barneysmom

It looks like we will have to postpone our plans to get Barney a buddy when his foster dog friend goes to the no-kill Humane Society. Life has other plans for our money right now (my paid-for car refuses to make it to 300,000 miles, and has a repair that may cost too much for the age and mileage of the car). It will likely be summer at the earliest that we could adopt another Basset.

Will Barney be okay without a dog around? He will actually get much more attention from his people as he is calm and a pleasure to be around, as the foster dog tends to dominate over him when we try to play with them or pet them.

(Back story on the foster dog, around 5 years ago, our renters suddenly skipped town and left a half-grown dog behind. I had no idea until the next renter mentioned that she had been feeding the dog because it looked to be a stray. The dog is clearly half chow due to black/blue spots on its tongue, and the first set of renters had a female chow. I did the math. We took the dog home, had her spayed, but as she got older, she became more dominant and has recently shown that she cannot be trusted with kittens. She would have killed one that I was fostering if we hadn't been there. I will not tolerate a cat-killer, I love my cats and need them to control the moles and mice/rats on our hobby farm.

The animal control and humane society situation here in my neck of the woods is pitiful. I would not surrender a dog to a kill shelter unless they were severely aggressive, and this dog was merely acting on hunting instinct. However, I would not be able to surrender a dog to this shelter because it is only for people in the city limits despite being dubbed the county animal shelter. The volunteer humane society is over-run with severe cases and rarely has an opening for non-emergency surrenders. So thank goodness the Huntsville Alabama Humane Society (low-kill, only for very aggressive or ill dogs) agreed to take this dog when they have an opening for an adult).

Nitrosmom

As much as dogs enjoy the companionship of other dogs, Nitro is an only dog. We have a cat and a bird also, but honestly could not afford the vet bills for another dog. We have spent a small fortune on him. With the puppy shots, worms, and don't even get me started on the ears! I would never trade him for anything, but we could not afford another one either.

He gets to go play with the neighborhood dogs and children. He is very socialized. I thing more important than anything is the dog getting attention, exercise and a chance to be a dog. Just my own personal opinion.

Kirska

I am actually looking at buying a house in the next year or so and one of my main criteria for location is the municipal animal shelter policies and general condition. I refuse to pay property taxes and water/garbage to a city that has a high kill rate or uses gassing. It really can be night and day from one suburb to the next. Ours and the one east of us has a great program where they even take dogs to Petsmart/Petco for adoptions, but the one west of us still uses the gas chamber and has quite a few other shady practices.

Anyway, I think your Barney should be okay. Has he ever shown signs of separation anxiety? Anabelle goes NUTS when she's left home completely alone.

__________________
Mom to Anabelle and Lila, rescued ladies and Harley, Corgi/Beagle/Basset/?? mutt

"Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call

jmwolff

We had a bassett as a single dog for 11.5 years, and he was fine...but Very attached to us. He jsut wanted to be where we were, but otherwise he was a sweet low key dog (who would steal any food left anwhere in his reach).

Now we have two bassetts, and I will say they are happy to have each other, and better able to be out of our sight without being upset. But so long as a single guy gets to be with you or other family for the most part, I would think he would be fine.

barneysmom

Kirska, I agree that the quality of animal shelters varies. The local one here is horrendous and I would never surrender this dog to them even if I qualified.

He does show separation anxiety. He is so loving and still when he is being petted. You could love on him for 30 minutes solid and once you leave, he is just as anxious about being petted as he was when you started.

lvnMattie

Mattie has been our only dog for 5 years. But Mattie has had 2 cats to keep her company in those 5 years. The one cat even eats with her. Mattie seem totally fine.

In the last couple of months I have been dog sitting my mom puppy that is a Puggle. Mattie & her play and run together, but when the Puggle goes home at night, Mattie seems happy to have the house and the attention all to herself once again.

barneysmom

I think with some toys and a good place to snooze, he'll be fine when we're away. And will get more attention when we're home.