This past weekend, the hubs and I added a new member to our family! We had been talking about adopting a dog for quite some time, but wanted to make sure we were ready and it made financial sense to adopt. Our original plan was to budget $150 for an adoption and wait until the second or third week in November to start looking.
Well, we heard about the Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center via Facebook and saw that they were promoting adoptions in October (generally a slower adoption month) through their Haunted Hounds special! Any hound-type or pit-type mixes were up for adoption for $10 in the month of October! This included their up to date medical records, but did not include getting them fixed if they weren’t already.
I told the hubs about this promotion, and without missing a beat he said, “I guess we’re adopting a few weeks early!”
We searched their website and looked at their adoptable dogs and decided we would go over the weekend to meet some of them and see if anyone would be a good fit for our family. We had a few requirements:
Calm submissive energy. This doesn’t mean that we were looking for a lazy dog; quite the contrary! Since we are so active and my schedule and occupation are so flexible and active, it made us ideal candidates for a dog with higher exercise needs than your average pup. What we were looking for was a personality that was interested in listening to his handlers, wasn’t pushy, and wasn’t interested in instigating with his doggie neighbors.
Low prey drive. Since we have three cats and live in a neighborhood full of other dog owners/walkers, joggers, strollers, and other exciting things, we wanted to make sure that whatever critter we added to our family wasn’t going to be prone to attacking everything that moved.
Curiosity, not aggression. There’s nothing wrong with Fido being curious about his surroundings. There IS a problem when Fido feels threatened by or feels the need to defend everything he sees, or thinks that he’s in charge of everyone else.
Outside of those factors, we tried to keep an open mind and see who we met.
We walked into the dog run and ignored everyone, just walking up and down the center aisle. Being in a shelter is hard on dogs, so just about everyone was barking and jumping and carrying on. We continued ignoring them and waited to see who settled down first. Within minutes there were three candidates who sat down at their doors, stopped barking, and looked to us for direction. Armed with that information, we sought a worker who would allow us to take them for a walk one at a time.
This is the part where it almost feels like a dating show.
“Are you ready to meet Bachelors 1, 2, and 3?!”
All three of our candidates were male. Our first walk was with a scared fella. Unfortunately, he just wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. Hubs and I agreed that even though this doggie was in need, we weren’t the right family for him. If we took him, we would be doing him and our other fur babies a disservice.
Bachelor #2 was a dream on a leash, was polite, and very receptive to coaching. We tested his chase or prey drive by having one of us walk him while the other ran circles around him, in front of him, behind him. We ran toward him, away from him, and past him. We jumped around and waved our arms. And we were largely ignored! He loved to snuggle and was very trusting of us.
Bachelor #3 was…in need of a treadmill to burn off the energy that he had stored up. He was a sweet pup, but young and full of energy. Being so wound up, it was impossible to get to know him. We knew he wasn’t right for us.
That meant we came back to Bachelor #2! We took him for another walk, this time ending up in the kitty room to see how he behaved himself. He largely ignored the cats and was more interested in receiving affection. As a bonus, he was already neutered and up to date on all of his vaccinations!
We were sold! We adopted him, named him Bosco, and brought that pup home!
Day 1 with Bosco. This is just outside the shelter, right after we signed the adoption papers. He looks happy, right? 🙂
While he still needs some work on socialization (and mainly proper greeting manners), he is very thankful to be in a home. We’re keeping him really well exercised, well fed, and well loved. He has some abuse in his past, but even after only five days he’s learned to trust me and the hubs over his jumpy instincts. And he’s an AWESOME running buddy! He has already been on a number of adventures with The Green Hat.
Post first run with my new running buddy!
Are you considering adopting a fur baby into your home? Having a plan for what you’re looking for can help you make a sound decision without getting distracted while at a shelter. And I do encourage shelter adoptions; pets who have been left at a shelter are amazing family members who are lost without you. You can save a life, and they’ll save yours in return!
Here are some great examples of how having a rescued pet can enhance your life:
Accountability. Pets like schedules, and they like it when you keep your routine. If you are having a hard time waking up in the morning to work out and just want to keep hitting ‘snooze’, Fido can remind you that if you don’t get up and take him/her on that walk you’ll be trying to sleep through the sounds of “But I really gotta pee!!” in dog-speak. You might even have to clean the carpet if you wait too long!
Dedication. Having a workout buddy can keep you dedicated to a plan, like a walking or walk/jog plan. You might burn out after a few weeks if you go it alone, but Fido can help keep you on that healthy path, and make it fun, too!
Joy. Nothing beats the feeling you get when your fur baby looks at you with squinty eyes that say “Thank you for being here.” Your pet will never judge you, never abandon you, never think you can’t do what you set your mind to. And they are always willing to be right there with you!
Community. Having to take Fido out means YOU get out, even when you’re tired and maybe you don’t feel like it. This opens the door to meet new people, new neighbors, and get involved in your community. Your social health is just as important to your overall health as Fido’s is; we can’t skip out on the social aspect of wellness and still expect to live a balanced life.
Bosco helping me stretch after an early morning run.
This is a short, nonexhaustive list of how having a fur baby can help you stay on track. And don’t mistake me for only supporting canine family members; the added responsibility of our feline friends can also help you maintain a healthy lifestyle. Cats need exercise and socialization, just like dogs, and also benefit from rules. They’re just a tad (or a lot) harder to train!
I hope this post helps you find motivation if you’re considering a new family member. The hubs and I are so thankful for Bosco, and so glad for his impact on our lives, even if it means we have to work a little harder and be a little more dedicated. In the end, we all benefit from this arrangement!
Thanks for reading!
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