Should You Adopt a Rescue / Shelter Dog?

Should You Adopt a Rescue / Shelter Dog?

At the time of this writing, now that we’re just a couple of days away from Christmas and then the New Year’s holiday, some of you may be making the final decision as to whether to adopt a puppy or a dog, whether to yourself or family.  And should you get a rescue, shelter dog?

Well, I’ll answer that question with a question – are you prepared mentally, emotionally, financially, and physically to care for dog.  I have an 8-part YouTube series, To Puppy or Not to Puppy, and the first episode of that series asks, “are you ready for a baby, are you ready for a child?”  Because with bringing a dog into your life and home, you’ll be bringing in that four-legged baby or child.  So if your answer is yes, and you’re thinking of, or want to adopt from a shelter or rescue ….

Know the Differences

Publicly funded shelters are run by the city or county, normally called animal care and control. These shelters are predominantly kill shelters, because that is the only way they can manage their pet intake population, besides those dogs being lucky enough to be adopted out or rescued by private rescue groups.

Then you have private shelters.  For the most part, these shelters are predominantly no kill, but I say predominantly, because some shelters will euthanize pets if they are evaluated to be unrehabilitatable or dangerous to people and other pets. 

Then you have rescues, both breed specific and what I call general.  I, personally, have not known rescues to euthanize dogs. Breed specific rescues are just that, dedicated primarily to one breed of dog and run by people and volunteers with specific breed experience. General rescues have primarily mixed breed dogs, and volunteer and foster experience can vary.  At least that’s what I’ve found, since this purebred snob went rescue and adopted Noel from a general rescue.

Know the Challenges

No matter where you decide to go and adopt a dog, know that with the adoption, yes, you will be saving a life, but you need to be cognizant at the same time of the challenges.  Dogs that are in these shelters can be strays, who have never known a home, or lost dogs who once had a family, but can’t find them or were never reclaimed.  Or, owner surrenders, which can introduce an entirely new set of problems. The dog is dumped from the only family and home its ever known into an environment that is barren and never quiet. A once loving dog can shut down, hide in a corner, become fearful, shy, stressed. And these dogs are often overlooked by many adopters. The shelter staff only has so much time for each dog despite their efforts at care and comfort. 

And if you do find the “right” dog, the life that it experienced prior to coming into your home, and how you welcome and care for it, will determine the adoption’s overall success.  Spend some time preparing your home and if you have children, prepare them for what to expect when the pup comes home, because you’ll all need a great deal of patience. Some dogs have the temperament to adapt very quickly, while others need more time.

Let the pup adapt at its own pace and give it its own space and some quiet until it gets used to its new surroundings. Be prepared that your new pup may have an accident or heave on the floor, or it may look for a place to hide, that it might not eat right away, or not want to come out of its crate or bed. Or, on the other hand, the dog could be completely out of control. A recent study showed that of the people who surrendered dogs, 96% of the dogs had received no training.

I can speak from experience.  It’s taken my six year old German Shepherd, Ophelia, about a year to settle in, and she’s still learning. The story of Ophelia is another story for another time.

I will close by saying, a rescue adoption can be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.  But, if patience is not one of your strong points, think long and hard, about bringing home a rescue dog. Think long and hard about bringing home any dog.  Do not let this happen to the pup, again.