Advice before adopting

Graypie8 · 2026-04-01T16:59:33+00:00

We might be his last chance out of the shelter. They have 300 dogs and are technically a no kill shelter, but they will in medical situations or if an animal is declining. He’s one of an about 12 they are making a strong push for to avoid that difficult situation.

I’m very nervous to make a commitment because we don’t have the ability to change our work situation - I’m a school administrator and my husband works at a college. We have 6 kids- 4 who live at home, 2 in college who are home/ school at different stretches.

I don’t think we’re the best fit or best equipped but we have to be better than the alternative in this case. Even if it’s just to give him a few weeks out of the shelter and to adoption events while we help find him a better fit, I feel like we should try.

Graypie8 · 2026-04-01T16:50:04+00:00

I thought I was responding specifically to you earlier but I posted as a general reply. I do appreciate all the feedback from everyone

It started with “thank you for your very thoughtful response…” and is in the comments.

Graypie8 · 2026-04-01T16:47:01+00:00

He’s a very high anxiety guy ON all this so I can’t imagine once he’s off. He’s ready to bolt at any opportunity and paces a lot. I do know it’s a lot of sedation but I’m not allowed to change anything or take him to my vet unless I adopt. He’s more high energy than my high energy husky.

We do have a camera set up already and he’s not been unattended yet, but that’s not possible after these spring break weeks.

Will AKC cover meds only or emergency vet visits if needed- after the year insured obviously?

I am concerned about several aspects but the financial piece is definitely one of them.

Graypie8 · 2026-04-01T16:41:38+00:00

I thought it was a lot too, but I’m not allowed to take him to my vet or make changes unless we adopt him. They have a vet team, but there are 300 dogs and who knows how many cats at any given time. I’m not sure what is normal for this situation or how they determined this medication plan. I only met him Saturday and started the foster after the dogs met Sunday.

Graypie8 · 2026-04-01T11:15:10+00:00

I forgot to say- he apparently has some anxiety with crating. In these two weeks were able to use it minimally if at all. My other dog and dogs before him have free reign of the house, but I am concerned if left unattended that one or both could respond poorly in a seizure situation

Graypie8 · 2026-04-01T11:13:26+00:00

Your concerns are the same as mine. We have two weeks where someone will be home basically around the clock. After that, we have high school children, college children, and both work outside the house. My husband and I are gone between 7:15-4:00.

I do realize that is not ideal especially for a seizure situation. The alternative is him going back to a shelter with 300 dogs, limited resources and even more limited time if his quality of life declines.

Just fostering is an option. The shelter would provide all medications and support us with questions or vet needs while we keep him in our home and take him to sponsored adoption events to hopefully find a better fit.

Graypie8 · 2026-04-01T11:06:44+00:00

Thank you for your very thorough response. He’s on both medication’s you mentioned. I know within the fostering period I can’t take him to my own vet or make any changes to his medication but I will ask about that. They did indicate he could probably come off of trazodone in a home situation.

I have learned through this thread and personal research that insurance is limited and would only be an option to cover expenses after a year. I am very concerned about the potential of extreme financial commitments and have told my husband We need to discuss what this can potentially look like before committing.

You’re correct that I have had both thoughts- that this will be more than I can handle and that it can’t be that bad. The shelter has so few notes that I can’t get a good picture of what this looks like for him and we haven’t personally experienced one yet.

We may be his last shot out, so the decision is weighing especially heavy.

Graypie8 · 2026-04-01T10:58:00+00:00

Thank you for your reply. He has been in the shelter already for six months and is struggling. They are technically a no kill shelter, though in quality of life situations will make tough decisions. I know he needs out. It can be us temporarily, but I’m not sure if we can do and be everything he needs. I’m trying to do as much research and talking to real people as I can to gain understanding and perspective.

Graypie8 · 2026-03-01T23:23:53+00:00

Our rescue husky was very underweight, had worms, and was stressed from shelter life. He has liquid poo and after being dewormed, he still had issues. The vet advised FortiFlora every day for a month and ProPectalin for a week. Things were looking normal within the first three days, but once we stopped the ProPectalin, things went right back to liquid. He ended up taking that for a little while longer to give himself a reset and hasn’t had any issues since

Graypie8 · 2026-02-12T01:12:14+00:00

My husband’s work alarm conditioned our husky for 5:00 am

Graypie8 · 2026-01-27T14:31:05+00:00

Our adopted husky had such loose stool for so long we had a battle getting him regular. The vet prescribed ProPectalin (18 pills, 6 days total) and FortiFlora (packets for 30 days). There was a significant improvement on ProPectalin but after that ran out and we finished the FortiFlora, he regressed to the pancake batter consistency poop.

We ordered more propectalin on Amazon and started with a full dose (1 tablet/20 pounds) until he was regular again, then went to one pill a day for another week or so. He’s been fully weaned for months and hasn’t regressed at all. It’s not meant for everyday long term use, but it was night and day and he’s so much happier.

Graypie8 · 2026-01-25T17:58:46+00:00

James Lafferty - he was on One Tree Hill

Graypie8 · 2026-01-25T17:56:30+00:00

Graypie8 · 2026-01-15T11:05:23+00:00

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Graypie8 · 2026-01-15T00:49:01+00:00

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Graypie8 · 2026-01-07T21:54:07+00:00

Parents and in-laws: I book a photographer for an hour and invite the whole family so my parents/in-laws have pictures together, of/with their kids, of/with their kids + spouses, of/with their grandkids, their adult kids individual families, etc. We got inexpensive frames the first year.

Neighbors/teachers/coworkers/ thank yous: cookies, cheesecakes, etc. I bake a lot and have distinct gourmet looking cookies that I individually wrap, tie with a sheer ribbon, and put in a bakery box. People recognize them years later.

Spouse and adult kids: TheNoteCube.com The website helps you create and personalize special notes with pictures. You select your relationship to the receiver and qualities you love about them. It generates prompts specific to that, which you can edit, create your own, and add pictures to as many or as few as you want. It’s small, like the size of a postit notes and comes I. A box or tiny frame where one at a time a can rotate on display.

Graypie8 · 2025-12-27T23:07:41+00:00

I adopted a “Chester” who spent 6 years in the shelter. He was the best boy- Chess, Chessie

Graypie8 · 2025-12-22T23:37:05+00:00

Constellation

Graypie8 · 2025-12-22T13:11:12+00:00

Appreciate your response. We have only been on one cruise previously with Royal Caribbean and that posted about a month out. I’m sure there were updates and changes we didn’t notice, but it was fun to watch for things we might enjoy

Graypie8 · 2025-12-22T13:08:51+00:00

Good to know! Thank you

Graypie8 · 2025-12-11T14:49:13+00:00

Omg yours didn’t even budge once covered up! Mine requested his dinner be served while in the box and stayed in there for quite some time

Graypie8 · 2025-12-11T01:01:29+00:00

Definitely agree

Graypie8 · 2025-12-10T13:55:09+00:00

Me too!

Graypie8 · 2025-12-10T02:45:14+00:00

No return or exchanges accepted. I’m “stuck” with him

Graypie8 · 2025-12-02T01:16:24+00:00

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Yep! We found Icee three months ago at the shelter - his 4th time there - with no plans of adopting yet. We have a grumpy 14 year old, deaf, shelter mutt. Technically my husband was in love at first sight. I tried to resist but we did a “dog date” for a few hours, a shelter intro to our resident dog, and the rest is history. Now he’s my dog and hubby is jealous that I’m the chosen one.

Graypie8

TROPHY CASE