pikalty 
State-of-the-art facilities and progressive policies help make it easier to adopt a dog or puppy.
Literally millions of dogs are in shelters waiting for someone to rescue them. One is bound to be the perfect companion for you. But, as you head to a shelter to pick your new puppy you feel some anxiety. You don’t know what you might find when you visit a shelter. Is it the old, scary dog pound that you see in movies?
The Facility
Many shelters have come a long way since the days of the dog pound. There are still a few dreary shelters, but many are warm and inviting. Two such shelters are the Dumb Friends League (DFL) in Denver, Colorado, and Operation Kindness in Carrollton, Texas.
“We strive to make this a positive and uplifting experience,” says Kim Bunker, adoptions manager of the DFL. “We want to encourage adoptions. We place comforting items, such as blankets and toys, with the dogs and puppies.” DFL has a lobby where people can meet with adoption counselors, rooms to meet with their prospective pets and even an outside courtyard so meeting with a pet can be less stressful.
Operation Kindness also has a state-of-the-art facility. “We’re lucky that we have a lovely shelter on four acres of wooded land that has a residential look, “says Jonnie England, executive director of Operation Kindness. “We have skylights, open windows, cathedral ceilings and lots of glass. We also have a screened-in cat porch. When people come to our shelter they can watch the cats play or nap.”
The Process
Adopting a new puppy is more than just walking into the shelter and walking out with a new dog. From the moment you enter the shelter to the time you walk out with a new pup, expect to spend two to four hours to complete the entire adoption process. This isn’t intended to make adoption a grueling experience, but rather to make sure that the dog you adopt is the right one for you.
Some shelters have adoption counselors available to help guide your decision-making process-even before you look at the dogs. Counselors will ask questions about your lifestyle, such as whether you work or have kids, to determine what dog or puppy is a great match for your family.
Some of the questions you might expect a counselor to ask are: Who will be the primary caretaker of the puppy? How many hours per day will the puppy be left home alone? What do you expect monthly expenses for your new puppy to be? What is the activity level of your household?
At DFL, they also ask you about your previous pets, your current pets and whether you have a fenced-in backyard. Operation Kindness asks lifestyle questions, and uses the answers to determine which puppy would best suit you and your family.
“All our questions are aimed at making a match with the right person,” England says. If its a Great Dane puppy and you’re in an apartment, its not a good match. If you like to sit and watch television all the time, an active Jack Russell Terrier isn’t right for you. You may feel like the counselors are grilling you, but it’s an attempt to learn about you so they can help you pick the right puppy.
The Puppies
When you walk into the area of the shelter where the dogs are held, you may be surprised to hear so much barking. “Barking is completely normal,” Bunker says. Dogs bark when they see new people, they bark at other dogs, it may be close to feeding time, or there may have been a dog walked through the kennel.
However, the barking can be frightening, especially for kids. “We love for kids to be here,” England says. “But barking dogs can be intimidating. If you bring your kids and they’re intimidated by all that barking, maybe one adult can wait in the lobby with the kids while the other adult checks out the dogs in the kennel.”
Likewise, if you have a particularly sensitive nose, some shelters may have a pungent odor that comes from housing many dogs in a relatively small area. This isn’t necessarily a reflection of the care taken at the shelter-some facilities may be older, and despite vigorous cleaning, its sometimes difficult to completely mask the odors. However, the animals shouldn’t look sickly or dirty, or have diarrhea, vomiting or weepy eyes.
But how do you decide what puppy is best for you? As well as assessing the puppy’s personality (is it active and outgoing, or shy and calm?), also look for one that’s healthy. The puppy should be happy and alert with clear eyes and a clean, shiny coat. It should have good muscle mass (you shouldn’t be able to see its ribs) and act like a puppy-playful and eager.
If kennel cough is going around, a puppy may have goopy eyes and runny nose, but the shelter should be treating the puppy, so be sure to ask. Kennel cough is a highly contagious upper-respiratory infection that is spread through the air, and is common wherever dogs are housed closely together.
The Paperwork
Many shelters require potential adopters to show identification and proof of residence. If you rent, the shelter wants to be sure that your landlord will allow a dog of the breed or size you plan to adopt. You’ll need to show a copy of your lease agreement or have written permission and contact information from your landlord.
When filling out the adoption paperwork, the counselors will go over the shelter’s adoption contract. At DFL, all pets are spayed or neutered before they’re adopted, regardless of age. At Operation Kindness, the age for spaying or neutering is 16 weeks and older. Younger puppies are required to be spayed or neutered by a veterinarian once they reach 16 weeks of age. Some cities have arrangements with local veterinarians who offer a discount on spaying or neutering pets adopted from the shelter.
Adopting a puppy from a shelter takes time and a little work, but the rewards of rescuing a dog in need of a loving home will provide you both with years of unconditional happiness and companionship.
