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In the
market for a dog? It pays to sniff around.
We know
someone who recently made a spur-of-the-moment stop at
an animal shelter and walked out a few minutes later
with a new dog. A dog that wasn't housebroken. That
nipped. That needed a crate (which had to be hastily
purchased).
Our
friend had the best of intentions everyone wants
animals out of shelters and in homes but this was
not the best way to adopt a dog.
The
process takes planning and work. Here's a game plan for
someone seeking to bring a dog home.
THINK IT
OUT
The worst
mistake that people make, says
Karen Okura
, manager of behavior and training at
The Anti-Cruelty Society
(anticruelty.org), is impulse adoption.
Don't
pick an animal because it reminds you of your old dog,
she says, or because you pity the animal, or because you
lost your job and need to feel loved, or because the
kids want one, or to save a marriage or relationship.
There are
plenty of good reasons to adopt.
"The
No. 1 objective is to save a life. People don't realize
the number of amazing dogs being euthanized," says
Rochelle Michalek
, executive director of PAWS Chicago (pawschicago.org).
"Dogs make great companions. They're great from a
social perspective. Nothing breaks the ice like a dog
when you're out meeting people."
Once you
have a good reason to adopt, use your head.
"People
should look at practical things," Okura says.
"Does someone in the home have allergies? How
prepared are you to do a minimal amount of
grooming?"
Also ask
yourself: Do you have the time to feed, train and
exercise a new dog? Okura figures a puppy needs two
years of intensive training; older dogs, a year. Can you
afford the financial investment? Even routine medical
care isn't cheap. Does the entire family approve, not
just one or two members? Everyone will need to pitch in.
Will a new dog get along with other pets in the home?
If you're
looking at a puppy, know how big it's going to get. If
it's from a shelter or one of those
"free-to-good-home" ads, take your best guess
and be prepared for an adult dog that's 10 to 30 pounds
plus or minus that estimate.
CHOOSING
A BREED ... OR NOT
Figure
out what you want: big, small, male, female, energetic,
laid-back, etc. Every factor should be considered.
Is there
a purebred that appeals to you? Study up and learn more
about that breed's dogs, from how big they get, to their
temperament, to how much they shed. Talk to a rescue
group that deals in that particular breed. It can tell
you a breed's quirks and it might even have an
animal that would be a good fit.
Two sites
listing breed rescue groups are akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm
and netpets.com/dogs/dogresc/doggrp.html.
If you
have no particular breed in mind, consider a mutt. There
are a lot more mixed-breed animals needing homes.
They also
tend to be less prone to breed-specific health problems,
and there's a school of thought that they're smarter
than purebreds. They're also going to cost a lot less,
in most cases.
"And
their personalities might tend to be a little more
diverse," Michalek says.
HOW TO
FIND THE RIGHT DOG
Okura
does not recommend pet shops. "No breeder worth his
reputation will sell puppies to pet stores,
period," Okura says.
Backyard
breeders? Maybe. They could be clueless owners or they
could be running their own small-time version of a puppy
mill.
"Sometimes,"
Okura says, "it might be an oops litter. 'She's
only 7 months old and I didn't know she could have
puppies.' But if it's from the same address all the
time, with oops litters, these are irresponsible people.
Or they just do it to sell them."
Reputable
professional breeders can be worth the expense and
effort, but it's important to check them out beforehand.
"You
can get a really nice dog from a professional
breeder," Okura says. "If you're hellbent on a
purebred dog, and you want the lineage to go back 10
generations, fine. But expect to be grilled, and
possibly rejected.
"If
you don't care about lineage (and still want a certain
breed), go to a rescue, or an animal shelter."
Shelters
are becoming prime sources for quality purebred dogs
well-kept, socialized, trained and family-ready
because of the economy. As well as those impulse
adopters who had to have a purebred Dalmatian or
Chihuahua or Lab and just as impulsively changed their
minds and gave up the dog.
"Those
dogs end up in our shelter," Michalek says.
A shelter
dog can cost from
$75 to $300
, and very often are spayed or neutered and up-to-date
on shots. A purebred dog from a breeder sometimes
the exact same type of dog can cost two or three
times as much.
Still
totally unsure?
Michalek
has a suggestion: Volunteer at a shelter. You'll get an
up-close-and-personal look at all kinds of dogs, not a
bad way to educate yourselfand do some good in the
bargain.
Once
you've zeroed in on a dog, have a family meeting with
it. Everyone. Mom, Dad, the kids, your other pets.
"It's
important for the kids to meet the dog," Okura
says. "People tell us all the time, 'My kids are
great with dogs.' But we don't know if this dog is great
with kids."
GO FOR
THE PERFECT FIT
Don't
rush it. Okura says to do your homework and find the
perfect fit. Not an OK fit, not a good fit. The perfect
fit.
"One
of the things I tell people is to be picky. Lots of
people feel guilty in a shelter, looking at homeless
animals. 'It's bigger than I wanted,' or 'Look at all
this hair.' We actively advise people who say, 'He's
just not right' to keep looking. Because somebody will
take the dog you said no to."
PAWS has
a way for new owners and dogs to smooth over minor rough
spots. Its Foster to Adopt program is a two-week window
for the adoption to take.
You go
through the screening and the matching processes and you
take your new dog home. But if things don't work out,
you can bring the animal back and get the adoption fee
refunded, no questions asked.
"(Foster-to-adopt)
relieves the stress of, 'OK, I'm taking the dog home and
I have to keep it,'" Michalek says.
Just
remember, the bottom line isn't always the bottom line.
As
humorist and animal activist
Kinky Friedman
puts it: "I've always said that money may buy you a
fine dog, but only love can make it wag its tail."
Where to
start
Here are
four Web sites that offer links to animal shelters and
rescue groups, as well as offering a lot of helpful
information for prospective pet owners.
AdoptAPet.com
Petfinder.com
Pets911.com
WorldAnimal.net
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