Adopt a pet from a shelter.

“We met on a dreary Sunday afternoon. She was aloof, appeared to be a hound mix, walked well on a leash for a ~ 60 lb dog, and had a calm disposition. Not much was known about her other than this was the second time she was in the shelter with the first time being picked up as a stray and the second as a returned adoption. [...] After introducing her to my landlord and getting approval to have her, I agreed to adopt Abby and give her a “fur-ever” home and got her for good that Friday, October 27th. Abby’s aloofness has been a challenge in that she isn’t the cuddly, affectionate dog that I had in Morgan or with our family dogs as a kid. In order to “connect” with her, we did a basic good manners class mainly for us to bond, not because of any behavior issues.”

“I got my dog from a shelter, almost 5 years ago. I initiated it through an online application. They have a very thorough vetting process. Based on how I answered questions about myself and my interest in a dog they matched me with my guy immediately. And he turned out to be the perfect dog for me. I had initially wanted a youngish, medium sized female. I ended up with a middle-aged large male and have no regrets at all. I first met him at the shelter, doing a meet and greet and he seemed very calm in my presence. They did a home visit where I lived to make sure it was a suitable home for him, and to my surprise, he came along and explored on his own all through my condo. After that, I gave the green light that I was interested in adopting him I had to fill out some paperwork. Give a donation to the shelter and then I drove home with him.”

“So on Super Bowl Sunday 2008, I packed the entire family in the car and we set off to TN, just ‘meet’ this boy. Long story short, I knew within minutes of meeting this amazing dog – that he had one of the gentlest souls of any dog I had ever known. He was so good with my children, you could see it instantly. He was cuddled and loved the entire drive home, and came in to watch the SuperBowl on the couch with us.”