Adopting a Dog from a Shelter

This may surely surprise you but Benji, the dog thatthey even have to put the animal to sleep when no
appeared in the movie "Benji: Off The Leash" wasone adopts it, just to make space for another one.
found on the streets of Gulfport and was thenNow that we know what the benefits of adopting
adopted from the Humane Society of South Miss.the rescued animals are, let's also take a look at the
Of course, every abandoned dog will not benegative side of it. Yes, there are certain drawbacks
fortunate enough to hit the screen as Benji did, buttoo!
that won't stop the pet rescuers from being happyFirstly, there may be certain ailments that the dog
for rescuing these poor animals. Besides, most of themay be suffering that may go unnoticed at first, but
animals that live in shelters can surely becomewill show up in time. For example, Hip Dysplasia, which
amazing pets.affects the dog's spine and causes severe pain if
It would be foolish to think of a pet as a bad choicetouched there. The pain can cause an animal to bite,
just because it ended up in the shelter. For manywhich is especially a concern for those who have
reasons, the pet owners may find it difficult to keepsmall kids in the house. The animal may also be
even the most beautiful dog. They may find itsuffering from other skin ailments.
difficult to afford, may not have the time to lookWhat's worse is when the dogs have behavioral
after it or may simply find it difficult to live with aproblems. It will take time and patience to understand
dog. Of course, none of these are excuse enough towhy they behave in a particular way. There may be
abandon them, but that's another story.reasons unknown to you and the problems may be
Now let us examine the reasons why the rescuecaused due to something that had happened before
dogs may be your first choice when looking for ayou brought the dog home. Say for example, if your
pet.dog did not get enough food in the shelter, it is likely
Firstly, the animal shelters all across America are fullto become extremely possessive about its food and
of animals, always looking for someone to take themother belongings. Such a dog will scare away
home. If you adopt a shelter animal, you will givesomeone who tries to get too close to its food and
some other street animal a space to live.belongings.
Secondly, you will save a lot of money buying a petFurther, there may be difficulties in house training the
from the shelter. Some shelters list the prices of theirdog if it was forbidden from entering into the house
dog adoptions between $45 up to $175 dependingof their earlier owners. This is especially true with
upon the dog's size, breed and age. The cost isadult dogs. This could be a big concern for those
inclusive of neutering, vaccinations and all other basicwho do not have anyone to let the dog out when he
veterinarian care. On the other hand, if you set outneeds to.
to buy a dog from a pet shop, the prices wouldYes there are certain disadvantages. However, most
begin at $300 and can go as high as $1600 for someof these problems have a solution and if you are a
special breed dogs. Obviously, the huge difference intrue pet lover, overcoming these obstacles can be
cost would also mean huge savings for you.rewarding in itself.
Most importantly, when you adopt a rescue dog, youIf saving one of these poor animals is something you
are gifting a new life to that poor animal.would like to do, you can start off by contacting
Unfortunately, not all the shelters can afford to giveyour local Humane Society or Animal Rescue League.
ample and timely food to their animals; neither doFor those who use the internet, Google can show
they have enough space to accommodate all theyou several options. Go ahead; You are doing a kind
animals found on the street. Therefore, sometimesdeed by giving a new family to a poor animal!