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Top 10 Reasons You Should Consider a Rescued Dog

 

10) In a word--housebroken . Housetraining a puppy takes time. Puppies need a consistent schedule with frequent opportunities to eliminate where you have designated appropriate. An older dog can "hold it" more reliably for longer, but may also find it hard to break the habit of eliminating wherever it wants. The rescue will insure its dogs are housebroken before they are adopted.

 

9) Intact underwear. With a puppy, you can count on at least 10 mismatched pairs of socks and a variety of unmentionables rendered to the "rag bag" before the pup cuts every tooth. And don't even think about shoes, holes and urine stains in your carpet, pages missing from books, stuffing pulled from couches, and at least one dead remote control. No matter how well you watch them, it will happen--this is a puppy's job!

 

8) A good night's sleep . A puppy can be very demanding at 2am and 4am and 6am. He misses his littermates, and that clock or stuffed animal will not make a warm, puppy pile. How about a little peace and quiet? How about a rescue dog??

 

7) Finish the newspaper . With a puppy running amok in your house, do you think you will be able to relax when you get home from work? Will your kids really feed it, clean up the messes, take it for walks in the pouring rain, or potty train it? Wouldn't you rather come home and rest with your rescue dog sitting calmly next to you? Feel your workday stress melt away and your blood pressure lower as you stroke your new friend.

 

6) Easier vet trips . Puppies need a series of shots and fecal tests, a trip to be altered, maybe an emergency trip or two if they've chewed something dangerous. Those puppy visits add up (on top of what you paid for the dog!). Your donation to the rescue when adopting an older pup will get you at a minimum a dog with all shots current, already altered, heartworm negative and on heartworm prevention.

 

5) What you see is what you get . How big will that puppy be? What kind of temperament will it have? Will it be easily trained? Will its personality be what you were hoping for? How active will it be? When adopting an older dog from a rescue, all of those questions are easily answered. You can pick large or small; active or couch potato; goofy or brilliant; sweet or sassy. The rescue and its foster homes can guide you to pick the right dog. (Rescues are full of dogs that became the wrong match as they got older!)

 

4) Unscathed children (and adults). When the puppy isn't teething on your possessions, it will be teething on you and your children. A growing puppy is going to put everything from food to clothes to hands in their mouths, and as they get older and bigger it definitely hurts (and will get worse, if they aren't corrected properly.) Rescue dogs are carefully evaluated and the 'teethers' are retrained so they don't chew on their people. Most biters are not accepted into rescue.

 

3) “ Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match .” Puppy love is often no more than an attraction to a look or a color. It's not much on which to make a decision that will hopefully last 10-15 years. While that puppy may have been the cutest of the litter; it may grow up to be a holy terror when what you wanted was a couch potato; it may be a couch princess when what you wanted was a tireless hiking companion; or it may want to be an only child and intolerant of the new baby or other animals you bring home. Pet mismatches are one of the top reasons rescues get "give-up" phone calls. Good rescues will work hard to make the best match for the dog and your family.

 

2) Instant companion. With an older dog, you automatically have a buddy that can go everywhere and do everything you want and NOW. There's no waiting for a puppy to grow up and then hope he will like to do what you enjoy. You will have been able to select the most compatible dog: one that travels well; loves to play with your friends' dogs; has excellent house manners to show off at your parents' new home with the new carpet and new couch. You can come home after a long day's work and spend your time on a relaxing walk, ride or swim with your new best friend.

 

1) Rescue dogs bond. Dogs who have been uprooted from their happy homes or have not had the best start in life are more likely to bond completely and deeply with their new people. Dogs who have lost their families through death, divorce or lifestyle change go through a terrible mourning process. But, once attached to a new loving family, they want to please more than ever. They never want to be homeless again. Dogs that are just learning about the good life and good people seem to bond even deeper. They know what life on the streets, on the end of a chain, or worse is all about, and they revel in a nurturing, loving environment. Most rescues make exceptionally affectionate and attentive pets and extremely loyal companions.