Bailey is, as were are told, an Australian Shephard/Labrador Retriever Mix. What I do know is that she has freakishly huge paws, a penchant for licking faces, and a mighty strong dislike for nighttime crate training. We got her through the Double Dog Rescue and she originally hails from Tennesse where apparently no one spays or nueters their pets nor takes in unwanted ones as Bailey arrived on a truck with many other dogs, puppies to adults, hoping for a better homelife in Connecticut.
What a beautiful dog! I hope she appreciates your beard.
She is a sweetie and is totally digging the beard.
Hi James,
I’m considering adopting from Double Dog. How was the adoption process? How long did it take, did you get to visit, and were there any guarantees “just in case”?
Thanks – and your dog looks very much like a part of your family. Isn’t it great???
Hi Cyndy-
I am James’s wife and I am the one who worked with DDR. DDR works with clinics down South. Bailey was transported from Tennessee. It was very easy to adopt from them. I worked with an woman named Molli who was fostering Bailey and her siblings. I emailed Mollie on a Thursday morning and heard from her within minutes. I picked up Bailey in Enfield the following Wednesday. DDR has different foster homes in the South and some in NE. It all depends on where the dog is located for you to visit. It usually says if the dog is in NE. If would like I can send you the little blip that I was given about DDR. If the dog for some reason doesn’t work out, they will take the dog back. They haven’t had many dogs returned because they try to place each dog with a family that fits well. Bailey came to us extremely healthy and vibrant. A co-worker of mine also adopted from DDR and had a good experience too. Let me know if you need more information or if you would like to speak to Molli. I hope you do adopt from DDR. They are a great group!
Hi Jenn- it’s been a week since I emailed Molli- no response, and I don’t see an application. Any info you can send would be great. clbjorn@cox.net Thanks!
Well I had a bad experience with Double Dog Rescue in Harwinton. I know that there aren’t a lot of unwanted pets in Connecticut, so most rescue dogs that are available come up from the south, which is fine, but I want to see a dog before I adopt it. There are several organizations that bring dogs up from the south, but at least they’re upfront about it. Double Dog Rescue claims on their website that “Our dogs are fostered in homes throughout the New England area….We welcome visits between adopters and dogs but do be aware that they may be located in any number of places throughout New England.” I found a dog with them that I liked, and submitted my application, answered the follow-up questions, got the vet referral, and was ready to schedule in the in-home visit that they want to do before adoption, when I found out that the dog I was interested in was actually living on a farm in Tennessee with 28 other dogs. So not only was the dog not in New England where I could visit it, but the dog wasn’t even being kept in a home. It makes me wonder how they could claim on their website that this particular dog was house-trained. The foster parents admitted that this almost 2 year old dog had had little human interaction because she was just one of between 28-68 dogs that they had on their farm at any one time.
I adopted a 5 month old dog from Double Dog and couldn’t be happier with her! She’s the sweetest dog I’ve ever met. She loves affection and returns twice as much as you give her. She doesn’t bite and she housetrained easily. She’s a playful, loveable mutt that looks like a miniature Lab. Many strangers ask us how old she is thinking she’s a pedigree pup as she’s only about 15″ at the shoulder and she’s now 8 months old. She’s doing great in her obedience classes. The only problem she has is separation anxiety which is beginning to fade.
I understand why some people hesitate about buying a dog from out-of-state. I had reservations about buying a dog “mail order”, but after I spoke with several Double Dog people, my gut feeling was go for it. We love our dog and can’t imagine life without her. I guess the best advice I could give is to follow your own gut feeling. I’m glad I did.
That was our experience, Arlene, and my wife still talks to the reps from Double Dog as well as the vet which sourced our dog down in Tennessee. It was certainly a positive experience and we too couldn’t be more happier with our dog, she is great with our greyhound, our cats, and our toddler; just a big lovable goofball.
