............................................. .......................................... ........................................... Did I fool you? Anyway, this October is National Adopt a Shelter (or Rescue) Dog Month. Unfortunately, there is a lot of stigma surrounding these lovable animals. Here, I will explain and debunk the most common myths. In addition, if anyone has a question about dog care or training, feel free to ask me here. I do actually work with rescue organizations. Myth #1: Dogs were placed in the rescue because they were uncontrollable. Absolutely not true. Almost no dog was placed in a shelter or rescue because they had disciplinary problems that the previous family could not handle. Some common reasons that dogs ARE placed in rescues are: previous owner died family member was allergic owner moved to a place where they could not have dogs family did not want to care for dog anymore dog was found as a stray dog was born to another rescue dog and has not been adopted Myth #2: I must housebreak the rescue dog myself. As you can see from my list above, a good number of dogs have been in homes before and are housebroken. Puppies are usually not housebroken, but if you got a puppy from a breeder, they wouldn't be housebroken either. If you get an older dog, they will probably be housebroken. (Ask the staff first, though.) Myth #3: Adopting a dog is incredibly difficult. Definitely no. You will have to fill out an application and probably pay an adoption fee, but it's all very simple. You can even browse for dogs online at petfinder.com. That's pretty much it. Any questions?
Yes, all of our pets have been from shelters. Adult animals are the greatest deal out there -- they're calmer, often they're housebroken and sometimes otherwise trained already, and they're often grateful and appreciative of you. My cat, Jake, who was the greatest creature to ever walk the face of the earth, came from the ASPCA.
I used to have cats, and while they weren't from a shelter, they were from this old woman who couldn't take care of them anymore because of her age/health. She was planning on giving them to a shelter, but I offered to adopt them instead. So yes, adoption can be a great thing, for both the pet and the owner.
A wonderful thread Duchess I have rescued many doggies, and one cat (well, he was a neighbour's cat who moved in and needed a lot of TLC) and can confirm that rescue animals are the best. Or at least as good as any you buy from breeders. i have a really soft spot for them as well.
Last night I had a dream about three shelter dogs who kept appearing into my apartment (not sure how). They were being mistreated by some crazy woman who had adopted them from a shelter, so the dogs wanted to live with me and T.Trian. One was an Alsatian, one a Beagle, but I can't remember the third one's breed. Anyway, maybe it's a sign? We were about to adopt a deaf retriever, but he found a better home in the country. But maybe we'll find some other homeless goggie we could take care of
