Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
My boyfriend and I decided to become dog owners about a year ago. We’ve both always loved animals and as someone who never had a pet growing-up (my mother told me I was allergic!) I knew I just HAD to have a dog!
After many months of searching for our favorite breed, an English Bulldog, from local Bulldog rescue groups that never returned our calls, we expanded our search to local kennels and shelters in the greater NYC area. After work and on weekends we visited a good number of dogs, all of which were wonderful in their own ways, but then decided that we needed a small dog (around 20 pounds) as he/she would make the best fit for our home and hectic lifestyle.
After calling animal shelters literally EVERY DAY for more than a month, a small dog appeared on the ASPCA website and we immediately trekked uptown to meet him. His name was Carlito, a grey Lhasa Apso/Brussels mix and he was adorable. We put him on hold because he was undergoing some medical tests. We were told he’d be available in just a few weeks…
A few days later, I was called at work with the most amazing news – little Carlito was ready to come home with us! Although we weren’t fully prepared, we brought him home, made a makeshift dog bed out of old blankets, and picked up some yummy treats from the local store. Carlito was in heaven….he was so happy to come home with us he literally couldn’t stop following us around and bouncing off the furniture!
I knew the minute Carlito (now re-named Wookie) walked through our front door that he was meant to be part of our family. In just one week he’s shown us so much love and gratitude that I can’t even imagine how we lived without him. Although he’s a lot of work, he’s 110% worth it. If you’re thinking about adding an animal to your family, I highly recommend adoption – it literally saves lives.
In fact, October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. In honor of the holiday, P&G’s Iams is asking that you share your adoption story on its Facebook page and for every story, they’re donating meals to animals in need. To date they’ve donated 78,510 meals…that’s nothing to bark about!
- Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
- by Laurie Shulman
- Tagged: Adoption, ASPCA, Dog, Facebook, Iams, P&G, Wookie