Myths About Shelter Dogs

If you are thinking about adopting a companion animal, you may want to consider adopting a dog form the county shelter. Since there are many myths surrounding shelter adoptions, the following information may aid in your decision.

MYTH #1: If the dog is at the county pound, there has to be something wrong with it.

FACT: There are many reasons why a dog owner chooses to surrender a pet to the shelter. Those reasons may range from allergies, to divorce, to job transfer, to an unexpected personal tragedy, such as the loss of a job, home, or loved one. Many of the previously owned dogs are well behaved, well socialized, and housebroken. Since they are young adult dogs well past the "puppy stage", they are excellent candidates for senior citizens or households whose irregular schedules would not fare well in the housebreaking area. Dogs surrendered by their owners that display aggression, ill health, or any obvious physical or behavior problems are not candidates for adoption.

MYTH #2: Dogs adopted from the county pound are not healthy.

FACT: Between 800 and 1,000 dogs are adopted from the Mahoning County Pound yearly. Approximately 2% of all dogs adopted have experienced health problems that would be considered serious.

MYTH #3: All dog pound dogs are mutts.

FACT: While most dogs found at the shelter are in fact mixed breeds, many of them are not every dog that could be found on the top ten list of the most popular breeds in the country, have all been adopted from the shelter. Those breeds include but are not limited to Poodles, Border Collies, Labs, German Shepherds and Rottweilers.