4 Facts You Didn’t Know About Animal Adoption

When people are looking for a pet, many forget about the variety of wonderful animals available at their local rescue shelter or humane society. People tend to overlook them and often forget about adopting an animal at all! Wouldn’t it be great to be able to share some facts about rescue shelters with people to help them learn more about them?

To help you with that, here are four things that most people don’t know about shelters.

1.  A Quarter of Dogs in Shelters are Purebred

According to the ASPCA, 25% of all dogs in shelters are purebred. This means it can be a great place to look if you are trying to find a specific breed of dog. If you are looking for something specific, a one in four chance to find a purebred dog is not bad odds and the bonus is that these animals are in need of good homes. Why not take a look at a shelter and see what breeds of animals they have available?

2. Shelters Have More Than Just Dogs and Cats

When people think of animal shelters, they don’t often picture the wide array of animals that can come to live in them. Everything from guinea pigs, to rabbits, to even birds can be adopted from shelters. After all, these are animals that need a loving home as much as any dog or cat. If you’re looking for a pet that is a little different than usual, be sure to take a look at your local shelter!

3. Shelters Take in Millions of Animals per Year

Across the United States, about 6.5 million animals enter shelters per year. That is a staggering amount of animals to take care of, but it also shows how strained resources are for shelters. That means that although shelters are doing everything they can to help animals find homes, there is always the need for more people to consider adopting!

4. Shelters Can’t Keep Up with the Demand

 Even with devoted staff, long hours, and as much help as they can get, shelters are overflowing with demand for animals needing housing. What’s worse is that animals that can’t get put into shelters run the risk of being euthanized, with approximately 2.7 million cats and dogs having to be put down each year due to overfull shelters. Consider getting out there and adopting a pet, as it not only brings a wonderful companion into your life, but frees up space to help another animal find a good home!

What facts about animal adoption have you heard? Leave a comment and let us know!