Thursday, October 25, 2012

October Isn’t Just About Ghosts, Ghouls and Goblins, It’s Also Adopt A Shelter Dog Month


We didn’t know October was Adopt A Shelter Dog Month last year when we took in Sadie, our seventh homeless pet. We’d gone the purebred route when we were younger, but once we learned how many pets never find a home, we decided to adopt whenever we added a dog to our family.

Oddly enough, once we stopped buying dogs, we still ended up with purebreds. Our mixed to pure bred ratio is about even, with a Westie, Great Dane, Beagle and probable Rhodesian Ridgeback vying with a Cocker Spaniel mix, a German Shepherd mix, and a Louisiana Catahula Leopard hound mix in our adoptee line-up.

Adopting a stray or shelter dog is all about second chances for the dog, which marries up well with my writing. One day I realized I wrote about second chances in love. I think my fondness for this theme stems from personal experience. My husband and I met when we were nineteen, dated seriously, broke up, and went our separate ways. Four months after we reunited, we got married.

Our second chance worked out tremendously well and I guess it became the framework of my writing. I like giving story characters another chance at true love. My attachment to this theme shows up in my Tassanoxie series and I adopted the slogan, Small town...Second chances to highlight it for readers.

When you celebrate Halloween this year, remember there may be a shelter dog out there who’d like a second chance at love. 



12 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the post. I agree there is so many pets in the shelters. We adopted our boxer from shelter.

    BeckeyWhiteATgmailDOTcom

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  2. That's a very romantic story about you and your husband. I can see why it would flow into your work. <3
    Wonderful that you take in dogs who need a second chance. Great post.

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  3. Thanks for the wonderful post, I agree there are too many pets in shelters in need of a good home, I have said to my husband that our next pet will come from a shelter.
    skpetal at hotmail dot com

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  4. I believe everyone deserve a second chance, both people and animals. You write about a very important thing. I hate when people are treating their pets badly and make them suffer. So all the people who have the chance should help these poor animals.
    tessa.bamberg@kolumbus.fi

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  5. Wonderful post, Ginger. We've been blessed to share our home with several rescues including our current neurotic Pomeranian.

    maccrowne@gmail.com

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  6. I love this post Ginger! I'm all about adopting from shelters, also I've adopted two dogs off the wonderful site Petfinder.

    kathrynknightbooks at comcast.net

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  7. Awww... Sadie is beautiful! And I love her two different coloured eyes. Who wouldn't fall in love? I agree whole-heartedly with you about adopting from shelters when looking for your next pet. We've had our ex-racing greyhound for almost three years now and she is such a huge part of the family. I believe these second-chance animals KNOW it and bond even stronger to their owners because of it. Thanks for sharing :)

    clarksnelson at clear.net.nz

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  8. I didn't know it was Adopt a Shelter Dog Month... Maybe my mom will let me have a puppy now. ;o) Thanks for sharing!! Happy Holidays!!

    megmerrai@yahoo.com

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  9. I definitely believe in adopting homeless pets. We recently took in an abandoned chihuahua, Lucy, who is a fun part of our family now. Very strange, however. If we put a flea collar on her her disposition and personality completely transforms. We suspect it's the odor she doesn't like. Her fave game? Chasing our feet.

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  10. Hi Debbi. Fellow Blog Hopper stopping by to say 'Hi and Happy Halloween. What a great post! I have a rescued Jack Russell, who was badly treated in the past, but is the sweetest, most affectionate little dog one could wish for. Rescues certainly deserve a second chance and are SO rewarding and return your love a hundredfold!

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  11. I had no idea that October is Adopt A Shelter Dog Month.
    Thanks for the information.

    Adila
    (from Azerbaijan)

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  12. First of all, thank you one and all for visiting my blog and posting comments. It was heartwarming to read your comments about your rescued pets.

    And how wonderful to hear from a reader in Azerbaijan!

    Before I name the winner, I'd like to suggest to Calisa Rhose that your Lucy might be allergic to the chemicals in the flea collar!! Sadie did not respond well to a flea product we put on her. It made her lethargic, and as you mentioned, it changed her disposition.

    But think about it, the flea collar is putting a pesticide right onto the dog's skin and into the blood stream!! We live in the South and fleas are a problem, but we had to stop using that product. My daughter dusts her dog with diatomaceous earth!! Seems to be working.

    On to the winner!

    I let Sadie chose the winner. I put everyone's name on individual slips of paper, tossed them in the air over her head and the first one her nose touched won!

    The winner of one of my ebooks is......Hywela Lyn.

    ginger

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