One of my passions in life is shelter animals and one in particular. I have a 9-year-old Terrier mix named Jack, who is the love of my heart. I can say that literally because when I brought Jack into my life, my blood pressure was through the roof! I was diagnosed with Hypertension and was told by my doctor that if I did not do something about it, like diet and exercise, I would die from it. Oh, and you need to take these pills as well. I was not too surprised by the news as my mother had hypertension, as did my grandmother and great-grandmother.
I wanted to adopt a dog for a while, but we lived in apartments and I was not down with the 'no backyard' thing (to let the dog out if it needed to pee in the middle of the night), so I waited. We eventually rented a house that had a backyard (about the same time I received the Hypertension diagnosis) so off to the local shelter, I went! This is a picture of Jack the day I brought him home, and two weeks later. Notice the ears? They went from being curled over to straight up! The third picture I took just a week ago. My cube mate. We walk every day, and my hypertension is under control.
Adopting a dog from a shelter is making the decision to save a life. While there are many wonderful shelters today that do not euthanize the animals they accept, there are still (per the ASPCA) approximately 1.5 million animals in shelters that are euthanized each year, which comes to almost 5,500 animals killed every day.
Some believe that dogs in shelters are there because of behavioral problems – I say that’s a matter of opinion. What exactly is the problem’? Was the dog barking all day? Did the previous owner try to figure out why? Dogs usually vocalize for a reason. Was the dog digging and turning the yard into the Grand Canyon? Again, ask yourself why? Is it due to boredom, or is it in the breed? Many dogs such as the Dachshund were bred to dig. Dachshund is a German word which means ‘badger dog’ – can you guess what they were trained to dig for? When you see a shelter dog that you are interested in, speak with the personnel at your local shelter. They will know each dog's personality since they work with them every day and should be able to tell you if a dog is a digger (needs lots of activity to use up that energy), a runner (put on your running shoes!), or a barker (why is it vocalizing?).
Making the decision to introduce a new dog into your life is not a small decision. A pet of any kind is dependent upon you for its care and survival, and it's important that you can not only provide the love a pet needs, but also the financial support. It’s estimated that the minimum lifetime cost for a small dog can average about $15K, while a large dog will be approximately $14K. The life expectancy for smaller dogs is approximately 15 years and for large dogs is 10 years, which accounts for the lower cost of a larger dog.
This of course depends on the type of food you feed your pet, how many visits to the veterinarian it makes in a lifetime (the dog should have wellness visits at least twice a year), whether or not you take the dog to a groomer, or groom the dog yourself, and of course, there are leashes, collars, toys, treats, etc.
Adopting a shelter pet (I actually suggest two), is an extremely rewarding experience. Not only do you gain a BFF, but you also gain a workout partner, a burglar alarm, and even a conversation starter. I cannot tell you how many times someone has asked me what breed Jack is (according to WhatADog, he’s mostly Norwich Terrier). I love my little guy and can’t imagine life without him.
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