Monday, January 21

Humane Society pets


I'm talking about pets today! :) My favorite place to find a new pet? My local Humane Society.

The Humane Society of the United States offers these facts:

* Every year 6-8 million pets enter shelters
* 3-4 million cats and dogs are euthanized each year
* 3-4 million cats and dogs are adopted each year
* Of dogs entering shelters, only 30% are reclaimed by owners
* Of cats entering shelters, only 2-5% are reclaimed by owners

Those facts are incredibly disheartening! But by supporting your local Humane Society or spreading the word about spaying, neutering and adopting, you're helping to support these animals.

In 2001, I started volunteering for the Effingham County Humane Society. I started out by caring for a few cats a couple of hours a week. By the time summer rolled around, I was volunteering over 40 hours a week and used my home to foster numerous cats and kittens. The feeling of bottle feeding a newborn kitten, raising him/her and then finding a suitable home and seeing someone else love that kitten is an indescribable.

So, maybe if you don't want to commit to a cat or dog for life, but have weeks or a couple of months of time to give, consider fostering. Many Humane Societies cover all of the pet's expenses (food, litter, vet bills, etc) and you provide a home and love.

Humane Societies are taking advantage of the digital age and offer pet pictures via e-mail, personal Websites, places like Petfinder and on MySpace. That's right, Humane Societies are using social networks to find homes for animals.

When you think about a new addition to the family, check out your local Humane Society.

Anyone have a shelter pet? Or, would you consider getting your next pet from a HS?

11 comments:

Sara Hantz said...

My parents once got a Great Dane from a shelter. Trouble is it had territorial problems and wouldn't let anyone near members of the family. It also had a habit of sitting down on a walk and not budging... as I learned to my cost hahahaha

Erica Orloff said...

Two of my three dogs were rescue pups. They are the SMARTEST, sweetest dogs. And lately, though I love certain breeds, I am convinced Humane Society is the ONLY way to go. Too many babies with no home.

E

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

My cousin adopted his dog from a shelter and it is the tamest most-loving pet. I would definitely try a shelter for our next pet too...

TJ Brown said...

I worked as an education director for a humane society before the children were born. I went into schools and gave talks and stuff. It was a great job. Trouble was... I kept taking cats home. LOL
Teri

Alyson Noel said...

OMG, that picture is killing me!
I'll take one of each please!

Jessica Burkhart said...

LOL, Teri. That was my problem, too! :)

Gerb said...

Both our dogs have been rescue animals, though not directly from shelters. I agree with Erica - too many babies with no homes. I truly believe rescue is the way to go.

When we lived in Japan, we couldn't have pets in the corporate housing, so we volunteered at SALA, a humane-society type rescue center. They loved to have us just come and walk the dogs. In the city, there was not enough room for a large dog run, so the poor dogs didn't get enough outside time unless someone came to walk them. We became very attached to several of the dogs and cheered when they found homes, although we missed them...

Wendy Toliver said...

I'm a mess when I go to pounds or shelters for animals. We almost always get our pets from places like that. Two of the main characters in The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren volunteer at an animal rescue place, teaming up with some elderly people to take the dogs on walks. The whole idea is loosely based on a real place in Denver, The Denver Dumb Friends League.

Melissa Walker said...

My dog Alex (RIP) was from the ASPCA in town, and I just adored him. Smart, funny, handsome...
I am for shelters all the way.

Anonymous said...

I have had four dogs that I have rescued. Two were strays, one was a dog from the pound, and one from Maumelle Friends of Animals. All have been so loving. I am a diabetic and three of the four have been able to sense my low blood sugars. They have all been so smart and so loving. I believe that rescue dogs are the way to go to provide homes for these loving pets.

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