Service dogs: A man’s best friend. These specially trained dogs have been working alongside dedicated women and men who’ve served our country and involved in the United States military since the Revolutionary War. At that time, those dogs were used as pack animals, but by World War I, they were also used to help kill rats in war zones.

By World War II, the help of service dogs increased significantly to where they began to support different military operations and in the US. Over 10,000 specially trained dogs were deployed. These dogs held some very important positions such as messengers, scouts, sentries, and mine and explosive detectors. Today, service dogs are present in all of the US military branches and Police Departments, serving in all areas of the country when needed and on foreign grounds far away from home. Currently, there are thousands of service dogs in the US: Dutch and German shepherds, rottweilers, doberman pinschers, labradors, pitbulls, beagles, as well as Belgian Malinois. These dogs have been used as service dogs because of their protective nature, obedience, loyalty, intelligence, and dedication. Alongside these traits, these amazing animals are also athletes, capable of enduring extremely harsh terrains and temperatures, anywhere in the entire world.

Thousands of service dogs have been brutally killed in service. If these dogs were not killed during their active time in the military, sadly, most of them were required to be euthanized after service. This was either because of the aggressive nature of these dogs; they carried harmful diseases, or because they were weak, had missing body parts, and/or were living in agony.

In 2000, in an effort to give retired service dogs a safe, and loving home, former President Bill Clinton signed a law that stated both retired military soldiers and civilians were allowed to adopt dogs that served in the military. This new law created a dramatic change in the attitude towards service dogs. Since then, many organizations have been created to assist and migrate the dogs back into family homes. Examples of such organizaciones are the Military Working Dog Team Support Association (MWDTSA) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

Today, these dogs’ roles are also often referred to as police dogs, Military Working Dog (MWD – in the US military), or K-9. As of 2011, 600 US Military dogs were actively participating in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As partners in everyday police work, dogs have proven versatile and loyal officers. They are trained to respond viciously if their handler is attacked, or not to react at all unless they are commanded to do so by their handler. Many police dogs are also trained in drug and explosives detection. Military working dogs continue to serve as sentries, trackers, search and rescue, scouts, and mascots. Retired working dogs are often adopted as pets or used as therapy dogs.

The official K9 Corps was created on March 13, 1942. Thousands of dogs have served with honor, dignity and valor throughout our country’s history. To this day, dogs continue to serve on our borders and abroad every day on both land and sea.

It is important to recognize their service and contributions. They stand in the line of fire, they find the missing, protect our borders, and help keep our country safe. In honor of K9 Veteran’s Day, PPITS salutes all of the dogs that have courageously sacrificed their lives while serving our county and those who continue to do so. 

– Jonah Brand

Today is World Spay Day! Yay! Why dedicate a whole day to it? Every year, 2.7 million companion animals are put to sleep in our nation’s shelter system. This is primarily due to overcrowding and people not spaying or neutering their pets.

It costs American taxpayers more money to house, feed, care and euthanize one pet per day than it does to spay/neuter 6-7 pets. Cost wise, it costs Americans over $2 billion per year to round up, house, kill and dispose of homeless animals.

In addition to the obvious reasons to fix your pet, there are others of which many pet owners aren’t aware:

Benefits of Spaying

• Your female pet will live a longer, happier life
• She won’t go into heat (which is messy)
• It prevents uterine infections (also known as Pyometra) and breast, uterine and ovarian cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats
• Lowers aggressive and territorial tendencies
• It prevents unwanted pregnancies and litters resulting in behavioral issues
• Eliminates unwanted male canine visitors to court your female, resulting in the point above

Benefits of Neutering

• Prevents testicular cancer, prostrate infections and urinary tract disorders
• Reduces male anxiety and unwanted behaviors such as humping (how embarrassing!)
• He won’t want to run away from home in search of females
• Can reduce aggression, territorial or behavioral issues
• Eliminates the need to mark or spray

Now, wouldn’t it make sense to step up, do something to help save lives and ameliorate the issue? We sure do, so we put together some additional resources to help.

