If you’ve ever had a shelter pet, you know how amazing they are. They seem to know they’ve been rescued - and they’re certain of how much they’re loved. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to give a shelter pet a second chance.
There are times when I suggest a trip to our shelters, only to be met with a frown and an objection. Sometimes I get several objections at once! Here is a sampling of the most common ones - and why you shouldn’t believe them.
“I’d rather get a puppy or a kitten.”
No problem! For reasons I will not pretend to understand, many South Floridians have yet to get the memo on the benefits of spaying and neutering their pets. The result is a shelter population where puppies and kittens are more than fairly represented. If you’ve got your heart set on a youngster, consider visiting a shelter on August 15th.
Before you do however, ask yourself if you’re sure you want a puppy or a kitten. Don’t get me wrong, they’re cute and they’re fun. But some of the not-so-cute things they do are enough to make a saint swear. Zohan cried all night when we first brought him home. All. Night. And the night after that...and the night after that...and the night after that...We finally bought him a stuffed “mommy dog” with a warming pad and a plastic, beating heart inside. He still cried. By daybreak, he had torn open his “mommy”, pulled out all the stuffing, and peed on the warming pad. He stood over the still-beating heart like a villain in a CSI rerun gone wrong. This is life with puppies and kittens. It has its rewards, but it requires a lot of patience and work.
“Shelter pets have issues.”
Many people mistakenly believe that animals are surrendered to shelters because they did not make good pets. The truth is that the top reason owners cite for giving up their pets is relocation. Some owners cite problems with landlords, HOA’s or insurance carriers. Some pets lose their homes when their owners pass away, or are diagnosed with a terminal illness. Other common reasons for surrendering pets include allergies, the birth of a baby, divorce, foreclosure, inability to find homes for a litter, and lack of time to care for a pet.
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There is a wonderful scene in the film “The Horse Whisperer” where Robert Redford states “I don’t help people with horse problems. I help horses with people problems.” Most of the pets in our shelters have people problems. Period.
“Those dogs are all mutts.”
Wrong again. At any given time, nearly 30% of our shelter population consists of pure breeds. Sadly, many pet buyers decide on a breed based solely on the breed’s appearance. The result is often a pet/owner mismatch that ends in a trip to the shelter. Perhaps the most oft-cited example is the Dalmation demand that started with Disney’s “101 Dalmations”. A well-bred Dalmation is energetic, active, driven, durable and intelligent. They can be overwhelming to small children and can quickly frustrate parents that already have their hands full. Once again, lack of awareness and preparation are at the very heart of these pet surrender stories.
As an aside, here’s a practical question: what’s wrong with mutts? Mixed breed dogs are literally one of a kind. They’re great conversation starters (“what kind of dog is that?”), and tend to have fewer congenital health problems than their purebred counterparts.
“I really want a purpose-bred dog.”
If you’re looking for a dog that will swim, hunt, herd, retrieve, track, do tricks, or work as a service dog, there’s no need to focus on a particular breed. You’re better off making your decision based on the dog’s drive. We touched upon this briefly earlier in the week, and I’ll go more into it later, but the bottom line is that a dog’s energy level, ability to focus, and eagerness to please are better indicators of their ability to perform than genetics.
My wife and I have two dachshunds. Dachshunds have a reputation for being stubborn, willful, untrainable and notoriously bad swimmers. Even now in her senior years, Grendel is a powerful and enthusiastic swimmer. While Zohan has thankfully grown out of toy evisceration, he excels at agility and trick training. Purpose can be given, not just bred. And either way, dogs learn with their brains, not their DNA.
“I need to know an animal’s history.”
While this one is understandable, remember that animals live in the here and now. It’s one of the many reasons we love them. Remember those 53 badly abused dogs that were rescued from Michael Vick’s fighting facility? Most were adopted into loving families, many of which included other pets and young children. Several worked as as service dogs and therapy dogs. Sometimes in our zeal to understand a pet’s history, we project our own anxieties onto an animal that isn’t even thinking about its past.
Baggage, judgement, and preconceived notions are completely foreign concepts to our pets.
Perhaps it’s time we learned from their example.
Click here to learn more about "Clear the Shelters" Day on August 15, where NBC 6 and Telemundo 51 are partnering with several area shelters to provide discounted or free pet adoptions!
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