maltese dreams and aspirations

So growing up rural means you generally need to have at least one dog; that's just making sure rattlesnakes avoid you, water moccasins avoid you, feral dogs and cats avoid you, and a decent burglar alarm. Specifically, a dog that could survive: a middle-large to large dog.

Dogs in the Country

At any given time growing up, I had several dogs. I use 'several' because honestly, it could be anywhere from three to five on any given day; people who dog-dump really need to stop that shit. The result: really sweet half-grown dogs kind of showing up, and once my dad checked them out, we'd feed them and they'd stay.

We always had one we bought, however: a registered golden retriever (pet quality) because no matter what, Dad wanted at least one dog at all times with guaranteed health and temperament from a local breeder who understood this dog would be subject to rural life and children. AKA a dog that would follow his kids through fields and behind barns and over dale forever and be ridiculously happy constantly and also Dad could find us easily by yelling for the dog and seeing what direction it came from. Yes, that worked.

Then there was the perfect storm of Zack and Frieda. Zack was a golden retriever who could do backflips. Frieda was a random stray that appeared and was breathtakingly intelligent (Zack...less so), ungodly good with kids, and utterly ruthless with predators. And apparently--much to all our surprise--Zack wasn't fixed. You see where this is going.

(I am one hundred percent sure that was one of those weird conflations of random events and not deliberate, as the breeder wasn't that kind of person and had an excellent reputation.)

This pairing begat fifteen--FIF-FUCKING-TEEN--puppies in one litter. Fortunately, they were surprisingly hot commodities among rural family friends since they knew both our dogs and their temperament and Frieda, like Zack, was an excellent stalker. We kept one, Blackie, which you can guess the color by the name. Golden Retriever body, solid black, as smart as Frieda, and also could do backflips. He seriously would do backflips, it was incredible.

Again, the dog choice was practical; if you live out where rattlesnakes and water moccasins and feral dog packs (and the occasional loose horse or really bitter cow) ran around, you got a goddamn dog, and one suited to running through cotton fields, sunflower fields, over hills, down gulleys, and into streams, tanks, and lakes as well as chasing children and being harnessed to a wagon when one of them, no names, was super into Little House on the Prairie and wore a bonnet. In other words: no small dogs. When we moved to Austin (now an adult), I lucked into a German Shepherd at the shelter when I was looking for a dog for my dad.

My mother, all this time unbeknownst to me, has always wanted a small dog: a teacup poodle or--much much more--a Maltese. When we lived in the country, it wasn't practical; when we moved and kids still lived with her (multiple kids), it wasn't a good idea; now, however, she only lives with one child over the age of ten and my youngest sister. She is ready for her Maltese lap dreams to come true.

(The first time she showed interest a few years ago, things interfered, so this is technically Try Two At Maltese Dreams)

Mild digression: despite the fact she is not actually a cat person, Mom has four cats.

You're asking how. Fine.

The Four Cat Saga

1.) Child mind-whammied her and they adopted one when Child was in his early teens. I"m not kidding, her utterly baffled expression when they brought it home still haunts me. That cat, however, she likes and it does an excellent job of scaring the fuck out of mice, rats, and sometimes, raccoons. IT's also friendly.

2.) My eldest niece's cat moved in with my Mom even though niece lived elsewhere (for reasons unclear to anyone) then the cat vanished and niece was super upset. My sister got my niece a second cat to make up for it, which also lives with Mom even though my niece does not live with Mom and worse, niece really doesn't like it.

To be fair, I can't blame her: it's a very aloof cat, and when the synonym of 'cat' is 'aloof', that's saying something. It isn't hostile or mean or a scratcher or a biter, but it doesn't really like anyone. It will allow you to pet it if you find it but does not come for cuddles or rubbing or petting or anything and generally avoids everyone in a very snobby-cat way. I honestly think my sister just walked into the shelter and picked the first cat that looked vaguely like the lost one without so much as touching it first.

3.) Because my niece hated the above cat, my sister got her another cat--yes, that happened--which she also doesn't like for reasons I'm not sure of but may be my sister needs to stop buying random ass cats. It's a normal cat of normal aloofness.

4.) Random neighbor cat that they just don't come to get it anymore. One block away. Won't come get their goddamn cat. It currently exists in that nebulous space of 'not really ours so sort of a guest cat?' but also 'won't fucking leave, stay away, or anyone come and get it and don't want it to starve so we feed it so maybe sort of ours?'. However, it's super affectionate and playful--like, opposite of two--so there's that.

My mission: to get my mom a tiny dog. An impractical dog. An overbred dog, even. A dog that sits on laps like animate fur and barks at a painfully high pitch and you can brush and groom and literally could fit in a purse. An adult, not puppy. I'll take a maltipoo or yorkipoo or maltiyork (not sure of name????) or shi-maltz or basically any single breed or crossbreed from a reputable breeder OR that shows up in a rescue or shelter and has been evaluated for temperament et al that involves a Maltese and/or Yorkie; it must be tiny and useless as other that adorableness. Pretty easy, you'd think.

