Mabel the Rescue Dog

4 min read (Articles narrated by Mabel)

If you’re interested in adopting a dog, it might be difficult to find a place to start. There are so many dogs out there that need a forever home. It will likely take a lot of time and effort to find the perfect dog for you, so let’s discuss some of the best places to start looking.

Good Places to Look:

Whether it’s in person or online, there are lots of ways to see adoptable dogs near you. Here are some great ways to do it.

Shelters

One of the easiest ways to find adoptable dogs is to visit a nearby animal shelter. You can usually see all their available dogs online, but it’s always more exciting to stop in and actually meet them.

If you see a dog at a shelter that you like, it’s fairly easy to get more information on them. You can talk to a staff member or volunteer, and they can probably even give you some one-on-one time with the dog to help determine if they’re the right match for you.

Shelters are the most convenient because all their adoptable dogs are usually in one place. So, it’s a great place to start meeting some amazing dogs.

Rescues

Rescues are like shelters, but the dogs are usually at foster homes instead of all in the same spot. So, you can still see the adoptable dogs online, but it usually takes more planning to meet one of these dogs.

However, you should never rush adopting a dog. Even if it takes a while to schedule a time to meet a dog that you’re interested in, it’s always worth it. Even if they don’t seem like the right dog for you, you still get to learn a lot about that dog’s behaviors, which will likely help you come even closer to finding the perfect pup.

One of the best things about rescues is that they often know more about each other their adoptable dogs. The dogs get plenty of alone time with their foster families, and they likely behave more like themselves in a home setting. So, even if the adoption process is longer, you will likely get to learn more about the dogs than you would at a shelter.

PetFinder

PetFinder and other websites like it are the perfect ways to search for dogs at all the different rescues and shelters. You can type in specific details about your ideal dog, and the website will search to see if there are any dogs that match your preferences near you.

You can search for certain breeds, ages, sizes, and even personality traits such as good with kids or house-trained. If you are overwhelmed by all the places to look for the perfect dog, PetFinder is a great resource to help you find your next family member. I know it helped Molly find me!

Places to Avoid:

While there are a lot of amazing places to find a furry friend, there are also plenty of bad choices that you should avoid. Rescuing a dog is an amazing thing, but if you choose to purchase a puppy from somewhere else, that’s just not okay.

Pet Stores

Pet stores once seemed like the most normal place to find a dog, however, they’re actually the worst option! Not only are the puppies at pet stores overpriced, but about 90% of the puppies sold at pet stores are actually from puppy mills! Pet stores should only be selling pet supplies, so if you see puppies being sold, please do not support that business!

Craigslist

Craigslist or any other online seller seems like another easy option. However, a lot of these sellers also aren’t what they seem. Puppy mill breeders also commonly sell puppies online because it’s easy to get away with it.

Of course, there are plenty of families that sell their unwanted dogs online, so you don’t have to rule it out completely. Just be extra careful! Make sure that you never buy a super expensive dog online because the sad reality is that it’s probably not a rescue dog at all.

Breeders

Breeders are one of the biggest reasons that so many dogs are in shelters. Breeding dogs shouldn’t be a bad thing, but sadly, humans have been breeding way too many dogs! I know I say it a lot, but every time someone breeds puppies instead of adopting, they’re only allowing more dogs to die in shelters. Breeding has just gotten so out of hand, which is why I will continuously encourage people to adopt instead.

So, if you think you’re ready to bring a dog into your family, be smart about your decision. Check out shelters, rescues, and search on PetFinder if you need help. There are plenty of dogs out there waiting for a home, so just imagine how happy they’ll be when you give them a second chance at life!

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