Where are the qualified adopters...

Its been raining Akitas lately -- so many wonderful ones in need, but no room because we just aren't getting the right homes to come along!! Usually by this time of year, we have placed at least 40 Akitas but this year, we just placed our 25th Akita. And all the other Akita Rescues are singing this same sad tune. So where are the qualified homes? We have some wonderful Akitas sitting in our care that should be lounging away in someone's living room.

Why is Yogi still with us? He is super handsome, with a great personality -- big deal he doesn't like other dogs, does that mean he can't be a great pet? Its sadly a bit of an Akita trait to not get along well with strange dogs so he's definitely NOT abnormal for an Akita. Yet here sits Yogi still. Or BayBay -- a gorgeous boy with a collie mixed in there somewhere, and he's sweet as can be. He so deserves to be playing ball with someone in their backyard not sitting in a kennel run wondering when he will get to go home!! And what about the 3 breeders' dogs we rescued after they were left to dehydrate and die alone in NY? Zeus, Athena & Romuleus all are gorgeous, wonderful Akitas with a LOT of love and happiness to give someone yet they languish here with us instead of being loved & spoiled in a real home. The list just goes on and on -- like our Oki, Spirit and Gordon, all big handsome boys but all 3 real Akitas, just what the breed was meant to be. Yet not getting any applications asking for them; people passing them by just because they are a bit older too!! And Sammy -- no issues at all, lost his home due to divorce, but at age 9, no one cares and no one wants him. He's super perfect yet everyone passes him by on our website. Go visit our website and see these sweethearts, you too will wonder why they are still there!! http://www.akitarescuewny.com

I don't get everyone out there just wanting a puppy. Puppies are SO much work! And in today's hectic, crazy, busy world, who has time for all that work? People don't think things thru -- they hear 'puppy' and they become fixated. These wonderful adult Akitas we have are all housebroken, most are crate trained, they walk great on a leash, are calm, intelligent, healthy and loving. Yet all we get are applications asking for puppies!! People mistakenly think a puppy will "bond" better, I hear that all the time -- and its SO not true! Adult Akitas bond just as strongly to a family as a puppy does. An adult Akita is just as playful and fun as a puppy is. An adult Akita is just as loving as a puppy is. What an adult Akita isn't is tiny but then neither are Akita puppies for very long. Adult Akitas aren't as much work as puppies are either. But for some reason, everyone wants a puppy. I don't get it. I'd never own a puppy -- the last puppy in my life was in 1986 and that was enough for me -- I will always own an adult Akita, and my preference now is middle-aged -- 6 or older!! Such wonderful Akitas in that age bracket -- loving, calm, playful yet not wild or out of control. Yes, there are times when a puppy is needed but not usually and not always. Yes, I will recommend good breeders when someone really should have a puppy in their home because we don't have the right adult or an adult won't work in their specific situation -- but that's not the usual case yet people just convince themselves they must get a puppy to "train it" or to "bond" with it. NOT TRUE!

Then on top of that, the other problem is the people who don't do their homework, don't read our site thoroughly before filling out the application -- it clearly says "we do not do any same sex adoptions" yet we get application after application from people with 3, 4 or 5 other dogs of both sexes in their household already. Or the people who ask for a certain dog that specifically states on its write up "no cats" when they have 1, 2, 3 cats. Or the people with small toddlers that insist on having the dog that is listed as "no kids under 12". We put those things in a write up for a reason -- our placements must be safe, must be permanent and must work for both the Akita and the adopting family!! So sadly those are wasted applications, wasted time in responding to those applications, wasted hope that one of our Akitas might get a home when we see a new application come in.

I don't mean to sound negative and heavens knows, we have some fabulous adopters for whom we are eternally grateful. But we need more of them -- the number of Akitas in need has risen dramatically but the number of good adopters has dropped drastically and its very sad for our Akitas. They shouldn't be sitting in kennels or foster homes -- they should be at home by now, being loved and cherished as someone's pet!!

So spread the word, send good adopters our way, won't you? Its very disheartening to keep turning away wonderful Akitas in need because of lack of space -- and the lack of space is because the Akitas we have in our care just aren't getting adopted!!!