I want to do this without having to take out a loan: not easy.

Here is what I learned about shelters: they almost never have tiny dogs except chihuahuas and vaguely impossible/unholy/wtf chihuahua crossbreeds, because rescues get them before they go public.

(Note: It's not that chihuahuas aren't awesome, I've been around them/played with them my entire life, but if you've met one, you understand that's a dog you have to want specifically for what it is, be ready for, and commit to. It's made of nothing but energy and barking, and unless you can be damn sure of the temperament, not one to be around anyone under ten at best as they get cranky. Like, yeah, there are exceptions--I've seen some zen Chihuahuas--but you really can't count on that.

Exception: one of the random dogs that appeared in my life when I lived in the country was a dachshund-chihuahua mix and broke all the laws of both breeds by being what you might consider a particularly lazy sausage-shaped, chihuahua-headed sloth of good humor who preferred to be supine above all things. People who met it were utterly baffled by its existence, and I doubt I shall ever see it's like again.)

So far, I have learned this about rescues from Mom (and from contacting them or reading their literature): it takes less effort to get a goddamn passport (and possibly, security clearance at the Pentagon) than to secure a tiny dog.

One required an application, home visit/home assessment, family assessment, and then you could meet the dog (FOR THE FIRST TIME) under controlled conditions and perhaps at some point may actually get it no promises. One also had a background check. One had super strict rules about having other pets in the home across the board, not just relative to a dog's evaluation of temperament. All required some genuinely unsettling contracts you had to sign. Some had waiting lists that apparently can take decades. Fee ranged from $300-$600. This is only the stuff I remember, by the way, and that doesn't take into account how they make you feel really super judged when no, you're not really interested in the dog with some problems with children/other animals/existence and has a speckled history when it comes to using his teeth or bladder.

So reputable breeders and possibly taking out a loan for a pet-quality dog or retired show dog: oh God and I have no idea. See, that would require them answering inquiries about their dogs (as their sites have a tendency not to want to put up prices or even vague price ranges), which seems to be something of a problem since it can take a month after I ask about the ones I saw on the site for them to tell me all their dogs are gone like months ago (so why didn't you update your goddamn site already?) or the site says 'they could have dogs please inquire' but same problem as above.

Which means I'm on craigslist, even though it makes me nervous for various reasons including but not limited to:

1.) unless they're a reputable breeder, I could be hitting a goddamn puppy mill or backyard breeder and no. Fortunately, I am not in the market for puppies of any kind so not much of a worry.

2.) if it's a rehoming of an adult (and I assume 'one' isn't true), I have no idea about individual temperament or judge the probability using the dog's parents and generally you need more than a few minutes to judge how a dog reacts to cats, children, yards, et al. Yes, the seller said it's great with pets and kids, but don't they all? Who the hell says 'dog is hostile to the Achilles tendon and eats baby toes' or 'likes to pee in snoring mouths' or 'tried to kill me in my sleep with its tiny teeth, picture of scars available on request' and expects a response, much less anyone to pay $750 for their little psychopath?

3.) fee is $300 to $900 and are you fucking kidding me?? For your used, potentially demon-spawned luxuriously furred monster??????

It's so frustrating because yes, I get this isn't serious or a huge issue, but growing up, we were working class to poor most of the time. My mom didn't get to buy new clothes for years, she didn't get to have nice things or do nice things (she had to worry about paying bills and if the phone would get turned off and how much my dad would spend whether he was employed or not), she worked full time to make ends meet while clinically depressed, with anxiety, and subject to panic attacks sometimes on a daily basis (all this while on medication), and honestly, I don't think she actually liked living in the country and that doesn't include what little but very unpleasant knowledge I have of her childhood. Yes, now she's doing wonderfully financially, she can pay all her bills and even has a stock account, is in a better place and everything, but that kind of history lingers.

So by God, I want her to get her luxury dream dog. An impractical dog. A tiny dog whose only duties are to be goddamn adorable and sit in her lap and let her brush it's fur or whatever. And for less than two semesters at a community college, please.

Comments

[blueraccoon]

if you haven't already, check out www.petfinder.com and www.adoptapet.com. Both of them have listings for dogs that go through rescues and might not be in local shelters, and thus increase your chances of finding the kind of dog you want.

And yeah, a reputable rescue will require a house check and vet references if you have them and like mine required a personal reference from someone who owned a pet I think. We paid about $300 for Buddy's adoption fee. On the other hand, that money also goes to pay for medical bills the rescue incurred taking care of him and their other dogs, since they take on a lot of dogs who need extensive medical care (like Buddy did), along with just basic food and so on. It's really not like the rescues are making money off the dogs, I promise you, and I also promise you a "reputable breeder" will cost twice as much if not more.

