Adopt your new best friend

Wish you could have a designer dog, but don’t want to be on a wait list or spend crazy amounts of money just to acquire some sort of Doodle? The good news is, you can, if you’re willing to expand your hound hunting horizons to include various mixes of dogs available at your local animal shelter or humane society.

Adopting animals pays you back in so many ways. As conscious awareness is emerging as a growing trend through recycling and the green movement, animal adoption, foster and rescue appeal to people looking to make a difference. In these trying economic times, when many folks are forced to give up their four-legged family members due to financial stress, adopting an animal from your local animal shelter, rescue group or humane society extends a hand to the community, supporting your local economy and providing your new best friend a safe and loving home, in a tough time.

With more and more animal shelters, animal rescues and humane societies beefing up their social presences online, the pet of your choice can be yours for the surfing. Breed

Specific rescue groups can be a viable solution, but be prepared to undergo a rigorous assessment evaluation to qualify as an owner.

Allergy prone potential pet parents, with that You-name-it Doodle in mind, might do well to consider other breeds known to be suited to allergy sufferers. These breeds include Yorkshire Terriers, Maltese, Shiz Tzus, Bijon Frieses and Lhasa Apsos for small dog choices. Schnauzers come in three convenient sizes, with Portuguese Water Dogs, Curly Haired Retrievers, Irish Water Spaniels and Kelly Blue Terriers in the larger pooch category. Again, while most of these breeds aren’t readily available at your local animal shelter, animal rescue organizations specialize in finding the right homes for specific breeds. We could go on about the pros and cons of choosing a purebred dog or a mixed breed, but that’s really another discussion for a different time.

Now, for those of you who want an interesting companion in a Greyhound/Lab mix or a Beagle/Jack Russell Terrier blend, go online or go to your animal shelter and pick out somebody who will love you and prompt conversations starting with “Wow! What kind of dog is that?” If you research the kind of dog you are looking for, you’ll find that many mixed breeds, depending on the mix, offer traits that support each breed’s favorable traits and counter the not so favorable breed characteristics, resulting in healthier, happier dogs.

Animal shelters and humane societies do their best to make sure your pet is healthy, administering the necessary vaccinations and tests, plus neutering. Most shelters provide limited time pet insurance that is easy to continue on your own after the included policy expires. Fitting pets to people, animal shelters and humane societies do a fine job matching needs to environments. If you live in an apartment, they probably won’t let you have a Great Dane. A Greyhound mix needs space to run and can be problematic with cats, while energetic, younger dogs, may not be suited to more sedentary folks or people who work long hours or go out of town on business frequently.

All in all, pet adoption is a win win! You do something for your community and you get a faithful friend for life. Go to your animal shelter, save a life and start a fun, new chapter of your own life.

Written by Linda Catoe

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