There are lots of reasons to choose to adopt a “fuzzy family member” from a shelter or a rescue organization. One good reason is because there are Ruff-ly 600 million homeless pets in the world. Events that contribute to these numbers are owners having to move and are unable take their pet with them, a family member developing an allergy and the pet having a behavioral issue. Unfortunately most of the time animals are in shelters through no fault of their own.

It seems that some of the hardest animals to get adopted are black and senior pets. Black pets are difficult to photograph and they do not stand out in comparison to more brightly colored animals. This often causes them to be overlooked. In addition many people are superstitious when it comes to black pets particularly cats and they are often the last to get adopted if at all. Senior pets may not have a long time left but they still have so much love to give! Sadly these pets often belonged to elderly or infirm owners who are no longer capable of caring for them. A shelter is no place for an elderly pet and they deserve to spend their glory years as a beloved family member.

There are lots of different types of animals that can be adopted from rescues and shelters. These animals include those with disabilities, reptiles, birds, pocket pets and many others. Some seasons or holidays result in increased numbers of animals being surrendered to rescues and shelters. Easter is a good example of this, there is usually a surge of rabbits surrendered after the holiday. Often these rabbits have been purchased as gifts and for a variety of reasons do not work out and are subsequently surrendered.

Unfortunately, there are many shelters that have kill policies in place due to overpopulation. So please consider this when searching for your new puppy or kitten. If you can’t adopt there are lots of great ways to help. Shelters and rescue groups are always in need of supplies, food, litter, volunteers and foster homes. You don’t have to save them all but you can save one—or maybe even two.

Here in Regina there are several of great rescues groups. We would like to thank them for doing an amazing job.

Written By: Charla Tait