Hi All,
I live in RI and wanted to comment on DDR in Tennessee. I adopted a border collie/fox terrier mix about 8 months ago and he (Koda Bear) is the greatest lillte guy. This is my second dog I adopted from Tennessee and the other was from a different agency, she is a golden/lab mix I got from Goldenn Huggs and they did come and do a home check and checked all your referances. Taylor is about 3 and she is a darling. Both fully house trained and get along with my two cats and my seven yr old daughter. I can not say enough about the dogs in the south. They do not like BLACK animals down there so they don’t get adopted and then they get put down. So if it wasn’t for these groups my dogs would probably be dead. All I know is I have had a great exsprience with them and that is the only place I will go. The fee includes the vaccinations and the transportation up here. Which I pick both of them up in Conn. Good Luck to all and please adopt before you go to a breeder. You can get PURE BREEDS in a shelter, you just have to look and take your time, which you should do when making a life long commitment anyways. Paws to all.
We recently adopted a female weimeraner from DDR and are VERY happy with her, she’s a love – I can’t believe anyone gave up this wonderful girl. She just graduated elementery school and the trainer said she’d never met such a wonderful weim. Our experience with DDR was truthful and honest. I was very impressed they called our vet to check on us. They transported one female to Ct so we could meet her, but we weren’t sure about her. We then went to see Abby at a foster home in Greenwich. I’ve also met a foster mom in Simsbury. In fact we’re already checking their adoption lists to get Abby a sibling.
We just adopted a pup 4days ago from DDR. Her foster mom was a woman named Shelly who had a whole house full of dogs! Her own dogs and foster dogs plus her husband and kids it was crazy! It was easy to see that she just loved dogs. We were apprehensive about a sight unseen dog also, Shelly answered our questions, assured us she was a sweet, gentle and vibrent little girl. When we got her we had to admit to the agency she wasn’t the dog we envisioned in the photo (she’d gotten taller, and weighed more, chased cats more and was much noisier than we expected – and has an issue with her more than 2 week old spay incission ). But indeed she is a sweet and gentle fun loving dog who became very attached to us quickly! She is well mannered, listens, knows some basic commands, has no problem with grooming or walking on leash.
We are all still learning about each other, but I have to say I think maybe Shelly knew what kind of dog we needed more than we did – because she’s quickly becoming the center of our world. The best advice we can give is don’t go into a sight unseen dog rescue with some grand perception, be an animal lover with an open heart and mind … realize you’re taking on a rescue who can have any number of issues stemming from neglect, abuse, or just simple fear of being abandoned, but they may also have many great characterisitics. If you are not the type of person who can “rescue” a dog, a sight unseen pup just might not be the way to go for you (so think deeply about those aspects of rescuing).
All in all while our expectations were different than the reality we are very pleased. We got a friendly, super smart, behaved and loving animal (we honestly could have ended up with so much worse). Shelly has been there to answer emails and reassure us and we are grateful that she helped to place us with Lyric (aka wendy) and reminded us what it means to rescue not only the dog who comes to your home but the 3 more your donation might save from an uncertain or even unhopeful future. This was what sold us on DDR.
I adopted a black rescue mix from DDR about 2 and a half years ago and he is such an awesome dog! This is my opinion, of course, but also the opinion of everyone who knows him! DDR was thorough and helpful and spent a lot of time with me, alleviating my apprehension about adopting a dog sight unseen. They sent someone to my home to interview me and check out my home and yard which really impressed me. I was concrned about the particular dog, Dobson, that I was interested in, not getting along with my cat, so the folks in TN took him to an open cat shelter to see how he would interact, which was very positive. They also sent me video clips of him interacting with other dogs and running and playing. When it met him, it was love at first sight! “Sky”(his new name) is a great hiking buddy and my favorite camping companion. DDR did a great job matching us up and I recommend them to everyone!
