# Not Sure What to Say about Rescue



## Grasshopper (Feb 28, 2016)

I live in a really dog centered town home development. One day, while walking, I ran across an older woman who has a Havanese puppy of 9 months. Because I had my Hav, Tully, with me, we started talking. It turns out that she is pretty discouraged with having the puppy. He was a gift because she was a fairly recent widow (1 year), and some family members thought she could use the companionship. The dog is pretty well behaved, house trained, crate trained, not aggressive, but has lots of puppy energy. (She did take him to a puppy class, and he knows some basic commands.) She feels that she can't deal with how active he is. (What she describes sounds like frequent bouts of the "zoomies.") She also is concerned because she has to put him in the crate when she goes out, and she is trying to develop new interests (since she is a new widow, lonely, and needs to get out and make a life for herself) and she feels that she can't do some of the activities she would like because the puppy would be in the crate for too long. She can't afford a lot of boarding, etc. In short, she just isn't sure that the dog is a good thing in her life - she is sometimes overwhelmed by the stress of raising him, and feels she can't live the life she would want to because of him. She asked me about rescue organizations. Honestly, I didn't know what to say. I bought my Hav from a breeder, and I have no experience with rescues. Is this an appropriate situation for a rescue, or is there something else that could help out with making a happy outcome?


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I recommend she contact Havanese Rescue.

Here is some info from the site:

If you need to surrender a Havanese to rescue, or you know of a Havanese that needs rescue assistance, please complete this form. Submissions are monitored seven days a week.


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

Jeanne gave you the information I would give about Havanese Rescue Inc (HRI). Submitting the Request for Assistance is just that. The Assistance volunteers may be able to help this woman find a way to keep her puppy which may be what she wants to do if she can figure out how she can go out without keeping the puppy in a crate for a long time. 

Perhaps she might be able to find a neighbor who would like to dogsit in exchange for dogsitting the neighbor's dog? Perhaps a family member who suggested getting a dog may be able to dogsit so she can have people time.

As you probably know, a Havanese may stay puppy-like throughout her life, but the puppy energy tends to subside for the most part. She may still Run Like Heck once a day or want to have her mom throw a toy for her to retrieve for a while, but the energy levels tend to subside as the puppy grows into adulthood.

Unless the puppy has Separation Anxiety, she can be left with a stuffed Kong and a radio left on KCBS or KQED to help cover up sounds outside the house. She may want to buy an ex-pen to give her more room. It can have her crate inside with the door left open and a water bowl. If she is paper or litter box trained, she can have one set up for her. Otherwise, maybe she can have a dog walker come in once or twice a day to take her out to do her business and play with her for a while.

Starr


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

Grasshopper said:


> I live in a really dog centered town home development. One day, while walking, I ran across an older woman who has a Havanese puppy of 9 months. Because I had my Hav, Tully, with me, we started talking. It turns out that she is pretty discouraged with having the puppy. He was a gift because she was a fairly recent widow (1 year), and some family members thought she could use the companionship. The dog is pretty well behaved, house trained, crate trained, not aggressive, but has lots of puppy energy. (She did take him to a puppy class, and he knows some basic commands.) She feels that she can't deal with how active he is. (What she describes sounds like frequent bouts of the "zoomies.") She also is concerned because she has to put him in the crate when she goes out, and she is trying to develop new interests (since she is a new widow, lonely, and needs to get out and make a life for herself) and she feels that she can't do some of the activities she would like because the puppy would be in the crate for too long. She can't afford a lot of boarding, etc. In short, she just isn't sure that the dog is a good thing in her life - she is sometimes overwhelmed by the stress of raising him, and feels she can't live the life she would want to because of him. She asked me about rescue organizations. Honestly, I didn't know what to say. I bought my Hav from a breeder, and I have no experience with rescues. Is this an appropriate situation for a rescue, or is there something else that could help out with making a happy outcome?


Where did the puppy come from? Most reputable breeders have a surrender clause in their contracts stating that the puppy must go back to the breeder in case the need to surrender should arise.


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## Cassandra (Dec 29, 2015)

The poor woman...she is probably reluctant to let the family members who gave her the puppy know that this isn't a good time for her. Perhaps if she could get the breeder's name off the papers, she could raise it with Havanese Rescue if she talks to someone there...who might act as an intermediary.

When I read the post a few days ago, my heart ached for her and for the puppy. Puppies and dogs are a lot of responsibility even when you choose to get one and to be gifted a sweet puppy at the wrong point in your life must be painful.


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## Grasshopper (Feb 28, 2016)

Thanks for the replies. I don't know about where the puppy came from. I will ask her when I see her next. I know that sometimes it is a matter of time. With my puppy, he seemed to "grow into" his home, learning about what the routines are, what works and what doesn't, anticipating what will come next, and also becoming better trained as we go to classes. So I can see he is becoming a better "citizen" as he matures. The same may happen with her puppy. I will check with her on that. I think I will check on the cost of doggie day care in my area. I also am interested in what I would do if, for example, friends wanted to take a day-long whale watching trip, or something where I definitely could not take Tully along. Maybe this lady is just assuming she could never afford that. I will check out the situation with that.


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