Life After Pet Adoption. Now What?

So there we were. Our paperwork was complete, our house passed inspection, our references checked-out and before we knew it, we were ready to take our 6 month old Lab mix home for good.    

A few weeks prior, we read all the training books, watched some videos on Youtube, pre-signed her up for some training classes at Petsmart, and ordered enough doggy items to keep Amazon.com in business for a month. We were completely ready for her arrival. Or at least we thought we were.   

When my husband and I picked Pepper up at the shelter that morning, she seemed content. We put her in the backseat of our car and we were home within 10 minutes without any problems. I read somewhere that it’s important to take your new dog on a long walk before first going inside the house, and so we did. It was clear that Pepper was not accustomed to a leash, but I figured the upcoming training classes would fix that.    

When we brought her into the house, our 2 cats were waiting patiently behind closed doors in our bedroom while Pepper got her first sniff of the house. She seemed very mellow and calm, enough so to make herself comfortable on our recliner and close her eyes. My husband and I couldn’t believe what a calm puppy Pepper was. This was great considering we already had 2 senior cats and one 3 year old roaming about. Boy did we luck out.   

And so a few hours passed, and we wanted to see how Pepper would react to our cats. That’s when we put her in a room behind a pet gate and walked away for a minute to release the kitties. That’s when we heard her bark for the first time. But okay, no problem; I mean after all, dogs do bark.   

Soon after, I decided to take Pepper and my 3 year old outside for a little play time. Out of nowhere, Pepper takes off like a rocket ship, darts around our backyard like a complete psycho, and then runs right towards us like she’s going to knock us into next week. I grabbed my daughter as fast as I could, and starting thinking, maybe this was a mistake.    

To top things off, the next day my cat scratched Pepper’s ear which produced a few droplets of blood on my wood floors, Pepper ate at least 50 of my daughters’dolls including her favorite, “Princess Sourpuss”, and then she ate my eyeglasses. Oh, did I mention she soon began to bark at everything under the sun and jumped on every living thing that walked through our front door?  

But we did all this research! We met so many dogs; visited so many shelters and we were so prepared! Well as it turns out, this situation is all too common amongst new pet owners, and while pet owners not unlike myself expect “easy and instant gratification” from pet ownership, such wishful thinking is far from reality. In fact, when we took Pepper to Petsmart for a 6 week training session, many of the people I spoke with all shared the same feeling of hopelessness. Will my dog ever be obedient and well trained? Will there ever be peace in my home again?  A sad reality is that many dogs wind up back at the shelter each year because people don’t truly understand what is to be expected when bringing home a new pet.    

We all know that adopting a dog will cost extra money, but what some of us don’t realize is the amount of time and energy that you have to commit to your new pet. My family and I spent countless hours training Pepper to eat and poop in the right places, not to jump or bark at the wrong people, and to walk calmly on a leash; and here I am saying that one year later she’s far from perfect in the obedience department, but she has come a long way and she has been an amazing addition to our family.  So, if you come prepared with plenty of patience, time and commitment, you and your new furry friend will do just fine!  

So, ready to open your heart and home to a new pooch? Why not commit to a wonderful dog like Mario! (Pictured above.)

Mario is a currently at Last Hope Dog Center in Wantagh and can’t wait to find his forever home. He’s a handsome 4 year old Pit mix who gets along well with other dogs. For more information, please visit his link at: http://lasthopeanimalrescue.org/2013/02/mario-3/

Mario is just one of many animals available for adoption at Last Hope. Please feel free to visit their facilities and remember- Don’t shop- Adopt!!!!