Grady Wilson
A lot of families wonder if adopting a pet is a good thing. I know when I was a child my father and mother both debated for a long time if they wanted to adopt a pet. Well luckily they did and I grew up with a dog. He wasn’t the smartest dog in the world nor was he the cutest, but he was my dog and I learned a lot about life through my relationship with my dog.
I currently have a dog named Dudley Dawson and a cat named Grady Wilson, both named after Movie/TV Characters. I adopted both of these animals from shelters and saved their lives. My dog is named after Booger from Revenge of the Nerds and my cat is named after Grady from the TV show Sanford and Son. My girls love our pets. We’ve only had my dog about 1 year, I got him as a present for my oldest daughter on Christmas when she was about 2.5. At the time my youngest daughter was not a year old and I knew that finding the right dog would be a must. This dog had to be the right size, the right temperment and most importantly good around babies/toddlers. Well, I lucked out when I adopted Dudley.
Dudley Dawson (AKA Booger)
When I was looking to adopt a dog, I searched over at least 20 shelters in Los Angeles and searched countless websites. I “interviewed” several dogs, took them for walks and got to know them before I found Dudley. When I first saw him, he had just had surgery on his back leg as he had been hit by a car and he was messed up. I looked into his eyes and he looked back at me and I knew right away that he was going to be my dog. Sure enough after he healed up a bit and I got to spend more time getting to know him, I adopted him and he is now a proud member of our clan.
Not all pet adoptions need to be this lengthy as what I did to find Dudley. In Los Angeles, there are a lot of bigger dogs like pitbulls that are homeless because most houses, apartments or studios don’t have the yards to accommodate them. We needed a smaller dog and I was pretty specific on the breed. I wanted a small-medium size dog but not as small as a Chihuahua. Dudley is a corgi/chihuahua/pug mix.
Our cat Grady is a different story. I adopted him ten years ago when I first moved to Los Angeles. He was my first roommate. I adopted him from a shelter in downtown Los Angeles that was overcrowded and gross. He is a sweet and loving cat and he loves me so much because I saved him from certain death in that hellhole he was trapped in. My wife inherited him and he’s been around for the birth of my children as well. He’s a good cat and everyone loves him and his extra thumbs. Grady is a prime example of a cat who would have died if he were not adopted.
Pet adoption is not a complicated thing. It’s actually quiet easy. If you’re a parent you just need to make sure that you thoroughly check out the dog especially before bringing it into a home with Children. Cats are much easier as it’s pretty rare that you hear someone say that a cat doesn’t like kids. But I’m a firm believer that every child should have a pet. If you live on a farm or in a small town and own lots of land then you have no excuse, adopt a pet. These animals not only need our help but you need them just as much as they need you.
One of the most important benefits I think adopting a pet teaches a young child is about compassion. Caring and sympathy for another living thing is a lesson that is essential to learn for a human being. Just think to yourself if you’ve ever met a person who doesn’t like animals. I’m not saying just somebody that doesn’t have a pet, but doesn’t like animals. Chances are this person is not very nice. In order to love animals you need to be a caring person. And adopting pets most surely teaches a child that early on. Love for a pet can last forever and if you ask anyone who owned an animal they will more than likely remember the funny personality traits about their pet. Pets are awesome and they give lots of love and affection.
Adopting a pet can also teach a child responsibility. If your child is old enough, let your child be responsible for taking care of your pet. It’ll do wonders for them. I remember how proud I was to feed and walk my dog as an eight year old. Clearly though, picking up his crap was not a highlight. Nor to this day is it a highlight of my day but I’d trade that stuff for the love of my pet anytime. That’s what adopting a pet is all about.
Whether it’s a dog, cat, goldfish, hamster, bird, guinea pig, ferret or pot bellied pig–or if you live on a farm and can have a horse, cow or chicken, every family needs a pet. My advice to anyone thinking about adopting a pet though is to consider your environment first. Do you have young children, older children, do you live in a studio apartment or a gigantic farmhouse. Common sense will tell you that if you don’t have the space for a big dog then you shouldn’t get one…get a fish or a hamster instead. Just remember that an animal will react to its surroundings so be careful of the type of dog you bring home etc. Our friend recently bought a big beautiful pitbull. She’s gorgeous but he has a 3 year old and a 6 year old and the dog is too aggressive and just too big for them. He didn’t do his homework before he bought the dog. So don’t be like that. Be smart when adopting a pet.
There are a lot of places to go for pet adoption in your area. If looking for a dog or cat, your local SPCA or Human Society are two great places to start, but I would google what you’re looking for and my guess is that other options in your area will present themselves. For hamsters, fish and more, just check your local petstore–who also may have pet adoption services come in on a weekly basis with animals that need homes to look at. Searching online is a smart move because there are so many options specific to location that putting links here to a certain SPCA, etc is not helpful.
But in all seriousness, there are a ton of animals out there that need your help. Many of them are neglected and left for dead and are clinging to life and just need a home. It’s awful to think about but there still are a lot of people out there that are just cruel human beings, that don’t care about animals. So do your family a favor and bring some more love into your home by adopting a pet for your family. You won’t regret it if you do it right. Having a pet is a reward that will benefit you and your family for a lifetime.
Related posts:
- Kids and the Concept of Death, Loss And God – WWDD? The concept of death, loss and God are often challenging...
- WWDD when my wife and I are always screaming OUCH!? Before I had kids, I was never headbutted so many...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
