Reasons to get a dog or puppy from a shelter or rescue

Rescues and Shelters

Some people avoid getting their pets from a shelter because they simply do not think of this option.  Others avoid them because they are “too sad.”  Still others feel that the dogs there are somehow at fault; that they wouldn’t be there unless they had temperament or other problems.  This is not always the case, however.  The most common reason for an owner-surrender is moving.  Sometimes an animal is surrendered due to the owner’s death or divorce.  You are quite likely to find a nice pet at a shelter or rescue if you know what to look for.

There are many types of rescues.  Some accept only certain breeds, others accept mixed-breed dogs.  Some have puppies, although it is more common for them to have adolescent dogs, adults, and seniors.   Many of them place their dogs carefully in trusted foster-homes until they can be placed with a new family.  Many are very helpful and know much information about a particular dog, its temperament, etc.  Many provide the dogs with as good or better veterinary-care than they would receive from a public animal-shelter.  Dogs are usually spayed or neutered prior to adoption.  A few rescues are very particular about placing their animals (even to the point being exasperating!)  Other rescues are not very reputable and can be crowded and unclean, and the people who run them are animal-hoarders rather than true rescuers. You should investigate the reputation of a particular rescue before you decide to adopt through it.

Shelters vary as much as rescues.  There are differences in their mission, whether they are public or private, and where they are located.  Some shelters are “full-service” shelters that take any unwanted dogs from the public.  Since they generally cannot find homes for all of them, they often humanely kill (euthanize) the excess, particularly dogs that are aggressive, unhealthy, extremely stressed by a kennel environment, or otherwise hard to keep or place.  Most public shelters hold stray dogs for a certain period of time before they can be adopted; this gives the dogs’ owners time to find and claim the dog.  Some of these shelters keep dogs for only a limited amount of time, whether measured in weeks, days, or hours. 

Other shelters are “no-kill” shelters, but the definition of “no-kill” varies from place to place.  Some still euthanize dogs that are sick, seriously injured, or aggressive, but keep all the rest until they are adopted.  No-kill shelters must limit their admissions so that they are not overwhelmed with more dogs than they can handle.  They generally have rules about the types of dogs they will accept, and often have wait-lists of dogs that need to come to the shelter.  Some no-kill shelters accept dogs from the general public while others only accept them from full-service facilities.  Please remember that you will be saving a life whether you adopt from a rescue, a “full-service” shelter, or a “no-kill” shelter.  Adopting from a rescue or no-kill generally frees up a space in a foster home or kennel-run that can then be used to admit a dog on its waiting-list.  Almost all the shelters and rescues are working toward the same goal:  to save as many dogs as they can!

I remember a concerned couple that visited for the first time the shelter where my former husband and I used to volunteer.  They were extremely upset to find out that the shelter performs euthanizations.  “Aren’t you aware that there’s such a thing as no-kill in this country?” they asked me.  We patiently explained how our shelter operates, about its history and purpose, but to no avail.  We explained that by our contract with the county, we cannot turn away any animals brought to us by animal control or surrendered by county residents.  They were still not satisfied. 

Finally, I asked them what we should do with all the cats and dogs that come through our doors.  We cannot adopt them all out because there are not enough people willing and able to take them.  Should we keep them caged up for years and years?  Forever?  No matter how crowded we get, even assuming this is legal?  Some dogs become so crazy when penned up for long periods in a kennel environment that they develop neurotic behaviors or turn aggressive.  Is it humane to simply hold onto these dogs forever? 

I’m not sure that this couple left our shelter completely satisfied, but they did leave with a fuller understanding of the animal-related problems that our community faces.  There are more animals in our community (like in many others) than there are available homes.  My own feeling is that the only humane, cost-effective, long-term solution to the overpopulation problem is to actively promote the spaying and neutering of our pets.

Shelter dogs vary in the quality of personal attention and medical care that they receive.  Adoption fees also vary.  Shelters also vary in whether their adoptees are spayed or neutered and whether this takes place before or after the adoption. In some shelters the adopter merely signs an adoption contract that, among other things, promises to get the dog spayed or neutered as soon as possible.  Some shelters provide a voucher that covers part of the costs of this procedure. Adopting or rescuing a dog saves a life.

Do you need help finding a shelter or rescue group?  You have several options for searching online.  If you are looking for a purebred dog, you can go to the AKC website and search under breeds/rescue.  The rescue groups are listed in alphabetical order by breed.  You can also run a general online search from a major search engine by using keywords.  For example, I might plug in “Golden Retriever Rescue” if I were looking to adopt a purebred Golden Retriever.  I would keep in mind that these groups might offer some nice mostly-golden mixes, too. 

My favorite option, whether I am looking for a purebred or not, is to visit Petfinder.com. Petfinder has a huge database and some flexible options:  you can search by breed, by location, or even through the free, online classified ads for available pets.  The classifieds are usually written by responsible families trying to place their dogs themselves instead of taking them to a shelter.  These families can often tell you quite a bit about the pet. 

Research your breed carefully and know what to look for, because some shelters make mistakes in their breed identifications.  This is usually accidental, since it is hard to be an expert on all possible dog breeds.  Strays, particularly mixes, can be hard to identify.  But there can sometimes be a deliberate effort by well-intentioned but misguided shelter volunteers or staff to get a dog adopted that would otherwise be difficult to place (Pit Bulls come to mind).  Animal shelters and rescue groups have the option of posting pictures with their available pets, and most do.  You should study these pictures carefully to determine if a particular dog listed looks like the pictures of the breed you’ve seen elsewhere.