5 Things to Consider before Adopting a Dog

Adopting a pet is a huge decision. You should never take it lightly, because the life of an animal is at stake. And while it’s possible to find a new home for the dog, that’s not in the animal’s best interest. In fact, the worst thing that could happen to a dog is to have to go back to the shelter for one reason or another. That’s why you should carefully consider these 5 things before adopting a new animal.

1. How Much Time Do You Have?
It’s a good idea to realistically evaluate how much time you have to spend with the dog. If you work 10-hour days and have a 90-minute commute, then your dog is left alone for most of the day. And the few hours that you spend at home, you’ll be asleep. That’s probably not a good situation, unless other family members are willing to help you take care of the dog.
Some dogs are more active than others. If you get a particularly active breed, then you must be prepared to get outside with the dog. Otherwise, you’ll see behavior problems. An older dog may require less time for training and active play, but they still need to be taken for walks and played with, too.

2. Can You Afford the Dog?
It’s important to think about the financial obligations that come with owning a dog. The easiest cost to estimate is the cost of food. But there are other, more expensive items you will have to pay for. These include shots, veterinary care, flea medication, and doggie toys. You may also need to pay for dog training courses if you need help with training your pet.

3. Who Is Your Backup?
Do you know someone who can watch your dog while you leave town? If you only go on vacation once a year, then that’s usually not a problem. If all else fails, you can always find dog boarding (provided you think about it in advance). But if you travel out of town frequently, then you need to have someone reliable who can watch your dog. Ideally, this is another member of your family or someone who lives close by.
If you really want to have a dog even though you leave town a lot, it’s important to work out these details in advance. You’re essentially asking your friend to share the responsibilities of pet ownership, and they need to be okay with that. Otherwise, fostering a dog might be the better option.

4. Are Your Kids and Other Pets Ready?
Generally, kids and dogs do fine together. But not every child is dog lover, and not every dog likes children. It’s important to consider the age of your kids and the history of the pet before adopting a dog to become a member of your family. At the very least, your children should meet the dog before you bring him home.
If you already have other pets, you might also need to tread carefully. Most cats and dogs get along fine, but there are some cats that don’t like dogs, and then there are some dogs that just don’t get along with cats. In most cases, it has something to do with their personal history. And while these things can sometimes be resolved with expert help, it won’t be easy. Therefore, the best solution is to ensure the compatibility of your existing pets with the new pet before making the decision to adopt.

5. Who Is the Primary Caretaker?
Before you bring a dog home from your pet rescue organization, it’s important to clarify who will be the primary caretaker. Ideally, the entire family will chip in and play with the dog and take it for a walk. But you don’t want the dog to be the cause of arguments down the road. Therefore, you should agree with your significant other ahead of time who’s turn it will be to walk the dog in the rain.

Careful Planning Is Necessary
There are many benefits to adopting a dog and few drawbacks. The challenge is to consider every one of these points carefully before looking for the perfect pet. Once those sad brown eyes are looking at you, you’ll throw caution out the window. But if you can’t make this work, then the one who suffers the most is the dog. In summary, adopting a pet is a wonderful choice as long as you have covered all the vital questions beforehand.

6 Ways to Become Active in a Pet Rescue Organization

With the countless numbers of cats and dogs who end up at the shelter, it’s understandable that you want to help. Most people only think of adopting a pet when they’re looking for a new furry family member, but you can help rescue organizations on a regular basis in other ways. To give you some ideas on how you can make a difference, we came up with 6 ways you can become an active supporter of your local pet rescue.

1. Walk the Dogs and Play with Them
Shelters and rescue organizations often have a lot of dogs in need of care. The regular staff might just barely have time to feed the animals and clean the kennels. They’re always looking for volunteers. And the best part is that you get to help with the fun stuff. You can volunteer to walk the dogs and play with them. You might even be able to bring your children to help.

The same is true for cats and kittens. All the animals need human contact and social interaction daily. You can imagine how difficult that is with the large number of animals that end up in shelters. Kind, loving attention from humans can even go a long way in socializing an animal that may otherwise not be a good candidate for adoption.

2. Share Information with Your Friends
Rescue organizations rely on many people to spread the word. If you don’t have time to walk or play with animals regularly, you can still make a difference by sharing information about adoptable pets with your friends and family members. You can do this by following them on social media and sharing their posts in your feed. And if someone talks to you about wanting to find a new pet, you can direct them to your local pet rescue.

3. Host a Fundraiser or Community Event
Pet rescue organizations are always looking for donations, volunteers, pet foster parents, and people to adopt their animals. All these goals can be met by hosting a fundraiser or community event. If your community is already hosting a public event, you can ask to represent your local rescue organization at a booth. If they already have an appearance scheduled, they’ll be happy to have additional volunteers.

Another thing that helps your pet rescue is spreading the word about the event. Tell your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and anyone else you know about the rescue organization and the great work it’s doing. Be specific and tell them how they can support, for example, by attending the event or visiting the booth.

4. Foster a Pet
It can be easier and less time-consuming to foster a pet than to adopt one. Fostering a pet is the act of temporary housing and taking care of a pet while the rescue organization looks for a new pet owner. This process can take several weeks. During that time, you get the chance to play with the pet without necessarily committing to keeping him for the rest of his life.

Fostering a pet can be a good solution for a family who isn’t ready to adopt a pet, people who move around a lot, or people who are out of town for certain times of the year. The great thing about fostering a pet is that you get paid in kisses. And while parting with the pet can be bittersweet, it’s nice to be responsible for a happy ending and a saved life. And if all else fails and you fall in love with this pet, then you usually have the option of adopting it yourself.

5. Adopt a Pet
Adopting a pet is a great way to help a rescue organization. There are plenty of animals in need of new homes, most of them are ready to be loving companions who just need to be given a chance. Rescue organizations tend to know their pets well, so you’ll know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. They’ll make sure that the pet is the right fit for you, because the one thing they want to avoid at all costs is having to rehome that same animal again.

6. Donate
You can make a difference by donating financially to your local rescue. The money is always useful to pay for food, veterinary care, and staff. If there are funds left, they can be used for marketing to help more pet owners find their new best friend.