For the love of dog

”The first rule of Fight Club: It exists! Tell everyone you know!” said Evan M., Fright Club event coordinator. The event, which took place at the Gator Wesley foundation, 1380 W. University Ave., featured an inflatable jousting arena, photo booth, apple bobbing, costume contest and free food. Admittance to the event was one food item for the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank or a small donation to the St. Francis House, a homeless shelter in Gainesville, Fla. (Photo by Alana Saavedra/University of Florida)

Katherine M., left, a University of Florida graduate in management, takes a picture of fifth-year mechanical engineering student Amelia S. during the Gator Wesley Fright Club Event. “My mom doesn’t believe I made this myself; take a picture!” S. said. (Photo by Alana Saavedra/University of Florida)

Audrey M., a second-year pre-law/business major, waits for the results of the Gator Wesley Fright Club duo costume contest with Delaney H., a second-year sustainability major. The two are dressed as “CatDog” based on the ‘90s TV cartoon of the same name. (Photo by Alana Saavedra/ University of Florida)

From left to right, the Gator Wesley Fright Club costume contest finalists include Amelia S., a fifth-year mechanical engineering major, Holly D., a fourth-year family youth and community sciences major, Julian G., a second-year ecology major, and Thomas L., a fourth-year economics major. Kenneth H., far right, a third-year food and resource economics major, asks the participants why they should win the grand prize of a Starbucks gift card and the coveted "costume contest winner" title. (Photo by Alana Saavedra/University of Florida)

Food and resource economics major Kenneth H., middle, awards Austin A., left, a third-year software engineering student, and Chemical Engineering student Tyler B., right, with gift cards after winning the Gator Wesley Fright Club duo costume contest with their “Back to the Future” attire. (Photo by Alana Saavedra/University of Florida)

Eighteen-year-old Pre-law/business student Audrey M. cheers on her “CatDog” counterpart, Delaney H., a 19-year-old sustainability major, as she battles against engineering major Jordan D. in the Gator Wesley Fright Club jousting tournament. (Photo by Alana Saavedra/University of Florida)

Evan M., a third-year marketing major, poses at a photo booth with Susan I., a third-year economics major, and Erin W., a second-year art major, at Gator Wesley’s Fright Club event. The three coordinated their costumes by dressing up as famous works of art. From left to right they are Vincent van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait,” René Magritte’s “The Son of Man” and Roy Lichtenstein’s “Oh Jeff.” (Photo by Alana Saavedra/University of Florida)

Logan F., 18, attempts to bob for apples Halloween night at Gator Wesley's Fright Club event. The engineering freshman gave up after swallowing a bit too much water and coming up with no apples. (Photo by Alana Saavedra/University of Florida)

If you are a poor, on-campus college student like I am, pet adoption is not possible.

I want more than anything to adopt the older dogs and shy cats that no one else wants.

But since I cannot take them home, I wanted to find out how to help them some other way.

The Tiny Tabby posted this informational graph that shows all the different ways in which you can help out at your local animal shelter.

As you can see, even the smallest bit of help counts.

Volunteers can walk dogs, socialize puppies and cats, make sure all the pets have proper name cards, ensure that every animal is fed, hang out in cages with the dogs and answer questions about the animals and the adoption process from families looking to adopt.

During Puppy Hill Farm's adoption days in Gainesville, Fla., for example, volunteers and shelter employees work together to get animals adopted starting from 10 am to 5 pm every weekend.

Volunteering even for just a few hours on weekends at the shelter has really changed my perspective on just how hard these organizations work to keep all their animals safe, happy and healthy.

Whether you come help out at adoption days in your community, donate money or just take pictures to share on social media, you are helping local shelters continue to provide excellent care to the animals that they house.

If you want to take that extra step, you can always consider fostering animals for a period of time until they are adopted.

