Ready to Adopt a Rescue Pet… Senior, Baby or In-Between?

Adopting a rescue pet will change your life! A new pet won’t just make you more social, it will make you the most popular person with your friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers. Everyone becomes your best friend.

Research shows that, when conducting a task that’s stressful, people actually experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a supportive friend was present!

When adopting a pet, one choice you’ll need to make is whether to adopt a senior, an adolescent, or an adult. It’s not always an easy decision. There are advantages and disadvantages of adopting pets of different ages.

Every Dog Has A Story… Barbie

Hi Dock Line World! It’s me Barbie! I’m so happy in my foster home, but life was rough before I was rescued by a beautiful little girl! I was trying to keep myself alive and out of trouble so I was living around the parking lot at Ransom’s Steakhouse in Montgomery. A sweet little girl started calling me. She wanted to pet me. Finally I let her because she looked safe. She brought me treats and I let her put a leash on me. She took me to her mama and they put me in their car. It smelled good and I felt safe. ASVT came to the rescue and took care of me. I’m now in my wonderful foster home with lots of brothers and sisters of all sizes. I’m a petite girl and I’m looking for a forever home with similar sized, playful siblings. Life is good and they tell me my forever family will come for me. Is it you?

Senior Pets

Older pets are wonderful. They’re calm, mellow, sweet, lovable, and sometimes already house-trained. Yet, as wonderful as animals over the age of 7 are, they often represent the highest-risk population at shelters across the United States, where nearly 3 million dogs and cats are put down each year.

We all ask, how is that possible? How is it that the ideal companions are in this situation? This happens to a lot of senior pets by no fault of their own. Sometimes due to financial issues, illness, or another life crisis, pet owners find themselves unable to care for their pets. Then once older animals are surrendered to shelters, they can get overlooked because of their age. This is when “Rescues” come to the rescue! Foster homes save the day and strive to find the perfect home for these senior pets.

Senior pets are great company for seniors. Many senior people find the calmness of an older pet very comforting. They appreciate having a companion who is content to move through life at a slower speed.

Adding a furry friend to your family is an exciting decision. However, like most decisions, there are so many choices and it’s hard to know where to start.

ASVT Puppies & Kittens

Maybe you are thinking about a puppy or kitten. Puppies and kittens are enchanting little characters. They’re funny and cute and full of energy. But like all babies, need a lot of care and attention.

Your puppy or kitten will need to be trained what to do and not do. Lots of safe exercise is needed and you will need to socialize with other people and animals. As puppies and kittens learn and grow, they will get into things, chew things, make messes and have accidents in the house

ASVT Adult Pets

So, you are thinking a senior or adolescent are not really for your family. There are the wonderful “In-Between” pets that are also looking for a loving family.

Adult pets are great for first time pet parents. If this is your first pet, or if you cannot devote the time necessary to train, socialize, and exercise a young pet, an adult pet could be a better choice for you.       

Animal Shelter Volunteers of Texas always has a variety of senior, adolescent and “In-Between” foster pets. If you are ready to adopt a rescue pet please take time to look at all our available pets on our website. All the pets shown here are ready to be adopted. All takes is the first step… submit an Adoption Application for the pet of your choosing.

www.ASVTexas.org/adoption-application.html

Snake Safety Tips for Pets

Snake season has arrived! Our pets can easily encounter snakes when they’re out for a walk or in tall grass or brush or around rock piles. Sometimes it’s hard for some of us to distinguish a venomous snake from a harmless one, which means we need to be extra vigilant about snake safety for our pets.

How to avoid snakes on a walk:

• When you’re out for a walk, keep your pet on a leash.
• Teach your pet to walk at your side when on the leash.
• Don’t let your pet run ahead to the furthest reach of the leash.
• If you see a dead snake on your walk, don’t let your dog investigate. If the snake is a rattler, there could be active venom that would harm your pet.
• Stick to the path. Venturing into grassy areas, piles of stones, rocks or wood can lead to trouble. Snakes like to hide in those places.

How to avoid snakes around the yard:

• Short grasses are not happy places for snakes. Keep to a regular mowing schedule.
• Rock and woodpiles provide shelter for snakes. Remove them or keep them away from pet areas.
• Be careful with pet doors. If the pet door is left open, a snake can slide right into your home!
• Keep outside doors and ground-level windows screened or closed.
• If you can, provide a clean and well-groomed fenced area for your pets to play.
• Snakes like to come out to sun in the mornings.

What to do if your pet gets bit:

• Assume the bite was from a venomous snake. Unless you know for sure it is nonvenomous.
• Get your animal to the nearest veterinary hospital as quickly as you can.

HOW CAN YOU HELP US HELP THEM?

ADOPT, SPONSOR, VOLUNTEER, FOSTER, DONATE!

You can visit our website to sign up to volunteer and/or foster and donate using our DONATE button. Donations help us pay for medical expenses, food, supplies and transporting animals to areas with high adoption needs.

ASVT also sponsors a Spay/Neuter Program for community animals whose owners cannot afford to have their pets altered. This helps decrease the rise of community puppies and kittens that will end up in the shelters.

The accomplishments of ASVT would not be possible without partners like Wiesner Automotive, Ransoms Steakhouse, Animal Hospital of Montgomery, Bruce and Toni Sellers, Dock Line Magazine and so many more.