Meet Astrid.... Doglando Mum on M/W/F

Today is my turn to share some of my thoughts with all of you dog lovers ☺ some of you know me because your dogs come to daycare on my days (M-W-F) my name is Astrid .

It may have occurred to you, as it certainly has to me many times, that you feel very sad whenever you read or listen about how many dogs are in need of a home, how packed the shelters are, and all the dogs that are abused. It looks like a big problem as many others we can’t fix or do something to make it better, well let me tell you that’s not true. I really think if all the people that feel bad about this do as little as possible all together we can make a huge difference, so today, I want to talk about some ways you can help dogs.

As you may know there are a lot of shelters in Orlando area, some of them are NO KILL shelters and some others like the county pounds, they only give the dogs 7 days to get adopted ☹ -this is really sad- I know they are trying to help the animals and we know they are overpopulated, but it breaks my heart to think how many wonderful dogs are dying, Let me share with you the statistics of 2007-2008 for orange county.

Total Impoundments - 24,292
Animals Saved (adoptions, transfer, rescued) - 4,903
Reclaimed Pets - 1,657
Euthanasias - 13,434

The first time I went to Orange county animal services it was really sad ,I wanted to take all of them home, so, while I was walking through the aisles I told my friend ,I want to help all of them and she told me this story:
“One day someone was walking on the beach, and saw a Starfish by the shore. And everywhere she looked it seemed she saw a thousand more. Then appeared a boy, and as the Starfish washed ashore, he threw them back again. ‘One starfish won’t make a difference son; you can’t change this situation.’ He stopped and picked up one more starfish, and then looking right at her, he said “I can make a difference for this one, and returned it to the sea.”
After telling me the story she said it’s the same with dogs we can’t save all of them but we can make a difference for some of them. “There’re still many to be rescued – many Starfish on life’s shore. And you can make a difference too…by saving just one more.”

So here are some things we can do:

*DON'T SHOP! ADOPT! 25% of all dogs brought into shelters and county pounds are pure breed.
Their adoption fees usually range from $50 to $350 so you are saving a lot of money and you're helping save that animal from being put to sleep.
Here is a link where you can see most of the shelters in Orlando area.

*You can be a FOSTER PARENT. This is great for people who want to learn more about different types of animals but do not have the desire to keep them all permanently. ( sometimes it doesn’t work this way and you end up falling in love and that’s why now I have 3 dogs )
The shelters can help rescuing more dogs if they have more foster homes available.
As a foster parent you have the opportunity to save a life, and you ensure that once that dog has a home he/she won’t be returned, because you will be able to help the shelter understand the dog’s needs and that way they can place it in the correct home.
This takes patience, love and respect for what the animal has been through but it is nothing but completely rewarding.
*DONATE supplies. Shelters need the basics such as towels, bleach, dog food etc. Buy an extra bag of supplies and bring it to your shelter. This will help bring down the costs it takes to care for a homeless animal until it gets adopted.
*DONATE TIME, two hours of your time per week to help walk the dogs. It sounds easy but the shelters are really in need of this.
If you come in for just two hours you have the ability to help walk at least 6 dogs that have been crated for hours.
And this is good for everybody:
It's good for the dogs because they get fresh air, a chance to stretch their legs and to go to the bathroom. It's good for you because of the exercise you'll get and it's good for the shelter because it's one less cage that they will have to clean the poop out.

*SPAY AND NEUTERED. If you have animals spay and neuter them. By helping to spay /neuter you are preventing unwanted animals from being born and therefore being put to sleep. Many counties have low cost spay / neuter programs.
You can visit www.luvmypet.com to see if there are any low cost spay/neuter programs in your area.

*TEACH your children the importance of adoption and spay / neutering. Children are the next generation and one day they will grow up to have pets of their own. Make sure they realize that a pet isn't a disposable thing. Teach them to value life in all its ways, dogs are really our best friends. And always teach them to DOG RESPONSIBLY.