(Photo Credit: Humane Society of Ventura County)

What does it mean to be a foster parent? Benefits and duties include:

Help relieve overcrowding in shelters

Reduce an animal's stress and provide a safe haven for them until they are adopted

Socialize young, abused or timid animals so that they become suitable for adoption

Care for the pets of military personnel sent overseas who have no other friends or family total on the pets

Learn what it is like to own a pet without adopting them permanently

Visit http://blog.petsforpatriots.org/what-is-pet-fostering/ for more information if you think fostering may be right for you.

Beyond dedicating your time, if you have extra blankets or pet food lying around, call your local shelter and ask if they have any needs that you could provide them.

An extra blanket here and an extra toy there goes a long way for these animals.

If you have the means or the free time to help out the animals we all love so much, please consider volunteering at your local shelters.

Even a stressed-out college student, like me, can spend a few hours playing with dogs, cleaning cat cages and walking the puppies around.

If that still does not convince you, studies have shown that petting animals relieves stress, lowers blood pressure and eases loneliness and anxiety.

With that in mind, please consider opening your home to a shelter pet! It will be a life-changing experience for the both of you.

Congratulations! Now that you have decided that you are ready to take home a pet, the adoption process can begin.

What a lot of people do not understand is that you cannot simply walk into a shelter and take a dog, cat or any other animal.

Many shelters employ adoption counselors who determine the potential adopter's living situation and what previous experience with pets they may have.

While volunteering for Puppy Hill Farm, I began to notice that potential adopters often did not realize what they were signing up for when adopting.

(Source: Cracked.com) 

With a process like adoption, paperwork is inevitable. Shelters and other rescue organizations often want to make sure that you are who you say you are, and to confirm that you are ready for the lifelong commitment that is owning a pet.

When I was a volunteer, if someone was interested in adopting a pet, we would send him or her to our supervisor or adoption counselor to begin the paperwork process. 

After filling out basic information such as address, contact information and living situation the counselor would initiate an extended interview to see how well you would handle having a pet and to see how committed you are to the process.

The following text shows the experience of one potential adopter during a character interview when he went to adopt a pet:

Adoption counselor: What kind of person do you think you are?

Potential adopter: The kind who is still holding a sweaty fistful of money and desperately wants the dog you're carrying.

(Source: Cracked.com)

Most shelters will let you take home your pet that same day, but if they do not, a home visit or references may be needed to continue the adoption process.

So what do you do after all the paperwork is filled out, and your new pet is loaded up in your car? 

Something else that I noticed while volunteering was how clueless some of the potential adopters seemed to be. I often got questions such as:

“What/how much does it eat?”

“It gets how big?”

And even “Do I have to walk it every day?”

But every once in a while, a seemingly simple question would pop up: “What does my pet need?”

Some organizations such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) provide leashes, carriers and training books for any animal that you adopt from them. These groups even require puppy adopters to go through obedience classes to ensure that both pet and owner get proper education on how to live with one another. 

While other shelters are not as strict, adoption counselors will often make sure that the animal has a place to sleep, such as a bed or crate, and food/water bowls before placing the animal in the hands of the adopter.

On the plus side, most shelters already have all their pets vaccinated, treated for heartworm, spayed/neutered and checked by veterinarians so there is no need to worry about those extra costs.

In any case, be prepared when you go to adopt. Know what your animal may need and do not hesitate to ask the volunteers or adoption counselors any questions you may have.

The people who work at shelters want to help these animals find a loving and responsible homes just as much as you do.

Visit theshelterpetproject.org to find an amazing shelter pet of your own!

When you are finally ready to adopt, the next step is finding your new pet at a local shelter or rescue organization.

Many agencies have a website in which you can go online and view different pet profiles to find the right animal for you. Even if you want to adopt from a smaller rescue agency, most pets are listed at adoption websites such as petfinder.com or humanesociety.org where you can search for pets in your area.

Although that puppy or kitten in the pet store window may look cute, it is usually not best to buy from pet stores because it supports puppy mills. Puppy mills are large breeding facilities where dogs are treated like toys—bred only to be on shelves, never given care and wasting away until the next “new” breed comes along.

