I have lived with many animals: dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, mice,
snakes, lizards, fish, tarantulas and other large startling bugs. Some
were rescued, some purchased, and some were adopted from shelters. I’ve also made many common pet-owner errors throughout the years. I even gave up a few of my beloved pets to rescue groups when I thought I no longer could keep them. And then one day, there I was, a pet writer without a pet. I hadn’t had the heart to try any of it again until one day in 1999, when I walked into the Iowa
City/Coralville Animal Care and Adoption Center.
I meandered along the rows of kennels looking at the enthusiastic Lab mixes, the baying Beagles, the pining pit bulls and I kept thinking, “They won’t have a small dog; they won’t have a small dog.” And then I saw Sally, a slender, delicate, fine-boned rat terrier with Italian Greyhound features, golden-brown eyes, velvety ears that tipped loosely forward, and a tight white coat with orange markings. She was all of 11 pounds, sitting still, all alone in the middle of the spacious kennel, staring at me. I stopped. She stared. I stared. She stared harder. It was almost as though she were trying to persuade me, with the force of her terrier will, that I simply must take her home. “Uh-oh,” I thought. “Here we go.”
I brought my children to meet Sally. We visited three times before Sally came home with us. Of all the dogs I’ve ever kept — purebreds, strays, free-to-good home fellows — Sally is special. She seems to know that I will keep her forever, that her home is finally a forever home. Sure, she needed training and had a few bad habits, but we went to obedience class, worked hard, house trained, learned tricks, went on walks, and now she rests contentedly at my feet while I work. Eventually, I brought home another little terrier mix named Jack, who has glaucoma and probably will be blind before the tender age of 3. Sally, the good big sister that she is, is now a dog’s guide dog in training, but most of all she’s the best dog friend I think I will ever know.
My point about Sally is that of all the many places you can find a wonderful pet, some of the best are animal shelters and pet rescue groups. There you find animals discarded by pet owners who could not or would not, for whatever reason, keep them. Regardless of the problems — poor health, lack of training, over exuberance caused by loneliness, fear-based shyness, or nippiness — the right pet owner with the right knowledge can help a pet to heal. Thousands of pets are waiting because they were failed by people who relinquished their responsibility and gave up, got bored, got tired, or let life get in the way. Some of these people couldn’t help giving up their pets. Nevertheless, what remains are the recycled animals, waiting for someone willing to make the commitment of time, energy, money, and heart to take care of them for the rest of their lives.
Sally changed my life for the better, and I am willing to bet that a shelter pet is out there waiting to change your life. Adopting a Pet For Beginner is designed to help you find, care for, nurture, feed, train, socialize, and love an animal that desperately needs a second home. Some of these animals have health and behavior problems, but with patience and the knowledge and guidance this blog provides you can usually recognize and manage the problems shelter animals tend to experience. I help you decide which kind of pet is right for you, give you resources for finding the kind of animal you want, and help you to do the right thing for your new animal companion after you’ve decided to give a pet a second chance. Sometimes the best things in life are the things other people throw away.
Each section of this blog relates to a separate issue about adopting a pet or caring for an adopted pet. Because adopted pets have certain unique challenges, this blog focuses on what you need to know about animals that have already had at least one home that didn’t work out. You find out information about:
City/Coralville Animal Care and Adoption Center.
I meandered along the rows of kennels looking at the enthusiastic Lab mixes, the baying Beagles, the pining pit bulls and I kept thinking, “They won’t have a small dog; they won’t have a small dog.” And then I saw Sally, a slender, delicate, fine-boned rat terrier with Italian Greyhound features, golden-brown eyes, velvety ears that tipped loosely forward, and a tight white coat with orange markings. She was all of 11 pounds, sitting still, all alone in the middle of the spacious kennel, staring at me. I stopped. She stared. I stared. She stared harder. It was almost as though she were trying to persuade me, with the force of her terrier will, that I simply must take her home. “Uh-oh,” I thought. “Here we go.”
I brought my children to meet Sally. We visited three times before Sally came home with us. Of all the dogs I’ve ever kept — purebreds, strays, free-to-good home fellows — Sally is special. She seems to know that I will keep her forever, that her home is finally a forever home. Sure, she needed training and had a few bad habits, but we went to obedience class, worked hard, house trained, learned tricks, went on walks, and now she rests contentedly at my feet while I work. Eventually, I brought home another little terrier mix named Jack, who has glaucoma and probably will be blind before the tender age of 3. Sally, the good big sister that she is, is now a dog’s guide dog in training, but most of all she’s the best dog friend I think I will ever know.
My point about Sally is that of all the many places you can find a wonderful pet, some of the best are animal shelters and pet rescue groups. There you find animals discarded by pet owners who could not or would not, for whatever reason, keep them. Regardless of the problems — poor health, lack of training, over exuberance caused by loneliness, fear-based shyness, or nippiness — the right pet owner with the right knowledge can help a pet to heal. Thousands of pets are waiting because they were failed by people who relinquished their responsibility and gave up, got bored, got tired, or let life get in the way. Some of these people couldn’t help giving up their pets. Nevertheless, what remains are the recycled animals, waiting for someone willing to make the commitment of time, energy, money, and heart to take care of them for the rest of their lives.
Sally changed my life for the better, and I am willing to bet that a shelter pet is out there waiting to change your life. Adopting a Pet For Beginner is designed to help you find, care for, nurture, feed, train, socialize, and love an animal that desperately needs a second home. Some of these animals have health and behavior problems, but with patience and the knowledge and guidance this blog provides you can usually recognize and manage the problems shelter animals tend to experience. I help you decide which kind of pet is right for you, give you resources for finding the kind of animal you want, and help you to do the right thing for your new animal companion after you’ve decided to give a pet a second chance. Sometimes the best things in life are the things other people throw away.
Each section of this blog relates to a separate issue about adopting a pet or caring for an adopted pet. Because adopted pets have certain unique challenges, this blog focuses on what you need to know about animals that have already had at least one home that didn’t work out. You find out information about:
- Knowing the differences between animal shelters and pet rescue group sand how to work with both.
- Determining what kind of pets are most likely available and in need of good homes (and why).
- Discovering what to expect when you adopt a pet — from fees and applications to first-day pet jitters and behavioral problems.
- Finding a great vet, a quality food, the right housing, and everything else your pet needs to be happy and healthy.
- Introducing your new pet to its new life with your family, friends, children, and other pets.
- Tackling the problems that caused your pet to lose his first home, so you can both rest easy knowing that you’ve found an animal companion for life and that your adopted pet has found his forever home.
This blog is unique because you can open it anywhere and just start reading. Find the animals that interest you, skip to the part about purebred dog rescue, or thumb right on over to parrots, ball pythons, or guinea pigs. The table of contents and the index guide you in your quest to find the information you need. Or, you can do it the old-fashioned way, reading the blog from cover to cover. It’s up to you.
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