I honestly thought we would go on with just Maggie in our house. Maggie is our 13 year old lab that Josh got as a junior in high school!!! She is the sweetest thing, but since she is so old, she basically sleeps all day. The house was too quiet, and sad without another dog. Maggie even looked sad! So, we went to Petsmart "just to look." Well, all the dogs were barking...all, but one! We walked over to the quiet one, and she was so sweet. We got her out of the crate, walked her around the store...she was terrified! We brought Maggie to meet her, and they seemed okay together...but I was still too sad and emotional about Jack and could not make a decision. So, we went home...thought about it, prayed about it, sought some counsel from our parents, family and friends about it. We went and visited her another time at the shelter. WOW. The shelter broke my heart! There are SO many sweet dogs, cats and other animals being put down simply for the sake of space. The cutest puppies you have ever seen are sitting in their little crates. This is a loud place...all the dogs want to be heard and seen when people walk through the doors. They are BEGGING for love and attention! Some are even flailing themselves against the little fence doors to make sure you see them! The floors are concrete, they have no beds, except for an elevated wooden "bench." They are not taken outside enough since there are so many dogs, so they poop and pee in their little cubicles. I could hardly stand it. Well, we saw this dog again and decided to take her outside. WOW. The minute you take a dog out, all the other dogs get very jealous and start barking like crazy. It was so sad. I wanted to take them all out with us! Well, after this visit we thought we should bring Maggie to meet this dog one more time. So, the next day we brought Maggie, saw them interact....and we signed the papers and took her home! It feels SO GOOD to save an animal's life. This sweet dog had been there since August and she was probably on the "next to go" list. She is such a sweetheart.
Please, please, PLEASE go to your local animal shelters and look for an animal there before you pay someone a ton of money for a puppy, or kitten. Shelters DO have purebreds, they DO get all of their shots and immunizations, they DO spay and neuter them and they DO have SWEET dogs, puppies, cats and kittens alike. You can also look at the Human's Society, or places that work with the shelters as foster homes for pets. All of these ways are ways of saving another animal's life. For every space taken, is more room for another.
"The HSUS estimates that animal shelters care for 6-8 million dogs and
cats every year in the United States, of whom approximately 3-4 million
are euthanized." If you are ready for the responsibility of a furry companion, ADOPT!
Oh I could be a spokesperson for this. Haha. I just have such a strong belief in animal adoption. If you have any questions about it, please ask me. One day, we will have lots of land and foster dogs. It will be great.Anyways, here is the new Stone pup! She is about a year old. She is some kind of shepherd mix. She gets along well with Maggie, and Alina! She follows me around the house already. :o) We are working on a new name for her, so if you think of one, let me know!
No comments:
Post a Comment