You can find your perfect companion and save money by adopting a shelter dog
Animal shelters and humane societies are the perfect place to find your next mate. Let’s face it, we Americans have a huge problem with overcrowding in our animal shelters. An average of 10,000 babies are born every day in the US, while 70,000 puppies and kittens are born, there is absolutely no way we have enough homes for all those animals. Another disturbing fact is that 56% of animals entering shelters will be euthanized and it will only get worse, a horrible fact. Well, there is a way to start reducing these numbers and prevent further senseless animal deaths. Start looking for your dogs (and cats) in animal shelters. Here I will debunk some common myths about shelter dogs…
1. I want a purebred dog and there are none in the shelters…
More or less, about 25% of all dogs in shelters are purebreds. Some people say, yes, but they are all Pit Bulls and German Shepherds, even if that is true, they are very affectionate breeds, but it is not. Take a quiz, search the shelters and you’ll see how many labs, pomeranians, boxers, pointers… you name it and you’ll find what you’re looking for. And if you are curious about how to search for these dogs or think it is time consuming, just try using these websites.
Petfinder.com, petango.com, and petharbor.com are all great websites and most animal shelters post their available animals on these sites, with petfinder being the largest. Simply enter your zip code and desired breed and a list of dogs will be displayed starting from the closest to you and going as far as you prefer.
2. Shelter dogs have behavior problems…
When dogs are in the animal shelter, they are under an extreme amount of stress. They’re confused, lonely, feeling abandoned, not sure what they did wrong… In other words, when you see a dog at the shelter, it’s definitely not going to be itself. If you’re not sure, take him for a walk, spend some time with him before adopting him…or her and I guarantee it will be a completely different dog than the one you see in the crate as she walks.
3. Someone will come to claim it…
Only 15-30% of dogs in shelters recover each year…so where does the other 85-70% come from? Irresponsible owners, it is not the fault of the dogs that are in the shelter but of the owners.
4. Another will come and adopt him…
Maybe, but only 14% of people get their dogs from animal shelters. The other 86% get them from friends, breeders, or pet stores. If everyone adopted their dogs from shelters, pet stores would have to close. Breeders would close shop and fewer animals would end up in the shelter, meaning fewer animals would have to be euthanized each year.
So the next time you’re ready for a dog, remember petfinder.com, petango.com and petharbor.com and do a simple search for the breed you’re thinking of and see what happens.
Thank you very much for reading and I really hope you will follow my advice.