Because we are located in Southern CA, here are a few low-cost spay/neuter options for our fellow Southlanders:

1. The Animal Network of Orange County: http://www.animalnetwork.org/AnimalNetwork/VetMedical/SpayNeuterHospitals.htm
2. Simply Spay and Neuter OC: http://www.simplyspayandneuterofoc.com/
3. The Lucy Pet Foundation: http://www.lucypetfoundation.org/
4. Fix Long Beach: http://fixlongbeach.com/
5. SPCA-LA: http://www.spcala.com/spay_neuter/spayneuterclinic.php
6. Pet Assistance Foundation San Diego: http://petassistancefoundation.org/
7. North Shore Animal League: http://www.spayusa.org/clinic-resources/california.php

For a list of low-cost spay/neuter clinics nationwide, the ASPCA’s website offers a searchable map to help you find low-cost spay/neuter programs in your community: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/spayneuter

Funding options are also often available through your veterinarian, or via voucher programs through the county or city in which you live, so do not hesitate to ask your vet if they participate in such programs. Help yourself to a discount, while you help reduce pet over-population and ensure your pets live long, happy and healthy lives! It’s never too late!

Recently, a man walked into the Petco store where we have our rescue kittens on display. He was looking to adopt a dog. The store clerk politely sent the man to see me, letting him know that I was the rescue representative. He was looking for a small white dog for his mom. Our conversation soon turned into a discussion about adopting from as shelter versus adopting from a rescue. It became clear to me that he represents the average adopter: looking to give an abandoned or stray pet a home with the common misconception that a shelter is a rescue and a rescue is a shelter. He couldn’t have been more wrong!

I’d like to clarify the differences between a shelter and a rescue. The common belief is that a shelter is a place that protects animals from abuse, keeps them from abandonment and provides them with a good home. After all, according to Merriam-Webster, the definition of shelter is a structure that covers or protects people or things; a place that provides food and protection for people or animals that need assistance and a place to live. While in some instances this is true, the reality is there is a great misunderstanding of what a shelter does for animals in this day and age (including myself prior to getting into rescuing animals), due to our expectations and understanding based on the definition of the word “shelter”.

People believe that there is a difference between a pound and a shelter, when in reality, there is no difference. The common belief is that an animal will be safe in a shelter and will live the rest of his/her life protected until it is adopted, right? Wrong! Depending on the state in which you live, dogs and cats have different expiration dates. I apologize for the term expiration, but “euthanasia” is practiced more often than not, so yes, the pets that end up in a shelter, whether they are surrendered or arrive as strays, have a ticking clock the moment they step into the shelter, and the clock may tick faster or slower depending on the adoptability (temperament) of an animal, it’s health and breed. In addition, surrendered animals have less time to survive than those that arrive as strays, because the strays are given a few more days so that their owners have the opportunity to find them. A sad reality but true!

In Southern California, the rule of thumb for dogs or cats that are surrendered, once processed by the city or county shelters, have one to three days to get adopted. If no interest is shown in the animals, they are put to sleep. If a dog or cat arrives as a stray, they are given 10 days to be claimed and if no one does so, it is given the 1 to 3 days to be adopted prior to being euthanized.

ut all this sadness aside (grab your tissue and wipe the tears), I am here to talk about the happy part of the shelter story: adoption. What is the difference between adopting a pet from a shelter versus adopting from a rescue? As the co-founder of PPITS, you may believe that I am here to vouch for the rescues, but my job as a rescuer is to ensure that the majority of animals are saved from euthanasia in our shelters whether they are adopted from the shelter or from a rescue. So I am here to provide a clear image of what adopting from both entails, so you have a better understanding and can better prepare yourself to welcome you new family member.

Thousands of animals are waiting to be adopted into loving homes during the holidays. Both shelters and rescues offer pets that are up to date on vaccinations, spayed or neutered and micro-chipped. There is no difference there aside from the adoption fee. The shelter’s fee is likely to be less expensive than when you adopt from a rescue organization. Why the disparity in fees? Because rescue groups invest in the animal, rehabilitating the pet’s health, training and psychological well-being, so they can join families and be better pets.

Then again, the real difference starts with understanding the conditions in which your new pet has been living prior to arriving to your home. At a shelter, most animals are living in kennels, some in open air kennels, exposed to the elements, continuous barking, obligated to potty where they eat and sleep because there are not enough volunteers to walk the dogs, or the dogs do not get walked due to exhibiting behavioral issues. These issues are common due to exposure to this stressful environment, fear or prior history of abuse.

