Reasons to Adopt a Dog

Picture of the author with her rescue dog Zoey

Since October is National Adopt-a-Dog Month, I decided to share a few great reasons to adopt a dog instead of buying one. If anyone spots a reason that I missed, please add it in the comments!

• If you get a dog from the Almost Home Foundation instead of a pet store, you won't be supporting puppy mills. Puppy mills are places that breed dogs, often in unsanitary, cramped conditions. The breeding dogs spend most of their lives in a cage, with little or no freedom to run and play. Medical care is generally not provided, so it's no surprise that pets from these environments often have health or behavior problems. Unfortunately, dogs you see in pet store windows frequently come from puppy mills. By adopting from a rescue or shelter, you are disagreeing with puppy mill practices.

• At the Almost Home Foundation, you'll find dogs of various ages. Adult animals are more likely to be house trained or know a few basic commands, especially if they've had a foster mom or dad taking care of them in a home. 

• Dogs at shelters and rescues cost less than buying from a breeder. Breeders charge from the upper hundreds to thousands of dollars for their animals. If that price range is too high for you, Almost Home can still match you with a pet that will be a great fit for you and your lifestyle. (The pet will be just as loving, too)!

• Since the Almost Home Foundation has an all volunteer staff, the money you spend on the animals goes directly to their care, not to employee salaries. Some of the volunteers at AHF work so hard I'll bet you're surprised they don't get paid!

• This is my personal favorite reason for adopting--the knowledge that you made a difference in the life of an animal by giving it a forever home. In addition, you make room for the AHF volunteers to take in another animal in place of the one you adopt. Since Almost Home is a no-kill organization, you can save the lives of two animals by just adopting one!

If you haven't seen the adoptable dogs currently available at AHF, please check out the website at www.almosthomefoundation.org and click on available dogs. As mentioned above, if you've ever adopted a pet, please add your own reasons for doing so. Bloggers love comments!

February is Spay and Neuter month.

How does spaying and neutering our cats and dogs save the animals? According to the ASPCA, approximately 5 to 7 million animals enter animal shelters/rescues nationwide every year. Of these animals, approximately 3 to 4 million are euthanized. Most of the animals euthanized had their lives ended because there was no room left for them in the shelters and no one to adopt them. So you ask, why spay or neuter your pet? Isn’t that enough reason? Well, we know by past experience that it is not enough reason for many pet owners. So let us give you a few more reasons that can affect each and every cat or dog you own in your lifetime.

One obvious health benefit is to our female pets, preventing them from having to go through pregnancy and all the potential pregnancy complications. The incredible physical stress that our female pets go through during pregnancy and birth is eliminated. Spaying female pets also eliminates the following: spotting during heat period; false pregnancies; mammary tumors; uterine infections; tumors of the ovaries or uterus; and stress, leading to increased susceptibility to disease.

In female dogs, heat periods occur twice a year and last about 3 weeks each time. Female cats may come into heat every 2-3 weeks. During heat, both dogs and cats will be more irritable and nervous than usual, and may even become aggressive and damage furniture or attack strangers. Female cats may howl and rub excessively.

Male dogs being neutered will benefit even more than females. It is true; less testosterone does equal less trouble. An unneutered male can detect a female in heat even miles away. Neutering decreases roaming by 90%. Responding to the overwhelming urge to reproduce, he may often become nervous and irritable, perhaps picking fights with other dogs or become lethargic, less responsive to his owner, stop eating or act ill or depressed. Neutering male pets may reduce or eliminate the following behaviors: territoriality and aggression, including urinating to mark territory and fighting to defend it; wandering, escaping and automobile injuries; humping behavior; prostate enlargement; prostrate tumors and infections; tumors of the testicles, penis and anal area; hernia; and stress leading to increased susceptibility to disease.

So, besides the health of your animals, the saving of millions of animals, the improvement to our community as a whole, please also remember that neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human companions/families. Isn’t that one of the main reason we all love our cats and dogs? We love them and we love that they love us back!

(Credit to the ASPCA and Pawprints & Purrs for some of the information provided for this article.)

December is Almost Home Foundation's Senior Pet Month

Check out our Oldies but Goodies Home Page!

We have several senior pets that may be the right animal to enrich your life. Please check them out at www.almosthomefoundation.org

Almost Home Foundation needs more temporary homes for their dogs

Almost Home Foundation needs to expand thier foster pool! Lots of dogs that come through would do best as only pets....these dogs end up alone in the kennel and get depressed, which doesn't help them get adopted. If you don't have a dog...would you consider fostering one of these guys? If you do have a dog, how about a temporary play mate? It's not easy, but its extreamly rewarding and your help is desprately needed.

You can check out our dogs waiting for a temporary home below.