Rereading my previous blog post about meeting my "crew", I had put in the shelters that I had adopted my kids from. It just seemed a good idea to do, but I noticed something.
You'll notice if you read it, that all of my animals have been rescues. Not to say there is anything wrong with going to a breeder. It was just where my family had the best luck. I had two family dogs before my crew began. Princess and Jake. Both were from Will County Animal Shelter. Both were just loveable mutts that I grew up with.
But so far I've listed so many shelters;
Help.Save.Pets. Animal Shelter
Will County Animal Shelter
Starfish
Yorkville Animal Shelter
Wagging Hearts
So I figured I would talk about my experience with shelters in general and ones that I know of in the surrounding areas.
There are so many out there, so how do you choose?
Really, the first way to choose is to decide what animal you want. A dog? A cat? A horse? (some shelters have them)… Once that's decided, you can look locally or online. I live in the middle of a pretty suburban area. There are a mix of farmland and city life around me so I have lots of shelters around.
Once you've decided what animal you want, most shelters have an online posting of animals they host currently that are ready for adoption or will be ready to adopt soon. Petfinder and Adoptapet are great resources to use. They allow you to look into specifics like breed, age, gender, and location in relation to you.
After that, see if you can set up a meet and greet with your chosen animal. I always recommend meeting the animal with the shelter representative present. Most reputable places will be happy to set up a meeting time. The signs of a "sketchy" shelter could be them wanting you to pay first to meet them. Or wanting you to sign any sort of contract first before meeting the pet. Another would be them saying they can't set up the meet and greet for an undisclosed reason. Usually if you can't meet a dog or cat right away, the shelter rep will tell you why.
Another great way to meet a pet through a shelter is to go to an event. Most of the adoptable animals will be there to be seen. It's a great way to get to know the pet right away and hear their story. Shelters often post these events on their Facebook pages, on their websites and even in the paper sometimes. If you can find one locally, then I encourage going. You can also learn about the shelter and it's mission from the volunteers there.
Now... Let's say you don't want to adopt a pet right away but you're looking for volunteer hours or you just want to help out? I highly recommend volunteering at a shelter if you're interested or inclined towards animals.
It is HARD work. It is time-consuming, physical labor and menial tasks, but it's very rewarding experience. I began volunteering when my family was looking into adopting Phoebe. We first went to a rescue called H.A.R.T. or Homeless Animal Rescue Team. I volunteered for them for over 2 years. I did laundry, I cleaned dishes, I cleaned kennels and took care of the cats at the Petco we showed them at (mainly because I was one of the few who weren't allergic!). It's not all walking and playing with dogs. I was able to become an adoption counselor as well and that was very rewarding to me. I was able to see dogs go home with fantastic families. One of my favorite stories is that an FIV positive cat named Sam found his forever home after a year in the shelter.
When I began working as a kennel technician at my previous vet, I was able to work with Help.Save.Pets. and the way it operated really set it apart from others. I became an adoption counselor as well.
Another way you can work with a shelter is to Foster animals if you are willing to open your home. Many people find they prefer to fostering, to help an animal have a soft landing spot on it's journey to getting a Furever Home. Sometimes this can be to help socialize a dog or a cat to a home environment or to help a pregnant momma give birth in a home. It could be temporary or permanent with a "Foster Fail" which is never a bad thing.
Volunteering at a shelter really gave me the experience to start working in a kennel in a veterinary office... And that lead here! Now that I work in a veterinary office as a veterinary assistant, I've had so much more experience with shelters as my office provides services to MANY of them!
I've only mentioned the ones so far that I've gotten my animals from. There are also;
Magnificent Mutts
Chicagoland Eskie Rescue - Working specifically with American Eskimo breeds or mixes
The Rescue Vets
Jellystone Rescue
Forever Home Dog Rescue
Find A Home Rescue
A Journey Home Rescue
Just Giants Dog Rescue - Working specifically with Giant Breeds such as Danes, Mastiffs, St. Bernard's, etc.
There are at least 5 I'm forgetting the names of but I figured that's enough to name!
My goal within the next 5 years is to gain a place to host classes and private classes, but also to have an area to do assessments and training for local shelters or adopters who need some guidance. Now of course I can come to people's houses but some shelters are foster based or within a veterinary office that doesn't have the space for training.
All in all, I love shelters and working with them and seeing pets go to loving families from them. I just wanted to talk about the ones I've had experiences with and what I can recommend to others.
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