Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week

September 17-23  is Petfinder's Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet-Week! A strange thing to celebrate? Maybe not.

Here, of course, is where I'm going to plug Storm again, who isn't on Petfinder, but is apparently less adoptable. He's been at the Broome County Humane Society since July 5 of this year. He's 8 years old. He's an albino, which might be off-putting for Doberman people. Maybe not. He's a shy boy. But, according to comments on my last post about the "Conklin NY Dobermans", Storm is the last one left in the shelter. I don't see Dusty listed on the site anymore, either! To call the Broome County Humane Society (in Binghamton NY) about Storm, 607-724-3709 is the contact phone number listed on their web page. His animal ID is listed on his page as 16640033 

Every dog has the potential to have a person, or people, who love her. That's regardless of size, smell, habits, volume (auditory, I'm not saying "size" twice). Some people don't like big black dogs. Some people won't adopt a senior dog. Breed prejudices are in play. Some people wouldn't look twice at a dog that's blind, or deaf, or has DCM. If a dog has behavioral challenges apparent in the shelter environment, like barking or OCD? Yeah, they probably don't want that dog either. Petfinder even has some videos available, such as Older Dog Adoption

None of these things mean that a dog will be impossible to assimilate as a family member. There are different degrees of "difficulty", sure, but impossible? A lot of these dogs (and cats. I need to mention that cats are in shelters too, obviously) have a lot of love to give, to the person who's willing to be the right one. Some people might even find it more rewarding to them to adopt a "less adoptable" pet; learning how to cope with behavioral and other challenges could enrich their own lives, and make them see the value of everyday experiences in a different light.

I've heard that rescued dogs, whether from a hoarding situation, an abuse situation, or just a regular old "we don't have time anymore" situation, may frequently act as though they know they just won the lotto with a second chance. They form a strong bond with their families, they can in fact "learn new tricks", and