The Perfect Option - Pet Adoption!

By: Nicola Pioppi

So you want to get a pet, and your parents have finally agreed to it.  Have
you considered pet adoption?

Animals end up in animal shelters for a variety of reasons: sometimes
families can no longer take care of their pets, and turn them over to
animal shelters, but more often the animals are rescued from lives as
strays, or from an abusive environment.  These shelters do their best to
provide the animals with a comfortable and healthy life until they are
adopted, but the fact is that there are often more animals than space in
the shelters.  While many shelters and rescues have a no-kill policy
(meaning that they do not euthanize), this means that they can only
accept a certain number of animals into their care, and may have to send
animals to another shelter, which may not have similar no-kill policies.

But while the animals stay in the shelter their lives are made as
comfortable as possible.  They receive any necessary medical attention
when they come into the shelter, and are regularly fed, and are often
taken for walks or are played with by volunteers.

Shelters do their best to make the adoption process an easy transition:
adopted pets are always spayed or neutered, and are checked by
veterinarians before they are adopted to make sure that the animal is not
sick.  Many shelters and rescues also offer pet training classes to help new
owners.

Erin Dragan and Katrina Kurtz have both adopted several dogs from
animal rescues, and have only good things to say.

                                                     Katrina’s dog, Hannah, who is half
                                                     greyhound and half dachshund, was
                                                     adopted from a local shelter.  “She’s a
                                                     mutt," says Katrina. "She looks absolutely
                                                     ridiculous because she has the hind legs of
                                                     a greyhound and the front legs of a
                                                     dachshund. But she’s an absolute
                                                     sweetheart.”

Erin has two dogs, Mugsy and Polo, who are
similarly sweet tempered.  “One of the
advantages to adopting pets, in addition to
being much less expensive than a puppy
from a pet store, is that the dogs are often
older and less energetic, and they’re also
already house-trained, so they’re less work.”  

Both of Erin’s dogs are rescued greyhounds
from the Italian Greyhound Rescue of
Pennsylvania, a no-kill shelter.  Retired and
rescued greyhounds are often found in
animal shelters; they are bred as racing
dogs, are often abused, and don’t always
receive the love and attention of pet dogs.

If you are interested in adopting a greyhound or any other pet, the
national website of the A.S.P.C.A is www.aspca.org and the National
Humane Society website is www.hsus.org.  Most regions also have local
shelters, like the Italian Greyhound Rescue of Pennsylvania, who would
be glad to find a good home for a pet.  If you can’t adopt a pet, or you
already have one, but would still like to help, consider volunteering at a
shelter, where you will be able to provide many animals with loving
attention, or donating.  The A.S.P.C.A. website provides information
about volunteering, as do many local shelter websites.