Dear Pet Owner…
No, I do not know of anyone looking for a dog. I do, however, know of a lot of dogs looking for a family. Stop complaining about the problems of pet ownership and start finding solutions. While you’re at it, go volunteer at your local animal shelter, spread awareness, and make your life and your pet’s life better.
The Dog Who Started It All:
My enthusiasm for adoption started when we rescued Strider, our Boxer/Shepherd mix. He was beaten, branded, had severe anxiety, in poor health, and terrified of loud noises and men. It took consistent training, positive reinforcement, and a lot of love to heal him. Now, he is the most incredible companion. He is well trained, trusting, great with kids, loves to sit on patios with us, run errands to hardware stores, and stole the show as the ring bearer at our wedding. If he can have a success story like that, any dog can. What I want most for my readers to understand is that there is a solution for every problem. Strider had separation anxiety and chewed up our stuff daily. He chewed the remote control, all of our wooden spoons, countless books and shoes, and several furniture pieces. I vividly remember coming home from work to see our couch completely destroyed. I was so mad at him and on the verge of tears. Instead of giving in to my emotional reaction and yelling at him, I called a dog trainer and signed him up for classes. It didn’t happen overnight, but we worked through his anxiety and have had no issues with unwanted chewing for years.
My Volunteering Experience
Strider inspired me to volunteer at Great Plains SPCA by walking dogs. This is something that I always thought about doing, but I was afraid of the emotional toll it would take. Now I wish I would have started years ago. It is heartbreaking, but I have discovered that doing something is so much better than doing nothing; I can’t save all of the dogs, but I can give each dog a little bit of my time, attention, and love. Each time they are walked and given positive attention, they learn to trust people a little more. This trust and improved behavior helps them to get adopted. I have learned a lot about dog care during my time at the shelter and this has helped me to spread awareness and share the stories about dogs at the shelters who desperately need medical care or are ready for adoption. It has also strengthened my passion for helping animals and shown me how important it is that the public is better educated on proper animal care and the benefits of adoption.
Call to action
The amount of pets in shelters is horrifying. Like most problems, this one can be solved with education. I believe that if everyone spent some time, even one day, volunteering at an animal shelter, the world for our pets would drastically improve. Puppy Mills would go out of business, more dogs and cats would get adopted, and pet owners would seek the help that they need to improve their lives with their pets. If you can’t stand how your dog behaves when you have company over, train your dog better. Enroll your dog in a class, or watch one of the many Youtube videos for training tips. Don’t avoid having company over or scream at your dog for behaving in a way that they have been conditioned to behave. Consistent training and positive reinforcement really works. Remember, you are the intelligent, educated, dog-loving person who decided to get a dog. They are a dog, and they need your guidance, love, attention, and consistency.
