Bad ideas

I'm not here to bash young people and I'm very wary of doing so for fear of coming across like an old fart.  But come on, in most cases college students don't have any business having dogs.  Now, notice first that I said "in most cases."  There are and always will be exceptions to everything, and I've made exceptions to that rule myself. 

But being unsettled is inherent in the nature of being in college.  You don't really have a home.  You have a lot of future ahead, but you have no idea what it holds or where it will be.  You need to be open to that future and to accepting opportunities that come along.  If you are in college and get offered a great job or internship half a world away, of course you are going to take it.  You'll work your butt off too, putting in long hours because you want to make a good impression, you have youth, vigor, and enthusiasm going for you, and you can pull an all-nighter and still go out and party when it's over.  That's great, wonderful, but it's not exactly compatible with the day in, day out, 24/7, 10-15+ year commitment of owning a dog.  The same considerations that cause people to put off having babies should also make them question if it's time to own a dog.  At least by the time they get to grad school they probably have a better idea of what their future holds.  Undergrads owning dogs is generally a bad idea.  I didn't own a dog until I was out or nearly out of law school and we were in our second home, sitting on a 30 year mortgage.  I've adopted dogs to grad students, but I try to make sure that they are serious and stable and seem to know where they are going. 

One of the best placements I've made was a young, difficult dog to a young person.  She reads this blog and I don't want to embarass her, but I'll point out three things that made her an exception to the rule, and an exceptional adopter.  First, she's a nursing student and nurses are good people, another generalization, I know, but I'll stand by it.  Second, as a nursing student almost out of school, she has 100% chance of employment and will be making more money than me as soon as the ink dries on her diploma.  Her future is secure.  Third, she had solid backup and support from family.  She was also a very good match for the dog she adopted.

Now, there are many things that can unsettle the life of a 25-50 year old as well, resulting in upheaval and loss of a dog's home.  Job changes, divorce, and babies rank high on the list of reasons that people in older age groups dump their dogs, but generally speaking someone who is out of school, employed, and working on putting down roots and building a life is a better home for a dog than someone who has no idea where they will be living next semester.  Maybe I shouldn't even be writing this because it's nothing more than a generalization, but it's on my mind today.

Hank is certainly proof of this general theory.  His owner is a fine young man, and did a good job raising the dog, but he really had no business adopting a puppy.  He will make a fine dog owner someday when circumstances permit it and at least he contacted a rescue group instead of dumping the dog in an inappropriate situation. 

The dog in these pictures, Rex, is another example.  He came to my house today.  Rex is less than a year old, about 9 months I was told.  He was owned by someone who volunteered with a rescue group at one time.  He knew better.  He gave the dog to someone else, someone he probably thought would and could provide a good home for the dog.  That person dumped the dog in a shelter a couple months later.  This one pisses me off because the original owner knew that he could have re-homed that dog through the rescue, which would have saved the dog from being dumped in a shelter.  We make mistakes in adoptions too, but at least the adopter has the option (requirement actually) of returning the dog to us rather than dumping it in an overcrowded shelter.  I guess he was embarrassed or afraid to admit he was a dog-dumping doosh.