According to the ASPCA, approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized due to over crowding.
Those are heartbreaking statistics that would make any person with a beating heart wonder why those unlucky animals are not getting adopted.
There is a stigma about shelter dogs, however, and when you see cases of dogs being tied up in garbage and dumped by rivers, one has to wonder what kind of temperament a stray developed before they entered a shelter.
Yet, that kind of thinking is giving lots of pups a bad and undeserved reputation. For instance, one precious pooch that was cruelly locked inside of a pet carrier that was discarded on a rural road in Arkansas turned out to be a total charmer of a canine once she found the right family.
Reddit user, ternze, learned a lesson about stray dogs first hand when he adopted David Bowie, a white mutt who was covered in mange. Here is his story in his own words…
“I got my dog, David Bowie/The Diamond Dog/The Thin White Duke, one year ago.”
“He was a stray dog from Birmingham, Alabama who, along with his brother and sister, had mange and two different colored eyes.” (Below is a picture of his identical brother, who better represents the severity of the situation).
“A great organization called Secondhand Hounds rescued him from a high-kill shelter and brought him up to Minnesota.”
“He was terrified of people and nobody wanted him because of his then-patchy fur, ‘ugliness,’ and his reluctance to be around humans.”
“So he spent a good while in foster care and doing the adoption circuit, even though his foster mom could not stress enough that he was the nicest little dog ever.”
“Despite his fear of me, and a rocky start in which he wouldn't come near me, I took the plunge and adopted him.”
“And it was the best decision I've ever made.”
“Because even though it was difficult in the beginning, Bowie turned out to be the nicest, friendliest, funniest dog I've ever had.”
“I can't imagine coming home and not seeing the little guy here.”
“It blows my mind to think he was so close to being euthanized.”
“So here's my PSA for the day: if you're looking for a pet, adopt.”
“Like many people, I grew up with an assumption that fosters are temperamental, un-teachable, or just plain mean.”
“But that assumption has been proven false time and time again by my own dog and countless others.”
“You could literally save a life.”
What do you think?
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