Why Adopt a Shelter or Rescue Dog

851 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The advantages ofkeeping pets

Once the decision has been made to adopt a homeless animal from a shelter, one must consider what animal is suitable for their lifestyle. Dogs are remarkable creatures that come in all shapes and sizes and have been man’s best friend for over 30,000 years (Stanglin, 2012). Adopting a dog from a shelter or rescue awards many benefits. Shelter and rescue groups offer an array of dogs that vary in size, color, and age; thus, allowing one to adopt a seemly companion. Despite the efforts of animal shelters and rescue groups, “5 million to 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, and approximately 3 million to 4 million are euthanized” (“Pet Statistics,”). Dogs give their owners companionship and unconditional love; and are also conducive to good health. Plus, saving a dog’s life makes you a hero.

First, adopting a dog allows you to search for and find an exact match. Be aware of your hopes and wishes before selecting a dog breed; likewise, be informed about the size, temperament, grooming needs, and health issues of different breeds. It is a ridiculous, but popular belief that when adopting a dog you do not know what you are getting (“Shooting down common,” 2009). On the contrary, all shelters and rescue groups guide health and behavior screenings before a shelter animal is available for adoption (Kirby, p. 64-65). Almost all shelter and rescue dogs are spayed or neutered (Kirby, p.69-70). Shelters and groups provide detailed information, including the age, breed, and demeanor, upon request (Kirby, p.66-67). Since the ASPCA’s Meet Your Match program launched in 2004, pairing an adopter’s preferences with a dog’s habits and traits has become increasingly easy. Using available resources can guarantee ...

... middle of paper ...

...eved from http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KS19.html

9. Pets for the elderly: Research. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://petsfortheelderly.org/research.html

10. Nicholson, D. (2012, February 7). Women with HIV/AIDS pets make a difference. Examiner.com. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/women-s-health-in-detroit/women-with-hiv-aids-pets-make-a-difference

11. Pet ownership reduces stress, benefits health. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.parentgiving.com/elder-care/pet-ownership-reduces-stress-benefits-health/

12. Wells, D.L. (2007). Domestic dogs and human health: An overview. [Electronic]. “British Journal of Health Psychology,” 1(12), p.145-156. doi: 10.1248/135910706X103284.

13. Woolf, N. (2012, January 9). Are there too many dogs and cats? naiaonline.org. Retrieved from http://www.naiaonline.org/naia-library/articles/are-there-too-many-dogs-and-cats/

Show More
Related

  • Puppymills Vs Shelters

    2358 Words  | 5 Pages

    Year after year people buy puppies from big breeders. Have you ever wondered where that puppy grew up? What kind of conditions the puppy lived in? Most puppies that someone would buy from a pet store are raised in puppy mills. Puppy mills are well-known for their “inhumane conditions” and the endless breeding of “unhealthy and genetically defective” dogs only for income. People should adopt rather than buy from a pet store or breeder. By adopting from a shelter, one could give a dog a second chance at a happy life.

    Read More

  • Stop Puppy Mills! Adopt a Dog From a Shelter

    2961 Words  | 6 Pages

    A couple of emotional problems have been tested by researchers in 2011. This study was known as the Applied Animal Behaviour Science. This was the first quantitative data made about puppy mill dogs. The research was done on more than 1,100 dogs who had averagely had a new home for about two years. The research showed “The dogs were found to have s...

    Read More

  • Taking Care of Animals: Kill Versus No-Kill Shelter

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    Animals are beloved creatures among the human race, and are deeply cared for. As caretakers of pets, those caretakers have a responsibility to these animals. One of those responsibilities includes making sure all animals are properly taken care of and are placed in a loving home. Many of these poor animals, mostly cats and dogs, are cast unwanted onto the streets to fend for themselves. Once they are cast out, where are they to end up? The ones that survive being discarded by neglectful owners are usually found and taken to a nearby animal shelter. These shelters are set up and designed for stray animals to be taken care of until a new owner can be found. Shelters also graciously accept pets from owners who choose to surrender their animals, and are re-homed by the shelter. Some of these shelters have what is known as a no-kill policy, which states that any animal fit to be adopted out, will be. Other shelters do not have this policy, and will euthanize a healthy animal for a variety of reasons. The most common reason for euthanizing a healthy animal is space. Most shelters are not well funded, and cannot afford to take care of a large number of animals; unfortunately, more animals are being discarded than are taken in by local shelters. Though most people would claim that killing animals to make space is wrong, there are actually many practical reasons for it; in most cases shelters that lack a no-kill policy are better for the animals in the long run.

    Read More

  • The History and Evolution of Dogs

    2347 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dogs are common throughout the world, either as a domestic pet, a protector on a farm, or an assistant for hunting amongst others. Regardless of the reason for having a dog, most people have either owned one for themselves or have known somebody who has owned one at some point in their life. Despite the relative normality of having a dog in your life in one way or another, the reasons for dogs coming into existence are not common knowledge among most people. Throughout a great portion of mankind’s history, dogs have been an essential part of life. The truth is, dogs were actually created in part by man.

