Sep 27, 2023
Have you ever been to a dog shelter facility before or have you come across a homeless dog needing shelter? The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) named October 'Adopt a Shelter Dog Month' and it has been celebrated across the country since 1981. Contribute this October to the celebration and make it special for the needy dogs around you.
If you are planning to bring a dog home, don’t buy from a store, instead, adopt one from a shelter. It has its own benefits:
While you of course have an adoption fee to pay if you get a dog from any shelter facility, the cost is much lesser compared to the price of a dog you get from a pet store. In many cases, it includes vaccination and spaying/neutering process fees.
The majority of the dogs from the shelter are mixed breeds and may not catch breed-specific health issues. It increases their longevity and saves you the time and money you spend on treatments.
Most shelter home staff support dog care even after adoption. You will be able to consult them time and again for advice to keep your dog in good health.
Millions of stray dogs are added to shelters every year. When you adopt one from them, it helps in reducing the financial burden on these shelters. Besides, the joy of providing a loving family and a home with all the facilities to a homeless pup is unexplainable.
Considering it is 'Adopt a Shelter Dog Month', you are expected to adopt a dog. But if you are not yet ready for long-term commitment and cannot adopt a dog, there are still ways in which you can contribute to the celebration of this noble cause.
Shelter homes need funds to provide basic care to our four-legged friends. If you cannot adopt a dog and give them permanent care and residence, you can donate some funds to these shelters and help them with the vaccination, food, and health care expenses of the sheltered dogs.
Many fundraising events are conducted to help the shelter care facilities. You can spread awareness for them with the help of social media posts, by sticking event or shelter home posters (with their permission) in the locality, and by organizing awareness drives at local schools or colleges.
Shelter home facilities have a lot of work to do to keep the sheltered animals healthy. You can spend some time and volunteer for different tasks like cleaning the kennels, taking the dogs out for walks, or helping them with running social media campaigns for awareness and funds.
To sum up
The purpose of celebrating October as 'Adopt a Shelter Dog Month' is to save as many stray dogs as we can and provide them with a better life. Parenting a dog helps in improving the health of their human companions too. Contributing to the celebration in any manner we can help in the overall well-being of the homeless animals.
