If you’re looking to add a dog to your family, you may be weighing the options of adopting from the animal shelter or a rescue organization. While both aim to find loving forever homes for homeless pets, there are some distinct differences between shelters and rescues that are important to understand.
The words are sometimes used interchangeably, but shelters and rescues actually operate quite differently when it comes to their funding sources, resources, intake policies, and adoption processes. Despite sharing the common goal of saving lives and placing dogs in caring homes, these two avenues for pet adoption have their own unique pros and cons to consider.
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What Exactly is an Animal Rescue?
Animal rescues are private, nonprofit organizations dedicated to saving abandoned, abused, or unwanted pets. They are typically breed or age-specific, focusing their efforts on particular types of animals. For example, there are rescues solely for senior dogs, Labrador retrievers, or pit bull terriers. Â
Unlike government-funded shelters, rescues rely solely on donations and the generosity of wealthy animal advocates to operate. This private funding model allows rescues to have stricter policies and devote more individual care and resources to each animal.
The Rescue Process
When a rescue takes in a dog, they immediately provide any necessary medical treatment, vaccinations, spaying/neutering, and behavioral assessments. The dogs are then placed with temporary foster families who house train, socialize, and care for the pup until adoption.
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Rescues have an intensive screening process for potential adopters, including home visits, reference checks, and high adoption fees, which can range from $200 to $500. While this may seem excessive, it helps ensure the dogs go to responsible, committed owners able to provide lifelong care.
Rescue Pros and Cons
Pros:
– Dogs receive extensive vetting, medical care, and behavioral training
– Foster families help socialize dogs and identify good home matches
– Strict screening process weeds out negligent or ill-prepared owners
– Focus on specific breeds/ages can help find the right fit
Cons:
– Competitive and lengthy adoption process
– Higher adoption fees
– Often no option for older dogs or non-desirable breeds
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What Exactly is an Animal Shelter?
Unlike rescues, most animal shelters are funded through government sources like tax revenue and operated by local municipalities. Shelters take in any type of homeless pet – purebreds, mixes, puppies, seniors, and all breeds end up here.
Many of the dogs arrive as strays picked up by animal control or were surrendered by owners who could no longer care for them. Others come from abusive or neglectful situations where they were rescued.
While shelters provide basic care like food, water, and temporary housing, they simply don’t have the same resources and volunteer manpower as private rescue groups. Shelter dogs receive essential vaccinations and are spayed/neutered but may not get the same level of individual medical treatment, training, or behavioral assessments.
There are 2 different types of shelters:
Open Admission / Kill Shelters
These have limited kennel space, so dogs may only have a few weeks to be adopted before being euthanized to make room for incoming animals. While incredibly sad, these shelters serve as a last resort for homeless pets.
No-Kill Shelters
As the name implies, no healthy or treatable pets are euthanized here, even if they aren’t adopted. Instead, they remain housed until a forever family is found, albeit in more confined shelter living conditions.
Shelter Pros and Cons
Pros:
– Intake all breeds, ages, and types of dogs
– Fast, lower-cost adoption process
– Provide homeless pets a temporary safe haven
– Adopting saves a life, especially from kill shelters
Cons:
– Less individual medical care and behavioral screening
– Limited housing and staffing means quicker euthanasia timelines
– Fewer resources for training or foster programs
– Basic but not extensive adoption screening process
Every day, countless dogs are left without a home, family, and hope. They are abandoned, neglected, and forgotten. At Loobani Pet, we believe every dog is family, and every pup deserves to feel cherished. That’s why we’ve launched the “Every Dog Matters” campaign – our way of giving back by donating enriching toys to 1,000 rescue groups throughout the United States. If you’re part of an animal rescue group, shelter, or nonprofit that helps local pups in need, we’d love to support your mission. Hit us up! Together, we can make an even bigger difference for these deserving pups on their journey to a forever home.
BEN- LOOBANI PET CEO
Adopt from Animal Shelters or Rescues?
Both shelters and rescues are saving lives and doing amazing work to find forever families for homeless animals. But there are some factors that may sway your decision one way or the other:
Consider a Rescue if:
– You want a specific breed or have preferences on age/size
– You don’t mind a lengthy screening process and higher fees
– Training, socialization, and comprehensive pet info are priorities
– You can wait 2-6 months for the right dog to be rescued
An Animal Shelter May Be Best If:
– You want to adopt any breed or age dog quickly
– Lower fees and a fast placement process are necessities
– You don’t mind pitching in for training and vetting after adoption
– You have the flexibility to take home a pup right away
– Saving a dog from a kill shelter is the biggest motivator
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Why You Should Always Adopt, Don’t Shop When Getting a Pet
Final Words
There’s no wrong choice between adopting from an animal shelter or rescue group. They’re both filled with wonderful, loving companions just waiting for their forever homes.
Most importantly, remember that by choosing adoption over purchasing from a breeder or pet store, you’re not only giving an innocent animal a second chance at happiness, but you’re also taking a noble stand against puppy mills and irresponsible breeding practices. Talk about a win-win!