[seperis]

The fee is understandable; I want those evaluations on temperament and interactions, a vet having checked their health, and for them to be healthy, happy, comfortable with socialization, and ready for adoption. My objection is the sheer amount of red tape required by some rescues--not all, no, but the ones I (or my mom) have contacted so far for small breeds locally--not to mention the difficulty in getting clear information after you've submitted an application or even a basic "when can we schedule an interview for this dog".

It's absolutely their prerogative to ask for whatever information they believe they need to assure a good forever home, but it's my prerogative to say getting a dog should not require more paperwork and investigation into my life than my job does, where I have access to live Federal databases of personal information of roughly everyone who has an SSN as system analyst for testing purposes. And while I do understand why they think they need to do it, I can't really not resent the fact that the home visit is required to prove I'm not a lying about my home/yard/living space/children/other pets or--on occasion--having to supply references, which no, I am not going to give them the names and private phone numbers of my family or friends to adopt a dog.

Again, it's totally their right to do that; it's their rescue and their dogs they're entrusting to other people and they probably honestly believe this is the best way to do it in their experience of probably years. If I did rescues, I can't even say I wouldn't feel similarly (though God I hope not). That does not change the fact that from my side, it's invasive, uncomfortable, and works on the assumption that because a non-negligible percentage of applicants will lie, all this extra information and verification is required of all applicants to prove they're not.

Yes, a good breeder providing a pet-quality dog does cost more, but so far, they have the same vet standards (health check, all shots to current), temperament is known (often with parents on the premises to meet and interact with, sometimes siblings and litter mates as well), I can see where and how they were raised, and none have required nearly as much personal information. Yeah, they require the applicant to come to them to visit, interact with the dog, and talk to them so they get an idea of who they're entrusting their dog to--that's basic, I did that when I adopted out two of my rabbits--but none so far required a home visit to assure the applicant wasn't lying about the suitability of their home as stated on the application or I don't remember anyone requiring references of one or more friends or family members.

I'd far rather get a dog from a shelter or rescue, but the former can't happen because the latter gets to them on intake, and the latter--so far--has made it far too difficult, time-consuming, and personally invasive a process. So my options are limited, and honestly, considering many breeders offer guarantees and some will take it back and rehome it for you in the event of some major life change that makes keeping the dog impossible, yeah, I may go that direction in the end if I can't find a rescue that isn't as invasive.

[blueraccoon]

I mean it's your choice. I couldn't do it. But I have very strong feelings about breeding pets. I've seen too many breeder dogs discarded,especially the smaller ones.

[seperis]

Among the breeders I'm investigating, those dogs aren't discarded; they're sold as pet-quality and spayed/neutered before sale, which is precisely what I"m looking for since I have no interest in show dogs or show-quality dogs. I'm not saying you're wrong about the breeders you've seen, however.

I approve of the practice of purebred breeding, as it preserves a specific type to retain their characteristics (aka abilities, temperament, lifespan, intelligence, size, weight, etc) and assure consistency through the generations so when you decide to get a dog, you can assure the environment you have is one they can thrive in (apartment, house with yard, farm, ranch, with cats, children, etc). Ideally, you should also aim for improving the breed overall by selectively breeding to get rid of genetic problems, and strengthening positive characteristics (health, lifespan, etc). While they will all should have the same general look, of course, that should be secondary consideration.

I deeply and sincerely hate the current breeding standards. Many of the standards by which a dog is judged are exaggerations of existing characteristics that at best are neutral and at worst actively detrimental to the dog's comfort, health, and even lifespan. Inbreeding practices to get that standard add to the problem by raising the risk of genetic disorders.

This is in fact a legit problem and I understand completely why you don't buy from breeders, but for me--mixed breed, non-purebred, random-bred dogs can be great, I grew up with dumped dogs that visited, that we effectively adopted, saw more puppies born to Random Dogs Living in Friend's Barn or Showed Up on Our Porch or Found Out Back or Down the Road Under the Bridge (those I...sometimes got someone to help me lure home and pretend Totally Appeared On Patio On Their Own, Daddy!) than anyone but a breeder or a vet. Breeding has problems in exaggeration, but random mixed breed have just as many problems in regard to predictability (size, weight, abilities, instincts, temperament); any given litter of puppies could have major differences among littermates in any and all of those things once they started growing, and generally, you had no idea of what sired any or all of them.

What I'm saying is: there's a lot of romanticizing of mixed breed dogs that doesn't match reality. Rescues do very thorough evaluations, often they're fostered by people who can evaluate and socialize, but most shelters--due to sheer number and budget--don't have the time or personnel to do that kind of detailed assessment of any and every dog that comes in other than the most obvious. For a lot of people, the choice of getting a purebred dog from a breeder isn't about prestige or snobbery; it's for consistency and predictability in type desired from a reputable breeder who has bred this type for multiple dog generations, has documented their ancestry, and being reputable, will not sell you a dog that doesn't fulfill the desired criteria for that breed. Saying all dogs in the individual are going to be a risk, purebred or not, is both true and irrelevant; especially when children, the elderly, or the physically or mentally disabled are involved, you're going for lowest possible risk.

