After one of our two dogs passed away last year, my husband and I decided to search rescues and shelters in our efforts to find another companion for us and our Chihuahua mix, Mia. In November of 2012, we came across New Beginnings Animal Shelter in Pickerington and what their vet determined to be a 9 month old Irish Wolfhound named Mikey. My husband had fallen in love with Irish Wolfhounds ever since he saw them at the Dublin Irish Festival one year, and he had once had a Great Dane. So, he is knowledgeable about giant breeds, and we did our research on Irish Wolfhounds. We filled out an application, and the president of the organization, Barb, called for an initial chat about Mikey and to learn more about us and our home. I told her about Mia and how she is protective and territorial of us and her home and how she can be fear aggressive with other dogs in the initial introduction. I told her it’s nothing we couldn’t handle, and it just takes her time to be comfortable. She has never harmed another animal nor have we ever had a problem with her liking our friends’ dogs or adjusting and living with another dog… even another small, dominant female dog. Barb said she completely understood. I asked if we could have Mikey and Mia to first meet on neutral territory like at a park or someplace, but that request was ignored. My husband and I rearranged our home to accommodate a giant breed while hoping for the best with the introduction and hoping Mikey would be able to stay with us for the weekend for a trial period. The foster, Beverly, came to our home with Mikey, and we immediately fell in love with his scruffy, old man face. He was smaller than we thought he would be, so it seems he was mixed with a lab. Mia behaved as we expected with a new person and a new dog coming into our home. She barked and growled, asserted her dominance and defended her home and family. Mikey responded appropriately for a male, submissive dog coming into another dog’s territory. he backed off. It was difficult for my husband and I to strike a balance between disciplining our dog’s behavior while being watched by the foster who was to make the decision on whether we would be a good family for Mikey. To match the intensity of Mia’s reaction, we would have had to raise our voices and startle her to quiet her, but we didn’t want to come off as too harsh. After about 10 or 15 minutes, Beverly abruptly said they were leaving and that«it’s not going to work.» My husband and I were shocked and speechless. We were also extremely disappointed. When Beverly asked if Mia has been around other dogs, I knew the members of the organization did not communicate with each other or as I suspect, they probably already had a preferred home. If they knew our situation beforehand(as they did) and didn’t want to give us a real chance, then we would have preferred to not even see the dog and take the chance of immediately falling in love with him. We also found it odd that they had Mikey since 2 weeks of age and didn’t get him adopted until 9 months. What rescue or shelter has a cute, scruffy puppy for that long?! I emailed Barb and told her how disappointed we were, but I never received a response. Yes, maybe we weren’t the best home for Mikey, but I also don’t think that can be judged within 15 minutes. After that debacle, Mia has met other dogs she’s grown to like and play with and even really young puppies that she amazingly tolerated in her own home! And even though we feel puppies aren’t the best match for her, introduction on neutral territory is a must. We’ve since adopted a poodle mix from Fairfield Humane Society, and he and Mia get along great! I do appreciate their efforts as an animal rescue and finding the best homes for the animals they rescue, but I can’t say I can recommend working with New Beginnings Animal Shelter. Unless you have no dogs or dogs who seriously do not care on some level what other animals you bring into the home(do they exist!?), I’d look elsewhere. They supposedly started out as a cat rescue, so maybe there isn’t a lot of knowledge there about dogs and canine pack behavior?
