Finally you decided to have  a dog at home however you don’t know for sure about visiting the local rescue shelters. What do you feel last time you helped someone, was it comfortable as you expected? Who does not want to be a true example for your family that they are proud of their life? Imagine  the great feeling of welcome a puppy in need.

There are a lot of reasons that every year many pets end up abandoned at rescue shelters which breaks every pet lovers’ hearts. If you think that dogs are in shelters because of their behavioral problems, most of the time this is not the case. Dogs are in the shelters since their previous owners might not have enough time and money to take care of them or Separating, divorcing and moving to a place that pets are not allowed, change of lifestyle like having a baby or going to a nursing home or did not do enough research before bringing a pet in to their life and understood that their lifestyles were not a good match. It might be any of the reasons that lovely dog ended up in an animal shelter.

While searching for your new dog, I recommend to search also shelters. Most rescue shelters have pure breed dogs and most of the breeds have specific rescue shelters for just that specific breed so you may want to search by breed if you have any experience with dogs. Please learn more about breed types if this is going to be your first puppy.

Take a note which puppy breed type you might be interested in. When you go to shelter, you can talk with everyone, you can ask their opinions about that lovely dog and if they know anything about that excellent pet’s history or previous family. Remember many people find their best friend from the shelters.

When you go to shelters, taking a little toy or tennis ball with you is a wonderful idea. Visit the dogs you might be interested in, see if the dog is outgoing, playful and gentle with you. Watch how they act when you give the toys or try to get back the toy if you ever see any aggression, biting or growling. Second thing you may want to examine is while playing with the dog; try to rub the dog’s belly which is one of their vulnerable parts. Dogs generally do not want to give belly if they had been hurt or hit by previous owners. You may want to see the dog walking around the room casually. Try to touch the dog, the tail, ears, hips, face and paws. It is a great sign that if the dog is comfortable around you while you are touching and playing. When you find the right pet, you will just feel it in your heart.

Most of rescued dogs live with foster parents for a while so they are ready to live in a peaceful home. Foster family can tell you more about the training level. You may want to know if the dog had house training or obedience training or had any health problems.

After initial visit to rescue center and talking with foster family if you are still interested in the puppy and believe that this puppy is the perfect match for you, your family and puppy’s lifestyle then learn more about adoption requirements. Every shelter has different adoption requirements some of them even want to see your home if you can give a peaceful home for this lovely friend.

Visiting the puppy with your kids might be another helpful trip for your family. Always go to first initial visit without kids because you never know how dog is going to act around the kids or the adoption requirements. While visiting watch how the dog acts around the kids and how kids feel around your next pet. If everybody feels comfortable and happy, this might be the best pet for your family.

It is always helpful to learn more about dog obedience training and house training before bringing your new puppy to your home. Even if the foster family thinks that the dog house trained you may still have small accidents. Give your new friend some time to adjust to new lifestyle and new home. After couple weeks you and your dog will feel much comfortable around each other.

Getting a rescue dog makes you feel better; you are helping a wonderful pet who really deserves the attention and a safe home. Thanks for helping the community and adopting a dog.