I do know risk. When I was three, a purebred, well-trained, very well-cared-for, close family friend's britney spaniel attacked me when I walked in the door of their house, went for my face and then my knees, and I spent the night in the ER getting my cheek one and a half inches above the left side of my mouth stitched closed and the scratches treated (the family covered my medical bills, sent me presents, and were already looking into plastic surgeons in case the scar needed reconstruction. It really didn't. And dog was evaluated but lived a full life after; the family asked--and I can imagine how much that must have cost them to do that--and my parents said no, of course not. It was a good dog that had no history of violence and it's ancestory had no history of violence; these people had kids and grandkids older and younger than me visiting. It was basically a horrible but once-only event.

I talked about this with domarzione below in comments, so short version: after moving to Austin I was looking for a dog as companion to my dad at the shelter and in the area they kept dogs being treated, I saw a German Shepherd--a dog ranked fourth in biting, eighth in aggression, first draft choice for guard dogs and dog fight dogs--who was being treated for heartworms, went in the stall-kennel without hesitation, and sat down with his head in my lap for some intensive petting and frankly embarrassing babytalk.

I'd never been afraid of dogs after the spaniel incident, but I was a lot warier, hell yes, and on occasion tense when surrounded by dogs, and I never ever after that assumed a dog--whether I knew him or not, played with him before or not--was safe and always, always tested the waters (extend hand, wait for lick, watch for tail to wag, wait for it to approach me until close enough to lightly pet, variations of that; some of that my parents taught me, some I learned by observation, some from TV); I'd learned risk assessment very young and considering where I lived and the plethora of dumped dogs, that was probably one of the single most useful life lessons I could have learned.

So to say that me sitting happily alone in a stall petting an unknown, heartwormy, eighty goddamn pound German goddamn Shepherd I'd met like sixty seconds before was extremely out of character is something of an understatement; German Shepherds, Dobermans, Rottweilers, and Pit bulls were the dogs that when on a leash would send me casually in another direction and off leash actively scared me. But this was the dog I knew was the one and he lived up to that actually really baffling faith every day for the ten years we had him.

So when I say, going to a reputable breeder is perfectly valid and in some cases, especially when children, the elderly, or the mentally or physically disabled are involved, preferred as the lowest risk option when acquiring a dog, it's not based on theory but on risk assessment. Living near, dealing with, playing with, and even adopting more dumped mixed breed dogs that I can count, none of which ever hurt me, informs that assessment; my most traumatic dog experience with a very good, very friendly, very well-pedigreed purebred I knew and played with and liked informs that assessment; my best dog was on the top ten list for most dangerous in the world, they scared me, and upon first sight fell in love and forgot basic risk assessment and common sense also informs my assessment.

Instead of people making facile arguments about how you can totally go to a random shelter and get a dog no matter your (or the dog's) needs or expectations, breed doesn't mean anything, and all breeders are bad, we should be supporting reputable, ethical breeders, working to fix the standards that lead to dogs bred to the point they can't naturally deliver their own young or unable to breathe properly, some controlled, ethical cross-breeding of one or more similar breeds to create a more diverse pool for selective breeding back into the 'pure' lines to add diversity and lower risk of genetic problems without losing specific breed characteristics (The Ptolemyies and the Hapsburgs should not be a model for any breeding program, ever), and while we're at it, get more money to shelters to improve evaluation, (re-)socialization, and training of the dogs they receive so when someone goes to a shelter, they probably can find a dog that really could fit their needs, that's been evaluated for risk with children/cats/strangers/other pets/whatever, whose temperament is known, and the dog's own needs in relation to their owner also known and documented and the owner aware of their responsibilities.

Also: I'd like a pony.

[aerialiste]

personal experience: a very good small dog to have, if you can find one, is a toy English-bred poodle. source: I grew up with one and she was the smartest fucking dog I've ever known, very calm, easy to groom (we just kept her perpetually in a puppy clip) and did I mention smart. sometimes breeders have puppies that aren't physically show-quality but therefore make great pets? this is what happened with Quincy—his confirmation isn't right and his eyes are too small, if you can believe that; but he's a perfectly adequate service dog, except he barks at robots.

AND YES I HAVE HAD A LOT OF COFFEE

[domarzione]

I brought home my two rescue cats yesterday and I ended up adopting them from two hours away because all of the cat rescues by me wanted home visits and ten-page questionnaires and ridiculous contracts and basically buying my apartment was easier and less invasive than what they wanted. So I asked my friends on facebook where to go and that's how I ended up with these two yahoos.

[seperis]

You inspire me. I am considering expanding the search to 100 miles from Austin as well as adding in Houston and San Antonio. A daytrip to either would be doable, and as both are much bigger cities, they hopefully will have more options.

Also, congrats on the cats!

[domarzione]

Around here, the place to go is the North Shore Animal League, which does not require home visits or long questionnaires or crazy stuff. It's where I would have gone if I hadn't met my duo. I'm pretty sure the NSAL has national affiliates, though. There's also the Humane Society. Have you looked on Petfinder?

