If you’ve read this blog at all over the last two months, you know we adopted a dog (Roofus) from a local Humane Society Shelter. I was actually not too excited about adopting a shelter dog – I was leaning more toward buying a puppy from a breeder. I mistakenly thought that all of the dogs in shelters were either very old or problem dogs.
I couldn’t have been more wrong!
Not only did we get an exceptionally loving and calm (as in really mellow) sweet dog under two years old, he came already potty trained and knowing a lot of basic commands such as sit and stay. Most of the other dogs in the shelter were puppies (so there goes that idea of old dogs – I think we only saw one or two over 4 years old) and none would be described as “problem” dogs. Our shelter even color codes them by personality so that you can get a dog that best matches your family’s style.
I’ve always know the issues surrounding puppy mills and would never buy a dog from a pet store, but since our shelter experience, I have really come to respect what a wonderful service our local Humane Society Shelters offer. LJ has already announced that he’d like to volunteer there when he is old enough to be a dog walker.
When LJ and I were given the opportunity to donate some Del Monte dog treats to a worthy cause, we knew right away we wanted to give them to the shelter where we got Roofus. We were able to look up what they needed on their wish list and saw they were in need of treats for training and rewards. No wonder Roofus has such a love of Pup-Peroni, Milo’s Homestyle Treats, and Milkbone treats – that what he got at the shelter!
LJ and I headed off to Walmart to pick up some supplies to donate to the shelter together.
I encourage you to look at your local shelter before purchasing a dog or puppy from somewhere else. There are so many beautiful, loving dogs who need a good home. If you are able to support your local shelter with a cash or goods donation, they will be most grateful for any help they receive!
Connect with the brands mentioned in this post online:
- Milk Bone - http://www.milkbone.com
- Pup-Peroni - http://www.pupperoni.com/
- Milo’s Homestyle Kitchen - http://miloskitchen.com/
- Milk Bone - https://twitter.com/#!/milkbone
- Pup-Peroni - https://twitter.com/#!/PupPeroni
- Milk Bone Facebook http://www.facebook.com/itsgoodtogivemilkbone
Want a coupon to grab some treats for your furry friend??? Get one right here: http://ilovemyk9.com/
What a cute dog you have! Such a great donation you put together. Our puppy was from a shelter also and it felt so good to give back to them. Great job on this project.
Thanks Andrea! These are always my favorite projects – the ones where we can give back!
Glad you had such a great experience with the shelter. Love their color coding system. We did a pre-adopt through our shelter about a month ago and haven’t heard a word back. After filling out all the paper work I figured they wouldn’t contact us since we wanted an outside dog for our farm. We ended up getting our puppy from a farm. He’s part Newfoundland and Retriever and is very mellow and a fast learner. We are very thankful to have found him.
Glad you had such a great experience with the shelter. Love their color coding system. We did a pre-adopt through our shelter about a month ago and haven’t heard a word back. After filling out all the paper work I figured they wouldn’t contact us since we wanted an outside dog for our farm. We ended up getting our puppy from a farm. He’s part Newfoundland and Retriever and is very mellow and a fast learner. We are very thankful to have found him.
That is a wonderful thing to do!
I’m so glad that you ended up getting a shelter dog!! I’ve volunteered and worked at our local shelter over the years and what you found out is generally the case – MOST dogs end up at shelters because they’re unwanted puppies, the family has no time for them, or the people are moving into un-petfriendly housing – all problems totally not the dog’s fault!
I’m glad you guys donated to the shelter after adopting too. I bet they loved hearing how your new family member was doing
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what a great thing for you guys to do! All of our cats have been shelter cats and we will never “buy” an animal. There are so many homeless animals living in shelters, it’s irresponsible to buy!
So sweet! And I love the name “Roofus”, so cute!
Shelter pets rock and so do you fro adopting one! I am sure the dogs at the shelter were very happy to have more treats.
It’s wonderful to get our kids involved in charitable events, organizations and all. My 7 year old was a reader at the library for a while but now she wants to take the video camera to the dog shelter and videotape the dogs. We have to coordinate with the shelter and see if they’ll allow it but I LOVE that our kids think about these things on their own. Kudos to you and your family!