How Sponsoring a Shelter Dog Can Change a Life Before Adoption

Adopting a shelter dog is the most beautiful act of kindness people could ever do in their lives. It is a gesture in which they take in a soul that was once abandoned and give it a home and a purpose. And then, they get to watch it thrive, and their lives grow richer and more beautiful for it.

But before a dog reaches the point where a family chooses it, there is a long and costly process that turns that animal from a stray to a potential companion. It involves rescuing the dog, treating its wounds and diseases, and helping it recover and rehabilitate. If we are thorough enough in taking these steps, the better prepared the dog will be to join a new family and find its place with ease.

Sponsoring a dog before adoption gives it the time, care, and resources it needs to become ready for a family of its own.

Between Rescue and Adoption

Many people looking in on our activity only see the main moments. They see when the dog is rescued, maybe the appeal made in case there is a major medical emergency, and we need more help than we usually get. Maybe a brief announcement that the dog is doing fine, followed by the adoption call. And that would be it.

From the outside, the period between the rescue and the adoption seems compressed. In reality, it is the toughest part of our job and a truly challenging time for our new resident.

Some dogs are scared, even when there is no longer any danger to them in our care. There are no bigger and more aggressive dogs trying to steal their food, no mean humans to kick them away, no speeding cars that could come out of nowhere. And still, they don’t eat; their sleep is cautious, not relaxed. They keep to a corner of the kennel, guarded, scared.

Interacting with them is difficult, and it takes time. Getting them adopted at this phase is almost impossible.

So, what happens to these dogs between the moment we just described and the one in which they wag their tail all the way over to their new homes? They receive a lot of loving care, offered with patience and calm. They are given space to come to us when they want to, no pressure, no commands.

And when patience is not enough, we use every recovery and rehabilitation trick we know, and every procedure we can afford. It’s a lot of work, but this is what truly gets dogs adopted. Not simply getting them off the streets and into our shelter.

Breaking Down the Process

The time spent by dogs in the ROLDA shelter is meant to help them transition from life on their own to life with a family. This means, first and foremost, getting the dog into good physical condition. An initial medical assessment will tell us whether the dog is healthy enough to join the other residents, needs urgent care, or might be suffering from an underlying condition.

If everything is fine and the dog is healthy, it’s time to do some preventive work and make sure it keeps its clean bill of health. To do so, the dog will receive vaccinations and parasite prevention medicine.

Nutrition and weight recovery are usually a big deal, since most of the dogs that end up in our care are malnourished and in desperate need of good food in the correct amounts. This must be done under professional medical surveillance so as not to upset the stomach with too much food at once or even the wrong kind.

A behavioral assessment will tell whether the dog is safe to be around other animals or even around other people. A poorly socialized dog may struggle to interact safely with other animals or people and might not yet be ready to join a family. In some cases, this situation could be permanent; in others, it could be improved with the right rehabilitation and training.

ROLDA has people to assess dogs and offer the best solutions to turn them into the best companions. Socialization in controlled groups, with the assistance of the behavioral expert, is one way to go. If the dog fears other dogs, controlled exposure to some of our friendliest and most docile residents, under the supervision of our staff, is what is known as desensitizing work.

Once they are ready, which may be sooner for some dogs, later for others, they all undergo general training. This implies learning basic routines and everything needed for them to go live with their new families inside a home.

In this phase, the dogs that had previously had homes will progress quickly because they already know not to pee inside, how to use their water and food bowls, not to jump on people, not to steal food off the table, and so on. For the other dogs, the ones that have never been trained, it might take months.