Finding them is the key
One of the happy parts of animal rescue work is placing a dog or cat in a new, wonderful home. The key to adoption is finding the humans who will provide this home to a shelter pet.
I have probably met thousands of potential adopters since I began doing this. Young and old, single and married, with kids or without and have placed hundreds of dogs in new, loving families and get updates with frequency on how well the animal is doing.
The trick is finding the right family for the right dog or cat. My understanding from my cat friends is they find the same problems in placing the cats in the right home.
People are individuals, and many get an idea stuck in their heads about what their perfect pet is going to be, either by looks or breed.
When they leave with an animal it sometimes matches, but more often than not it is not at all what they end up falling in love with.
I believe there is a home out there for every animal, even the ones the majority of society has given up hope on.
I have seen what love, attention and caring can do for some of these kinds of dogs. When my Buzz was brought in the shelter, he was a pretty sad excuse for a dog. He was so skinny, covered in parasites, heartworm positive, fatty, ugly tumors all over his backside, missing teeth and no fur on a large part of his body. He had been neglected beyond belief. At many places, he would have simply been dismissed as unadoptable and euthanized without a backward glance. One special person saw the sweetness in his face and thought he was worth saving.
He is now parasite free, tumor free, beautiful brown fur and a little more meat on his bones. He is also not what I normally adopt. He is not particularly big, more medium sized, he has no Rottweiler in him anywhere, and is simply a FBD or Florida brown dog. He is joyful and happy and I love him dearly.
Finding the perfect pet may not be easy. Some homeless animals may prove more challenging than others. Many have abandonment or separation issues. Food aggression, which is very easy to modify, is big among shelter dogs. Many have been starved and believe they must fight everyone and everything to get a meal. Some have never been socialized with childen, or men, women or other animals and will not fit in a home that has those things. Being overprotective is another big issue for homeless dogs. Once they find a home, they don't want to leave and become so protective, they will lunge or growl and maybe even snap at people coming in the door.
All of these issues can be worked through, every single one of them. It is just finding the human who is willing to go that extra small step to help the animal become a functioning member of society. That is one of the keys to the reduction of the overpopulation of pets. The other is altering your pet.
This weekend, please consider giving a home to a new pet in your area. The rewards are simply amazing.
I have probably met thousands of potential adopters since I began doing this. Young and old, single and married, with kids or without and have placed hundreds of dogs in new, loving families and get updates with frequency on how well the animal is doing.
The trick is finding the right family for the right dog or cat. My understanding from my cat friends is they find the same problems in placing the cats in the right home.
People are individuals, and many get an idea stuck in their heads about what their perfect pet is going to be, either by looks or breed.
When they leave with an animal it sometimes matches, but more often than not it is not at all what they end up falling in love with.
I believe there is a home out there for every animal, even the ones the majority of society has given up hope on.
I have seen what love, attention and caring can do for some of these kinds of dogs. When my Buzz was brought in the shelter, he was a pretty sad excuse for a dog. He was so skinny, covered in parasites, heartworm positive, fatty, ugly tumors all over his backside, missing teeth and no fur on a large part of his body. He had been neglected beyond belief. At many places, he would have simply been dismissed as unadoptable and euthanized without a backward glance. One special person saw the sweetness in his face and thought he was worth saving.
He is now parasite free, tumor free, beautiful brown fur and a little more meat on his bones. He is also not what I normally adopt. He is not particularly big, more medium sized, he has no Rottweiler in him anywhere, and is simply a FBD or Florida brown dog. He is joyful and happy and I love him dearly.
Finding the perfect pet may not be easy. Some homeless animals may prove more challenging than others. Many have abandonment or separation issues. Food aggression, which is very easy to modify, is big among shelter dogs. Many have been starved and believe they must fight everyone and everything to get a meal. Some have never been socialized with childen, or men, women or other animals and will not fit in a home that has those things. Being overprotective is another big issue for homeless dogs. Once they find a home, they don't want to leave and become so protective, they will lunge or growl and maybe even snap at people coming in the door.
All of these issues can be worked through, every single one of them. It is just finding the human who is willing to go that extra small step to help the animal become a functioning member of society. That is one of the keys to the reduction of the overpopulation of pets. The other is altering your pet.
This weekend, please consider giving a home to a new pet in your area. The rewards are simply amazing.
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