In a previous article I said there are some risks associated with getting your small dog from an animal shelter.
Our hearts go out to shelter dogs.
I have come across another opinion on the risks and rewards of adopting a small dog from an animal shelter. It comes from Dale Stavroff in his book Let the Dog Decide
If you are a small dog lover, and I suppose you are if you are reading this, you probably already know:
“The HSUS [Humane Society of the U.S.] estimates that animal shelters care for between 6-8 million dogs and cats every year in the United States, of whom approximately 3-4 million are euthanized. At this time The HSUS can only estimate these figures because there is no central data reporting agency for animal shelters.” (Extracted from hsus.org/pets/animal_shelters.)
Taking a small dog out of a shelter and giving it a good home is important work on many levels. Obviously, it saves an innocent life. It reduces the shelter’s, (and therefore taxpayer,) costs. It reduces the workload for shelter volunteers for each dog you adopt.
Here are the positives when you adopt a dog from a shelter: (more…)