Lee County Animal Shelter shares tips for those looking to adopt furry friends during the holidays

LEE COUNTY, S.C. (WIS) – The Lee County Animal Shelter is offering tips to folks who are looking to adopt a dog this holiday season.

A study by Orvis shows that 60% of adopted pets end up leaving the families that brought them home six months later.

“If you want a specific breed, research that breed before you bring it home,” said Colby Cole the director of the Lee County Animal Shelter.

The shelter is stressing people to think before adopting.

Cole said many people don’t always recognize the responsibility that comes with adopting a dog as a present for the family. She added that researching the needs of specific dog breeds can help ensure the dogs end up in the right homes.

“Research is super, super important with high-energy, working breeds, a lot of people will get a high-energy, working breed for a house dog, and they don’t give the dog a job to do, so then the dog is bored, and then it becomes destructive; it becomes anxious, and that’s just because it’s not getting what it needs,” Cole said.

Cole said this won’t always determine a dog’s behavior once they’re brought home. One tip she shared is that fostering a dog can be a great way to see how it will acclimate and be a good fit.

“So, it’s three days to decompress in your home after getting out of the shelter, three weeks to kind of learn your routine and adjust to you, and three months to show their full personality of who they are as a person. If you don’t have three months, three weeks. If you don’t have three weeks, three days just to decompress and get in the mindset of I’m in a home now,” Cole said.

The Lee County Animal Shelter recommended people try and spend some time with the animal they’re adopting at the shelter, to get more familiar with the dog they want to bring home.

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