Are you
looking to adopt a pet? Please visit
your local animal shelter. Shelter pets
are the best! Most are house trained,
have basic obedience skills, are spayed or neutered, have received the
necessary veterinary care, and are eager for someone to love them. Sadly, however, up to 50% of dogs and up to
70% of cats who enter shelters will never make it out simply because no one
comes to adopt them.
My parents
introduced me to the joy of shelter animals.
They adopted Daffy, our first family dog, before I was born. Daffy, a Labrador mix, was a much loved
member of our family for the first decade of my life. Typical of mixed breeds, she was hearty and
healthy, and she lived to be 15.
Daffy and me
We adopted
our next family dog from our local animal shelter, too. Button was a small mixed breed, probably
mostly Shih Tzu or Maltese. He had a
good, long life, too.
Button
When I was
in college, an old boyfriend surprised me with a cocker spaniel puppy that he
got from a classified ad. I really
shouldn’t have adopted a dog at that point in my life, particularly one that
didn’t come from a shelter, but you don’t always do the smart thing when you’re
only 20. I named my puppy Garth, as in
Brooks. Garth was a very sweet dog that
I had for nearly 15 years. (He lasted a
lot longer than the boyfriend – ha!)
However, Garth had epilepsy, which I first discovered when he was about
a year old. For the rest of his life, I
gave him Phenobarbital twice a day. I
always suspected that because Garth was a purebred from an unknown “backyard”
breeder, he wasn’t as strong genetically as the other dogs I’ve had. Even so, I loved him dearly, just like all my
other dogs.
Garth
I don’t mean
to knock purebreds. All types of dogs
and cats – purebred or mixed breed – can make wonderful pets. Just remember that if you are looking for a
purebred, an animal shelter is a great place to look. Another good option is a breed rescue group,
like Southeastern Greyhound Adoption.
It’s even possible that a purebred pet will find you.
Robert and I
went running the day after Christmas in 2005.
Our route took us on a dirt road near our house. Over to the side we noticed a small, nearly
starved beagle. She was skin and
bones. She was probably a hunting dog
that got lost, and she wouldn’t have lasted much longer out there. We took her home and began nursing her back
to health. Because we had found her on
the second day of Christmas, we thought about calling her Turtle, as in
turtledove. Then, a friend suggested
Shelly, as in turtle shell. Perfect!
We started
asking around to see if anyone wanted a beagle.
Robert and I really weren’t looking to adopt another dog because we
already had two greyhounds. However,
when our (halfhearted?) efforts to find her a home didn’t pan out, we decided
to keep Shelly. Maybe it was meant to
be; she came into our lives just a couple of weeks after Garth died.
When we
found Shelly, she weighed about 14 pounds.
Soon she regained her strength and vigor, rebounding to a healthy 20
pounds. She has been a terrific dog!
Shelly when we found her
Happy, healthy Shelly!
Shelly probably would have gone to our local
animal shelter if someone else had found her – in time. Even if she had gone to the shelter, she may
not have been adopted. Give orphaned and
abandoned animals like Shelly a new lease on life. Let’s make animal shelters the number one
choice for companion animals.
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