Find out more information why not to adopt from pet stores here:

http://www.aspca.org/blog/what-not-buy-puppies-pet-stores 

Instead, try to consider adopting from rescue groups, private and local  shelters and animal control.

(Photo credit: motorcitymuckraker.com)

Most of these shelters are “no-kill” because they take in any and every animal that comes through their doors. These organizations are often over capacity with abandoned or found animals that could really use a home.

Local shelters, such as Gainesville's Puppy Hill Farm, are often asked to take on many more animals than they can hold, some of which may never be adopted.

Some organizations even take a step further and house animals who have become “unadoptable” because of various circumstances such as age, medical reasons, temperament and previous living situations.

These places often have a separate “haven” area for animals who will live at the shelter for the rest of their lives under the care of shelter employees and volunteers.

Dedication like this proves that local shelters are really the best way to go.

Supporting places such as pet stores only show that ill-treatment of animals is acceptable and undermines local shelters that could really use the help.

Finding “forever homes” or even foster homes is the ultimate goal of these shelters, not the profit involved.

While there really is no difference between rescue groups or local shelters, it is important that you find your perfect match.

From my experience of volunteering at local animal shelters, I have encountered many people who are clueless about what breed of dog to get or how big their new kitten will actually get.

(Photo Credit: Jack's Pets)

While there is nothing wrong with coming into this kind of situation not knowing a lot, it might be important to do your research beforehand.

Remember, you are not only going to alter your life, but the life of the animal that you decide on adopting.

Whether you decide on a dog, cat, bird, old or young, your new pet will be more than happy to come home with you.

(Photo credit: Puppy Hill Farm Facebook page)

Meet Mia, a 10-year-old lab mix available for adoption at Puppy Hill Farm in Gainesville, Fla. 

Some things to consider:

Budget (how much are you willing to spend on fees, food, etc)

Commitment (animal life span, caring for/ training your pet)

Do you have enough room in your house/apartment for bigger animals? Or do you want a smaller animal?

Are there small children or other animals in your house?

Is anyone in your household allergic or scared of certain animals?

Level of physical activity you engage in

Do you want a companion? Or an animal for protection?

In case you still cannot decide, Animal Planet provides a quiz for you to take to find out what animal may be right for you.

Adopting a pet is a very big decision to make, it is important that you think through the decision.

I have seen too many people bring their animals back to the shelter because they brought them without consent from others in their household or because they grew tired of them.

It is very sad to see a dog go back in their cage, watching their owners leave them behind without a second thought.

Not to be depressing, this happens more often than I had hoped.

I just want to make a point, do your research beforehand!

Adopting a pet is a wonderful decision, but do not make it harder on yourself or the animal.

(Photo credit: Alana Saavedra)

As the proud owner of two shelter dogs, I have known the joy of unconditional love and the heartbreak of seeing what these animals have had to go through.

In this blog, I hope to discuss the pet adoption process, what services are provided, what you need to start and more information about how you can help adoption shelters.

Adopting animals from shelters saves lives. The pets that are adopted are offered a new life in a loving home instead of a crowded shelter. There are so many animals that deserve a new lease on life.

I myself know that going to an animal shelter is an overwhelming experience. You just want to take every animal you see back home with you.

(Photo credit: Alana Saavedra)

The hopeful faces of the animals that I passed by in cages made me sad. If I had it my way, I would have came home with about 20 more animals than my family could afford.

Although shelters do their best to provide all that they can for these animals, the sheer amount of animals coming in and supplies being used up daily proves to be too much sometimes.

(Photo Credit: bakersfieldnow.com)

As a college student living in a dorm with limited supplies, I know there is not a whole lot I can do donation wise. I soon found a local adoption agency called Puppy Hill Farm that came to my local Petsmart and was looking for volunteers.

I started out just helping them walk the dogs around and playing with them to get them socialized and used to people. Seeing the amount of work that the agency had to do, made me wish I could do more. 

(Photo credit: Alana Saavedra)