I found myself asking “why?” while at a puppy training class a couple of weeks ago. Why is the puppy that I brought from a no-kill shelter only 1 of 2 rescue puppies out of a class of 15 puppies? Is it lack of awareness of the overpopulation and healthy dog and cat euthanasia issues in our country? Or do people really feel that strongly about having a specific “look” or breed of dog? I’ve been involved in animal rescue work for just over 7 years now so I’m not sure if I just have that much more of an awareness of these issues or if others just really don’t care. Either way, we have a lot of work to do to improve the live release rate statistics for the puppies, kittens, dogs, and cats that end up in kill shelters across the country.

The puppy I had in class is 1 of 3 currently available for adoption through a local no-kill shelter. That same shelter has a room full of kittens (literally) available for adoption. And another rescue group I have fostered through recently had 7 puppies up for adoption. I also just saw a Facebook post about a litter of puppies and their mom that had been dumped at a high kill shelter and only had 1 week to find a home or rescue. My point is that both kill and no-kill shelters are not just a place where adult dogs and cats end up, but also puppies and kittens.  And the sad truth of it is some of them don’t make it to see their first birthday. They don’t even get a chance at life. These are just a few of the reasons I immediately ask why aren’t there more rescue puppies in this class? It doesn’t appear as though the issue is the lack of desire to have a new puppy but rather an issue of people choosing (out of ignorance or not) to buy from a breeder instead of choosing to save a life.

One of the most ironic parts of the puppy class was that my puppy, the rescue puppy, was by far one of the best behaved in the bunch. He was the most calm, he hardly barked and he was eager to please. He is also very smart and learned sit within several minutes. And in my opinion he was also the cutest (pictured above)!

So in my mind the next logical question is “how?”.  How do we get the word out that adopting a puppy or kitten, dog or cat, is a wonderful option and should be considered when adding a furry family member? How do we get more shelter animals into loving homes and decrease this country’s euthanasia rate? Please share your thoughts, share this post, and let’s increase adoption numbers and lives saved in 2016 by spreading the word.