Written by PETA
I don't mean to offend all the other dog parents out there, but I'm fairly certain that I have the coolest dog in the world. I don't mean to brag (well, OK, maybe I do mean to brag), but my German shepherd-something-something-something-mix, Hannah, is pretty much awesome. And, of course, she's a rescue. I love it when people ask me about Hannah because then I can tell them how many terrific animals are just hanging out at animal shelters waiting for their forever families to come along. But when you don't have an adorable rescued dog like Hannah at your side, you can still get people to ask you about animal shelters if you're wearing PETA's 'Adopt, Don't Buy' T-shirt.
Don't have one? Well, that's easy to fix—we'll give you a chance to win one just for telling us about your awesome rescued animal in the comment section below. The person who does the best job of convincing us that his or her dog or cat is the coolest in the world (the coolest dog or cat besides Hannah, of course) will win a tee that can be used to tell others to always adopt and never buy.
The contest ends on February 16, 2011, and the winner will be chosen on February 18, 2011.
Please read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.
Good luck!
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Someone said that shelter dogs love you more than store bought ones... That was a ridiculous statement. All dogs are capable of loving you the same. For those of you who don't count on your dogs to help you make your living, fine, go adopt one. On the other hand, for those of us who have dogs as working partners, it is very important for us to have a puppy that comes from a breed specifically bred for what we need them to do. I can't go down to the shelter when Dude and Dartanian start getting old and pick up the best of the litter in a litter of 8 week old purebred Smooth Collies. The same thing goes for my Bluetick Coonhounds, Buck and Yowler. These dogs are very important to my livelihood and without them, I would not be able to feed my family. I simply cannot adopt. My dogs have jobs to do. They are not couch potatoes. Any old lab mix from a shelter isn't going to be able to do my dogs' jobs.
My cat Melvin, (Mel for short) was a feral cat who hung around our neighborhood and was surprisingly social. He was a grubby little orange tabby with a birth diffect that gave him a stubby little wonky-shaped tail that he wagged like a dog everytime we came near. Every morning, he would greet me on my way to work and shove his head into my hand. We befriended him, gave him food and water and took to the shelter to get neutered and hopefully adopted. At the shelter, the poorly trained volunteers told us he was viscious and "unadoptable," but we knew better and decided to take him home ourselves. Within days, he was using a litterbox like a champ and already crawling into bed to snuggle every night. He loves to play, cuddle on the couch and even rests his head on my shoulder while we sleep. He also enjoys napping with his adopted sister, Yuki. I cannot move without him coming with me, and I cannot imagine anyone ever thinking he was visocous. I've never met such a friendly, chilled-out cat in my life! All he needed was a little love. :)
Actually, my 3 cats Pixie,spotty & fluffy, just came home and decided to adopt us and then Gypsy our first dog adopted us and then Ribbon our second dog adopted us ... so i think we are the coolest....... :)
I was recently handicapped due to a car accident that took the life of my family and friends that day. I was never one to ask for much or for help with anything, until now. A friend suggested I adopt a shelter dog for companionship due to my new lifestyle.
So I did. This dog, "savior", has literally lived up to his name. Savior quickly seemed to understand my disability more than I did. In a very short time he has learned to become my eyes, and my ears. I never had a dog before, and had I known what a treasure awaited me at a local shelter I think I would have adopted a dog sooner in life. This dog's healing powers have no bounds. I am forever grateful!
My most recent dog I got from the shelter in September. She makes number 3 for me in my rescues(excluding cats) My daughter named her Potato. From the first time we held her she's been the best dog. She rode on my 4 year old daughters lap all the way home from the shelter. Now we are inseparable. Favorite places are the beach, grandmas house, Starbucks, and the park. Some people think I'm crazy walking my 3 dogs with my daughter, but when they're just like family it's rather natural.
