To be fair, adopting, fostering, or purchasing any animals IS rescuing them, but adopting dogs, cats, or other pets from kill shelters, or any shelter in general, is greater for the overpopulation community and the life of the animal itself. You help an animal that was once discarded and considered unlovable to another person or family and giving them a forever home. You give an animal a co-dependent and nurturing relationship that they need. Bottom line: You're saving the life of a homeless animal.

My family and I adopted a five-year-old male dog, Chip at the time, from the Carolina Poodle Rescue agency in Raleigh, North Carolina, in September 2017. We were inspired to adopt rather than purchase from a family member who had recently rescued a dog. After visiting him, I immediately clicked with him. I had never had a personal or close relationship with a family pet before and when Chip walked over to me and made his first connection with his new family with me, my heart exploded with emotions. I felt maternal (kind of weird). He was thin and had multiple shaved spots from pesky bug problems which cause skin irritation and infection. Seeing him was like watching an ASPCA commercial but I actually felt like I was helping an animal versus just watching an emotional commercial.

The adoption process was fairly easy because the foster parents deemed us fit to adopt him, but the application to adopt is lengthy for some rescue organizations. You have to submit a driver's license number for a background check and have appropriate living arrangements for dogs. It takes a couple of weeks for them to go over the application for the pet, some of the dogs can have multiple applicants. If your application is accepted, you will be able to meet the dog a the shelter or foster parent's home. You may have to meet with the foster parent multiple times so that the foster parent can get a good judge of character from you. Then if the parent deems you fit, you fill out a few more pieces of paperwork and pay the adoption fee. These fees typically cover shots, medical treatment, food, etc. of other rescue dogs (this is for rescue organizations, shelters usually have government funding).

Flash forward to today, July of 2018, he's gained weight and no longer has skin issues. Chip was given a new name, Zero. I like to call him Bubby. He cries when the landline phone rings and is EXTREMELY protective over his blanket on my bed. He follows whoever is closest to him around, so mainly myself, and loves to run around outside and chew on his bone. Watching him play is like watching a child's eyes light up on Christmas morning. You can see the love and joy in his kind eyes. Having Zero in my life has changed me into a more nurturing person because I know I have him depending on me.

It is better to adopt than purchase because roughly around 2.7 million dogs are euthanized in the United States alone, every year. Few people consider adopting because it is a big responsibility, which in some certain cases, it is a big responsibility. Rescue dogs require a lot of attention considering most of the dogs have separation issues. But these responsibilities are almost equivalent to the amount of energy you have to have to in order to care for a puppy. So if you are in the market to adopt a pet, roughly 3.9 million dogs enter shelters across the U.S. every year. You could be able to save one of the 2.7 million that get euthanized.