If you got your dog from a shelter or found it as a stray, do you ever wonder what its life was like before?

Question

I always wonder what my dog would have looked like as a puppy. She would have been so much fun and such a handful. She has big bat ears, so she would have been this tiny pup with huge ears.

Also why the people who owned her, didn't go looking for her. When the refuge found her, she wasn't starved or anything - so she must have had someone looking after her.

Do you think your dog would have been a cute pup?? And what do you think its life was like before you?

Answer 1

Well my one dog was a rescue but they knew what happened to him.  He was with his mom and the rest of his litter.  Mom was a purebred Chow and had had a litter of pups in the middle of winter.  Whoever had owned her put them all out on the street in the middle of a three-day snow storm.  The shelter picked them up.  I adopted him and he spent a week in isolation thinking he had Parvo but it ended up being pneumonia from the storm.  He lived about 15 years and was the greatest, most docile, most tolerant dog I've ever had.

Answer 2

Prissy and Scarlett have been with me since the beginning, but I do wonder about little Belle. She is 3 now, and I've had her two years. In that first year she was shifted around several times until I rescued her.She still seems to be very insecure, but she is very loving and eager to please. I do feel that she has been neglected, although I feel sure that her very basic needs were met. I would have loved to have had her as a tiny puppy, but all things considered, I think that she has turned out very well. She has a fear of being picked up a certain way, and seems to be very intimidated by men. I really don't like to think about why, either. Was she a cute puppy, you asked? Well, of course, Miss Blue! All JRT puppies are cute!! I just missed out on her puppy breath! :(

Answer 3

Mine was given up to a rescue, the man had AZ and the woman had cancer and they couldn't take care of him anymore.  He is 7 years old, is only 10lbs, so I would think he would pretty much look like he does now only smaller, he is part maltese and part whatever.

Answer 4

Not a dog, but I've taken in stray cats more than once. One was feral, she was pregnant, and I wondered if she had ever had a home.

The two I've taken in lately were both skittish, not very friendly little felines. I've wondered what made them so, if their owners mistreated them causing them to be so afraid of a friendly hand. After a number of years though, one warmed up to my son, acting more like a dog than a cat.

So, dogs no, but I've often wondered about my cats over the years and how someone could just desert them.

Peace

Answer 5

I know your talking about dogs, but I have always wondered what my cats life was like before we adopted her from a rescue.

We think she must have been treated well, because she has a metal pin in her back leg from an accident, so the old owners must have loved her enough to put her through surgery, than just put her down.  But then they abandoned her... :(

Answer 6

I wonder about both of my dogs' past. I wish I had had them both from pups, but I am glad we have them now!

Answer 7

i'm kind of the opposite..i've passed dogs up in shelters and i've found strays i could not keep..sometimes i'll think about each one of them years after. there was one particular stray that i feel more sadness for..i was 14 and couldn't keep her my mom said no. i had to leave her at a police station..i'd give anything to know she wasn't euthanized in a shelter and lived happy. you know when you just connect with a dog, that was me with this stray.

i'm glad you rescued yours as an adult.

Answer 8

sometimes..  but mostly when he seems afraid of something..   most of them (I have 4 dogs) I already know their history, but my beagle/basset mix was found as a stray with an embedded chain in his neck..   He's a great dog, but every once in awhile he seems scared of strange things.. (like feet.. even when not directed at him)

Answer 9

I always wonder where my dog, Cody, came from. Five years ago, my mom's friend brought him to us after she almost ran him over. He was only like four months old and was wandering around in the middle of the desert. So I always wonder if, he got out, or someone dumped him, or even if he was born out there and just had a really good personality.

But even though I wonder, I know it doesn't matter because he's happy and healthy now and whoever lost him or got rid of him lost the chance at an amazing dog.