Visiting Your Local Shelter
September 18, 2010 by Paris Permenter and John Bigley
Filed under Shelters, Tips
We were just writing a post for the newest Be the Change Challenge about Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week. It got us thinking: what else could we do to encourage people to consider their local shelter when it comes time to expand their pet families?
So we thought of our own challenge: the Visit Your Local Shelter Challenge. Here’s our idea:
The next time you or a friend of yours is looking for a new pet, make that first stop at your local shelter.
You don’t have to adopt a dog (or cat or ferret or guinea pig or the many other pets available at shelters). You might not find a good match. That happens. You might go home without a pet. (We made four shelter visits before we adopted Irie!) You might already have a breeder selected. But you can still make that one stop at the shelter first.
While you’re there, take a moment to spend just a little time with one single pet. Spend some time talking to a dog. Ask to take a dog for a walk. You don’t have to adopt that dog. At the same time, though, don’t think that you’re wasting your time. Every interaction that dog has with a kind, caring person will help make that dog a little more relaxed and therefore a little more adoptable when the next interested person stops at his kennel. And, by giving just a few minutes of your time, you broke up the boredom of that dog’s day.
You also may have helped yourself better define what you’re looking for in a dog. Maybe that dog you walked made you realize you are looking for a smaller dog. Or a larger dog. Or one that’s a little older. Or a little calmer. Or a better potential jogging partner.
The next time you head out in your search for a dog–whether to the same shelter, a different shelter, a breed-specific rescue, or to a breeder, you’ll be that much better prepared to find the dog of your dreams.
About Paris Permenter and John Bigley
DogTipper publishers Paris Permenter and John Bigley are a husband-wife team of full-time writers. The couple has authored over two dozen books and 2,500+ magazine articles.
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