I was curious to find out how many Lutz dogpark users had rescued dogs, so my husband being the good sport he is, agreed to be the poll taker. He's the official escort for our dogs at the park, because I work at home and spend my days with them. At the end of the day and on weekends he finds the dogpark experience the perfect way to unwind while spending quality time with the dogs. So, for his last two trips there, he visited at peak hours and asked dog owners where they got their dogs. The results were interesting.
Out of twenty owners questioned, nine dogs had come from petshops or breeders, one picked from a box of free puppies at Winn Dixie, two rescued from neglectful or abusive neighbors, one rescued from a neglectful pet store, four adopted from local rescue groups and three adopted from shelters. One person who owns a dog from a breeder, is now involved with a rescue group and will be fostering a dog. Another pedigreed owner had previously had a rescue and one had two rescued dogs at home.
Out of twenty owners questioned, nine dogs had come from petshops or breeders, one picked from a box of free puppies at Winn Dixie, two rescued from neglectful or abusive neighbors, one rescued from a neglectful pet store, four adopted from local rescue groups and three adopted from shelters. One person who owns a dog from a breeder, is now involved with a rescue group and will be fostering a dog. Another pedigreed owner had previously had a rescue and one had two rescued dogs at home.
It's a little discouraging to find that almost half of the people surveyed still value buying dogs from breeders or petshops. Some of them may never have given a thought to researching the shelter and rescue pets that are up for adoption. But it is encouraging to note that a few of the people who had purchased their dogs from dealers, were considering adopting a rescue in the future. I don't fault people for wanting purebred dogs, nor for wanting puppies from a specific breed. But if I ruled the world, everyone would adopt shelter or rescue animals. There are still people who aren't aware of the purebred puppies available for adoption, so there is work to be done, getting the word out. My friends who don't have rescued dogs are surely sick of hearing me preach about it. They're so tired of it, they may actually adopt a stray just to shut me up!
This experiment was done on a whim and in no way intends to accurately portray the percentage of rescue dog owners at dogparks. My husband will probably continue to ask people where they got their dogs when he visits the park, because he's persistent. It would be interesting to hear what others may find at their local parks, asking the same question.
