Unlike pet stores, many shelters have to rely on donations. Dogs at the shelter used to be treated badly before they got there. People adopt them from the pound to keep them from dying.
I got a dog from a shelter.
Before the shelter took her in and all, I think her old owners used to treat her badly because she was afraid of my dad. She acted like she thought he was going to spank her. That's how we could tell her owner maybe wasn't very nice to her.
I got Dottie from Bonaparte's Retreat. That's an animal shelter. I've been raising money to donate to Bonaparte's Retreat. So far, I've raised $100.
More from The Stir: The 12 Faces a Kid Makes in One Day
Many shelters have to get foster families for their dogs. So if you're not sure you're ready to adopt a dog, you can foster one.
Even if you're allergic to dogs, you can get a poodle. So there's no saying, "I'm allergic to dogs." I'm allergic to the dander on dogs' fur. Whenever I pet them and rub my eyes, I get allergic. That's why I got Dottie. She's a hypto-dog (EDITOR: hypo-allergenic). She's a long-haired dachshund mix poodle and my eyes don't itch at all around her!
For Halloween, Dottie was Wonder Woman. To the rescue! She didn't mind the costume. It all stayed on her, except for the hat. We took her trick-or-treating, but she got loose and chased her puppy friend. Later I made her a special dinner since she couldn't have any candy. If you got your kids a shelter dog, they could all have fun like this, too.
When you adopt a dog from a shelter, they seem very happy. I think that's because they're glad to have a final home. I think their last owners usually didn't treat them that well so they're happy that you will.
You may think the dogs at the pet store are really cute. You may think that a breeder's dog is fancy. But there are a lots of dogs at shelters that will die if you don't adopt them. I hope you will get your kid a dog from the shelter and save a pet's life.
The moms at The Stir desperately needed a day off so we decided to let our kids help us write The Stir today — find out more about them in their blogger profiles and see what they are writing about at Kids Takeover. Happy April Fools! 🙂
