(I blink and the ten IFAW dogs from up north are almost all gone already. Here's one, Boomer, who got adopted yesterday.)
I'm terrible at smiling for photographs. If I don't feel like smiling and have to force a smile for a photo, it's a grimace, or at least it feels like a grimace. I really should take lessons from a dog like Boomer who can't help but smile.
Now when some dogs look like they're smiling, they may not really be smiling on the inside. They might be hot or anxious or they might have just been born with a smiley face. Not so with Boomer. Boomer is a very happy boy inside and out and that kind of happiness is contagious - which makes me smile, naturally.
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A request
The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.
The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.
Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.
So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.
Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.
So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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Toronto area animal shelters
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2012 Pound Dog Calendars
Archives
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2013
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May
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- Mia - Beagle
- Grizzly - Bernese Mountain Dog mix puppy
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- CJ - Redtick Coonhound mix
- Logan - Smooth Collie Labrador Retriever mix
- Honey - Neapolitan Mastiff at the Toronto Humane S...
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- Update on Mabel
- 4 Shih Tzu Poodle Pups
- Renewal at the Toronto Humane Society
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- Update on MacDuff
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- Lolita - Black Labrador Retriever mix
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My other blogs
Animal rescue blogs
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What's That?5 years ago
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Late Night Musings: Clearing the Shelters5 years ago
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Simon Loves the Snow!7 years ago
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The northern dogs go so fast because they are great!!
Signed,
A happy Northern dog owner...
Diane
What Diane said. Northern dogs rock; who wouldn't want one?!
Signed,
someone with a Northern dog in their lap
I love this blog because you always find something very special in each and every dog. It's always their essence.