Question:
I was around a lot last summer, but haven't been in awhile. I lost internet access for some time. I was the one who was trying to trap the semi-feral cats and find home for them, but in the midst of moving I was not able to. The woman who moved into my apartment has been willing to feed them since she moved in. So, although I'm a little disappointed, at least they're being cared for as well as they were when I was living there.

A friend e-mailed me that someone at her workplace was giving away their one year old female black lab--not spayed, but current on shots. I'm considering taking her. I already have a 16 month old female black lab who has hip dysplasia that I'm beginning to think might be fairly severe. We still have another round of x-rays coming up in a couple of months, though. Anyway--I don't know if I want to be talked into this, or out of it. I've been considering a second dog for nearly a year. Any ideas? Pros/cons you can think of? I haven't gone to meet "Jewels" yet. Obviously, going to meet her would make my decision fairly quickly. I'd almost certainly bring her home if I saw her. Any insight is appreciated.

Answer:
As your present lab has a possible severe case of hip displasia, perhaps now is not the best time to add a second dog into the mix. They would jump and play rough together which would aggrevate your own dogs condition. I would tend to get the first dog squared away, meaning xrays completed, surgery done (if case is operable) and current dog's condition under control before adding a second dog. Just my opinion for what it's worth.

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I agree with BMD that it could hurt your dog more. Try treating him first and talk to your vet about what he thinks about adding another dog especially consider your dogs situation.

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I totally agree. Mixing in another dog could be harmful for your girl. Talk to your vet. And keep us updated!!!

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Thank you so much for your responses. These have been my thoughts as well, sort of. I just feel bad for this dog and don't know anyone else who can take her. This woman moved, left her with her sister--despite the fact that she has no papers, etc. they had waited to spay her in case they decided later on that they wanted to breed her. I have nothing against responsible breeding, but that surely isn't it. She is also being kept on a chain. The e-mail mentioned that "she would be happy as an inside or an outside dog if someone would give her a good home." Again, I think you can have outside dogs responsibly, but that doesn't include chaining. Perhaps I should have taken this to Foster/Rescue> but I hadn't actually talked to the woman this morning. I feel like...if I took her, I could at least get her spayed and try to find another home for her, even if I think mine might not work out long term. I didn't expect to have this dropped into my lap when I got up this morning. Thank you again, everyone, for answering.

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I feel like...if I took her, I could at least get her spayed and try to find another home for her, even if I think mine might not work out long term.
I was going to suggest this very thing. I think it would be wonderful you were able to do this. If you could foster her, a rescue would be happy to help find her a home - adoption events, listing on Petfinder etc.

Finding a home for a young purebred Lab is not too difficult and having her spayed would protect her from greedy backyard breeders.

Let us know what you decide!

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If you do get the dog, how common would it be for her to have hip problems too? Good luck in what you decide.

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Well, I'm going tomorrow to "meet" her and likely bring her home. My friend, who e-mailed the dog to me originally has since lamented that she couldn't take her until her house was finished (in a month or two) so--we're keeping our options open for now. Nicole is seriously considering taking her when the time comes. In the meantime, she can stay here--I'll have her spayed. She can sleep on the couch instead of on the ground. And if she doesn't find a home, then she has one at least. If they're too rambunctious, my yard is set up so that they can be separated if need be. I think this will work. Any suggestions for a name? Jewels is her name now, and bad in a variety of ways.

Is Luba still around? I haven't seen any posts by her. One of the names I've been considering is Sadie--and I would love to see some updated pictures of Sadie.

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Bless your heart for helping! If she's an outside dog, is she housetrained, I wonder?
I find that pet names just occur to me when I meet the animal...I like Sadie, though! I don't know where Luba is, I emailed her a while back but never got a response. I really enjoyed her posts.

Good luck with your HD dog. I have a Rottweiler with elbow dysplasia, FCP in one elbow, OCD in both... two years ago I did a surgery consult at MSU, but ED surgery tends not to be as effective (it's more of a gamble) than HD surgery. On the advice of the ortho vet, I put Cooper on glucosamine/chrondritin and fish oil supplements. I also keep him very lean. He'd been limping for about 7 months intermittently by the time he was d/xed but within a month on g/c he stopped limping. I absolutely swear by that stuff. He still gets a little stiff if he's been very active for a day, but aspirin takes care of that. I'm doing agility with him now and we hope to start competing this spring.
So anyhow, not to ramble on any longer....but if you don't have your current dog on supplements, you might consider it.

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What a sweety I thought the name Jewel was kinda sweet why don't you like it? Made me think of the singer

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Carina: Ellie is on a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement and I think that the one she had before, with MSM in it as well, worked better so when this is gone we're going to switch back to that. I also want to get her a good, orthopedic bed. She generally sleeps with me, but my bed is rather high and I think jumping down is too hard on her. When she goes back for her next round of x-rays, I'm going to have the vet look at her elbows as well. She seems stiff all around to me. I may also see if aspirin does the trick on days when she seems really bad. In the meantime, she's put on a *little* holiday weight and could probably stand to lose 5 or 6 pounds, so we're going to start a real regimen of getting out into the woods and running around more often. The snow seems to be at bay for awhile. I worry about her slipping in the mud and ice. But, she's going to be fine. If the vet thinks it will make a significant improvement at some point, we'll do a hip replacement, but thankfully I don't have to worry about that yet!

Iggette: Unfortunately, it's JewelS with an "s" which only serves to remind me of...*testicles* And so now, even thought I would have liked Jewel on its own, I'm not sure that I can call her that, even. Other names I'm considering are Odessa (Dessa for short) which is Greek for odyssey or long journey, and Adah, which is Hebrew for adornment or ornament (Jewels). I'm accepting all suggestions! It took me over a week to name Ellie, who before she came was *definitely* going to be named Mary. So, we'll see. I'm off to meet her sometime this day.

Thanks so much, everyone, for responding. Be excellent to each other.

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Jane,I hope everything works out to "Sadies"advantage and yours.
You are doing a wonderful thing and like has been said,if Sadie does not work out in your household,at least she's in from the cold and you should have no problem re-homing her. Good Luck today

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Of course, now I'm sitting by the phone waiting for this woman to call back and going nuts because I'm excited to go meet the dog. *dork*

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