How did you find your dog?

[TrishB]

I'm sure we've all got long stories about how we found our puppies. :) How did you find yours?

I had booked in a female puppy with a breeder I had been chatting to via the internet for months, then met in person at a dog show. Over the next year, my situation changed and I went from being booked to 2nd pick female to 1st pick male.

Sadly, the female was having issues conceiving, and after a 3rd failed attempt, we decided it wasn't fair to make me wait any longer. My money was refunded and I began my search again.

A friend (a now retired breeder) had heard of a litter through a friend. She put me into contact with her. She told me of the other litter, that was with a very good friend of hers. The 4 of us emailed furiously for almost 4 weeks.

I wanted an obedience / show prospect male. She had one that although there had been lots of interest in him, no one that wanted to go into both venues. We seemed to be a perfect match. She put me into contact with her other puppy owners. I put her into contact with references (friends, the other breeder, etc.)

Finally, I decided to drive 6 hours to Pennsylvania to go and meet "White Boy". The rest is history. :D

He's been the best thing for me - I wouldn't give up a minute.

From the time I formally began my serious search for a breeder to the time I actually brought Parker home, it had been almost 3 years.

[LavenderRott]

I went to animal control to find a little house dog. I had just found out I was pregnant and I wanted something that would be good with kids, sturdy enough to play with them and loud if someone came to the house. (I did not live in a good neighborhood.)

I didn't want anything big though as my BF is not a big dog fan and didn't want a big dog.

There she was, sitting nicely in the front of the run while all the other dogs were barking their fool heads off. She had teats that hung down to the ground and she was looking a little thin.

One guy had looked at her, but said that she was too old (they figured she was 4 years old) and her time was running out.

That is how we found the Chase dog.

By the way, she rarely barks when people come to the door.

[mmgy]

It was easy with the last pair.....they were playing in the curb on the side of the road!!!:D

My rottweilers, quite literally, I discovered on a hike----over the river and through the woods........:(

I know this isn't what you intended when you asked :D, and I hope one day I can have a story like yours!!!

[TrishB]

Originally posted by mmgy
I know this isn't what you intended when you asked :D, and I hope one day I can have a story like yours!!!

LOL Sure it is! :D

[JD102175]

We heard about Brodie from one of Dave's co-workers whose friends' cousin worked for a local A.C. They took him from his previous "owners" because he was being neglected. The A.C. officer had held onto him for over two weeks because he was such a sweet boy and deserved a home. They are only supposed to hold the dogs for 5 days and then they need to find a shelter to take them or have them PTS. We went to A.C. on a Wednesday to see him, he was picked up by the Anti Cruelty Society that Friday, along with our info. I talked to the guy who picked him up as soon as I found out he was there, we talked for about an hour. We then got a call that following Tuesday asking if we still wanted him, well DUH:D , and were told to come pick him up the next evening.


And the rest,as they say, is history;)


Jaime

[livinzoo]

Sorry this is so long.

I worked at petsmart with Debbie form CARR in Illinois. She knew I wanted to get a rott. We talked about breeders and rescuing. And she suggested that being I wasn't going to show that I should rescue. A few years later, living here in Georgia I finally got my own house. One of the first things I did was give Debbie a call. I wanted a male with a tail that was under 4 months. I know its asking alot out of a rescue. I was going to be in her area the end of March so she said she would let me know if she had anything. Nothing. About a week after I got home she called. They had found a male and a female in the pound with a litter of 5. 3 boys and 2 girls. She asked what boy I wanted. I told her to pick one for me. I had known her for 3 years by then. She picked the biggest. He was 6 weeks old at the time. His mom had to be put down because her heart worms were beyond treatable. He had a wonderful foster home with all sorts of animals. This was esspecially helpful. That how I got Argos.

When Argos was a bit over 1 a customer called petsmart and basically said another petmart had said they would take a dog off her hands if need be. I was asked if I wanted him. I didn't because Argos was only a year old. A friend and I were set on a mission to find a home. We had a customer (who I now know is a BYB) who had rotts. We asked him if he was interested in it. He had us go with his daughter to check him out. I saw him, my heart melted and I knew I wanted him. He was 86 pounds and so thin you could see his pelvic bone. I told my friend that if this guy didn't want him that I did.

