Adoption Options: Shelters vs. Rescues

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between animal shelters, rescues, and breeders? Have you heard of puppy mills but don't know what they actually are? Wondering if it's safe to buy a pet online? Are you considering bringing a pet into your family, but don't know where to look? This series is for you! Welcome to part 2.5 of our 5-part series, Adoption Options. This shorter article focuses on the similarities and differences between shelters and rescues.

So what's the big deal with shelters vs. rescues vs. breeders? Many people have strong opinions on this topic, but we aren't here to convince you one way or the other. All options are giving animals who don't have a home, a home, and that's a wonderful thing. This series is here to educate people about the main forms of obtaining animal companionship so folks can make their own educated decisions about what's the best fit for their lifestyle, family, and situation.

Shelters and Rescues: Similarities and Differences

Runa, our spokescat, likes to help her human when they're working.

Housing, funding, and employment.

The biggest difference between rescues and shelters is how they house their animals. Shelter animals usually live in a single facility, whereas rescue groups provide homes for the animals to live in via volunteers.

Another big difference is that local shelters are government-funded, whereas private shelters and all rescues rely on donations and fundraising and the like.

As far as employees go, shelters often have a combination of paid staff and volunteers, while rescues are usually entirely volunteer-run.

Background of the animals

Animals from either of these adoption options can have similar backgrounds. They could've been found on the street, brought in by their owners, or extricated from an abusive environment. These animals often have experience living with humans and many have already been house-trained. They may also understand a number of commands.

Fred, a young rescue dog, likes to cuddle with humans.

Medical care

All shelters and a solid amount of rescues make sure to spay or neuter the animals prior to adoption. All minor medical conditions are treated, and if the rescue or shelter is aware of a major medical condition they make that clear up front.

There are veterinarians and/or vet techs who come into shelters and rescues and do an initial assessment of the health of each animal that comes in. They can look and test for medical conditions and injuries and prescribe medications or treatment plans for the animals. Usually an animal with an injury will first go through rehabilitation before being allowed to be adopted out, depending on the severity of the injury.

In shelters, it is easier for disease to spread amongst animals all living in the same facility, so they take extra precautions to prevent this from occurring.

Ava, an older shelter dog, gives the camera a good ol' sneer.

Adoption processes

The shelter adoption process is generally more streamlined, quick, and affordable, whereas the rescue adoption process is more personalized, intensive, and expensive.

Some shelters have partnerships with local rescue groups to try to maximize the number of animals who get adopted. So if, say, a lot of senior animals turn up at their shelter, and there's a local rescue for senior pets, the shelter can free up more space in their facility by partnering with that local rescue.

While the processes shelters and rescues have may not make sense to someone outside of that world, it's important to try to respect the adoption process they have. They have it for a reason. Of course if there are serious issues of animal welfare, those should be reported immediately. But if it's paperwork and wait times getting you down, well, there's not much to do about that besides grin and bear it. Amazing things can happen if you have the patience to work through the difficulties--bringing a new life into your home is a very special occasion, and it's worth the time and effort.

Doing background research on the adoption process for the shelters and/or rescues you're interested in is a good idea. Really getting to know their processes can make it easier to understand and make the whole affair smoother. Shelters and rescues alike often have adoption information available on their website, or you can give their facility a call or a visit to request more information. They're always happy to help animals find homes!

Runa likes resting pretty much anywhere except her cat bed.

Reason for adopting

The reason you're looking to adopt an animal can help narrow down where you might have the best luck finding what you're looking for.

If you're looking for an animal to participate in sports, hunting, beauty contests, or to help out with farmwork (ie having a good herding dog for your sheep or to protect your livestock), buying from a reputable breeder might be a good option. Those tasks require lots of training, which is often best begun at a young age (though not inherently). Some breeds also have dispositions and talents for certain tasks. It's not impossible to find those dogs at shelters or rescues, but it's not a guarantee that you will find them. There are many breed-specific rescues, however, and there are plenty of young animals at these rescues who are still at a good age for being trained for specific work.

