May | 2014 | Dogs Make Everything Better

I’m dedicating this post to a dog I never met named Similee. At the end, I’ll explain why.

This weekend is the 5th annual Maddie’s Fund Pet Adoption Days in 9 states here in the U.S. It’s an incredible opportunity for people that are considering adopting a dog (or cat!) from one of the participating shelters without any cost. The shelters win because not only do they find great homes for these guys and reduce their numbers, Maddie’s Fund will donate between $500 and $2000 to the shelter for each adoption. For healthy adoptions, $500 is donated, but for medically treatable and senior animals the amount rises to $1000 and $2000 respectively. Amazing. The number 15,154 above represents just how many dogs and cats they’ve placed in just 4 weekend events since 2010.

If you’re not familiar with Maddie’s Fund, it’s a dream organization funded by wealthy entrepreneur Dave Duffield and his wife Cheryl to the tune of 300 million dollars in memory of their special pup Maddie. I recently read that their goal is to have America kill-free by 2015. That’s just around the corner, but if they think it’s possible then that’s incredible news. Over the next two days, their goal is to find homes for 10,000 dogs and cats. I love it when people use their power for good.

And now, back to Similee. I saw Similiee’s photo in my news feed on Facebook two days ago, a shelter dog that was being labeled “invisible” because she’d been there since April without any interest. She was beautiful. She was young. She was black and white. She had a lovely smile, a happy face, despite being unnoticed and left too long in a shelter. She reminded me of my dog Stella, the sweetheart that I adopted from a shelter in the same area. At some point in the last 24 hours, the Cleveland County shelter in Shelby, North Carolina killed Similee to make space. If Similee could have been included in a Maddie’s Fund Pet Adoption Days weekend, she would have been snapped up immediately. What happened to her should NEVER happen.

If you’re interested in adopting a wonderful dog or cat, start by checking out the Maddie’s Fund Pet Adoption Days website here. You can preview the lucky ones that will be available for adoption on the site as well.

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Erica Preo is CEO & Creative Director of Pantofola, pure luxury Italian goods for dogs.

If I meet someone that doesn’t already have a dog, of course I immediately tell them to get one. Run, don’t walk! Now I understand that some people can’t have one for a few good reasons: they travel too much, their lease doesn’t allow it, stuff like that. But if I get a whiff that someone is on the fence about it, I try to point out how adopting a dog can make their life so much better. Because I know the day will come when that person won’t be able to imagine a life without their dog.

The pup in the photo above is Wiley and he was adopted by a guy named Wes Siler. I happened to come across his story recently and it’s absolutely worth sharing, so I am. The title is “How Adopting a Dog Saved My Life”, and it’s a safe bet that Mr. Siler agrees with me. It’s a great story with sweet photos, especially at the end. He breaks down his story into the different ways adopting Wiley helped to get his life on track. One example:

“Adopting A Dog Gave Me A Reason To Come Home: That crash was the third time I’d broken a bone on motorcycles. Not exactly a good track record and not one that I could keep repeating. Having a living, breathing thing that required attention and care and exercise waiting at home changed my priorities. I still ride every day obviously, but have dialed-back the risk taking. No longer is it my priority to come back with the most epic photo or craziest story, it’s to make it home in one-piece, on time, so Wiley gets dinner.”

So take a look and add it to your own arsenal of reasoning for the next time you encounter someone that’s on the fence about getting a dog. Direct them to the nearest shelter. They’ll never want to look back.

You can find the story here.

Photo courtesy and copyright Wes Siler.

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Erica Preo is CEO & Creative Director of Pantofola, pure luxury Italian goods for dogs.

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