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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Years back, some friends who live in lower Manhattan recounted what happened when someone put out poison that killed off most of the feral cat population. The rat population soared. Suddenly all the locals who had bought Jack Russell Terriers because they were cute little dogs, properly sized for small Manhattan apartments, discovered what else they were when they encountered rats. "You didn't know Jack Russells were bred for centuries to be ratters? This came as a surprise to you? That's what you get for being ignorant and not Looking Stuff Up before you adopted..."
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Nature has a way of reminding us that top of the food chain, or not, she's still boss.
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The "likes to run and play" is a prime example of what I was talking about. Some dogs need to be out and getting exercise, and react badly when they can't.
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Oh, yes. I cringe when city-dwellers with small yards or worse, none, adopt dogs like Wiemers, German Shorts or Labs. Weimers get downright neurotic without boatloads of outdoor BOUNDING time, and Labs can get very antsy without adequate exercise, as well and BONDING time with their owners. Very few people are willing to do the 2 miles of roadwork (at a trot, mind you) that a large dog needs daily. And I'm not even talking really large dogs--I'm talking dogs in the hunting group. Want to see how an Afghan Hound or other large sitehound turns bad? Lock them up in a party-girl (or guy's) 1BR apartment in NYC.
I'm proud to say that Mr. Hitch's nephew has adopted any number of unadoptable critters from the pound. Dogs that nobody else wanted. One blind in one eye and deaf (a Chihuahua); a dog with advanced arthritis and cancer, that needs meds (but was young), and a host of others. All have gone on to have happy lives with him, for as long as they lived.
We've done similar things with cats, (cats that weren't easy to home, cats with IBS, cats that don't love kids [come on in, the water's fine here, kitty]) as I haven't had dogs in decades. That's, mostly because I have always worked so many hours that I couldn't be certain to be home to walk, water, feed, etc. at a given time. And I
won't do that to a dog. I don't even like the
cats being alone for many hours each day, but as they are indoor kitties, with GIGANTIC kitty trees (7' tall and many feet wide), Ripple rugs, and every other sort of cat exercise device at their instant disposal, I feel less guilty.
Hitch