The guy thought he looked good, but didn't want him because he couldn't breed him because he didn't have papers. So when we got back to my friends house I introduced him to Argos. There was no reaction from either. I played with them together for about an hour. He would fit in fine. I told my friend again that I wanted him. Secretlly she wanted him too. She already had 2 dogs. And one of hers would not get along with him. The next day she tells me her mom was going to come luck at him. I told her that I wanted him and had 2nd dibs on him. Her mom had a back injury and had trouble walking her dalmation.

Finally after a few hours of silence. She asked when I was going to come get him. I said tonight. So a few weeks after I got him I find out that the guy was going to "FIND" papers for him so he could breed him. He just didn't want me to know it. This guy also breed a female with a luxating patala and wondered why the daughter had the same problem. So by geting him I prevented him from fathering puppies.

Sorry its so long.
Crystal

[carolynnl4]

I was visiting my parents in Texas, and my father wanted a dog to protect his property. I went to the pound, and I was pretty unimpressed with the tiny heap of black and red fur in the corner, and told him to grab the two mutts who were barking their heads off trying to play with us.
He said he'd think about it, and I went back to school in Alabama. By the time he went back to pick up the two mutts, they'd gone home with someone. So he got the little black fuzz ball.
Being a huge dog lover, I drove 12 hours back to Texas to see the tiny puppy that was so terrified of people. By this time, she was a 4 month old puppy who knocked me over before we were ever "introduced".
It broke my heart to see her all alone outside all day long, so I started plotting. ;)
A few weeks later, dad called me and said she was stubborn and stupid and that he couldn't stand her, and that his other (new) dog was much better behaved.
I told him that was terrible, and it's awful how some dogs just won't listen. Then I promptly drove back to Texas and picked her up. She's my darling, and I swear she's a genius. :D

[Spoiled Rott'n]

We got our rotten one Sabre from a BYB in 1998 before I even realized what one was!! The little was huge and Sabre was the runt who looked like they just were not interested in him. We were just riding thru a nearby neighborhood out for a sunday drive and came home with our new son. Thankfully, even coming from unknowns he has been the best dog, no significant health problems (knock on wood) and has assimilated nicely with our other furkids. Since then we have been hooked on the breed, despite how many people told us he's turn on us one day!!

[Rott-Wiley]

My female rottie died a very hard and unexpected death and both my wife and I were devistated. I didn't want another dog, I hadn't adjusted to loosing her yet but my wife contacted a local breeder/handler via the Internet and started exchanging emails. My wife was interested in a puppy but the breeder said she had a dog that was 7 months old that she was trying to find a home for and wanted us to come see her. We went over, just to look. One look is all it took. We left with her that night. The dog and I instantly bonded and I was the one that wasn't ready for another dog. LOL

[Grendl]

My husband has the philosophy that dogs should be replaced immediately, while I figure there's no hurry. Anyway, as soon as my last Rottie was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and given an unknown but brief # of days to live, my husband began canvassing the region for Rottie puppies. My beloved companion died on the evening of Dec 24, and on Dec 26 my husband had lined up visits to four different places. We spent the day looking at unimpressive litters (my heart was not in it). Our last stop was a kennel with no puppies currently for sale, but we wanted to meet the owners and see the dogs. We visited for about two hours. As we were leaving, my husband made one final pass along the runs, and asked about a young female who was sitting, watching him, while the other dogs all jumped and paced and barked. The breeder said she was 9 months old, had been placed in a show home in Georgia, and recently returned when the new owner injured her back and could not handle her. My husband like her looks (she stared him down) and we purchased her. We had not planned to buy a dog; we were driving a Miata. She was in heat and I was wearing winter-white slacks. Well, she got stuffed into the front seat in my lap and we made the 30 min. drive home. That's how I got my challenging she-devil! Eight months later, the breeder called and asked if we could take a male they were retiring from Conformation, so we bought a second crate, and went back in the truck to get him. He's a sweetheart, and the two are best buds.

