My Pet World: Helping a dog from a hoarding background learn to trust his world

Cathy M. Rosenthal, Tribune Content Agency on Apr 20, 2022

In a letter from "V" in Baltimore, "V" was worried about her friend who lived alone with major health issues, including oxygen tanks with tubes running throughout the house. One suggestion you didn't give her was to contact the shelter and be sure they knew that the person who wants the dog has oxygen tubes running through the house and frequent hospitalizations. If the pet tripped over and disconnected a tube or was a chewer and bit through the tube, this could be life-threatening for the elderly widow.

– Dolores, Boynton Beach, Florida

Dear Dolores,

I can appreciate where you are coming from, but don't think people should call an animal shelter and tell them that someone coming to adopt a dog shouldn't be allowed to adopt or that the person has limitations that might impact their well-being or the pet's care. First, I don't think the staff would consider the advice since they don't know the relationship between the caller and the adopter and would not know the true motive behind the call. And second, V's friend is still an adult capable of making her own decisions, and we have to respect that.

I sense your worry over her adopting a dog, so let me alleviate those concerns by saying that every animal shelter and rescue group that I know of interviews and screens every adopter. (Good breeders do the same thing.) They will get a good feel from her answers about whether she is in the right place to adopt right now. If they don't feel she would be a suitable adopter, they will deny her and explain why. Hearing this from a shelter or rescue group is sometimes easier than hearing it from a friend.

There is one more option. The woman may be a good foster parent. Animal shelters support foster parents with pet food and pet care until a home can be found, and they can easily take the dog back if she has to be hospitalized.

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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)