I have one on my lap trying to type on the desktop and demanding scritches, another at my feet wondering when it's his turn. (Two black 8-month olds, bonded, one with one eye. Affectionate as all get-out and I cannot understand why nobody wanted them.) Okay, one of them keeps reaching out to tap at 'post comment' on the screen...

[seperis]

People are weird about black cats. Number one cat up there? Solid black and had been up for adoption for a while. I had no idea until Mom told me they told her that black cats were unpopular; honestly, I would have thought they'd be number one draft pick for 'cat - type: non-fancy'.

Also, AWWWWWWWWWW, you have two! What are their names? Child is going to be so envious when I tell him.

Around here, the place to go is the North Shore Animal League, which does not require home visits or long questionnaires or crazy stuff. It's where I would have gone if I hadn't met my duo. I'm pretty sure the NSAL has national affiliates, though. There's also the Humane Society. Have you looked on Petfinder?

The Austin Animal Shelter is generally no-go for any small dog not a short-haired chihuahua or chihuahua-mix; the breed-specific rescues either stalk the shelters for them or are informed at intake so they get them pretty much immediately and they never enter the yard or the website. I mean this literally; my first (and second and third) time looking for Small Breed Non-Chihuahua Dog for Mom meant I checked the site every day for weeks and even if one (small, non-Maltese) made a very, very rare appearance, it was gone the next day.

I tend to think the latter,, though, because the Humane Society actually does--rarely--have a non-short-haired-chihuahua small dog available (though not often and not for long, as in maybe a day or two from when they show up on the website). I know this because I called about an adorable (non-Maltese) but small fluffy dog just added to the site that day and was told it was already pending for adoption.

However, I learned from this experience: what a bishon-frise looked like and also there was a dog called a bishon-frise and showed a wikipedia pic to my mom who though it adorable. This is directly responsible for when my sister said a friend was trying to rehome her middle-aged bishon-frise my mom was like "GET IT FOR ME" instead of 'how interesting' while thinking 'wtf is a bishon-frise?' and ignoring it.

Whether this was a good thing I leave to the gods.

Tuffy has the distinction of a.) being her first lap dog and b.) her education her on the art of shaving a dog down to the skin (except head and tail, oddly enough, we could just trim the head hair down, and ears were fine as-is) from around late March to September every year because as it turns out, they can have both 'hot spots' and 'entire hot bodies and will scratch themselves into bloody fur, and being white, you could wake up in the morning to some kind of dog-based Hellraiser scenario going on in the living room' which sure, better than coffee to wake you up but kinda traumatic.

For related reasons, Mom would over the years: a.) trim her nails, b.) make her wear footie things?, c.) cover/bandage the medicated SUPER HOT spots in slowly increasing amounts of tape as well as differing types, d.) combination of all and maybe other things when desperately until e.) Yours Truly bought Tuffy three dog-onesies off Amazon because they were cute and I thought Tuffy wearing a onesie would be hilarious and also good for mental health (less terrifying pink skin visible). We then discovered how surprisingly well it fit, what spots it thoroughly covered, and that Tuffy could not get those goddamn snaps open no matter how much she dragged her belly on the carpet. Which led to her worst hot spot actually staying healed for longer than like a week or two.

This, however, did not exactly help the issue of how Tuffy looked.

For roughly six months of the year, Tuffy looked actively frightening if you weren't prepared, as while his head hair was short but respectable and his tail was fine, all the rest was a weird pink unknown to mankind (and should have remained a mystery), with an alarming-looking butt-spot (later: two) we had to keep medicated and covered for healing/prevent scratching as it was the SUPER HOT SPOT (at which time it would do this thing where it dragged its ass across the carpet in the hall until the bandage peeled off and be super offended you noticed and super super offended you picked her up and rebandaged), and the dog-onesie solution actually managed to make it creepier, as Tuffy now gave the general visual impression of being both abused and homeless and his owners should be hung and drawn and quartered for whatever they did to it and also making it wear a brightly colored but always dingy-to-dirty dog-onesie that we changed every day but within an hour would be utterly filthy whether or not Tuffy was anywhere near filth (or was even awake).

(Like, even sending him into the backyard was super-fraught in case a plane passed over and a dog-lover looked down, saw him, and we woke up to a flash mob to kill us. The vet, OTOH, thought he looked hilarious, which to this day makes me question his sanity or if the rigors of vet school broke him, because Tuffy didn't look hilarious, he looked skinned and the neatly trimmed white-haired head and white feathery just made it more horrifying due to contrast. Even with the onesie in place, those terrifying pink legs--not unlike a plucked chicken leg as it would appear in a terrible nightmare--would haunt you.)

Pic of bishon-frise if not familiar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bichon_Frise

In case you didn't know--ninety percent of what you see there is hair. Actual dog without hair was slightly smaller than our Thanksgiving turkey (and bore a passing resemblance to it in it's uncooked state). I could fit Tuffy in the roasting pan and put on the lid with room for him to move around.

