Biden has shed light on the potential of adopting a pet rather than buying by bringing the first shelter dog into the white house. To further this spotlight on rescue animals, MK members wanted to share their experience with rescue dogs and why they support the cause. It can be hard to find a silver lining while stuck at home on zoom in pandemic school, but both students and faculty members at Morris Knolls have done so by spending more time with their rescue dog. 

Ms. Blair, a long time MK Spanish teacher, shares why she decided to rescue her dog Ruby; “I love the idea that when you adopt a rescue dog you are really helping two animals…the one you adopted and the one you’ve made space for in the shelter who can then have the opportunity to find a home.” Many people have this desire in common with Ms. Blair, as shown by the approximately 3.2 million shelter animals adopted each year in the US. By rescuing a pet one can help decrease the overall number of animals euthanized and give that one particular animal a better life.

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Ms. Blairs Dog- Ruby

Thanks to more people realizing this issue and adopting animals from shelters, the number of shelter animals euthanized each year in the US has dropped from 2.6 million in 2011 to 1.5 million (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats). This is a great improvement, but there is still a long way to go and in order to get there the message must spread that there is a rescue animal out there for everyone. 

During this chaotic year, a rescue dog may be just what one needs; as shown by MK Junior, Kylie O’Dell, who on January 2nd adopted the perfect dog for her, a German shepherd Rottweiler mix; “Rocco makes times like these more bearable. There is nothing like playing with him that makes days more fun and less boring. Rocco is a bundle of joy in my family’s life and we wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world”. Mrs. Fisciano, who works in the special services department at MK and is the MK Girls Winter Track assistant coach, also found her rescue dogs to brighten these dark days, “The reason why my husband and I adopted both of our dogs was because growing up both of us always had family dogs and wanted some of our own. We decided on rescue dogs because we wanted the dogs in the rescues to have a forever home. After adopting Phineas [a now 10-year-old basset hound and labrador retriever mix] first we felt that he needed to have some company so we decided on rescuing Nala [who is a 9-year-old golden retriever and labrador retriever mix]. Having both our dogs have been really helpful during quarantine because they have been able to play with both of my kids and also just add some extra comfort during the tougher days”.

Some amazing resources for finding a rescue animal from all different organizations is petfinder.com and adoptapet.com. The websites both sort the animals based on proximity. There is also a spot to filter out the results by choosing the specific animal (dogs, cats, pigs, rats, guinea pigs, horses, birds, amphibians, turtles, and more) breed, size, age, behavior, color, and the specific shelter they are at. (Petfinder has more animals and there is an additional option to sort through the animals based on how long they have been on site.) Eleventh Hour Rescue is one of the largest nearby rescues; at their store in the Rockaway Mall, on the lower level by Sears, anyone can stop by to see some of their dogs and cats. Another wonderful rescue is One Step Closer Animal Rescue (O.S.C.A.R.). This rescue has a shelter in Andover, NJ that can hold up to 40 dogs. Both of these rescues are no-kill-shelters, meaning they will house the dog for as long as it takes for them to get a home. They often hold adoption events at the PetSmart in the Rockaway Mall. PetSmarts in general are great places to meet rescue dogs, in fact, Mrs. Fisciano met her dog Nala at a PetSmart. She adopted her other dog Phineas, through the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in North Carolina. ASPCA has one shelter in NYC and they provide other resources on their website to find an animal nearby (ASPCA Adopt ).
Each and every dog matters, as stated on the OSCAR website, “Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely, for that one dog, the world will change forever”. Members of the MK community have recognized this, adopted dogs, and added light into their lives.