While it’s true that a picture could speak a thousand words, there’s nothing more vivid than watching this video of a puppy literally jumping for joy when he realizes that he’s leaving the shelter and going to a new home. Benny, the dog in this video, is the picture of unbridled excitement from the moment he is let out of the kennel and all the way through the long walk to the car with his adoptive human family.
Before that endearing episode, though, Benny was not the highly animated dog that the video showed. He was an overly shy dog, which you can briefly see in the beginning of the video. He was cooped up at the Carson Animal Care Center in Gardena, California.
As with the other dogs residing in this high-kill shelter, he had to endure a long wait for someone to show up and adopt him for good.
For weeks on end he would sit forlorn inside his kennel, looking unloved and dejected. Like all dogs in the shelter, he didn’t know what future lay before him, or how close he was to being euthanized. Like all the other dogs, he waited a long time for a family and a home.
As luck would have it, Benny’s patience paid off. A couple adopted him and this ended his long wait. Thus, his first reaction was that of disbelief. When the idea did sink in, his reaction turned to that of genuine happiness and endless animation.
RELATED: Adopting Older Preloved Dogs
Benny couldn’t contain his excitement from the moment he stepped out of his confinement into the outside world. No happier ending could there be for Benny. Sadly though, there are thousands of shelter dogs that are agonizing and hoping for adoption in animal shelters throughout the country.
Without families, thousands of pet lives could be cut short through euthanasia. For dogs with conditions and health issues that warrant their termination, euthanasia may arrive even earlier. Do you have the ability to welcome one of these dogs into your family and make him as happy as this family made Benny?
Dogs in shelters do get an outpouring of support – through social networks, humane societies, animal advocacies, and even crowdfunding organizations. However, if we are to keep in check this rising menace of euthanasia in animal shelters, we need more willing adopters than just supporters and advocates.
By adopting shelter dogs, we give them their only chance to live normally and become part of a family.
Moreover, animals that have life-threatening illnesses or injuries should not be summarily put to sleep just because no one has come up to adopt them. We’ve heard stories about them doing very well shortly after they were provided with appropriate medical care and attention and allowed to recuperate fully in a foster home before finally being adopted.
RELATED: Volunteering to Help Dogs
One such good example is the story of three cats with incurable eye condition, which caused them a great deal of pain. After extensive surgeries to remove their eyes, they were temporarily fostered by a gracious volunteer, along with her two rescue pit bulls at home. Due largely to the pit bulls nurturing abilities, all three blind cats successfully transitioned to a life in the dark, and they’re now up for adoption.
To learn about the process of adopting pet animals, you can visit a local animal shelter near your home or you can try searching online. If you can’t commit to adopting an animal fulltime, there are many other ways you can help, such as volunteering in shelters and providing temporary shelter homes for transitioning animals.
