Shelter Dog

Why Adopt A Shelter Dog?

February 4, 2010 By Colby 2 Comments

When I first decided to get a dog I didn’t know much about dog breeders, pet stores, rescue dogs, or why adopting a shelter dog might be a better alternative.

After you’ve made the decision to bring a dog into your life you have many options as to where you will get a dog. Here are a few of the choices I thought about before making my final decision:

Adopt A Dog From The Animal Shelter
Adopt A Dog From A Rescue
Buy A Dog From A Breeder
Buy A Dog From The Pet Store

I’m going to go in depth on my reasoning for getting Linus from the animal shelter. However, I don’t plan on going into detail on why you should or should not go with any of the other three options on this list. If you are looking for a dog I’d recommend either getting a dog from the animal shelter or from an animal rescue. If you’re looking for a specific breed you can find dog rescues dedicated to just about any breed. I’ve also read that 25% of the animals at the shelter are purebred dogs. Try looking for rescue and shelter dogs at Petfinder.com.

image by bcgrote

We think you should highly consider adopting from a shelter or rescue and if you’re looking for a specific breed as I said try looking for a breed specific rescue. However, we do know that some might choose to purchase a dog from a breeder. If you decide to get your dog from a breeder make sure you do your due diligence. Do some research on how to find a good breeder. After you know how to find a good breeder make sure you apply that information when looking for your next dog.

I’d highly recommend not purchasing a dog from the pet store as many of their dogs come from puppy mills. Read more about puppy mills at Stop Puppy Mills if you’ve been considering purchasing a dog from the pet store.

Why Adopt A Shelter Dog?

If you’ve been following this blog for a while then you probably know all about my story and how I adopted Linus from the local animal shelter. Now the question is why did I decide to go with a shelter dog and not any of the other three methods of obtaining a dog.

I had heard for years never to get a puppy from the pet store because they came from puppy mills. Puppy Mills are horrible places where breeding dogs are kept in cages (usually their entire lives) and churn out puppies like factories with no regards to the health of the puppies or breeding dogs.

We considered a breeder and actually visited several backyard breeders. The breeders we visited were found via the local newspaper classified ads. Each breeder had varying levels of professionalism. Some had both parents on the premises, AKC paperwork, hip and elbow certification. Some of the breeders had none of this information. If your considering a breeder I’d recommend you read the chapter on Where Can I Find My Puppy? in Puppies For Dummies. This section not only tells you about breeders, but rescues, pet stores, and other ways of getting a dog. Ultimately, we decided getting a dog from a breeder was not for us. I was more interested in saving a dog from a shelter.

We didn’t not consider getting a dog from a local rescue. After we decided not to go with a breeder I kept my eye on Petfinder.com checking out lists of adoptable dogs and puppies from both local rescues and shelters. One day I saw Linus and his siblings at the Carson Shelter. I immediately thought he might be the one. Petfinder.com showed three dogs and if you’re interested in finding out how I chose Linus then check out the article on How To Choose A Puppy. Later that day I brought home my new puppy.

So why exactly did I adopt a shelter dog?

I definitely did not want a puppy from the pet store after reading about pet stores and puppy mills.
Because there are so many dogs euthanized in shelters I chose not to get a dog from the breeder and rather rescue from a shelter.
If I found the perfect puppy at a rescue than I would have had no problem getting a rescue dog.
I found my perfect puppy via Petfinder.com and rescued him from the Carson Shelter in Los Angeles.

Ultimately, I weighed my four options for getting a dog and decided that dog rescue was the best way for me to get a dog.

I’m so happy I chose to rescue Linus from the shelter. He brings me tons of joy. Every day I return from work I’m excited to see him and he’s excited to see me. He’s my companion when I’m home alone. He impresses my friends with his tricks. He encourages me to exercise every day. He comforts me when I’m sad. He cuddles up next to me when I’m cold. Rescuing Linus was one of the best decisions I made in my life. Those are the answers to the question: Why Adopt A Shelter Dog?

Have you rescued a dog from the shelter? What has your experience been like?

