Meet Bowie, like the knife. He鈥檚 an eight-week-old German shepherd-Siberian husky mix that my girlfriend and I just brought home yesterday. Like his older brother, Wiley, Bowie is a rescue. And also like his older brother, you won鈥檛 find a better dog anywhere, even if he聽comes with a pedigree. The only price it is ever appropriate to pay for a dog is $0.
We first saw Bowie on Instagram. The same friend who gave me Wiley posted a picture of an adorable little pup who needed a home. Virginia鈥檚 been wanting a dog to call her own as long as she can remember, and we鈥檇 been half-joking about the prospect of adopting a puppy together at some undetermined time in the future. The timing was far from right for either of us, but I sent her that picture, noted that their eyes were a match, and asked if she wanted him. I was expecting the practical answer鈥斺淲e can鈥檛 do this right now,鈥濃攂ut she called my bluff.
Bowie鈥檚 back story is that his mom was going to be used to breed pomskies. Part husky and part pomeranian, those adorable little balls of fluff are designed to capture the look of the bigger dog, in a smaller, more manageable package that鈥檚 more appropriate for less committed owners who live in apartments, or other situations where providing huge amount of exercise either isn鈥檛 possible or desired. Getting the semen from a tiny male to impregnate a larger female is apparently a huge challenge, and one that doesn鈥檛 yet produce reliable results. So聽the breeders were delighted when Bowie鈥檚 mom got pregnant. It wasn鈥檛 until the puppies started growing that they realized the other half wasn鈥檛 a toy dog鈥
One night before the pregnancy became apparent, the mom had chewed through her kennel door, and spent an hour or two roaming free. The neighbors have unaltered German shepherd males, so putting two and two together, that鈥檚 the best theory for what happened. And, without a certain father, or papers for him, the resulting litter wasn鈥檛 marketable.
The breeders are dog lovers, so they resolved to place all of the pups in good homes. We had that mutual friend who connected us and vouched for me. They鈥檙e located in northern California, and we鈥檙e in Los Angeles, so with a trip to Europe looming, we set up a video call, and 鈥渕et鈥 Bowie for the first time. He appeared to be very focussed on people, and even at six weeks old, was already learning to come and sit. That, plus the recommendation from the same woman who gave me Wiley and those eyes were enough. We agreed to meet the pomsky breeders halfway and pick up our new dog.
That鈥檚 not the kind of tear-filled story you might associate with most dog rescues. Bowie wasn鈥檛 abandoned, wasn鈥檛 abused, and we didn鈥檛 save his life. Had we not been fortunate enough to dibs him, I鈥檓 sure he would have found just as good a home elsewhere.
But I鈥檓 not writing this story to guilt you into rescuing a dog, I鈥檓 writing it to show you how easy it can be and illustrate that you can still find exactly the dog you want, without having to purchase one.
Why shouldn鈥檛 you just make it easy on yourself and go shopping for a dog? Ethics聽and the health of your pet. Over聽. Of those, about 670,000 are euthanized. Purchasing a dog does nothing to reduce those numbers.
And breeding dogs for profit is also notorious for producing unhealthy animals. That鈥檚 why German Shepherds have problems with hip dysplasia and huskies go blind. In contrast, mutts like ours benefit from natural selection, and are less likely to have genetic health problems as a result.
(I鈥檝e written about all the benefits adopting a mutt can bring. You can find a more detailed discussion of ethics, health, and dog behavior there.)
Let鈥檚 get back to that financial argument.聽Owning, raising, and caring for a dog obviously comes with costs. Wiley eats about $100 a month in kibble, chicken livers, coconut oil, and occasionally brown rice and chicken breasts. Found in a storm drain, he didn鈥檛 have any shots or other medical care when I adopted him, so I had to pay for vaccines, deworming, and after a year, to have his balls cut off.
Bowie came to us with his first round of shots, and deworming already taken care of. So, we reimbursed his birth parents for those costs, and the gas it took them to meet us halfway. Most shelters require an adoption fee that covers similar stuff, and runs a couple hundred dollars. They鈥檙e costs you鈥檒l have to cover at some point, and often doing so up front nets you a discount, since shelters typically get those services at cheaper rates than individuals.
With a shelter, you’re not paying for the dog, you’re paying for those necessities鈥攕hots, food, vet visits, de-worming鈥攁nd likely at a heavily discounted rate. The dog, itself, remains free.
Regardless, the money it costs to bring a 鈥渇ree鈥 dog home pales in comparison to that of a pedigree breed purchased from a breeder. One of those pomskies, for instance, runs up to $4,500.
So, how do you find the right free dog for you? You can visit your local pound, of course. Doing so will be a case of saving an animal鈥檚 life, particularly if you live in an area with a high kill rate for shelter animals, like Los Angeles. There鈥檚 also a huge number of rescue organizations, and no kill shelters, that do the saving for you, then work to place their animals in the best possible homes. These range from well funded shelters and large rescue organizations like , to private individuals who help out the occasional dog on the side, finding homes for them by word of mouth or social media. The latter is your best option for finding a puppy in-need. If you鈥檙e in the market, just network with your area鈥檚 dog community.
But what if you have something specific in mind, like, say, a ? Then there are聽rescue organizations that specifically service pretty much any breed. Those are also a great source of information about a breed鈥檚 specific personality, foibles, and care requirements. They can help determine if a specific dog is really right for you.
Adopting also gives you the option of bringing home an adult dog. That can be a great option if the thought of training a puppy sounds overwhelming, or if you like getting a full night鈥檚 sleep. That鈥檚 definitely not something that鈥檚 currently happening in our house.
For us, we鈥檙e less concerned with our dogs鈥 breeds, and more worried about finding ones that are intelligent, caring, and who can keep up on our outdoor adventures. A shepherd-husky mix should have no problem doing that, but neither does the akita, pit bull, jindo, shepherd, or god knows what鈥檚 in Wiley. We prioritize the individual over the breed, and have been happy with the funky-looking results.
Right now, Bowie鈥檚 asleep on my feet. I鈥檓 jealous. Friday, we flew home from Paris, dropped off our bags, crashed for a couple of hours, then hopped on another flight to San Francisco. There, we picked up Wiley and my truck from the friend who was caring for both, then met Bowie for the first time聽and drove back to LA the next day.
We haven鈥檛 quite had him 48 hours yet, but he already feels like a member of the family. So far he鈥檚 sat quietly through brunch, didn鈥檛 complain or have a single accident on a seven-hour drive, and has fallen up and down, and on and off, every set of stairs, and every item of furniture he鈥檚 encountered. He鈥檚 not quite making it through the nights without needing to go out yet, but he has started waking us up before going to the bathroom. This weekend, we鈥檙e going to take him on his first camping trip. I鈥檓 so tired I can鈥檛 see straight. Maybe it鈥檚 the exhaustion, but Bowie feels like pretty good value for money. Wouldn鈥檛 you agree?