Rehoming a stray dog

[DeChRi]

I am hoping someone has some advice. We had our beloved boxer put down on father's day. 3 weeks ago some friend brought a stray dog they found (and couldnt keep) to our house. It is a boxer. He was malnourished and banged up. Our vet is a boxer owner too. We took him in, got his wounds cleaned and bandaged, eye infection treated, abx for mouth and foot infection, and paid to update his shots. It took about 2.5 weeks to get him to a good weight and get his illnesses and wounds healed. During this time we searched high and low for owner (shelters, animal control, newspapers, craigslist, vets). We also have worked really hard on his hardcore attachment disorder. He doesnt do well alone...like goes nuts. But he is a rockstar when crated when we have to leave. Besides that:
-he is housebroken 100%
-so gentle with kids...my toddlers fall all over him and he just gently moves....the pinch and pull and no reaction
-he doesnt bark
-loves other dogs
-leash trained

Just is a great dog. But we can't keep him. We also do not feel good about leaving him at a shelter. The boxer rescue in our area says that since we elected to keep him this long (almost 3 weeks) then he is legally ours and we would have to go through a nasty surrendering your animal process. And then he still has to stay with us until they rehome him.

I dont know what to do. We cant keep him and each day is making me more nuts. Maybe we should have taken him to the shelter right away, but he was sick and needy and well, we just are not progammed that way.

Anyone know what on earth to do now? No one we know wants him and I worry that posting on Craigslist would bring out every yahoooo out there.

[greenmagick]

That sucks that boxer rescue isnt helping you out more...have you tried any non-breed specific rescues?

[Oubliette8]

What about your vet? Sometimes they know of pet owners who are looking for a new pet. He may also know of other kind hearted Boxer people who may do informal boxer rescue.

I would also check petfinder to find other rescues in your area- in my area there is an abundance of all-breed rescues. And I know for popular breeds, there may be several breed rescues operating in an area- you might have to cast your net a bit wider there- some larger breed rescues have foster homes across several states, even though they are listed as being in one state, in fact some national rescues don't even list on petfinder, so you might do a google search for boxer rescue and see if you pull up more results as well.

My final thought would be to call the shelter- I know several friends have left there names at our local shelter asking to be called if a certain breed comes in. They may have a list of people wanting to adopt boxers.

Also, do you know of any reputable breeders in your area? Many reputable breeders are also involved in breed rescue. On my breed specific lists and message boards, messages come through fairly regularly about dogs in need of assistance and everyone pulls together to try and find a home- sometimes even arranging transport in legs across long distances to get the dog to a new home. Of course, my breeds are a bit rarer than a boxer, so I'm not sure how breeds that are more popular, and thus with more homeless, operate.