The Adoption Option

[KillarneyRose]

One of my dogs, Gus, was adopted from the Humane Society. We were living in a condo in New Jersey with out miniature schnauzer Gatsby who was very depressed because his "brother", our Greyhound, was temporarily living with a friend in Rhode Island. I decided he needed a friend to hang around with when John and I were at work, so we went to the Humane Society to find one.

When we got there, one of the ladies that worked there told us about a wonderful dog, a real staff favorite that had been there for a couple of months. She said he was down at the end of the hall, so we went there and when I bent down to see who was in the cage, I saw Gus. He immediately stuck his paw through the bars like he wanted to shake my hand and then he cocked his head to the side and looked at me like, "See, aren't I cute??? Want to take me home???" He was and we did!!!

We have had Gus for almost 8 years. He is affectionate, sweet-tempered and a wonderful addition to our family. He always, always sleeps under the bed though and I think that perhaps that was the only place he felt safe with his previous family.

I think it might be true, also, that mixed breeds are generally healthier than purebreds. My miniature schnauzer has had a lot of problems with bladder stones in the past few years ($$$$$!) but Gus is very healthy.