Dog Adoptions From Local Animal Shelters

Let me preface this piece with the disclaimer that I think all those animal shelters out there are doing a wonderful job.  They care for and look for homes for numerous unwanted(by some) animals out there in this hard, hard world.

That said, I'd like to rant a bit about their, sometimes, unrealistic rules and regulations for a adopting a dog.

My husband and I recently adopted a Lab mix from a local shelter.  The shelter had some rules.  He was 3 months old and luckily I was only working part time so I was able to be home with him for a good portion of the day.  He's now 11 months old, housebroken and I just dismantled his crate yesterday because he's being such a good boy when left alone. 

The reason behind this rant  began when my son, who is in his thirties and is a responsible adult with a full time job and  owns his own home, started thinking about adopting a dog from a New England animal shelter.  He'd like a young but not too young, medium to large, male dog.  He works full time so the dog would be home alone for 8 1/2 to 9 hours a day.  But apparently animal adoption facilities do not think this is a good idea.  He has been told by several that he's not home enough to adopt a dog.  That a dog should be alone no more than six hours a day.

What planet do these shelter people live on?!!  According to their rules, only the independently wealthy, the unemployed, or stay at home Moms can adopt one of their dogs. 

I know these rules were made up with the best intentions, but they are unrealistic and unreasonable.  I don't know too many people who can afford to leave their job to adopt a dog and if they did, both dog and human would probably end up living on the street.  A fenced in yard can be cost prohibitive for some people and the lack of that feature should not be a deterrent to adopting a dog.  No wonder there are so many dogs in shelters.

I would like to be able to get this message to all the shelters out there.  Yes, there is good reason for some rules about the adoption of animals but there are dogs in shelters who are missing out on good homes because of some of your arbitrary rules.

Yes. a dog should not be left alone for exceedingly long periods of time.  But I've had dogs that were alone for 8 to 9 hours a day, who did just fine in my home and were loving and social animals.

Yes, a fenced in yard is wonderful, but my dogs have gotten their exercise through walks and interactive play without a fence. 

Shelters need to reassess their rules and let hard working loving people adopt some of their dogs.