If you want an animal to train for search and rescue purposes, or a therapy or service animal, it's a good idea to do your research about what those training processes look like first. The ideal age for training can differ depending on what you want to train an animal to do, and this can depend on the training school, as well. All of the above mentioned types of working dogs can be any breed.

If what you're looking for is a companion, an emotional support animal, and/or you want to give a home to an animal that's had a hard time of it, rescues and shelters are great options.

There are many different kinds of animals out there, and not each one will be suited to your particular lifestyle and wants and needs, but many will be!

Make sure that you understand the commitment and responsibility you're taking on when you adopt an animal. Animals are living creatures with thoughts and emotions, just like us, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Adopting an animal on a whim is not a good idea. When shelters and rescues adopt animals out to people, they want those animals to be going to forever homes.

Fred occasionally wears a tiny hat.

Discounted services and follow-up

Once you've adopted from a shelter or rescue group, they may offer free or discounted services. These range from veterinary or behavior assistance to dog-training classes.

If you encounter health, behavior, or adjustment problems with your newly adopted animal, shelters and rescues are both willing to help. They're a good resource for learning about local groups and programs that may be able to help out you and your pet.

Both rescues and shelters like to follow up after the adoption is finalized to help make sure things are still going smoothly  they want the adoption to be a success, after all! Rescues tend to provide more follow-up than shelters, sometimes having home visits months after the adoption to check in on the animal's wellbeing. They don't do that forever, it's just to make sure that once things have settled down, the animal is thriving in the new environment.

Piper is a shelter cat. She likes sleeping on top of the dog's crate to let him know who's boss.

Conclusion

While there are differences between animal shelters and animal rescues, neither is inherently better to adopt from. Animal companions are a serious undertaking  they require lots of love, time, and resources, and shouldn't be a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Once you've determined what you're looking for in an animal companion, you can begin to narrow down the places you're looking at. If you don't much care about specific qualities or appearances, that's also okay! Visiting your local shelters and talking to your local rescues can give you an idea of the available animals in your area and what the adoption processes are like. There are also websites like Petfinder, Adopt a Pet, the ASPCA, and countless others for finding pets in your area.

Whether you adopt from a shelter or a rescue, you'll be giving an animal in need a loving home. And they have just as much to give to you!

Runa likes to sleep in bins under her human's bed. That's what they're there for, right? No?

Photo credit: Skye I. R. Iwanski

Sources:

Admin. “Survey Reveals Misconceptions about Purebred Dogs in Animal Shelters.” American Kennel Club, 14 July 2015, www.akc.org/clubs-delegates/government-relations/government-relations-blogs/survey-reveals-misconceptions-purebred-dogs-animal-shelters/.

Cyrenne, Suzie. “Animal Rescue and Animal Shelter: What Is the Difference?” HomeoAnimal.com, 2019, www.homeoanimal.com/blogs/blog-pet-health/81114180-animal-rescue-and-animal-shelter-what-is-the-difference.

Gorey, Megan. “The Differences: Animal Control Vs. Humane Society.” WCYB, WCYB, 20 Dec. 2011, www.wcyb.com/features/weekend-drive/the-differences-animal-control-vs-humane-society.

Kleinfeldt, Alexandra. “Overview of Animal Euthanasia.” Animal Law Legal Center, Michigan State University College of Law, 2017, www.animallaw.info/article/overview-animal-euthanasia.

“Rescue vs Shelter vs Breeder Pet: Which Is Right For You?” My Pet Cab, Starwood Animal Transport Services, 4 Nov. 2020, www.mypetcab.com/blog/rescue-vs-shelter-vs-breeder-pet.

Sharma, Arvind, et al. “The Management of Cow Shelters (Gaushalas) in India, Including the Attitudes of Shelter Managers to Cow Welfare.” Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI, MDPI, 28 Jan. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7070297/.

The Shelter Pet Project, theshelterpetproject.org/.

“Understanding Your Local Government & Animal Control.” Alley Cat Allies, www.alleycat.org/resources/guide-to-local-government-animal-control/.

Thank you to Erik Streck, Shawn Cruze, Gloria and Howard Atkison, Abri M. Iwanski, and the Fox Valley Humane Shelter for their information and assistance with this series.