[laughATTACK]

We seem to be a magnet for the stray and wayward animals in our neck of the woods! About three weeks ago, we had a dog show up at the farm. He's in good weight - although flea covered and seemed to know what humans were. However, after extensive searching and posting, we have found that he seems to be homeless. In the past when this has happened, we've just added them to the pack. Unfortunately, Spanky, as he's been temporarily named, isn't fitting in well.

We already have seven dogs of our own - all strays or adoptees of some sort. He gets along with all of them great - both males and females, although all are spayed and neutered. The problem has been the cats. We have quite a few barn cats, as well as a passel of indoor/outdoor cats. He is absolutely not cat safe, and due to our cat pride, he can't stick around. He requires complete supervision while he is outside with cats or even inside the house with cats. My large dog shredding cat has even gone after him, and that hasn't put a dent in his cat chasing instinct - and make no mistake, he goes after them with the intent to kill. On the flip side, he basically ignores the horses.

So, my issue is this. My Mom and I have discussed and he need to find a new home. We've contacted the local no-kills and, not surprisingly, they are all full. Being as we've never been in a position where we are needing to re-home a dog, what are our next options?

[LauraKY]

Where are you and what breed (or mix) is the dog?

[laughATTACK]

We are in Northern VA - best guess is some kind of hound mix....however, he is brindle so what he might be mixed with is a mystery for now. He does run around the paddocks rabbit hunting, baying his head off so there is definitely some hound in there!

[pony4me]

We had this happen just recently, with a dog that just didn't get along with one of our others. Luckily, we found a good home for him. We put the word out everywhere we could. Work, facebook, stable, friends, etc. and tried to figure out what type of home would be best for him. We targeted people that would be a good fit, in addition to facebook and asking around. I actually went up to likely adopters, explained the situation and asked if they'd like to take the dog. We felt like he'd be a great dog for an older lady, and one of my husband's co-workers was exactly that. We also had a backup person (one of my co-workers.)

In your dog's case, you should target people that don't have cats. Beyond that, what other things are relevant? Figure it out, and try to do some matchmaking. Breed may be relevant. The dog we were placing was a rat terrier mix, and the backup person just loved rat terriers, and had one when she was a kid.

Usually, we just end up keeping whatever shows up on the farm, but when you have to rehome, you have to rehome.

Best of luck to you and your dog.

[LauraKY]

Facebook, facebook. Ask friends to share. I was hoping a breed rescue could help you out (I volunteer with a collie rescue for instance) but hounds are tough to place.

Hopefully a COTHer in Northern Virginia will know of a rescue who can help you out. Try the Humane Society too. They can list him while you foster.

[Liberty]

Contact PAWS For Seniors. They are a wonderful organization that works tirelessly to find homes for dogs (and cats, too). I volunteer with them whenever I can, and they've been pretty successful finding great homes.

They are located in Bealeton, but network all over the place. They can, at least, help you get the word out as they help find the perfect person for this dog.

Their website:
http://www.pawsforseniors.org/

Their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/PawsForSeniors?fref=ts

Good luck!

[IdahoRider]

best guess is some kind of hound mix....however, he is brindle so what he might be mixed with is a mystery for now.

Could he be a Plott Hound/mix?
Sheilah

[fish]

Could he be a Plott Hound/mix?
Sheilah

I was going to say the same thing-- he sure sounds like one. Do they have a rescue?

I was going to say, too, that I see a lot of dogs in this situation advertised on Craigslist-- even some of the animal shelters list there.

P.S. Here's the closest thing I could find to a Plott rescue (it's for hounds-- but does have Plott info + photo if you scroll down): http://homewoodsrescue.tripod.com/hounds.html