My husband and I wanted another member to our family.  We had lost Johnny Ringo about 2 years before and felt the time was right.  I began looking at the website for the Humane Society in our area.  We live in a country setting and have a lot of area to offer.  I was searching the site and found the article about Koal.  He had been in the shelter for a long time and was scheduled to be euthanized that next weekend.  They described him as being about a year old and part Catahoula leopard dog.  They said he was good with other dogs and also good with cats.  (I did not have a cat at that time but I thought that I would get a cat later on (maybe))  I called the shelter about Koal and let them know we were interested.  That very next weekend we went to the shelter.  We did not go to the shelter empty handed though; we brought treats, blankets, bleach, laundry detergent, hydrogen peroxide, bandages, dog and cat food, and more stuff.  I brought treats in my pocket to give to the other dogs.  The shelter personnel took us to go and see Koal.  He was in a medium (small) dog house within a fenced cage.  He unfolded himself to come out and greet us.  I fell in love with him instantly.   The shelter tested him for heartworms and he tested negative.  I would have taken him anyway.  Good gracious he was stinky though!  He seemed to be so happy to be with us.  I had bought some fancy dog food to feed him when he got to our home but  within minutes he vomited it right up.  Maybe it was the excitement on going to a new place or the new food I did not know.  Now, we know that Koal has a sensitive stomach and treat it accordingly   He is a great dog.  I wish that all the animals in shelters could be adopted.

— Susan from Kemp, TX

We adopted both of them from the York SPCA  a little over a year now.  They were both in abused situations.  The big one Snoopy, he was put in a barn because the owner could not take care of him.  The small one in the front, molly. She was found in a dumpster and she was pregnant.  They are the best dogs ever together and with other people despite the situations they came from.  I think all pets should be adopted.  People will spend thousands of dollars on special bred animal when there are plenty of pets out there that need a home and love.

— Margaret from Dillsburg, PA

While driving home from work on a busy L.A. street , I nearly hit a small fluff ball peeking out from under the tires of the cars parked alongside the road, trying to cross the street. I knew if I continued on, that fluffball would become a pancake in short order. I turned the car around and eventually snatched the (now barking at me) fluffball, which turned out to be a four month old pup.

After finding the owner and discovering that the pup had started out life in a dumpster along with her siblings, and that she had had a broken front leg that was healing incorrectly due to no vet involvement, and that the owners were not all that excited about owning her, ‘Annie” came home with me. Quite possibly the luckiest day in either of our lives!

— Don from Glendora, CA

It’s amazing how life happens when you least expect it. I adopted Flynn a labrador bull terrier mix, three months after I graduated and had a job. After being laid off in July, and moving back home with my parents, Flynn has been my best friend through it all. I promise him that one day, when I have a good job to afford an apartment or home, he no longer has to live in a cage and be free in his own home. He drives me to keep in shape and be at peace with myself.

— Cesar from Miami, FL

About 3 years ago, my family and I decided to become dog owners, and we adopted an adorable one year old springer spaniel sheepdog mix named Buddy. It turned out to be the best decision we ever made! In those three years, he has become an irreplaceable part of our family, bringing us joy and companionship we had never before known. However, my family is decidedly Republican, and even though we love him to death, it has recently occurred to us that, by golly, Buddy is a Democrat! He lives and exists by all of the principles that the Democratic Party promotes, and I am sure that if he could vote, he would vote the party line. Let me give a few examples of what drove us to this conclusion…

First, he is a firm believer in the redistribution of wealth. He has no problem eating all of the food that is provided to him through the goodness of our hearts, and then coming to sit by the table and beg to have some of our dinner too. And he is unable to understand why he gets yelled at for doing so. Why should he have to live in one of the greatest households in the world and eat dog food (or government cheese), especially when the people around him are sitting right there in front of him eating steak? How dare they!!

Second, he has a strong feeling of entitlement. He has no problem laying around the house sleeping all day, but dammit, the minute he wakes up, someone better drop everything they are doing to help him out with all the things he can’t do for himself, like opening doors to go outside, picking up his poop, entertaining him, and filling his bowl with food. If anyone fails to meet his demands immediately, he will raise his voice in protest until someone listens to him, and if one person ignores him or dismisses his needs as frivolous or inconvenient, he will lobby with all members of the household until someone feels sorry enough for him and caves in to his demands.

Our dog does not really work, although being part sheepdog; he was bred to work and is fully capable of doing so. However, being a member of the sheepdog union, he can’t find a job because all the good sheep herding jobs have moved to Argentina (darned global economy). Actually that is a lie, he does have one job…he barks if someone comes to the door. We have a doorbell, which technically is more efficient and less costly than owning a dog, but because he was already here we felt a need to give him SOME kind of responsibility. So he was assigned this role and we praise him for doing it, and as such he feels he has made a contribution. I guess this is what the president is talking about when he refers to job creation.

Buddy does not aspire to greatness. He is perfectly content with what we give him, he wants no part in managing the actual procurement process, and he has no desire to improve his lot in life. He eats whatever food we give him, goes to whatever doctor we bring him to, and has no problem sleeping in his state provided doggie bed. He is perfectly fine letting us, the owners, figure out what is best for him, and trusts completely that we are qualified to do so.

Finally, he is blindly and unquestioningly loyal. He does not understand anything about what it takes to run our household, nor does he care, so long as he gets his share. He is completely oblivious to the fact that if times get tough for us the providers, the first expenses to be cut would be the quality of his food and his medical care, and if times get tough enough, the funding for these programs may disappear entirely. Despite this, all we need to do is throw him a bone and rub his belly once in a while, and he will stand by us and remain loyal to us, his vote guaranteed.

In all seriousness we love Buddy to death, and don’t regret adopting him for a single moment. We spoil him like a child, and love every minute of it. But tell me…IS HE NOT THE PERFECT DESCRIPTION OF A DEMOCRAT!!

— Chris from Somerset, NJ

I want to tell you about a wonderful older German Shepherd dog named Jake I adopted several years ago. His story is important because people are often reluctant to adopt older dogs, but without a doubt Jake was the best dog I ever became friends with.

Jake was really special because he had a positive attitude, was happy and kind no matter what happened to him. He’d had a checkered background, but quickly adapted to his new life in my home, including sleeping indoors and going on lots of hikes in the nearby mountains. Since he was 8 when I adopted him, the hikes only lasted a few years until the tragic Christmas 2011 when Jake ate a sock that got stuck in his intestines. He had to have emergency surgery and they gave him 50/50 odds of making it, but he lived through the surgery. Despite having severe arthritic problems that were made dramatically worse by the surgery, Jake bounced back as best he could and continued to enjoy life for nearly another year, dying on October 24, 2012. Jake was 13 when he died-old for a big dog-but he brought so much joy and comfort into my life and he didn’t let his age stop him from enjoying life – we substituted short walks in t he park for the hikes he went on before the surgery. He loved playing ball and was always happy and up for a game.

Sadly the surgery came back to haunt Jake as he developed complications from it that ended up taking his life. But even so he lived almost a year after surgery, and I had 5 wonderful years with this amazing friend. Although the time is short find it in your hear to adopt and older dog as they may be the best friend you’ll find anywhere.

— Dave from Albuquerque, NM