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy in a Mental Health Perspective

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most people are familiar with service dogs and have seen them in action. Animal-assisted therapy is similar service animals in that an animal-human healing partnership is being created. However, the difference is that therapy pets are typically used to treat a mental disability whereas people with physical disabilities use service dogs to help them in many ways. Therapy animals are used in a wide variety of places, such as, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, therapy sessions, mental healthcare facilities, and even in people’s homes. These amazing animals are used on a wide variety of different disorders, but they are utilized mostly by people suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. For people with these mental health disorders, everything in live can be difficult and challenging, however with the help of animal-assisted therapy, their mood, motivation, and life can dramatically improve. Anyone who hears about these brave, loving animals soon falls in love with them. From a medical standpoint, there have been many successful studies and the support for animal-assisted therapy still continues to grow in doctors and therapists across the nation.

    Read More

  • Pet Therapy

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    " The Impact of a Resident Dog on an Institution for the Elderly: Effects on Perceptions and Social Interactions." Gerontologist. 29 (1989): 216-23.

    Read More

  • Animal Cruelty: Give An Animal A Home

    1979 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Certainly animals do not have the same abilities as humans. They can’t talk, write books, or drive cars, but neither can some humans. Do we say that humans who lack these abilities have no value and no rights? Certainly not…” (Animal Liberation 31)

    Read More

  • Prevention of Animal Overpopulation

    1716 Words  | 4 Pages

    Countless lives locked away in cages and forgotten about have overwhelmed our society, it has left blood stains on our history as a species and if history has taught us anything, it’s that we have a choice to change our ways of adjusting to situations. A war which was fought in pursuit of ending such criminal means, yet we as human beings do little to nothing to end the horrific crimes of animal deaths in shelters. It is no secret that this world has become infused with problems that have extended from one side of the globe to the other. Amongst these problems lies a terrible truth: nearly every year, sums of almost eight million cats and dogs have been placed in shelters around the world. Out of these vast numbers, half will be euthanized; that equals to one animal being put down every 8 seconds. Animals that are not adopted are kept in shelters until they find a home. Most of these shelters do not have enough space or resources to care for the animal. Only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter animal shelters are reunited with their owners. The majority of pets are obtained from acquaintances and family members. Twenty-six percent of dogs are purchased from breeders, 20 to 30 percent of cats and dogs are adopted from shelters and rescues, and 2 to 10 percent are purchased from pet shops. In addition, only 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized. The 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered, while 78 percent of dogs and 88 percent of cats are not spayed or neutered, in 2009 Statistics from animal shelters in 55 counties in WV (West Virginia) shows that nearly 54% of all animals entering shelters are euthanized, The euthanasia rates ranged from the lowest at 5% to the highe...

    Read More

  • Pet Overpopulation

    1659 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ideally, pet supply would be equal to the demand for wanted pets. There may never be enough caring homes for all the pets as is evident by the fact that only about 25 percent of the pets in shelters are ever adopted. F...

    Read More

  • Adoption of Animals

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    The bottom line is that most people who decide to purchase or adopt a companion animal simply do not realize the responsibility they will be taking on for the next one to fifteen (+) years. It is not fair to say that most people do not have good intentions in their decision to acquire a pet, especially those who rescue an unwanted pet from a neighborhood shelter. What is important is that people become educated about the acquisition of a new pet and the responsibilities that accompany the addition. When rescuing an animal from a shelter or humane society, it is required that the owner spays or neuters the pet within thirty days of date of adoption. Usually, a portion of the fees acquired at the time of adoption is used for the spay/neuter surgery. Thomas Shermerhorn,VMD acknowledges that dogs and cats can be spayed quite early (about 8-10 weeks) without the risk of any long-term problems-well before the first heat, which usually happens about six months of a...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Buying A Dog

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    They say that a dog is a man’s best fried, but they don’t tell you about the overall cost, responsibility, or convenience about adopting one. Dogs are supposed to bring so much joy to a household, but sometimes they can only fill a void for a short amount of time. When a dog owner buys a dog, do they actually research the things that they are about to get in to? When I bought my dog, Skye, I never really looked into is issues; I just looked at the benefits. I love Skye to death, and I guess I could say that she also loves me to death. Even though someone rescuing a dog may think they are doing something great; they are causing an issue on how they will forever live their life.

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)

    2692 Words  | 6 Pages

    Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions...

    Read More

  • The Many Benefits of Pet Ownership

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    “A dog is a man’s best friend” goes much deeper than the phrase might initially imply. Recently many medical journals have begun to identify with the many and varied benefits of pet ownership. Men have always relied upon animals for work, transportation, and survival. As times have changed, man has begun to appreciate a different bond with animals. Gone are the days of animals running free outside around the homestead, for now animals are allowed inside and are considered by many to be an integral part of our daily lives! Medical studies have found that animals have a much greater intelligence level than originally thought. Through proper training and experience, animals are not only household pets, but also are becoming an accepted form of medical treatment.

    Read More

  • Animal Euthanasia

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Pet Overpopulation : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. The Humane Society of

    Read More

  • How Dogs Are More Loyal Than Humans

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dogs are wonderful creatures. They are loyal, dependable companions if given the opportunity. In recent years I have come to the opinion that we could learn something from these animals. We should also take a look at the manner in which they are being treated. Abandonment, irresponsible breeding, and neglect are only some of the ways that humans are failing the canine species.

    Read More

More about Why Adopt a Shelter or Rescue Dog

Open Document