[RottiMomCT]

Ben found me when hubby and I went to an 'Adoption Day' at a local PetCo in Feburary 2000. I had no intention of getting a dog, but he stole my heart! I kept calling him 'my Mr Puppy' and was later told his name was 'Mr Big' , and his owner went to jail and the family could not deal with him, so they called rescue.

A week after I met him, a volunteer from NERR came to the house, checked us out and the following day, Ben was MINE, all mine (OK, he's hubby's too...!!)...

To this day I can't recall how it was without him in the house (aside from less hair, drool and more room in bed :D ).

[LJSmith]

My wife and I bounced ideas off of ourselves for months before settkling on the rottweiler as our breed. This was brought on by an incredible expierence with a sweet, rescued female while on a hike. Through an exhaustive search and numerous interviews we were accepted as prospective owners for a female pup of the breeder's choice (temparment and placement were very important to her and she wanted to make the final decision based on our needs and her expierence with the individual puppies.). At 4 weeks of age we drove to NH to meet the litter. Before we went I came across this site and spent hours reading and absorbing. Our breeder told us that one of the pups had white amrkings on his chest. This flew up flags in my mind as to the credibility of the breeder. I was not going to be the one that got stuck with the "non-standard" pup. The breeder and I asked each other all the right questions and we agreed on a female. As we were leaving I picked up a puppy one last time, and something special happened. The most independent pup of the group, and least interested in people settled down with me. He fit perfect, and that was that. Oscar selected us as his parents. He also happened to be the dog with the white markings. Now the independent pup is the pride of our home and has developed into a very loving, and loyal pup w/ just the right amount of independence.

[C Ross]

I think I've already told Kudlow's story in the forums before, but here goes.

It was late afternoon on a Sunday. Hubby and kids and I had just gotten back from the grocery store. I took the takeout food we'd picked up into the house with the kids to get them started eating. Hubby was bringing in groceries when he saw the young couple across the street leaving with their puppy and all the puppy's stuff. My husband, who isn't at all shy about asking other people about their business, asked them where they were going with the dog. They were off to the convenience store to give him away! They had met a clerk there that afternoon who said she'd take the puppy. They were in a hurry since the clerk only worked until 6:00. My husband asked them to wait a minute and came into the house to ask if I wanted Larry's dog. The puppy? The one they've only had for two weeks? That dog? Come to find out they were getting divorced, moving apart, the woman didn't want him (seems that Larry got the dog without consulting with his soon-to-be-ex-wife), and Larry couldn't find an apartment he could afford on his own that would take a dog that big. So 20 minutes later Mowgli, renamed Kudlow, came to live with us.

My GSD had passed away almost four years prior to the day. Fugazi died 11/13/99 and this was 11/10/03. My lab is in failing health, and the plan had been to wait until he went to the Bridge and then get an adult dog. But it just felt right to take this pup in. I found rott.net on 11/11/03.

Christine

[Laura]

I had been talking about getting a Rottie at work for the longest time. Since being new at this I had a hard time finding one. I went to a couple of breeders they said their puppies were spoken for. Another breeder was a glorified pupper miller. A couple of rescue places turned me down, I guess because of my inexperience, don't blame them. A co- worker was on the phone with his divorce lawyers secetary. She said to him that her dog had puppies. He had asked what kind and the rest is history. When and if I get another one I will totally do the opposite of what I did.

[spoteet]

I lost my Mojo on Feb 4th, 2001 and I was so heart broken and lonely that I had to find another companion. I started searching for puppies within a few days and exactly one week after I lost Mojo I drove 3 hours to look at Sajan's litter which was 2 weeks old. I managed to get 1st male pick and there were 6 males in the litter. I spent a couple of hours watching them and picking them up. Of course most puppies don't do much at 2 weeks of age but Sajan was different. When I went to put him down, I felt him grumble in my hand. I raised him back up to my face and said to him "are you grumbling at me" and he went grumble grumble. When I put him down again, he was the only one who came back to me. I told her to mark him for me. I went back every week to see them grow and she kept telling me I didn't have to take Sajan since I had 1st pick. By the time he was ready to come home, I was already attached to him and that attitude, which I still love today despite all it's trials and tribulations. I was only looking for a healthy male Rott to do obed with and be my companion. What I got was so much more:D :D