photo credit: jeckman

We started going to animal shelters in July 2008 to start getting familiar with rescue dogs, their temprement and surroundings/background. We had never had a rescue dog before only pedigree Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and knew that it was likely to be a huge learning curve.

Don’t what ever you do be rushed into making a decision especially if you have children who make puppy eyes at you every time they see a dog. It is very important to consider carefully what type of dog you can rehouse based on your own lifestyle. You need to consider things like:

• The amount of space that you have for the dog at home.
• What access the dog will have to outside space.
• How much you can afford for buying the dog.
• How much you can afford for upkeep and care of the dog.
• How much you can set aside for insurance and/vets bills.
• Most important of all how much time you have to actually spend with the dog, quality time, playing; walking; training and so on.

Once you have some idea of the above you will be able to narrow your choice of breeds down and then your search can start in earnest. We finally met our match and brought him home in January 2009.