(After which, if the roasting pan was left out and accessible to Tuffy (counter, table, floor) there was a good chance he'd climb in and nap, I suspect as revenge for the onesie but possibly because deep oval metal pans were super comfy, who am I to judge?)

[domarzione]

http://maltese.rescueme.org/texas ?

My boys are Archie and Nero. :)

[j00j]

Yeah, I volunteered at a shelter for years so I get why people do the epic questionnaire and reserve the right do do home visits and shit... but wound up getting my cat from a friend of a friend who rescues special needs cats. I did the questionnaire and gave them references but the friend-of-a-friend thing minimized the red tape (also poor Aurora had been in foster care forever due to not being good at other animals or kids). I assume if networking were an option for seperis it would be done already!

[bonibaru]

I mean, but dogs aren't "used" any more than foster kids are "used" and implied to be of lesser value. It's not a car. The value doesn't go down when you drive the dog off the lot.

I get what you're saying in principle and I love you, but that descriptor made my heart ache.

$300 is not an unfair ask for a dog on CL or anywhere - remember, people listing there are trying to avoid scammers and people looking for bait dogs and so on. $900 smacks to me of "we bought this from a pet store/etc and are trying to recoup some loss" though. Even I let my adult retired cats go for about ~$300 which is cost of shots/neuter/chip. Although half the time after screening and finding an amazing home I end up letting them go and eating the cost anyway.

Every reputable rescue requires home visits and having worked in rescue I can't blame them. I do home visits for the tri-state Dobie club when they need them in my area. I have a 4 page form to fill out and I take photos. A Dobie is a different animal than a toy thingy but the idea of the people being who they say they are, having the space and time and safe place for the dog, is no less important just because of size. Rescues pour their heart and soul and money and time into those dogs. You can't blame them for wanting to make sure that where they're going is better than where they are now, and that they won't be coming back in a few days/weeks/months to do it all over again.

[bonibaru]

A $300 dog can still cost you $3000 in vet bills if it's been poorly bred. My rottie is the light of my life and yeah she was $2500 but I have known her breeder (one of my vet's techinicans) for 20 years, she's healthy, sound, stable tempered, as well as gorgeous - the last Dobie I had was $100, had demodex when I got him which was $1200 in OOP meds and treatments and left him with chronic dry irritable skin, developed wobblers which left him crippled & needing assistance to walk from the age of 7, until he had a heart attack from his inherited DCM in the living room and died in my weeping arms before his 10th birthday. What a bargain. I bought a well bred dog because I was tired of that. I've had 6 rescue and shelter Dobies and none of them lived past 12 and 4 of them died of hereditary heart issues. It's not a guarantee nothing will ever go wrong with her but after that latest heartbreak I just wanted a better chance of stacking the deck in my favor. I'm 50; I'm not getting another puppy, I may never have another dog after this one. I want this dog for 20 years and I want those years to be as pain free and fun as possible. Finding a breeder is a crap shoot; being a breeder, I know lots of people, so it made the search better. If you decide to go that route, shout at me. I can reach out to people who can reach out to people who will know where to go.

[seperis]

Finding a breeder is a crap shoot; being a breeder, I know lots of people, so it made the search better. If you decide to go that route, shout at me. I can reach out to people who can reach out to people who will know where to go.

Thank you! So far, the breeders I've looked at have been ones linked off the AKC/other acronym pages about dogs, but I will definitely email you if/when I short list.

You would not think this would be quite so hard, God.

ETA: I do think I would like to explore this route and find a good breeder for a Maltese or a Maltese mix, preferably over the age of one. How would you suggest I start?

[bonibaru]

I can ask a couple of my friends who hang around with smaller dog people. I have a super close friend who does yorkies for 30 years who knows like ... everyone. Remind me (privately if you want) of your geography - I think I know it but not 100% sure in my old age.

[seperis]

Forgot to add this: I am so sorry; that must have been horribly painful for you. I'm so glad you were able to give him a good life while you had him. The depth of your grief tells me he brought you a lot of joy to you as well, and I hope the memories continue to grow sweeter and less painful in time.

Note you might appreciate about my dog shelter experience aka Luke:

I filled out the application to prove I wanted a dog and went to look at them. I hadn't found any dog I really thought I'd love and was wandering through the area they kept dogs that were still being treated by the vet because literally it was the shortest path back to the main area (you were allowed in that area. yes). They were all in individual kennel rooms, comfy, some with half (three-quarter?) doors. I just happened to look in that direction when the angle showed me the most perfect German Shepherd's head and when I went over and he could see me, he wagged his tail and that was it.

I think I journaled about this when it happened, but vague series of events: he was being treated for heartworms for another week or two at the shelter before he was released to general pop and if adopted would have continue treatment after adoption for x number of days, and for x number of weeks he had to be kept very low activity (as in, literally keep him laying down as much as possible and all walks no farther than say one end of the house to the other and then slowly work him up to longer walks/running in yard). At this point I was petting him and and when they paused I was like "Awesome, so I'm adopting him now. Should I wait for you to call me or just come back next Saturday to get my dog?"

