October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog month. Today’s mani is in honor of Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. I wanted to talk a little about adopting pets. With the exception of Phaedra (and my dearly departed bearded dragon that I had years ago), all of my pets have been adopted through a shelter, a friend, or a breed rescue.

When I lived in Tennessee I adopted two beautiful Birman cats (aged 7 and 9), and had many years of happiness with them. Baby (the 7 year old) lived to be 11 before she had renail failure. Quasar (the 9 year old) lived to be 15 before she died of old age. My pomeranian that I had in high school was adopted from a friend who’s grandma had passed on. Several of the hunting dogs my dad had while we were growing up were given to us by friends because they didn’t meet the breed standards. After my parents’ pomeranian passed away (she was 16), they went to the shelter to adopt another dog because they couldn’t stand to be without one.

I believe very strongly that you can adopt amazing animals from rescues and shelters. I am very much against buying dogs from a pet store. I feel that this propagates puppy mills. Puppy mills are awful places. They’ll dock a dog’s tail down to nubs, they’ll keep them locked in cages and never give them love. They’re horrible! They’re the exact opposite of an ethical breeder (I also support buying from an ethical breeder). You can learn more about the horrors of pet stores here.

One of the biggest reasons that dogs are surrendered to shelters is that their owners didn’t research what type of dog suits their lifestyle, so they end up with a poor match.  Petfinder has great tips on how to figure out what type of dog you should adopt. I also recommend the Animal Planet Dog Breed Quiz.  For me, I knew that I wanted a hypoallergenic medium to large dog that would never leave my side that was very smart and easy to train. Standard poodles fit my needs.

The ASPCA has adoption tips that you can look over to make sure you’re ready to adopt a dog. Pet Finder has tips on the first 30 days of adoption. Owning a pet is a life long commitment. You never know what will happen when you get a pet. As an example, I purchased Phaedra from a reputable breeder, but she ended up being diagnosed with Addison’s Disease. That’s a life long, expensive disease (she needs a DOCP shot every 6 weeks at $160 per shot, plus 2 other medications), which is hard to diagnose but easy to treat once you have diagnosis. Certain breeds are likely to have a higher chance of having Addison’s Disease, Hip Dysplasia, etc. so make sure you understand what to look out for. You can always get Pet Insurance, which can help with any medical costs. You also need to keep in mind food costs and grooming costs. When I take Phaedra to the groomer it’s usually around $100 plus tip, because she’s a large dog. But I’ve also invested in clippers so that I can groom her myself. Right now I have 3 dogs in my home. Maximus, our pug, and Bella, my mother-in-law’s Akita-Chow, so we pay around $150 / month for food. We feed the dogs Taste of the Wild (canned and dry), plus they get vegetables like broccoli and cauliflour.

If you’re wondering where to start for looking for a dog, you can try Petfinder (which is a great site!), ASPCA, or Google for a local breed rescue. There’s an awesome Florida Poodle rescue site. I keep wanting to add another poodle to our family!

The polishes that I chose for this mani are – Zoya Carter (purple sparkly base) and Zoya Liberty (blue) and Zoya Godiva (beige-grey). I have pictures with and without a top coat. I freehanded this mani. To create a paw print, I just dabbed a large circle / oval towards the bottom of my nail (I based the shape on my individual nail shape). Then I took a small dotting tool to make the 4 dots for the toes.

Have you ever thought about adopting a pet? Will you be considering adopting a dog during the month of October?

Check out the rest of the manis in support of Adopt a Shelter Dog!