Shelter Pets

[Anonymous]

We were just at a shelter today looking for a dog, and there are SO many wonderful dogs and cats that need homes. Just a reminder to anyone thinking of adding a pet to their family - don't forget the shelters! If you don't like going to the noisy, typical shelters (which have some great, needy animals, but awful aesthetics) check out the Washington Area Rescue League. The "cages" are made of glass block and each dog has a mini waterfall overhead. It's such a beautiful, calm environment that the animals are happy and there's very little barking: www.warl.org

There are a ton of other rescue groups out there also, trying to keep animals out of the other shelters. Go to petfinder.org to look around...

[Anonymous]

Another reason to put the mills (call them what you want) out of business!

[Anonymous]

The Metro shelters are (mostly) great. The rural shelters are still pretty horrible. Not, pretty horrible. They are REALLY horrible.

I hope people will give thought to a shelter dog/cat.

[Anonymous]

I've gotten all my pets from shelters... Absolutely nothing wrong there. It's mostly families who move, or have allergies, or can't afford to keep a pet. Such great animals and they deserve a loving home.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting, OP. We've had 3 wonderful shelter dogs, including our current sweetie, a Beagle-German Shepherd mix, who came from Washington Animal Rescue League. The online rescue orgs. are very good sources of wonderful pets also -- neighbors near us have had good luck with Lab Rescue and Happy Trails (v. cute beagle). One tip if you're looking for a dog is to have a trainer go with you to evaluate candidates in terms of temperament. There are lots of good trainers in the area -- your pet-owning neighbors or nearby vets can probably recommend someone.

[Anonymous]

I have always gotten my dogs/cats at shelters. Our present dog, a German Shepard, is wonderful with our babies. She's sweet and kind and we couldn't have asked for a better dog!

[Anonymous]

Shelter dogs/rescue dogs are awesome!
Both are 13 year old dog, we got him 12 years ago from MCHumane Society, and our 1 year old dog from a VA rescue have been fantastic. Animals just need a safe, loving place to thrive.

[Anonymous]

fyi
Here's the Puppy Cam at WARL, the shelter that a pp recommended:
http://media.myfoxdc.com/puppycam/warl.html

Nice break during work. Great to see all these cute puppies eventually get adopted. Check it out!

[Anonymous]

OP here - This thread just makes me so happy. We've had wonderful experiences with shelter pets and I would never consider getting a dog any other way. I'm happy there are so many other shelter supporters out there.

I think that some people may worry about taking their kids into a shelter environment to look for pets. Mine, 2 and 4, loved looking around and talking to all the dogs. Don't be scared to save a life!

[Anonymous]

Another vote for a rescue pet!! We absoultely adore our wonderful cat, and we are so glad we adopted her . We found her through Feline Foundation (www.ffgw.org), which is a local pet rescue/adoption/foster organization. Not a shelter, but the more cats that find permanent homes through Feline Foundation, the more they can rescue from shelters. It's also a great place to make a donation if you want to support the cats.

[Anonymous]

Oh yes, all our pets have come from shelters. (Well, except the cockatiel I had as a kid... though I'm sure urban shelters have birds, too.)

I'd like to hear from people who have purchased pets from pet stores. How on earth can they justify that, knowing what we know about puppy mills? Buying a dog from a breeder is only slightly better. Shelter is still the way to go, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Our now 10 year old collie came from the shelter. We have had her for seven years. She is a wonderful dog. We have no issues. We are so fortunate to have found a wonderful dog!!

[Anonymous]

Rural shelters are horrible?? Our dog came from a rural shelter. The woman drives her shelter dogs to this area to help get them into homes. One of the main reasons we choose our dog was that even though the dog was clearly skeptical about humans (had been abused), the dog LOVED the shelter owner. That woman clearly runs a great shelter. And our dog did turn out to be a very, loving, and trusting dog. I credit the love she got at the shelter.

I do think a lot of shelter dogs make more loyal and better behaved pets. It's like they appreciate the fact they have a home.

[Anonymous]

To the PP: I'm not the one who posted the comment about the rural shelters, but I"m guessing the poster was referring to the physical conditions and the fact that animals who are not adopted out cannot be kept long-term. I would bet that the people who work there are saints and must truly believe in saving the pets, or they would not be able to come to work.

And to the poster about birds - YES - shelters have birds, guinea pigs, snakes, etc. So even the little pets you could get for $5 at petsmart could be saved from a shelter.

[Anonymous]

Another happy WARL adopter here. We got our awesome min pin/dachshund mix there almost five years ago, when it was still a really nice place for dogs but not nearly as nice as it is now. We are so happy that we happened upon him that day (he was sharing space with another dog we were looking at, and would NOT be ignored) and got to bring him home. Puppies are lovely, but slightly older dogs are often house-trained . . . . so please don't overlook the fully grown dogs when you're looking around!