Honestly, is there anything quite as cute as a puppy? Well no. And because of this, breeders pump them out in spades, drawing on people’s love of baby animals to generate a profit. The result? Too many dogs. Yes, you can have too much of a good thing when there aren’t enough resources to house all of the pups who can’t find homes.
We rely on community shelters to care for these animals and find them good homes, but we sometimes fail to remember that these organizations are limited by inadequate funding and space. Their kennels are packed, and yet more animals arrive daily, either picked up off the streets by animal control or surrendered by the owners they loved and trusted.
Many of these dogs are not designer breeds. Many are Pit Bulls who inherit a terrible reputation through no fault of their own. And so, many find themselves stuck at shelters, overlooked and depressed, wishing for a forever home that may never arrive.
In order to accommodate the continuous string of new arrivals, shelters often feel forced to pick and choose and make room for those dogs that appear to be more “adoptable.” Those that don’t fit that bill may not live to see another day, as 5,500 dogs are euthanized by shelters in the United States every single day … 2.7 million each year!
For dogs like Sheeba, who was found badly injured with a broken leg and in need of expensive orthopedic surgery, the outlook wasn’t good.
Luckily, the kind folks at S.N.A.R.R Animal Rescue saved this girl from certain death and are willing to give her all the time she needs to find the right home. On Facebook, S.N.A.R.R writes, “Broken is the only word I can think of when I see this picture. Sheeba looks defeated. She is sitting in a high kill shelter with a bad injury and break of her left leg; a tough rescue because orthopedic surgeries are so expensive. Could SNARR NE take her? The shelter [where Sheeba was held] has been trying everyone and nobody has said yes. Well…we said YES! Welcome to SNARR Sheeba.”
No-kill rescue organizations can only continue to save needy dogs and give them a second chance at finding a forever home with the help of people like you. All dogs deserve to be so lucky, and we can make it happen by:
- Supporting no-kill shelters like S.N.A.R.R Animal Rescue
- Volunteering to help care for and network adoptable dogs
- Adopting a shelter dog like Sheeba, or Sue, or Hercules, or Tina P., or Benny, or Chester, or Cher
- Sharing this information to encourage others to adopt, too
In addition, encourage everyone you know and meet to spay or neuter their pets so that we can ensure fewer homeless pets and work to become a no-kill nation for dogs and cats.
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Rescue dogs are the best breed by far!!. Not only that but you have saved a valuable life.
My last dog was rescue, she came from a relative that had no idea how to train a Dachshund puppy and ended up abusing her. She finally discovered the joy of bellyrubs at 6 years old and then made up for lost time. She passed at 14. The next dog is a hairy mixed child of divorce who has made it his life\’s work to protect me and stare at me with soft loving eyes. And track in mud.