About a month ago we picked up Winston the Chi-weenie and it was love at first sight. He instantly won us over and is the best snuggler ever. We adopted Winston from Dachshund Rescue South Florida which is based out of Miami. I thought I would discuss why we chose to adopt and the process of doing so.
While we agree with all the moral reasons for adopting, the main reason for doing so was cost. Winston was $275 (A pure dachshund puppy was $375) to adopt and came with all of his shots, and he was neutered when we picked him up. When we looked at dachshund breeders in the area, the cost was $1500 per puppy not including shots, etc. I don’t know about puppy stores (and I wouldn’t have gotten one from there) but I imagine the cost is similar. We saved soooo much money and Winston is absolutely adorable so I have no regrets there.
The day we picked up Winston, we drove 4 hours to get him #worthit
As for the adoption process, is actually took longer then we thought it would and was surprisingly thorough. We chose not to go to a shelter in this case mainly because I have always wanted a dachshund. In the future I would not being opposed to going there to adopt. This rescue in particular is entirely volunteer run and has no facility, all the dogs stay in foster homes.
Step 1: We had to fill out an application that asked a number of detailed questions. I looked at a few different rescues and most had similar questions. We also had to list 3 non-family references as well as a vet reference if we already had a dog. The cost for this application was $20.
Step 2: A few days later a volunteer called me and gave me a 5 minute ‘phone interview’ asking a few more questions which were more specifically related to dachshunds. She also told me the next steps in the process.
Step 3: Our references were contacted.
Step 4: About a week later another volunteer contacted me about doing a home visit. The volunteer came to determine if our house/we had the right living conditions to bring a new little furry friend.
Step 5: We were approved for adoption! We then played the waiting game as there were no puppies currently available and we wanted a puppy. Around 2 weeks later a mom with her 7 puppies were available for adoption and we picked Winston!
Step 6: We waited till he was 8 weeks old and then drove to pick him up!
We love Winston so much and he is a great addition to our family.
Do any of you have pets? Whats the story of how you got them?
Awww Winston is absolutely adorable!! Our 2 doggies have different stories. One was given to us by a family friend and the other one was from a local small breeder. The local breeder cost the same as for adoption and she also came with all her shots. This was soooo many years ago (11 years to be exact) and at this point, we would go to a rescue or shelter for our next dog child 🙂
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It was a long process but definitely worth it! What kinds of dogs do you have?
A cocker spaniel and yorkie:)