & laid back. I am such a great companion & pet & I would love to have a family. I am between 4 and 5 years old. Please consider me & call my foster mom Erica at 248-xxx-xxxx to find out more about me!

[XemaSab]

1. Maybe they should get both of them

:D

[patrice]

2. Bless those who minister to "God's" creation by caring for discarded and abused animals.

[Rainbowreflect]

6. Personally I feel I was the one blessed by God with my "rescued" babies.

They bring much more joy to my life than I think I bring to their's.

[patrice]

13. Point well taken. Thank you.

:hi:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

3. The day that it was announced another DUer saw 3 up for adoption and an hour later there were only 2

I wonder if they adopted the 3rd one and have someone training it.

This was at petfinders.

[dana_b]

4. hmmm... they are both cutes but they look like mixes

I'm probably wrong but I know two full breed portuguese water dogs and their hair is much curlier, faces are diffrent than these two, etc.

[SoCalDem]

5. Although I support rescuing dogs, I am torn on this one..

This is their FIRST dog, and they are old enough to care for a puppy..They will remember this pet for their whole lives, and getting an already grown dog, with a fully developed personality, "can" present problems.

A grown dog who follows a kid home, and for whom the child becomes its savior, is one thing, but to actively seek out an already-grown dog is another thing.. This dog will be with them (hopefully) for 12 years or more...the whole growing-up years for both girls, so they need to have a deep bond with this animal.. Sometimes it's not easy to bond with a full-grown dog. Dogs will choose "their person", and oftentimes an older dog will "pick" one of the parents..not the children..

I know they are trying to make a statement with the rescue dog angle, and I support that, but I just hope that the girls find a dog they truly can love, and won't just be "rescuing a dog"..

The purebreds who end up with a breed-rescue program have technically already BEEN rescued.

To really rescue a dog, you need to go to "death row" AT a pound, and make a love-connection there..

[woodsprite]

9. I felt the same when getting a dog for our kids, but we did not go

wrong by getting a 5yo gorgeous silver/black shepherd/husky mix. She was trained already and was leaving a home that had kids (the reason was the new baby had allergies and asthma). She was the best dog. I say was because we only had her 2 years before she developed lung cancer :(


After Silver died, we adopted a 5 month old untrained shepherd from the Humane Association. Crate training and obedience have gone very well. Noelle's been wonderful, but the 79lb 1.5 yo puppy can get a bit rough with our 8yr old son when she gets excited. OMG! Is she 'bouncy' and is even hard for us to handle. She's especially bad when she is going someplace with us, and yes, we take her alot and 'yes' we follow the "Nothing in Life is Free" training method. We thought taking her on car trips, outings, etc., would desentize her. Maybe it will, but I'm now thinking it's just puppy excitement and she'll have to outgrow it as she matures. She *LOVES* doggy daycare on Fridays. She just vibrates with excitement when she sees us driving down that road.

Anyway, for a first dog I think we made the right choice with a trained older dog.

[SoCalDem]

11. So sorry about your baby...

It ultimately depends on the chemistry.. We rescued a purebred lab (she was 2) and she fit in perfectly , but all the other pets have been castoffs who just showed up..we have never actively sought out a pet..and all but one psycho-cat was a perfect fit.. psycho-cat managed to bite each of my kids AND shit on the WALL..more than a few times, so we did have to find her a different home.. Maybe 3 rambunctious boys was more than she wasnted to mess with:shrug:

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

7. Gatsby looks more like a Beardie with a haircut

I probably have more PWD blood in me than Bear does. Could the shelter be trying to increase traffic on Bear by mislabelling him ? I hope they both find good homes soon.

[blues90]

8. Why should anyone give a damn ?

The first dog. There are thousands of first dogs waiting to be gassed and plenty who are the sole companion of someone living on the street and we need a photo op of the first dog.

Sorry but this has gotten really old and ignorant.

[shireen]

12. because a rescue first dog is going to raise awareness about rescue dogs in general.

It will be an opportunity to educate people about the responsibilities of having a pet, overflowing shelters, spay-and-neuter, and puppy mills.

It's also fun to speculate about the First Dog. With all the grim news we receive each day, this is a welcome respite.

And that's why i give a damn.

[knitter4democracy]

10. I would totally get Bear if I could get another dog.

Sooo cute!

I've only gotten rescues since graduating from college, and the vast majority of the time, it has worked out great. Our dog may be scared of his own shadow and plastic bags, but he's great with the kids and a total clown. We love him dearly, and I feel safer knowing that he's on guard against anything and everything all the time.

[alarimer]

14. I just hope they've paid their taxes.

We can't have another scandal like that.

Talk about poor vetting.

[RushIsRot]

15. I got my two mixed-breed pups in this manner. Their mother was

a stray, in heat and wandering the neighborhood with a pack of males in hot pursuit. I felt sorry for her plight and would feed her daily in an open field across the street from my house with a whole can of dog food to help her out. She was not trusting enough to allow me to get closer. After she gave birth to her litter, I found a little bundle of fur on my doorstep. He was a male that I named Rascal. Later the mother moved her litter to my next-door neighbor's back yard and one of the puppies wandered into my yard and got adopted. I called her Puddin'. All this happened in Louisiana.

Now I have moved to the woods in the Arkansas Ozarks and my two dogs live the best life any dog could imagine.

There's only one down side to all this. A couple of days ago Rascal tangled with a skunk and lost and it is still too cold to bathe Rascal. He sleeps beside my computer chair and reeks. DRAT!

[burythehatchet]

16. I've been lookin for a PWD pup, so I'm familiar with Gatsby. They are not common

only 2 on Petfinder and one is more lab.

(I am allergic so I need a non-shedder)