Prior to adopting from a rescue organization, the pets either live in foster homes where they have the opportunity to be a part of the home and family and learn how to live in that environment. Or, they live in kennels where they receive frequent walks,, get daily exercise and training as needed. They also have the opportunity to be socialized.

Therefore, the transition of a pet from the shelter to your home is more stressful than the transition from a rescue. So you have to be adequately prepared to welcome your pet according to his or her recent history.

Again, I am not telling you this so you are prompted to adopt from a rescue organization. Animals at the shelter also need to be saved! I am providing this information so you can have a better understanding of what your new pet will need upon being adopted regardless if its from the shelter or a rescue.

Health wise, if you adopt from a rescue, the pet is likely to be healthy and has been treated for any illnesses or injury. If you adopt from the shelter, it is very likely that your pet will have kennel cough or some upper respiratory infection (very treatable illnesses) due to the living conditions and the exposure to the elements. Shelters usually provide you with a voucher to use at your veterinarian of choice to obtain a free health exam. Please use this immediately after adopting your pet from the shelter! Why you ask? Shelter paperwork usually lists that you can return the pet to the shelter if it is sick. However, returning a pet to the shelter is an immediate death sentence. Most shelters do not have the resources to adequately treat illness and therefore will opt to euthanize a pet in order to avoid infection from spreading to other pets. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is take your pet to the vet, get it assessed and provide it with the medication it needs to get better. Kennel cough is very common. It is the canine equivalent of a cold and only requires the right dosage of antibiotics. Don’t you think that it is needless to have a dog euthanized over a cold? So do we.

And here is where animal rescues come into play! Since most shelters do not have the resources to treat illnesses or severe injuries, animal rescues usually take on this responsibility along with training and animal rehabilitation by professionals.
Continuing the topic of stress, whether the pet comes from the shelter or from a rescue, it will need time to integrate into your home, and get used to his/her new living environment and any other pets you may have. So provide your pet with a comfortable room away from other pets in the home, where he can rest, get familiar with the new sounds and the scents of the home and calm down for a day or two. This is not the time to integrate your new pet with the resident pets at the home, because fights are likely to break out even if all pets are friendly. This is mainly due to the stress of being confronted with a new environment. If your pet is coming home from the shelter, use this time also as a quarantine time to ensure that your pet is healthy and does not get your other pets sick. Vets usually suggest a 10-day period for quarantine. This is the perfect time to get your pet used to your routine and allow your resident pets to also get used to the new presence in the home.
When adopting from a rescue, it is possible that the rescue will also help you with integrating the new pet into your home. Do not hesitate to ask help as needed. We suggest that you allow your pets to welcome the new pet into the home, which usually occurs after a few days by the welcoming pet wanting to spend time with the new arrival.

Please note that cat integration takes longer and is done differently, so get informed about proper cat integration techniques (perhaps on future blog!).

This is about it when it comes from adopting from a shelter: You fill out your application,, choose your new companion, and pick them up. Be prepared for more due diligence when adopting from a rescue. What does this mean? Rescue organizations put a lot of effort into ensuring that pets are placed in homes that are compatible with their owners in order to minimize pets being returned. It also ensures that the pet is being placed in a safe, loving environment where it can thrive. This involves a thorough screening process that includes checking references, an interview and a home check. Different rescues have different requirements for placing their pets, so please get familiar with the rescue’s requirements. While most people get approved for adoption, keep in mind that those who do not get approved are either deemed to be incompatible with the pet they are interested in. After all, you may not lead the lifestyle that the pet requires (i.e. an active lifestyle for an active and energetic pet; or you want a pet that sheds excessively, while you have an aversion to pet hair, etc.); or you have erroneously expressed the reasons as to why you want to get a pet (i.e. as a Christmas or a birthday present for someone who is not involved in the decision and application process, you are not willing or cannot afford to go the extra mile to ensure the pet is trained and receives proper care, etc).

The bonus you get by adopting from a rescue is you ultimately get to save two lives. You’ve made room in a foster home for a rescue to save another from the shelter.

I hope that this provides you with a better idea of what it means to adopt a pet from a shelter versus a rescue, and it will help you with your decision. There are thousands of animals out there that need you right now! Our hope is that you will find the right pet that is the perfect fit for you and your home. Happy holidays!
Monica L. Sederholm, PPITS Co-founder and animal behaviorist.

Reference:
Merriam-Webster, 2014, Definition of Shelter, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shelter