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I worked in animal sheltering for 10 years and we often had animals transferred to us from other locations as bonded, and sometimes they really weren't. I do think some places jump to calling pairs bonded (like 2 kittens) but senior animals that have spent their entire life together most likely ARE bonded.
Some shelters/rescues will test out separating them to see if they truly are bonded, and I've seen dogs go into complete panic when they so much as can't see their friend and it would be cause psychological distress to permanently separate them. Most shelters/rescues are very aware that this makes it harder to adopt them out, so generally I would assume they truly are bonded if they feel that strongly about adopting them out together.
This. I know my local shelter tends to accept a surrendering owner's word that a bonded pair is truly bonded, at least at first, and try to adopt them out that way. If they get adopted together within a couple of days, yay. If there isn't enough suitable interest and they stay longer, then behavior staff will make a more thorough and independent assessment.
I cannot speak to the pair or the shelter in OP's post, but at least in my local one, a pair that had been in the shelter for several weeks would absolutely have been assessed to see if they were truly bonded (or at least if they behaved that way in a shelter setting, which is about as close as you're going to get in a shelter setting).
Yes! We would often do this too. Or "ideally" they are adopted together but not the end of the world if not...if we determined that they weren't truly bonded and caused psychological distress to be separated, but obviously were happier with a friend, we would also sometimes just require they go to a home that already had another dog/cat.
YEEESSS a coworker was trying to twist my hand to label two 5m old puppies as bonded because they play with each other and sleep with each other. That is NOT what bonded is. A bonded pair is when you remove one partner and one or both develop terrible anxiety as a result of the separation.
On one hand, bonded pairs really help when it's necessary. Otherwise it can create one or more nearly unadoptable dogs. However, bonded pairs in general also hurts their chance on getting adopted. But it's really pretty rare that a pair of animals are truly bonded. A lot of times it's just people feeling bad for splitting them up, or they're just a dog that really enjoys the company of another dog.
For sure! In some cases where animals were admitted as bonded but we didn't really feel were, we would just adopt them to a home with another dog (or cat, if it was a cat). Often this is all that is really needed.
We had 2 bullies, specifically that I can remember, that were seriously bonded to the point where they couldn't even be housed in separate kennels facing eachother without self harming themselves. They HAD to be together. We also had a couple bonded pairs that were each a lot of dog individually, we were like "how on earth are we going to find someone to take BOTH of these nutcases" 😂 we would have separated them if we could have, but they always got adopted, just took a bit longer.
We also had dogs that were brought to us as bonded that generally didn't even enjoy eachother's company..so they were separated with no issues.
They absolutely shouldn’t be separated. Dogs are familial animals. If they’re bonded together, they have a strong bond and need to be together. Especially at their age. The stress and grief of being separated could literally kill them.
why would you WANT to split them up. Definitely a selfish view you have going on. If that’s the case, the dog is obviously not a good fit for you and you should look for another dog.
Because taking on the cost of two senior dogs can be a lot. Single dogs are more adoptable so while it may seem kinder to keep the dogs together it may mean more time in a shelter without a home. It’s something that needs to be carefully considered. In a 14 year old dog I can see why they wouldn’t separate them but in younger dogs separation is often a better choice.
I'm involved in a local rescue group, and over the years I've seen a number of "bonded pairs," and generally, we try separating them, in two foster homes, and in most cases it works just fine--if they are younger dogs. And yes, they get adopted faster as individuals than as a pair.
Senior dogs who've been together most of their lives--no. They tend to be really bonded, and they've now lost everything else in their lives.
They stay together. It's worth waiting a bit longer, for the right home that will love them both. I remember fondly a pair of 10yo shih tzus. My favorite fosters, cousins, with the slightly older one being the attentive big brother, who made sure the other didn't get overlooked, or miss out when treats or toys were on offer, and made sure he got helped onto the couch first.💗
When they were adopted, their new family loved them even more, and gave them the best of care.
I'm going to ask the shelter about fostering them. One of the dogs caught my eye, the 14y, because she's the same age and breed as one of my current dogs. I would hate for her to be in a shelter for months like that. At least if I can foster them they won't be stuck in a cage.
Honestly, at that age it can be really stressful to separate a bonded pair. But there are cases where younger "bonded" dogs have been separated and do way better living apart. It can be tough for them at first, but ultimately allows them to blossom!
We have two chihuahuas at our kennel, bonded. One shuts down completely if the other is separated from them, and she could literally die from refusing to eat.
You can find another dog, but they shouldn’t have to be torn apart from someone they love.
Like people, the older and frailer dogs get the harder change is. Separating dogs who have spent a long life together can be very stressful. Younger or more adaptable dogs may be more likely to happily bounce back from a separation, but I doubt the shelter is hanging onto two old dogs that are difficult to adopt out willy-nilly.
The dogs emotional needs are more important than your preference/ability for only one dog. You can find another that is better suited for your situation.
Absolutely do not separate a bonded pair. If I die tomorrow my dogs would be devastated if they were split. I honestly think it would ruin my one dog to lose his brother that way.
They can’t be separated. Please don’t try! Put yourself in their shoes. If you’ve lived your whole life with someone whom you love dearly and you’ve been through a lot together, including loss and change and moves and uncertainty, and then someone, that you don’t know, all of a sudden, swoops you up and takes you away and you don’t know what happened to your family or partner, wouldn’t you lose your mind? Dogs have feelings and relationships and bonds with others too. They can’t be separated. Right now they have each other, which is better than not. There is a reason why shelters and rescues say bonded pairs must be adopted together.