I still remember going from the poor "baffled vet assistant/person in sick dog area I accosted" to "baffled receptionist/secretary who took out the application I'd already filled out (to verify I wanted to adopt a dog at all)" to "baffled person who finalizes adoption", all of whom were just floored. From what I could make out, while yes you could adopt dogs while they were still sick/in treatment (at least, there was no rule against it), none of them had had the experience of someone doing it, especially when there was still at least a week (or two? I need to ask my mom) of treatment plus about four to six months of home treatment/dog rehab.

Luke died about four years ago, after ten years with us, at the age of about thirteenish (the shelter put his age at 3ish), which was admittedly the high end of the normal range for the breed. When I researched it, I discovered it's possible heartworms contributed to his death and he might have lived longer if he hadn't had them so young. I mean, he was going grey and a little arthritic and needed special food and everything at the time of death so it's likely it was just age. Even if it did, it was for the best; he got a little weaker and more tired and less likely to chase leaves and then died quietly and suddenly while sleeping, without pain or fear, at home, and he didn't develop the hip and joint problems that show up in German Shepherds late in life. Up to the end, he trotted outside for his bathroom breaks, wandered the yard, and came into lie down and be petted or look benevolently at the cat.

I wouldn't do anything different; I mean, I'd do it again right now because Luke was worth it, no question. And yeah, there are no guarantees. But what you said--stacking the deck? This. Mom's sixty-three, which by no means is ancient (in my family on mom's side, you don't earn that until at least ninety at best; you don't even get to be middle aged until you get to sixty), she's super active and working full time still after her first retirement and planning her second retirement (probably to get another job and plan her third, she's like me and gets bored) but I want this dog to be as low-risk and stress-free as possible.

So yeah, I get you there.

[bonibaru]

Oof, heartworms is a toughie. I'm so sorry. What a good boy Luke was! I wouldn't trade any of mine either, even with the sadness when they go, because there's so much love when they are here <3 I have got plans in place for every animal I have: if I go, or am incapacitated, who gets called and what the arrangements are (some have to go back to their original breeders, some are earmarked already for certain friends on retirement, etc) - there's a folder about their care that's thicker than my folder with *my* care plan in it, lol. I mean 50 isn't old but some days I FEEL IT, ya know?

[seperis]

I get what you're saying in principle and I love you, but that descriptor made my heart ache.


That was a joke specific to craigslist; all my dogs save two golden retrievers (and Blackie) were abandoned dogs or shelter dogs. You'll notice that wasn't a word used when talking about rescues, shelters, or breeders.

[bonibaru]

Fair :)

[kara_mckay]

Once upon a time, a long time ago, we had a particularly adventuresome and intrepid cat named Cow who managed to get himself picked up and delivered to a shelter in an entirely different town while out on a territory expansion trip. We found out when we saw his picture in the paper. The shelter was calling him Oreo and advertising him as The Pet of the Week.

He wasn't much more than a somewhat spoiled barn cat, but we were all fond of Cow, and Rick called the shelter right away to tell them they had our animal. We had him home 24 hours later, but ye gods! It took sixty dollars and a contract signed in blood, and to add insult to injury, we only got 98.7% of him back. Cow was righteously pissed about that, too -- so much so that he'd been beating ass on all the other cats in the shelter's cat room more or less nonstop from the time he woke up after surgery until we walked through the door. I think that might have contributed to why we got him back as easily (!) as we did even though Rick was fairly straight up with the shelter about the fact that they had themselves a barn cat with attitude, not a Persian show cat with moods.

He was worthless after that. Damned thing spent the rest of his life eating, lying on our couch, eating some more, and telling the story of how he'd gone out for a night on the town one fine evening and ended up spending a week in jail.

[norabombay]

This 'how do I get an adult dog, apartment sized' in a responsible manner is an ongoing problem. Big dog, and random pit mix? All over the place. In parts of the country, Chiuaha's are everywhere.

But the mix of appropriate size-- which is not an optional luxury, I live in a high rise and do not need or want a big dog-- and tempermant, and maybe vague house breaking? It's hard to find.

I loved Tucker, but his ass peed on everything I owned for 15 years.

In the DC area, there are basically zero small dogs in shelters, and the big ones are often imported from rural areas- the whole spay/neuter thing works.

The whole 'crazy shit rescues want' is a thing that is at this point practically counter productive. I have a friend in Austin who does cat rescue/hospice foster and all that stuff. Dogs, well they have size issues. But a cat is a cat is a cat, and at what poitn do you have enough information to figure out it's good enough? A friend here in DC had been volunteering weekly with the local cat group, applied for a new cat, got dicked about for like a month, and just took a kitten off someone elses hands, becaus honestly- if you trust her to take them to petsmart to adopt out, you trust enough to let her have a middle aged cat ot keep--

Which is a long way of saying that you are probably best off saving money and maybe going to shows....

