Problems That Animal Shelters Face – You Can Help By Adopting

Adopting pets from animal shelters has become progressively more popular over the last few years as people have become more aware of what an animal shelter is and the fact that most communities have one; shelters have also become better at building relationships with potential adopters, and hooking them up with the right pet.
Unfortunately, shelters still face many problems with finding homes for their animals.

1)    Euthanization.
No one likes the thought of an animal being euthanized; but the reality is that it still happens at many shelters. Urban and rural areas especially still have this problem. Although “no-kill” shelters have become more popular, not all shelters have adopted this policy yet.

2)    Overcrowding.
This happens when too many stray animals are brought into the shelters; again, this is a common problem in urban and rural areas. Overcrowding can cause problems with the overall health of the animals in terms of how disease spreads through a shelter. Overcrowding can also cause increased animal aggression, stress and depression.

3)    Not Enough Variety.
Many shelters have a problem with not having a variety of pets to choose from for potential adopters. For example, a large majority of animals available for adoption are adolescent dogs with high energy levels. Unfortunately many people are not looking for this type of dog because they can pose problems in household; high energy, younger dogs like this need open spaces to run, and a home in the city or suburbia just isn’t an ideal match. This leaves a large population of dogs “unadoptable” to a large portion of adopters.

4)    Adopters Puppies and Kittens.
So many people looking to bring in a furry family member want a puppy or kitten. The reality is that many of the animals available for adoption are not puppies and kittens, but older animals who have been abandoned or turned over to shelters because their owners could no longer care for them.

5)    Post Adoption Problems.
Many times problems arise soon after a pet is adopted into a home and the new owner decides it isn’t working out. In these situations the shelter will often take the animal back and begin again to look for the right home. Animal shelters try as hard as possible to make it work out for the adopter and the pet; some shelters even offer services that include advice, training sessions and house visits from shelter staff.

6)    Not enough money.
Many shelters function with mostly volunteer workers and donations. This always poses a funding problem. Shelters need to provide not only food and shelter, but vaccinations and other medical care.

It would be so great if all of the above factors were considered when people started thinking about brining in a furry family memeber. Animal shelters are real organizations in your community that face overcrowding, budget constraints and lack of workers; they depend on pet adoption so they keep their doors open . It’s a revolving door, animals need to be adopted, so more can be taken in and cared for. Without shelters, stray animals would have nowhere to go but into the wild.   And remember—the most important aspect of adopting a shelter pet is that you’re saving an animal’s life!