I am an advocate for shelter dogs. I believe that it is important for people to choose a dog from a shelter instead of a puppy mill. Many shelter dogs have been through horrifying experiences and frightening times, often because they have been lost, but frequently because owners have abandoned them. They have been collected from the streets or from deposit boxes at the shelters where people drop them off in the middle of the night. It’s also important to recognize that older dogs are still a good choice because they have tremendous capacity for love and are generally well behaved. I have fostered many shelter dogs in my home and they have all got along well with my own two dogs and the family cat.
When you foster a dog, you are required to bring them in periodically so people can meet them at the shelter. Most of the dogs I have fostered have been adopted within a month or two. It helps the shelters maintain capacity and it places the dogs in a less threatening environment while they are waiting to be adopted. It’s hard to imagine what many of these dogs have been through, but I can see in many of them that they were already someone’s pet.
Both of my dogs are shelter dogs. One, a Corgi named Laika was rescued off the freeway where she had been abandoned or perhaps escaped from a nearby home. No one claimed her until I took her in and she has been a wonderful loving pet. Roxy, a Jack Russell Terrier mix was a foster who quickly became friends with Laika and captured my heart. We adopted her. We have a cat who remains aloof as cats do, but they all get along.
I urge everyone considering a new pet to visit the shelters regularly. There is a loving dog waiting there for you, I guarantee it. They are in doggy jail through no fault of their own and only you can free them and safe them from ultimately being euthanized when the shelter overflows. You will know the right one when you find it and they will love you like nobody else. It’s so rewarding for the dog and so emotionally enriching for you. Share the love. Give a shelter dog a new home today.