Why should you adopt a rescue dog? There are many reasons: not supporting puppy mills, avoiding house-training and other "puppy issues", and often a rescue dog will form a stronger bond with his new owner. Supporting dog rescue centers is truly a compassionate deed. Rescue centers, which are often breed-specific, take animals out of shelters where they will often be killed if not adopted in a certain time period and into a loving foster home with others of their kind where they will wait until they adopted into their "forever home."

Puppy mills infamously represent the exact opposite of rescue centers. These organizations exist only for profit and are willing to exploit living creatures to no end to do it. Puppy mills breed certain breeds of dog heedless of genetic issues - often inbreeding dogs to the point where the puppies have no hope of medical normalcy. The housing at these puppy mills is also often equally atrocious; to save space, a pregnant or nursing female will often be placed in a small enclosure with just enough room for her and her pups. Any dog lover who actually visits a puppy mill will no doubt never support such businesses in the future.

Who doesn't love a puppy? Their doe-eyed looks and playful curiosity are enough to melt anyone's heart. With that, however, comes the "accidents" in the house, the chewing, and general destructiveness. These issues can be dealt with, but in today's world many just don't have the time. A rescue dog, on the other hand, comes with no such issues. Unless you actually find a puppy at a rescue center, you're going to get a dog that's already out of the "puppy phase" and has moved on. As soon as you bring him home, he's going to be your dog - you don't have to wait for him to grow up.

Despite popular belief, you usually aren't getting "someone else's problem" when you adopt a rescue dog. Often a dog has been rescued simply because the owners' circumstances have changed and they could no longer keep him. Perhaps a divorce, a new baby, a move, or even the novelty of the dog wore off. Who knows? The point is rescue dogs in general are not terrors to avoid. There are also breed-specific rescue centers that cater to those looking for a certain breed.

Rescue dogs, like any other dogs, want to be loved. When they are removed from their original home and family, it is a traumatic event. Dogs, like humans, enjoy stability in their life, and when you bring that rescue dog home and he figures out that he is here to stay, he will love you forever for it.