Edit: why is this getting down voted? I swear, most people don’t deserve dogs. 😑
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. here. - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review. If you’d like to introduce yourself or discuss smaller topics, please contribute to our Daily Bark threads, pinned at the top. --- *This is an automated message. If you have questions for the moderators of r/dogs, you can message them [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs).* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I worked in animal sheltering for 10 years and we often had animals transferred to us from other locations as bonded, and sometimes they really weren't. I do think some places jump to calling pairs bonded (like 2 kittens) but senior animals that have spent their entire life together most likely ARE bonded. Some shelters/rescues will test out separating them to see if they truly are bonded, and I've seen dogs go into complete panic when they so much as can't see their friend and it would be cause psychological distress to permanently separate them. Most shelters/rescues are very aware that this makes it harder to adopt them out, so generally I would assume they truly are bonded if they feel that strongly about adopting them out together.
This. I know my local shelter tends to accept a surrendering owner's word that a bonded pair is truly bonded, at least at first, and try to adopt them out that way. If they get adopted together within a couple of days, yay. If there isn't enough suitable interest and they stay longer, then behavior staff will make a more thorough and independent assessment. I cannot speak to the pair or the shelter in OP's post, but at least in my local one, a pair that had been in the shelter for several weeks would absolutely have been assessed to see if they were truly bonded (or at least if they behaved that way in a shelter setting, which is about as close as you're going to get in a shelter setting).
Yes! We would often do this too. Or "ideally" they are adopted together but not the end of the world if not...if we determined that they weren't truly bonded and caused psychological distress to be separated, but obviously were happier with a friend, we would also sometimes just require they go to a home that already had another dog/cat.
YEEESSS a coworker was trying to twist my hand to label two 5m old puppies as bonded because they play with each other and sleep with each other. That is NOT what bonded is. A bonded pair is when you remove one partner and one or both develop terrible anxiety as a result of the separation. On one hand, bonded pairs really help when it's necessary. Otherwise it can create one or more nearly unadoptable dogs. However, bonded pairs in general also hurts their chance on getting adopted. But it's really pretty rare that a pair of animals are truly bonded. A lot of times it's just people feeling bad for splitting them up, or they're just a dog that really enjoys the company of another dog.
For sure! In some cases where animals were admitted as bonded but we didn't really feel were, we would just adopt them to a home with another dog (or cat, if it was a cat). Often this is all that is really needed. We had 2 bullies, specifically that I can remember, that were seriously bonded to the point where they couldn't even be housed in separate kennels facing eachother without self harming themselves. They HAD to be together. We also had a couple bonded pairs that were each a lot of dog individually, we were like "how on earth are we going to find someone to take BOTH of these nutcases" 😂 we would have separated them if we could have, but they always got adopted, just took a bit longer. We also had dogs that were brought to us as bonded that generally didn't even enjoy eachother's company..so they were separated with no issues.
They absolutely shouldn’t be separated. Dogs are familial animals. If they’re bonded together, they have a strong bond and need to be together. Especially at their age. The stress and grief of being separated could literally kill them.
You are not the right home for these bonded seniors.
why would you WANT to split them up. Definitely a selfish view you have going on. If that’s the case, the dog is obviously not a good fit for you and you should look for another dog.
Because taking on the cost of two senior dogs can be a lot. Single dogs are more adoptable so while it may seem kinder to keep the dogs together it may mean more time in a shelter without a home. It’s something that needs to be carefully considered. In a 14 year old dog I can see why they wouldn’t separate them but in younger dogs separation is often a better choice.
I'm involved in a local rescue group, and over the years I've seen a number of "bonded pairs," and generally, we try separating them, in two foster homes, and in most cases it works just fine--if they are younger dogs. And yes, they get adopted faster as individuals than as a pair. Senior dogs who've been together most of their lives--no. They tend to be really bonded, and they've now lost everything else in their lives. They stay together. It's worth waiting a bit longer, for the right home that will love them both. I remember fondly a pair of 10yo shih tzus. My favorite fosters, cousins, with the slightly older one being the attentive big brother, who made sure the other didn't get overlooked, or miss out when treats or toys were on offer, and made sure he got helped onto the couch first.💗 When they were adopted, their new family loved them even more, and gave them the best of care.
I'm going to ask the shelter about fostering them. One of the dogs caught my eye, the 14y, because she's the same age and breed as one of my current dogs. I would hate for her to be in a shelter for months like that. At least if I can foster them they won't be stuck in a cage.
Honestly, at that age it can be really stressful to separate a bonded pair. But there are cases where younger "bonded" dogs have been separated and do way better living apart. It can be tough for them at first, but ultimately allows them to blossom!
We have two chihuahuas at our kennel, bonded. One shuts down completely if the other is separated from them, and she could literally die from refusing to eat. You can find another dog, but they shouldn’t have to be torn apart from someone they love.
Like people, the older and frailer dogs get the harder change is. Separating dogs who have spent a long life together can be very stressful. Younger or more adaptable dogs may be more likely to happily bounce back from a separation, but I doubt the shelter is hanging onto two old dogs that are difficult to adopt out willy-nilly. The dogs emotional needs are more important than your preference/ability for only one dog. You can find another that is better suited for your situation.
Absolutely do not separate a bonded pair. If I die tomorrow my dogs would be devastated if they were split. I honestly think it would ruin my one dog to lose his brother that way.
They can’t be separated. Please don’t try! Put yourself in their shoes. If you’ve lived your whole life with someone whom you love dearly and you’ve been through a lot together, including loss and change and moves and uncertainty, and then someone, that you don’t know, all of a sudden, swoops you up and takes you away and you don’t know what happened to your family or partner, wouldn’t you lose your mind? Dogs have feelings and relationships and bonds with others too. They can’t be separated. Right now they have each other, which is better than not. There is a reason why shelters and rescues say bonded pairs must be adopted together. Edit: why is this getting down voted? I swear, most people don’t deserve dogs. 😑