Filed Under: Dog Adoptions Tagged With: Adopt A Shelter Dog, Animal Rescue, Dog Breeder, Pet Store, Shelter Dog

The Cutest Puppy Ever Part II

November 21, 2008 By Colby 5 Comments

…and so begins part II of the Cutest Puppy Ever…If you missed part I then check out our first contestant for the cutest puppy ever by following this link:

The Cutest Puppy Ever Part I

A quick recap: Part I of the Cutest Puppy Ever featured my rescue puppy, an Australian Shepherd mix named Linus. He was an adorable little black puppy rescued from the Carson shelter.

Contestant number II is Princess Buttercup. I wrote a little information about her and included her portfolio of photos:

The Cutest Puppy Ever – Princess Buttercup

For those of you who don’t know Princess Buttercup comes from the movie the Princess Bride. She was the runt in the litter so she just seemed like she was the little princess. Now that I look back at these pictures she was tiny compared to Linus (you can compare the two pictures of them on the back porch). When we picked her up from the Riverside shelter they said she was only 4 weeks old. She might only be a few days older than that in these pictures. I’d heard that puppies from the Riverside shelter could be tenth generation mixed breed. From the look of Buttercup I’d say she’s a German Shepherd mix.

Princess Buttercup was so cute and petite, but she definitely held her own when rough housing with the other puppies in her litter.

Click here to vote Buttercup the Cutest Puppy Ever!

Buttercup in the dirt in the backyard

Buttercup kicking it on the back porch

Buttercup posing for a picture

Subscribe NOW To Receive The Entire Cutest Puppy Ever Article Series

Did you like this article and pictures? If so, then fill out the form below and receive the entire Cutest Puppy Ever series daily via email. The final article of the series will allow you to vote on your favorite puppy! Be sure not to miss one puppy picture by filling out your email address in the form below.

One final note. If you use social media or even if you don’t we’d love to get this series of stories a little more exposure by getting them up on StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit. If you are a member of any of these website then can you please stumble, digg, and reddit this post. I added some links to the bottom of the page that will allow you to quickly stumble, digg, or reddit us.

Did you read the other articles from this series? I’ll add the links to the bottom of each post as they are published.

The Cutest Puppy Ever Part I – Linus the Australian Shepherd Mix
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part II – Buttercup the German Shepherd Mix
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part III – Blondie the Labrador Retriever Mix
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part IV – Sally the German Shepherd Mix
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part V – Derby the Yellow Labrador Retriever
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part VI – George the German Shepherd Mix
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part VII – Brisby the German Shepherd Mix
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part VIII – Boots the Labrador German Shepherd Mix
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part IX – Cocoa the German Shepherd Mix
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part X – Stetson the Black Labrador Retriever

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Dog Tagged With: Buttercup, Cute Puppy, German Shepherd Mix, Puppy, Shelter Dog

How To Adopt A Puppy

August 1, 2007 By Colby 28 Comments

Our story on how to adopt a puppy began over 7 years ago when we visited a few backyard breeders for my 32nd birthday. Of course, we did not end up with a purebred puppy, but instead found the perfect Australian Shepherd mixed puppy and adopted him almost immediately at our local animal shelter. ———–>

I’ve always been fond of dogs as long as I can remember. Our first family dog was a Golden Retriever who was very personable and friendly. Our second family dog came from the shelter and was some kind of Border Collie/lab mix…we think. He had energy to spare and was one of the smartest dogs we’ve ever seen (if only we could channel his energy). In college, I helped raise my ex-girlfriends husky mix puppy, my roomates mutt and collie. I practically raised my landlords two rescue dogs. One was a Australian Shepherd mix and the other was a doberman pincher mix.

How To Adopt A Puppy

After college I entered the work force and assumed that I did not have the time to raise a puppy/dog of my own. So, for about eight years after college I was without a dog until December 2004 when my latest ex-girlfriend decided to get me a puppy for my birthday. We were looking for either a Labrador Retriever or a golden retriever. I love the personalities of both breeds and was looking for something in the medium to large sized dog. After visiting several breeders and actually putting a hold on a yellow lab I finally decided I wanted to rescue a dog from one of the shelters.

