To adopt or not to adopt a JRT, that's the question

You need to ask yourself - what is it that the "Mr." doesn't like about the dog that requires he be "gone" ASAP? Will these be the same things that will cause you trouble?

Also, get your nose out of the books and judge a dog on it's individual personality. It is a good thing to know about a breeds predisposition, but you also have to know that not every member of that breed will fall into that category. If you read the breed description of a Weimaraner - it will tell you that they have endless energy and must be exercised every day - well my first Weim was perfectly happy to lay about all day and rarely got more exercise than going out to potty and was fine with that. Of course she WAS the exception to the rule, my current two go stir crazy without exercise and mental stimulation and get themselves into all kinds of mischief if bored. But my first girl was textbook opposite of the textbook. :-)

That being said, do not allow these people to guilt you into taking a dog that you're not sure of. That too, is textbook human behavior. Small dogs find homes very quickly in shelters in most parts of the country, so if you don't decide to take the dog, someone else most likely will. Another thing that will happen in about 3 months, all those little kiddies that got cute fuzzy pups for Christmas will find out how much work they are, and once they reach the chewing stage there will be a HUGE influx of purebred pups hitting the shelters. Happens every year around March - pups leave the cute fuzzy stage and hit the gangly destructive stage and many end up in shelters.

Trust your instincts - they'll tell you when the time is right [to adopt a dog].

[Escrito por Denise Parsons em 19 de dezembro de 2005 para a lista Petdogs-L do Yahoo Groups]