The Shelter Pet Project

Today The Humane Society of the United States is launching is largest-ever ad campaign, The Shelter Pet Project, to promote shelter adoption in the U.S. With two commercials, one airing tonight on Animal Planet, focusing on the positive aspects of shelter adoption, the hope is to end the common misconception that there is something wrong with or undesirable about pets who come from a shelter.The fact is, shelter animals make wonderful pets. They are loyal, well socialized, loving, and oftentimes less expensive and less work than animals from pet stores and breeders. They are all spayed or neutered, updated on vaccines, treated for health and behavioral issues, socialized with other animals in the shelter, and nowadays many are even micro chipped - all before setting one paw on the adoption floor. That is A LOT of money saved in vet bills and a lot of time and effort saved by new owners!

Many people seem to think that if an animal is at a shelter it's because it has a behavioral problem, is not housebroken, or has expensive health issues. That could not be further from the truth. Most animals who end up at shelters are not there through any fault of their own. Things like divorce, financial hardship, allergies or a move can land the most devoted and well-behaved pets in a shelter.Another myth about shelter animals is that you cannot find a purebred at a shelter. Actually, one in four dogs living in shelters are purebred. There are also tons of animal rescue groups who focus on finding homes for specific breeds of dogs and cats. However, it's my personal belief and a common belief held among animal workers that mixed breeds have all the advantages of purebred animals and fewer of the problems associated with various pure breeds. It's more important to choose the individual dog or cat than to choose based on a particular breed; there is no guarantee that the animal you end up with when choosing on breed alone will have the qualities you admire about their pedigree.

I think The Shelter Project is a great way to spread the word about the positive aspects of adopting from shelters. There are so many benefits and much fewer risks. If just 20% of people who welcome new pets into their homes each year adopt from shelters, it would save over 3 million healthy dogs and cats from euthanasia.

Please help spread the word about adopting homeless pets from shelters. Through The Shelter Project you can send an Adopt-A-Gram to friends and family urging them to adopt their next furry friend from a shelter. You can go here, then click Adopt-A-Gram at the bottom of the page to send yours today!