From The Aiken Standard
Submitted Article
A couple of young women came to the county shelter looking for a dog.
They already had a young Lab at home. They wanted a companion for him.
They chose a beautiful male Staffordshire Bull Terrier, took him home, but brought him back the next day because he attacked their Lab at feeding time.
Submitted Article
A couple of young women came to the county shelter looking for a dog.
They already had a young Lab at home. They wanted a companion for him.
They chose a beautiful male Staffordshire Bull Terrier, took him home, but brought him back the next day because he attacked their Lab at feeding time.
A young family has just lost an older dog, and their little boy doesn't like the younger dog they already had because it licked him in the face. They thought of adopting a sweet female boxer-mix because the little boy liked her.
Another young couple wanted a dog. They had an apartment, and each other, and now they wanted a dog. "A big dog," he said, in his young, manly sort of way, "To protect her when I'm not there." They picked a large Akita-Lab cross and brought him back a few weeks later because he was tearing up their apartment while they were at work.
Then there was the retired couple who were out shopping on a Saturday and went PetSmart, where rescue groups bring their dogs hoping the right match will wander through.
There was a beagle, and they always loved beagles, or the idea of beagles, or the memory of a beagle from a long ago childhood. Beagles are so cute, so eager, they thought. The couple took the beagle home, turned her out in the back yard, and she jumped the fence. She, too, was returned to the shelter.
The joy of seeing a new family choose a rescue dog is predicated on hope that it is the right match; that the individual or family are choosing the right dog, for the right reason; that they will devote the additional time and attention that rescued dogs require to become the reliable partners or family members that everyone wants.
Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) has worked hard to recruit volunteers who work with the Aiken County Animal Shelter staff to help people who are looking to adopt choose the right dog for the right reason.
Six of every seven days, the dogs go out for walks, play in the exercise yard, learn how to interact with other dogs and their human companions. When people show interest in adopting, there is always someone who can offer background information, observations or recommendations. That's a start.
The rest of the story is written in the new home.
Saving a dog and teaching it how to be a stable, happy pet can be one of life's most rewarding experiences; maybe because, when done right, it teaches us about patience, our priorities, commitment and even about devotion.
Whether we adopt a puppy or an adult, it falls to us to teach the dog how to fit in, what is expected, what behavior is encouraged and what is forbidden.
All too often we know what we want from the dog, but have given little thought to how the dog can count on us.
So stay tuned. FOTAS will introduce various resources to help our four-legged friends succeed in their new homes.
FOTAS volunteers work with the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 411 Wire Road. For more information, e-mail info@fotasaiken.org or visit www.fotasaiken.org.
Another young couple wanted a dog. They had an apartment, and each other, and now they wanted a dog. "A big dog," he said, in his young, manly sort of way, "To protect her when I'm not there." They picked a large Akita-Lab cross and brought him back a few weeks later because he was tearing up their apartment while they were at work.
Then there was the retired couple who were out shopping on a Saturday and went PetSmart, where rescue groups bring their dogs hoping the right match will wander through.
There was a beagle, and they always loved beagles, or the idea of beagles, or the memory of a beagle from a long ago childhood. Beagles are so cute, so eager, they thought. The couple took the beagle home, turned her out in the back yard, and she jumped the fence. She, too, was returned to the shelter.
The joy of seeing a new family choose a rescue dog is predicated on hope that it is the right match; that the individual or family are choosing the right dog, for the right reason; that they will devote the additional time and attention that rescued dogs require to become the reliable partners or family members that everyone wants.
Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) has worked hard to recruit volunteers who work with the Aiken County Animal Shelter staff to help people who are looking to adopt choose the right dog for the right reason.
Six of every seven days, the dogs go out for walks, play in the exercise yard, learn how to interact with other dogs and their human companions. When people show interest in adopting, there is always someone who can offer background information, observations or recommendations. That's a start.
The rest of the story is written in the new home.
Saving a dog and teaching it how to be a stable, happy pet can be one of life's most rewarding experiences; maybe because, when done right, it teaches us about patience, our priorities, commitment and even about devotion.
Whether we adopt a puppy or an adult, it falls to us to teach the dog how to fit in, what is expected, what behavior is encouraged and what is forbidden.
All too often we know what we want from the dog, but have given little thought to how the dog can count on us.
So stay tuned. FOTAS will introduce various resources to help our four-legged friends succeed in their new homes.
FOTAS volunteers work with the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 411 Wire Road. For more information, e-mail info@fotasaiken.org or visit www.fotasaiken.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments and input are always welcome. We appreciate any suggestions or thoughts that will help FOTAS with their goal to help the Aiken County Animal Shelter become a happy, healthy place that never has to euthanize an adoptable pet.