I had been looking to adopt a puppy online at petfinder.com while we were visiting the breeders and came across a litter of Australian Shepherd Labrador Retriever mix puppies. They were at the Carson Shelter in Southern California, only about a half hour from my house. We went to the shelter and they had two puppies. One, a female, had the aussie shepherd tri-color look and the other one, a male, was all black with a small white spot on his chest. I did plenty of research on how to choose a puppy and put both puppies to the test. I very much liked the look of the female tri-color, but tried not to be biased as I know the personality is what counts. After putting the pups through several personality tests I thought both would make great pets, but was leaning towards the male with the white spot on his chest. I was very tempted to take both puppies home with me, but in the end I went with the little male puppy and have not regretted it. Linus is a wonderful dog, a little shy, but has a very sweet personality. I do often think it would have been nice to have adopted his sister, but I’ve heard that two dogs growing up together will often have weird attachment issues and I didn’t want that for my dog/dogs.

The Good And The Bad Of A Shelter Dog

I had read many books on how to adopt a puppy, but reading a book and actually experiencing puppies first hand at the breeders, rescues, and shelters is a whole different story. As I mentioned many of the puppy training books we read discouraged bringing home siblings.

So what have I learned from adopting a puppy? First of all the price is right when you choose a shelter pup…the fee for one of these pups is only $37 with a refundable $50 deposit at the time your dog is spayed or neutered. It is also very rewarding to know that you’ve rescued a dog from the shelter. Even though the dog you chose may have been adopted anyway, the sooner you can get them out of the shelter, the sooner the shelter will have room for another dog that may have been scheduled for euthanization.

There are definite disadvantages to the shelter dog. When I rescued Linus he was not healthy at all. He was very anemic and had very little energy to move around. My ex-girlfriend actually thought he was dead when we got him home because he wouldn’t move out of the back seat of her car. He was covered in fleas (so much so there was dried blood behind his ears), he had worms, and he had a stomach infection that required him to take medication for several weeks.

Volunteering At Rescues…Rewarding And For A Good Cause

I’ve also volunteered for a local dog/puppy rescue called Cuddly Canines. The adoption fee for one of their puppies is $300. These dogs come from the shelters, but are taken in by a foster family and have a loving home for a minimum of two weeks with the family. During this time the puppies/dogs are spayed/neutered, dewormed, deflead, and are current on their vaccinations. These rescue groups do a wonderful job with their animals and provide a great service to the community. If you are interested in fostering a litter of puppies, a dog, or would like to adopt please visit the Cuddly Canines website and give them a call or send them an email.

If you are interested in adopting a puppy I highly recommend saving a pup from an animal rescue like Cuddly Canines.

The Breeders

Finally, I’ve gone to the breeders who charged anywhere from $300 – $1000+. Of course the advantages here are you know the breed of dog you will be getting, you have a general idea of the personality (based on the parents), you know the lineage, you will have an idea of what kind of health issues they may have, and you can find out if the parents are certified for hips, eyes, elbows…or any other possible genetic conditions your breed of dog may have.

Time For Another Dog?

When I’m ready for another dog I will probably adopt a litter of puppies through Cuddly Canines and choose one from the litter. I know this is not for everyone, but please don’t be hesitant to adopt a puppy from a rescue group. This will free up their resources and allow them to save more puppies from the shelters. The $300 donation/adoption fee is a small amount of money considering the dog will not have fleas or worms, will be neutered/spayed, current on vaccinations, and will be in good health. The initial fee for my dog Linus was cheap, but after all of his medical expenses including his neutering the cost was well over $500.

There are plenty of wonderful dogs out there and a variety of ways to acquire one. I highly suggest contacting a local rescue group or shelter and adopting one of their puppies or dogs and of course once you do come home with your puppy get started on their puppy training. The things they learn as a puppy will carry over to adulthood. We’ll talk more about training later…

Fast forward now to 2012. Linus is a 7 year old dog and he’s awesome! I’ve raised 3 Labrador Retriever’s and I’m currently raising a Golden Retriever for Guide Dogs of America and I just wrote an article on How To Choose A Puppy that retells the familiar tale of how I got my buddy Linus from the shelter.

If you’re wondering how to adopt a puppy I would start by visiting PetFinder.com and checking out some of the puppies that are available at your local animal shelters and rescues.

Have you adopted a puppy? Are you in the market to adopt a puppy? Tell us your story in the comments section below.