I am one of those “foster parents” living in the country in TN and I want to comment that all foster homes are not the same. Currently, I have 7 puppies, six grown dogs and 2 cats all needing good forever homes. Many of the dogs were just hours from being put down. We are like the Dutch boy holding his finger in the hole in the dike. There are millions of animals waiting for their forever homes, and many more that get put to sleep daily. I do not have room to have everyone in the house, but the dogs in the kennels are brought in often and taught basic “house” skills like staying off counters, leaving cats alone, no wild roughhousing and of course, the basic housebreaking. Many are being crate trained. They all play daily with my child, and often her friends come to interract with them. I spend hours on leash and basic obedience yet with more “emergencies” coming in daily, sometimes there are not enough hours in the day. Many dogs have never had any training and when they leave us, they may not be “perfect” but love, patience and consistant reinforcement/training is what most of them need. Most are more than willing to please. True, there are some that can never be “rehabilitated” but many have been. I have the most perfect well-behaved 4yr old foster dog, and it hurts knowing she will more than likely never get that permanent home she craves just because of her age. Most of these guys are just starving for attention and it breaks my heart that they do not have a place where they can be given the more one-on-one attention they deserve. We rejoice when DDR or rolling rescues take these guys because we know good homes will be found. And know, that many of us “foster moms” care tremendously about our “children.”
I’m glad that you got Bailey from a rescue. There are so many animals that otherwise don’t have decent loving homes. Good for you. I hope things are better through the nights.
I am one of the sisters who founded Double Dog Rescue. Thank you to those in support of our efforts. All of our volunteers do their best to find homes for unwanted dogs while working full-time jobs. I apologize to those who have had a disappointing experience through DDR. Our intention is not to mislead any potential adopter as it would contradict our intention in the first place. We strive to get all our dogs up to the Northeast as soon as possible, however foster homes will occasionally back out at the last minute, boarding facilities will be over-booked etc and therefore it will take some time to get the dog(s) up here. Our primary goal to vet the dog so he/she is healthy (including spay/neuter) before finding a safe, loving forever home. Most of the vetting and boarding funds come out of our own pocket. So please consider that before throwing a rescue under the bus as we do our best for the poor heartbeats that cannot speak on behalf of themselves.
My sister and I have rescued our own dogs sight unseen from the south and believe in this process 100% as we would not have started this rescue in the first place. If this is not the route for you, that is your prerogative. All in all, we do appreciate your effort to adopt a homeless dog through us or another rescue group.
Chey
Founding Director, Double Dog Rescue
Chey,
I’m hoping you’ll see this and be able to help. I emailed a contact about one of your pups on Petfinder yesterday, and am curious about how long it may take for them to get back to me. The puppy will be ready for adoption on 12/1 and I haven’t even gotten an application yet! Our family just fell in love with her picture, and really want a chance at getting her. Her name (on Petfinder) is Grace, she’s a golden mix. Please have someone get back to me as soon as they can with an application so we can get this process started! Thanks for whatever help you can give!
Kathy
We just picked up Shaggy a Shih Tzu mix last Saturday in Glastonbury, Ct. We are from Massachusetts. He is the best dog ever. He is calm, sweet natured, loves both men , women and other animals. He seems as if he has not had any training because he does not know basic commands, but is smart , willing to please, and learns quickly. He is housebroken with not one bad habit. He is not a pup, and is thought to be 4-6 years old. His front two bottom teeth were loose so the rescue had them removed when he was neutered. His two bottom canines were worn down from biting on a cage I think. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect dog and can’t imagine our life without him. I was worried about our cat meeting Shaggy. I think that he has never been around cats because he was so fixated on her. He tried to follow her a couple of times so I kept him on leash at first. I did the Cesar Milan thing of putting him on his side and poking his neck when he was being excited around her and it worked like a charm. He is now still curious but really respectful. We were chosen along with a few other families and the southern foster, Shelly, to be on a series for the cable channel Animal Planet about the rescue work of Double Dog. I think that when others see what a great experience this has been for us, they too might take a chance and rescue. There are no guarantees when getting a pet whether it is from a breeder, pet shop or adoption. If you truly love animals you want what is best for them as well as for yourself.