Anyone who has ever owned or lived with a rescue dog will all agree on one thing: They love the deepest.

Ever heard the quote “ For you, a dog is just part of your life, but for them you are their whole life?” I’ve seen the quote floating around on various social media platforms, as well as in multiple pictures. Cliche or not, that quote is so totally true. For a rescue dog, they not only know this quote but they feel it. They know what is it like to be homeless, unloved, and unwanted. They know the feeling of sadness of living life behind bars in a kennel, wondering what is next for them, and if that kennel is all they’re ever going to know.

Rescue dogs need homes. Thousands of unwanted dogs are killed each and every day in U.S. alone. It is absolutely heart wrenching that some dogs are killed without ever knowing what love feels like. Dogs end up in shelters in many ways. Some are dumped at the shelter, some in the streets, others are stays or have run away. The importance of spaying/neutering a dog cannot be under-stressed: the over-population of dogs due to negligence and unnecessary breeding leads to the death of shelter animals at the rate of thousands per day. This needs to stop. Adopt don't shop, animals are companions not property, treat them as such.

Dogs, as well as any other animal in a shelter, feel hopeless. When people are put behind bars it is because they have done something wrong. When an animal is put behind bars it is because people have yet to understand the responsibility of taking care of a life that cannot verbally communicate its' needs. Animals should not be blamed for this, nor should they be punished but that is what happens in our society. We can fix this.

Because they know such hopelessness, when a rescue dog finally feels love, they are overwhelmed with gratefulness. They will love you unconditionally-- on your worst days and on the days you spoil them. Rescue dogs know no limits to love. They love with their whole bodies when they see their person-- every inch of them will wiggle and their face will look like a preschooler seeing Disney World for the first time. The more love you show them, the more you can understand how they feel. You are their best friend.

Along with endless love, they will do their best every day to show their appreciation. Whether it be by greeting you tail wildly wagging at the door, or by protecting you from that strange noise, or by pretending they are a piece of actual Velcro stuck to your hip, there will never be any doubt in your mind how they feel about you. Rescue dogs are hands down the most loyal, because they have been saved, not purchased.

So will you start saving them?