Stopping the revolving door

Anyone who has anything to do with animal rescue is familiar with the revolving door. It is the door which has animals coming back and being adopted out again several times before the adoption finally sticks. I believe this has less to do with the animals and more to do with the humans who are adopting them. That in itself is a problem, but not one which is insurmountable. I am a firm believer in education. I think the more educated you are, the better your life can be. This includes education about pets and pet care, especially when you are adopting a new pet and bringing it into your home. If you investigate the breed of dog or cat you are interested in, visit your local shelter or rescue, visit as many times as you need until you find the right pet and then give that pet time to adjust to your new home, the animals will be less likely to be returned. This brings to mind my dog, Buzz. You all know he is a rescued, Florida brown dog who is about 9 years old now. You also know how mellow he is. Buzz is one of the most gentle dogs I have ever owned and gets along well with humans and other dogs. With his new roommates, Kinsey and Hazel, there has been no sign of dominance or anything related to that until last weekend. When the dogs come in from the backyard they receive a dog treat on occasion. Kinsey and Hazel jump up in a chair to receive their 1/2 of a dog treat while Buzz gets his on the carpet. Due to the fact I gave the girls the treat before I gave Buzz his, Hazel, the smaller of the girls walked up to Buzz and attempted to take the treat out of his mouth. Let me tell you, Buzz quickly put Hazel in her place and the squeals emanating from her made you think she was being murdered. Considering Buzz has no front teeth, he is all bark and no bite but Hazel reacted like she was dying. I know this is a normal reaction and simply continued doing what I was doing, but in some households, Buzz would have been taken back to the shelter because of "aggression" towards the smaller dog. The truth is, Buzz and Hazel reached an agreement that day. Hazel knows she cannot take treats out of his mouth. Now, if I can just get him to keep her out of his dog food, we will be set. The moral of this story is: give your dogs or cats time to adjust before yanking them from your home and dropping them back at the shelter you got them from. They will work out the issues with no human involvement. That is if we allow them to do so.