A Home for the Holidays | Mason Dixon Animal Emergency Hospital

Posted December 11, 2023 by
Libby Watson, CVT

Did you know that approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter the shelters each year in the United States? Of those 6.3 million, only about 4 million of them will find a home that same year.

Furthermore, each year in Pennsylvania alone approximately 80,000+ pets will enter the shelter and only about 69,000 will find a home. The ugly truth is that this leaves over 4,000 animals in the state of PA to be euthanized in shelters each year. This is hard to hear and even harder to accept as fact - the most important thing we can do to improve this number, and give as many animals a chance at finding a home as possible, is to promote education and spread awareness about this fight for life.

Loki, German Shepherd. York County SPCA

The purpose of this article is not to shame or scare you, but to educate you so that improvements can be made for the sake of these animals’ lives. While adopting a shelter animal is the most effective way to save their life, there are several other ways to encourage change for the better.

Nina, Pit Bull. Defenders of Animal Rights Shelter

How Can I Help?

Adopt

An estimated 34% of all owned dogs are bought from breeders while only a mere 23% are adopted. You may be amazed by what breed, size, age etc. you can find among shelter dogs.

If you are looking for a specific breed or are wanting a puppy, good news! If you do some research and exercise patience, you can probably find exactly what you want in a shelter or rescue. There are many breed specific rescues, as well as shelters that take pregnant or nursing dogs and cats. Most people don’t realize this is an option within their reach, but it is! Not set on a breed? Consider a mixed breed! Did you know that mixed breed dogs tend to be healthier with less genetic-related health concerns due to their larger pool of genes?

When you adopt a dog or a cat from a shelter, not only are you saving at least one life in the process, but you are also making a wise economic choice. An adoption fee covers the cost of having the animal spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. It may have also covered the cost of care for any pre-existing health issues prior to adoption. How nice would it be to not have to worry about having to spay or neuter your new pet?

Poppy, Husky mix. All Paws K9 Rescue

Foster

Want to help get an animal out of the shelter without taking on a life-long commitment? Try fostering! This is a great way to help and very important in reducing the number of animals in the shelter. It also allows potential adoptees to live in a more comfortable home setting and therefore allows their true personalities to shine.

Donate

If you’re short on time and space but find yourself wanting to contribute to the cause and have the finances to do so, consider donating money to an animal shelter. A lot of shelters primarily operate on public donor funds. This means that any donations you make directly contribute to an animal’s care. Most of the time these donations are tax deductible as well. Many shelters also have a list of needed items that they accept and have a demand for on a daily basis.

Kaiser, Doberman. D.A.R.E.

Volunteer

A dive into a shelter’s website will show you just how many positions rely on volunteer time to operate. By volunteering your time, you are providing much needed interaction and enrichment in the animals’ lives, as well as helping the shelter to operate as smoothly as possible. There may be an age restriction due to state laws, but oftentimes there is a wide range of opportunities that allow for many different interests and skill sets to be put to use. Whether your strength be humans or animals, I’m sure there is a volunteer position for you!

Spread Awareness

Unfortunately, it’s estimated that there are currently 10,000 active puppy mills in the United States. Puppy mills are notorious for their neglect of the mother dogs, as they are only seen as vessels for reproduction and treated as such. They are given improper living conditions and inadequate care. There are no redeeming factors as far as puppy mills are concerned. NEVER support this kind of breeding, it only encourages and enables the behavior.

Also be mindful of puppy stores and breeders that don’t show you the conditions that the mother dog is living in. This lack of transparency is usually a cause for concern. Furthermore, anybody who breeds animals should uphold and meet a certain standard of health. If you insist on buying a puppy from a breeder, do your breed specific research and make sure that any breeding dogs have passed not only a general health exam, but are also clear of any breed specific health concerns. Breeding animals that carry genetic conditions that affect the animal’s health, is extremely irresponsible, and should not be rewarded. Please do your research to make sure that any potential breeder is responsible before purchasing from them.

Andre, Pekingese mix. Wings of Love

Spay & Neuter

Another big way to keep as many animals out of the shelter as possible is to make sure that your animals are spayed/neutered. Unwanted litters are easily avoidable and help contribute to pet overpopulation. This can also extend to any stray cats that you may care for. TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) programs are a big part of shelter work as it helps to keep the feral cat population at a minimum, which in-turn ultimately decreases animal death and suffering. Oftentimes the cost is highly discounted. For example, the cost to have a feral cat neutered at the York County SPCA is a mere $20.

It’s also very important to mention the health and behavioral benefits that spaying and neutering ensure. By spaying your dog or cat, you are preventing the risk of her developing a pyometra, or infected uterus. This condition is often life-threatening and requires an emergency spay surgery to correct it. Spaying your female dog also severely reduces the risk of mammary cancer. By neutering your dog, you are preventing testicular cancer from occurring and decreasing the risk of enlarged prostate glands. Intact animals are also more likely to roam, urine mark, and show an increase in aggressive behaviors.

Cost is usually a very relevant concern when discussing this preventative surgery. Having seen the emergency surgeries and costs that accumulate when correcting these concerns first hand as an emergency veterinary technician, I can assure you that the cost of the preventative surgery is cheaper than emergency surgery every time.

There are also countless shelters and rescue organizations that do this surgery at a severely discounted cost. For example, the cost of having a female cat spayed at the York County SPCA is $98, while the cost of having a female dog spayed ranges from $175-$275 (based on weight). The cost of having a male cat neutered is $68, while the cost of having a male dog neutered ranges from $150-$175 (based on weight). To put this in perspective, most exam fees alone at an animal ER are $100+.

Gertie. Human Animal Partners - Wilmington

So the next time you are looking to add a new furry member to your family, I implore you to consider a shelter animal first. Quite simply, you save a life (at least one) by doing so. If this isn’t an option for you, please help to educate others and promote the “adopt, don’t shop” mindset, as well as encouraging spaying and neutering!

For additional reading, consider these websites. Information used in this article was pulled from the following websites:

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