There are many who have the assumption that dogs are given to a shelter owing to their behavioral issues. However, this is far from being true. There can be many reasons why people would want to put up their dogs for adoption. Dog owners commonly surrender the pets due to their health issues, lifestyle changes, or financial hardships.
Dogs also end up in shelter when someone finds it as a stray. Those who find them won’t know anything about its owner. You need to understand that most of these dogs are great pets and need a family and a home. So, if you want to adopt a dog from a shelter, you must know the amazing benefits of it. Here, we’ve listed some of them:
1. You can know a lot about dogs from the shelter workers
Those who want to adopt a dog from one of the shelters have a lot of questions. So, if you’re one of them, don’t rely only on your own instincts. Volunteers and staff at the shelter can answer all of your questions based on their experiences. They’ll be able to give you some valuable information about the dogs’ personalities, behavior, and health.
They can also find an ideal dog for your family that would do well in your home. Staff members and volunteers at the shelters have all the information about the dogs’ past. They also know about the homes these animals have lived in and how they get along with other pets.
2. You’ll be helping these wonderful pets
When you decide to adopt a dog from one of the shelters, you’ll be giving it a home. You’ll be giving it a loving and caring family that it needs. Moreover, you’ll also be freeing up space at the shelter for another dog to be brought to the facility. These are the dogs that need utmost care since they’ve already lived with families. They need all the love and attention that they deserve.
3. You’ll get lots of love from the dog
By adopting a dog from a shelter, you’ll be giving a home and a family to that pet. The dog must’ve gone through some unpleasant experiences. Suddenly, it starts getting lots of food, attention, and love it was craving for from you and your family. The dog would truly appreciate it and give you and everyone in the family lots of love in return.
Everyone knows the fact that dogs love their people regardless of what their breed is. This is, of course, not exclusive to dogs in the shelter. The feeling of gratitude in a dog from the shelter would be more and there’s a good reason for this. It must’ve truly needed a home and a family all this while and you appeared at the right moment.
4. You can adopt a grown-up dog instead of a puppy
Nearly half of the dogs brought to a shelter come from families that can’t afford pet-friendly housing. There are others who are surrendered because of the lifestyle changes or medical conditions of the dog owner. Many of the dogs living in shelters are grown-ups that have already lived with their previous families.
When you adopt such dogs, you don’t need to spend much time training them. This is not the case with puppies who dig up your garden or chew your shoes. The adult dogs are much more well-behaved and your days would be much more pleasant with them.
5. You can adopt a puppy if that’s what you need
There are shelters that get pregnant dogs or nursing mother dogs once in a while. The foster teams take care of the puppies as well as their mothers. When the puppies are healthy and old enough, they can be put up for adoption. You can give one of these young dogs a home by adopting it.
Once it bonds well with everyone in the family, you can give it some training. In return, you can expect a lot of warm cuddles from the young dog. Choosing a puppy that’s the right one for your family might require some patience. Nevertheless, shelters are a wonderful place to find a new puppy.
6. Most of the shelter dogs are already trained
Grown-up dogs from the shelters already receive their training in all the basic stuff. So, you don’t need to devote much of your valuable time teaching them discipline and socializing skills. Most of these dogs might’ve also received their potty-training. So, they’re pretty much aware that they must not do their business inside the house.
Any dog would need some time to adjust to a new situation. At least the grown-up dogs are capable of doing things the right way. So, you’ll have lesser troubles to deal with.
7. Shelter dogs are cost-effective
Many shelters offer some special schemes such as fee waivers when they’re running out of space. Some of the shelters are registered as non-profits. In this case, the amount that you pay towards adoption may be tax deductible. Usually, the adoption fees that the shelters charge are much less. Many of the organizations charge higher fees for purebred dogs and puppies.
These dogs are the ones that are in high demand. You’ll be able to adopt senior dogs or those with certain medical challenges for a lower fee. The costs involved in adopting puppies from reputable breeders are extremely high. So, you can save a lot by adopting dogs from shelters.
8. Many shelters microchip their dogs
The larger and more progressive shelters microchip their dogs during adoption. You’ll also find a lot of shelters that do not include this in their adoption package. One of the major reasons for this is that they lack the resources for it. Microchipping is a process of implanting a tiny electronic chip under the skin of the pet. This electronic chip is enclosed in a glass cylinder and has the size of a grain of rice.
If the pet wanders off and a stranger finds it, that individual would report the incident first. Then a staff member of the shelter or a veterinarian can run a scanner over the chip. This will give them access to your contact information and you’ll know where your pet is. If the shelter you’re adopting the dog from doesn’t provide microchipping, a vet can do it.
9. Shelter dogs are vaccinated
The American Veterinary Medical Association has standards of care in place. Besides this, the state laws require certain vaccinations to be given to the shelter animals. Animal shelters vaccinate all the dogs that they receive. They do this in order to protect them from harmful diseases.
Once you adopt a shelter dog, you’ll need to provide it the required shots. A dog adopted from a shelter is often ready to mingle with others as they’re fully vaccinated.