[out_there]

We have two Maltese shih Tzu crosses, but we got them as puppies. One was $1200 (most adorable thing you've ever seen) and the other was $800 (I suspect there something else in the mix other than pure Maltese or shih Tzu because he's got big eyes and a very flat nose -- tiny and terribly cute, but there might be a touch of pug.)

We got both through online adds (One through gumtree and the other through a pet search site) but both were basically pet owners who's pets had got pregnant.

Good luck finding your mum the little pointless dog of her dreams.

[rissabby]

My son and I got our animals from Craig's List in Portland, Oregon. He got a rough coated Jack Russell, about 6 years old for $100 nine years ago. He's a calm, easy-going, quiet and wonderful homebody dog. Not very JRTish at all. I got a pure bred Russian Blue cat for free (but I checked every day for about three years).

Even though we got lucky on CraigsList, it's a very mixed bag, at least in my town. There are semi-organized people who call themselves rescues. People often refer to their animals as 'rescued' but it has a wide variety of meanings. There are also scummy scammers. And, people who don't seem to know anything about their animals. The legit, breed specific (boujee) rescues don't advertise on CL.

But, I think CL is worth checking every day. And, expanding your range is good.
I looked at CL tonight for adult small dogs to see what was there. There were two Pom or Pom-mixes, each about 6 pounds. One was $250, the other didn't state the price (re-homing fee). There was a Havanese for $150. And, a very beautiful long-haired auburn-red dachshund for $150. No poodles tonight. That's three or four possibles out of over 300 posts.

Good Luck. *\o/*

[krait]

I feel you!

I actually work for a no-kill shelter, so I have seen all of this from the other end, as it were! From the endless parade of people asking where we 'keep' the 'little small dogs' and whether we have 'little puppies that don't grow' (a popular phrase that drives me nuts), all the way to the people trying to surrender their $900 purebred because A) it's all too clearly the product of a backyard breeder, or B) it turns out six months of not training your cute puppy produces an uncute teenage canine nightmare with a total lack of manners, what a surprise. (Or sometimes C: Grandma died and the family doesn't want her pets.)

My local city-run shelter generally does have a steady supply of smaller dogs, but they are adopted almost as fast as they come in even so. (Which is a good thing; the local shelter also historically has a high euthanasia rate, so at least the small dogs have good odds of getting out.) They do same-day adoption and don't have much by way of requirements beyond "fill out this form and give us money" unless you're trying to adopt a pit bull.

I've lived in enough places to have noticed that breeds of dog, like types of produce, are regional. My second college town was practically drowning in Miniature Schnauzers; the rescue I work at now rarely gets small dogs, but if we do they're either Shih Tzus or Chihuahuas. Another place I lived seemed to have more Beagles per square mile than laws of physics should allow. It wouldn't hurt to check Petfinder and see whether you spot a locational trend to Maltese listings, and then target that area's shelters/rescues/breeders that aren't necessarily on Petfinder!

Searching for high-volume, high-kill shelters via Google/news articles/rescue blogs might be helpful, too. The more dogs they take in, the more they're going to get a little of everything (advice I often give to those 'little small dog' searchers who come to my workplace!) You'll get less for your money - the animal will probably not be temperament tested, and at the extreme end the shelter may not even provide spay/neuter - but on the other hand you'll also pay a lot less. Shelters want their numbers to look good, and the more 'live outcomes' they have on the tally sheet at the end of the month the fewer angry people they have yelling at them, so they're generally more interested in getting the dog out of the kennel than in making back the cost of its care. (This really, ahaha, bites, for rescue groups, because we get people coming in asking why we don't have $35 adoptions like 'the other shelter.' That would be because your taxes are paying the other $75 of your adoption fee at the shelter; we don't get your tax money, so we can't afford to offer steeply discounted adoptions!)

Anyway! I wish you and your mother the best of luck in your Maltese hunting. :D


I will advise against any kind of Yorkie/mix, however, because I have seen so many people fall for the "Yorkie" nickname and forget that the name ends with Terrier. They are, like all terriers, dogs that want jobs and will make noise about it. They are not lap ornaments. (Individual temperaments do vary, of course! But by and large there are trends and I have yet to meet a Yorkie that wasn't neurotic if it wasn't hyperactive/destructive. They're from a working-dog background, they're really not mentally designed to be happy sitting around on the sofa.)

I'm also not a fan of "designer mixes," because they negate all the qualities that make purebreds worth paying for. No breeder can hand-select which genes the offspring inherit (this is, famously, why "Labradoodles" were a huge failure at their original purpose: they couldn't stabilise the desired traits, because mixes don't breed true) so you have no guarantees of anything, from coat type to temperament. Yet they charge you almost as much as a purebred would cost (and they have almost the same risks of poor health that a purebred has). I firmly believe that if you want a mix, opt for a random-bred one who's been mixed for several generations.

I have no idea where you're located, but just in case it's near me I will keep an eye on my local shelter's adoptables! :D