puppies suck

Puppies suck! Okay, really, puppies don't suck. I honestly don't hate puppies. I mean, who hates puppies; you know, aside from Direct TV.

I really don't have anything against puppies. The reason I'm saying that puppies suck is because I hate when we get a bazillion of them in who all promptly get adopted leaving the older dogs to wait and wait to find their forever homes. I know some people come in looking specifically for puppies, but if we don't have any, they'll look at our adult dogs or at least older puppies. Honestly, not much is cuter than a puppy. In fact, I think they rate up higher than babies. I've seen some UGLY babies in my time, but I don't think I've ever seen an ugly puppy. I can't tell you how many people come into Wayside wanting to adopt a puppy they've seen only to leave with a wonderful, adult dog because we didn't have any puppies left. It just makes my heart swell! With an adult dog, you know the dog's personality. Many times they are already very well behaved, and a good number are already housebroken. Of course, you'll have to take their housebroken status with a grain of salt, because they will need a period of adjustment to settle into their new home, family, and schedule. Many of our dogs are owner surrendered animals, so this means we know about how they do in a home, with kids, other animals, etc. Plenty of them are surrendered for reasons that have nothing to do with them. One all-to-common reason is that their family is moving and can't take them with. Don't get me started on that one because I have no patience for that excuse. Sometimes they are surrendered because the parents are getting divorced. Sometimes the family hasn't done research on the breed of dog. See? All reasons that have nothing to do with the dog's behavior. Now we do sometimes have dogs surrendered due to behavior issues. Most of these are minimal and are often the fault of uneducated owners. Wayside has several trainers who volunteer countless hours to work with and rehabiliate these dogs. They are always happy to share tips and tricks to help with problem behaviors.

So please don't bypass a loving, adult dog without taking the time to look, truly look, at all they have to offer!