Please consider a rescued dog or cat (or bunny, rat, bird, cavy... horse, pig, goat) for your next pet
In honor of their 15th anniversary, Petfinder is sponsoring an “Adopt the Internet Day” to promote pet adoption. Pet adoption is a cause very close to my own heart. Shayne, Joey, and Panther were all shelter animals, Rio was from a rescue group, and Jefferson was found by an individual who, although severely allergic, spent 40 minutes coaxing him away from the on-ramp to a major highway (he was injured, skinny, and severely dehydrated).
Some people believe that only abused, broken, fearful, and/or problem dogs are in shelters/rescues. I’m here to tell you that is absolutely not the case. While there are certainly dogs who have had a rough past and require some special training (Shayne), there are other dogs who have much less baggage (new foster Dexter seems to fit this bill so far). So please, if you are looking for a dog to add to your family, please consider using Petfinder to find local dogs in need!
Meet Mandy... she is in need of a home
I wanted to highlight a dog who is currently in URGENT need of a new home. She is located in OHIO at a kill shelter and her time is getting short. She has been there for 5 months now and has made some pretty good progress in terms of her friendliness. When Mandy first arrived at the shelter she was pretty terrified and shy. The first photos show her slinking along the floor, clearly uncomfortable with everything. According to the shelter she was shy but friendly.
Mandy feeling much more confident
She has changed significantly over the last 5 months at the shelter. She now shows some self confidence in her photos. She is great with people, okay with cats, but is best with smaller, submissive, male dogs (it is NOT uncommon for herding breed females to be rather bossy and snarky with other females). She can be in a room with other dogs without reacting or being upset, but can be reactive if interacting closely with some other dogs.
Look, she sits!
The shelter workers have taught her how to “sit” and they say she LOVES to play ball. She is also very interested in playing tug! She will probably need some extra socialization and training, but she sounds like she has lots of potential to be an excellent partner for an experienced and active person. Interested in learning agility, canine frisbee, or flyball? This young athlete could be just the dog to learn with. Testament to the changes she’s made, the shelter now describes her as “friendly and playful.”
For more information on Mandy, please visit: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17647031
Although NOT a part of Petfinder, there is a website I’d like to share with everyone. Dogs In Danger is a newer website (and I’m not sure it’s used everywhere) that specifically lists dogs in high-kill shelters. When you search on the website it brings up dogs based on the time left they have in the shelter… it is horribly sad when you see a face and it says “2 days left to live” next to them, but it’s a great resource to be able to pull dogs in the most need. In the last two weeks purebred Miniature Poodle, Border Collie, Pomeranian, Cattle Dog, Lab, Boxer, and Beagle(s) were all euthanized in shelters within 100 miles of my home… many of these purebreds were young dogs. Just because you are looking for a purebred dog, doesn’t mean you wont find one on death row.
Please consider adopting your next pet!