I had to volunteer at the local PAWS shelter due to the rescues I kept making living here near the Ocean!(seems some people feel it is a"dumping ground" of sorts' for unwanted animals..urgggggggg) I ran out of people(so I thought) who would help me find homes for all of these cats, dogs and birds! Everyone in my house has been rescued from one situation to another. I had a bumper sticker on my old Jeep from PETA stating to save a life by rescuing one! The Jeep is now gone, so I need the saying once again! :)
I honestly feel this T-shirt is something that needs to be apart of my wardrobe! I know all of my dogs cats and birds would agree, too! One person CAN make a difference! For all the kind people who continue to save the animals, I salute you! Blessings!
Well, not only do I have THE coolest shelter animal, but I have FOUR of the coolest shelter animals ever! We adopted our two little brother kitties when they were babies, they were neglected at a young age, left in a tiny cage with their mama and other siblings with no social interaction before they were turned in. We knew we had to save these little guys, and there was no way I could say no to their adorable little faces. That is how Lloyd and Harry came about in our household. We had to work with them for over a month before they would trust us and let us actually touch them, but our patience paid off. We have the sweetest, most loving, crazy kitties ever now. Lloyd is called “Drive-By Doyd” in our house because of his frequent drive-bys to get your attention while you’re in bed, most of the time sleeping! But we love them and wouldn’t trade them for anything.
Shortly after we saved Lloyd and Harry I was looking online and found “Hank” a nine year old orange cat that had been in a no-kill shelter for over 6 months. When I called about Hank the shelter had nothing but great things to say about their favorite shelter cat, but nobody wanted to adopt him because of his age. So I drove over one hour to take a look at Hank and fell in love with his laid back personality and took him home that day so he could live the rest of his life with our ever growing family. Hank now goes by Gator (Florida Gators fan in our household), and I believe Gator knows that we saved him to give him a better life. He loves to head butt you to get your attention, hangs out outside on nice sunny days (on a leash, I’m an over-protective mom and he got out once and came home after being in the mouth of another animal), he is laid back and everyone just loves his “chill attitude.” When he is cuddling up along side of me at night I think of how lucky I am to have Mr. Gator-Hank.
Recently we adopted a Bullmastiff, Morgan from a rescue group. She is the apple of my eye and is everything I have ever wanted in a dog. She loves everyone and everything, and helps me teach people that large dogs are not scary and to give them a chance. Gator is her best friend, but I’m not so sure she is Gator’s best friend. I love when her and Gator are outside and she gets so excited to see him and runs as fast as her 110 pound self will let her go (which isn’t very fast) and kisses Gator all up. He lets her slobber him affectionately, but he doesn’t like it and after a while will finally walk away. She is always trying to play with the little kitties, and they’ll play until she play bows – which scares those cats to death! She doesn’t quite understand her size I don’t think.
Because of my animals I have turned vegetarian (working on vegan), volunteer for rescue groups and at the local no-kill humane society. I am constantly telling everyone the benefits of adopting a pet, as you will never feel love like an adopted pet can give you, for they know what you’ve done for them and they know how much you appreciate and love them for all they’re worth.
we lost our rescue dog toby to cancer of the lymphatic system last year, but for the short while we had him he was the greatest dog imaginable.
toby and his littermates were found abandoned in a box on new-year's day. some had died but the others were raised on bottles by the good people of the scottish spca, and when they were old enough to re-home toby came to us. he was a true angel (as so many dogs are) and it was a joy to have shared his too-short life. it hurts so bad to lose a dog, i can't understand how some people can just abandon theirs. but their loss can was definitely my gain =)
I've always adopted my dogs from a shelter, and have had a few cool ones over the years. But the coolest dogs in the world are retired greyhounds! I now volunteer at a shelter, and have been on a few rescues. I've seen greyhounds come from the worst situations you can possibly imagine, and yet they still give us humans a second chance. Of course they all have their own distinct personalities, but they mostly are sweet, affectionate, and downright silly!!! I am owned by two now, and my girl Star says she wants me to wear that t-shirt. (My boy Finley would ball it up & sleep on it!)
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