Giving a dog away for free: Question

[IrishMeg]

Hoping someone can give me an answer on this one. I'm not sure if I should do anything or not.

FH and I have two Pugs. I read the classified ads in our local paper every Sunday just to see if there are any Pugs for sale, how much they're going for etc. Today I saw this ad.

PUG-5 Year Old Male
Free to good home
with extra TLC.
XXX-XXX-XXXX

Okay, now even if I was getting rid of our Pugs (which we would never do) I wouldn't give them away free in the newspaper. If no one in my family could take them, we would contact our local Pug Rescue and surrender them. I'm thinking that would be in their best interest in that situation. (Am I wrong?)

So, I've e-mailed every Pug lover I know about this little dog. I called some other people and I'm spreading the word at work tomorrow. My question is, should I contact our Pug Rescue and let them know? At least then, they could ensure that he would find an appropriate and adequate home. Or is giving him away in the newspaper the right thing for them to do?

I can't even imagine giving a dog away, so I honestly don't know what the best thing to do is here. I honestly thought of calling the phone number and saying "Here is the Pug Rescue contact information. Call them, please!" :o

[Sue]

Yes, I would contact pug rescue. Give them all the info and let them contact the person.

And no, giving a dog away for free in the newspaper is not the right thing to do. You never know what sicko might call wanting the dog, to sell for research, to be a bait dog... It's just too risky.

[BTB]

I know this can be something people feel very strongly about, and I understand why. It's scary to think what some people would do to a free animal, and hard to know who's searching the ads for that purpose.

But I do think people who give their animals away mean well; they can't stomach the idea of 'selling' their beloved pet and of pocketing, what, a hundred bucks in exchange for their friend? So they list "free to a good home" in the hopes of finding someone who will love their pet. My dearly beloved (and sadly, dearly departed) kitty, who brought me so much happiness and was so loved for the 13 years I had her, was obtained from a free to a good home ad - as were two of her littermates, who still rule their roost (my mother's home) and are very loved and cared for.

My feeling is that the owner either doesn't know about Pug Rescues in your area, or doesn't see the need. If it's the former, a phone call directly to the owner would be great, if the latter of course it can't do any good. Another option would be to complete the 'transaction' yourself - 'adopt' the dog, then surrender him/her to the rescue. I don't know how rescues work, not sure if that's a 'legit' surrender, just a thought. :)

[Natasha]

They may not know about Rescues. But, the part about extra TLC makes me think the poor guy has something wrong with him (health or behavior) that keeps them from selling it, if that makes sense. I wouldn't hesitate to contact them and mention a Rescue. They may just not know!

[IrishMeg]

Thanks for all of the repsonses!!

I went to the Pug Rescue of Florida website last night and it was really confusing. They stated that they are not taking any surrenders due to the hurricane situation. Then it goes on to list the reasons they would take a surrendered Pug "if you have no other option". :confused:

I e-mailed the woman but I'm wondering if maybe they tried to surrender their dog and couldn't. They state they'll be operating as usual in November.

Thank you for your help. :)

[IrishMeg]

I just got an e-mail from a woman who is in my Pug meetup group. She has been looking for an older Pug to adopt but she was turned down by our rescue group because she doesn't have a backyard. I'm soooo hoping she will get him because she will take wonderful care of him!!