Seriously ... my HCBW came home from a RS thing the other night. Evidently almost everyone there was talking about how they would kind of really like to get rid of their dogs.

There should be some better mechanism (and it's NOT on your list, which is kind of my point) for "get a dog from a friend / neighbor / ward member / etc who is looking to get rid of their dog to a good home.

We got our dog for the kids largely. Well, we're a month into empty nest, and honestly, ready for the dog to go somewhere else. BUT the kids still love it (of course, they are gone, and don't have to clean up dog hair, and feed her and take her on walks anymore), but none of them are set up enough to take the dog.

We like the dog. She is good natured and pretty well trained (we got her that way, from the shelter). I would NEVER take her back to shelter. BUT if a nice family in the ward said "We want a dog", I would LOVE to give her to them. BUT there isn't much of a mechanism for that, at least not in our area.