Thursday, January 30, 2014

Adopting a Dog in the City of Puppy Love - San Antonio, TX

San Antonio, TX is located just a couple of hours to the South of where we live here in Austin. Special thanks to Natallie from San Antonio Dog Life on sharing some information about dog adoption in San Antonio. The following is a guest post written by Natallie. 

Photo via H. Michael Karshis

If Philadelphia is the city of Brotherly Love, then San Antonio is the city of Puppy Love.  Everywhere you go, you will see families out walking their dogs.  The most popular destinations in the city are almost all dog-friendly.  Take a walk down the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio and you will see what I mean. 

With a warm climate, a laid back vibe, and an abundance of cultural variety, this famous frontier city has had a population explosion over the past 10-15 years.  With population growth like this comes growing pains.  Statistically speaking, the stray dog population in growing cities like this increases exponentially as families move in and out of different areas.  Luckily, San Antonio has a large contingent of animal lovers that work hard on protecting and rehousing the ever-growing stray dog population in San Antonio.

Starting in 2006, the city of San Antonio dedicated resources and time in becoming a no-kill community for companion animals.  It was actually one of the first cities in the country to do this.  No-kill means any healthy, treatable, or adoptable dog that ends up at the city shelter will not be put down simply because there is no space for them.  Talk About It SA is a city-funded program that creates awareness on the importance of CANCareAdoptNeuter.  The goal of this program is to make all of San Antonio a No-Kill city.

In addition to governmental support, there are a growing number of non-profit shelters and privately funded foundations that help educate the community on responsible dog ownership.  A good local resource guide for finding all the top No-Kill shelters, adoption agencies, and dog friendly events in San Antonio is San Antonio Dog Life.  Commonly referred to as SADL, they also sponsor a No Dog Left Behind program which, in conjunction with the largest local shelters, helps long-term shelter dogs find loving homes. 

When the number of stray dogs overcomes the limited capacity of all San Antonio No-Kill shelters, there is insurance in the form of foster programs.  There are countless fostering programs for dogs in need of loving homes throughout San Antonio.  These local communities band together to take in dogs into their homes for a period of time until there is space at the shelter or they are adopted.  It’s amazing how much love San Antonio has for animals.  Oftentimes, the foster family ends up adopting a dog themselves if that dog fits in with the current family and their dogs.

Photo via Jen

If you are interested in adopting a dog in San Antonio, you should understand that there is an abundance of support for you.  All your questions can be answered by resources like San Antonio Dog Life or Talk About It SA.  You will learn that minimal adoption fees will cover neutering and initial vet visits for vaccinations and other necessary requirements.  All you need to adopt a dog is a big heart and a loving home.  

After talking recently with 10 families that adopted shelter dogs 5 years ago, the main theme was that they all love these dogs, mostly mutts, with all their hearts.  It’s almost as if the families needed the dogs just as much as the dogs needed the families.  

So before you go about buying a dog from a pet store or a possible puppy mill, first try and see if there are any in your local shelters.  Once you visit a shelter and peer into all those guileless eyes, you will find love and a loyal companion.

30 comments:

  1. Oh wow! Great post!
    Happy Thursday!
    ((husky hugz frum da pack))

    "love is being owned by a husky"

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  2. "It’s almost as if the families needed the dogs just as much as the dogs needed the families. " that's just great! Thanks to Nathalie and to you for this great post!

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  3. Great post. Now I want to check out San Antonio!

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    1. It's a fun city! I have visited several times, but should probably be visiting more often!

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  4. This is a wonderful post. Brought a lot of memories back of our first long-distance, RV trip when son graduated basic training during Christmas/New Year's of 2008-2009 at Lackland AFB. We still had Dannyboy and Sharkly back then, and it was the beginning of 4 wonderful years of traveling WITH them and not worrying about what would happen to them while we traveled. Once someone actually retires, that's the first place we're going. A week was in no way long enough when a huge majority of it was spent on the AFB. We want to spend at least 2 weeks there without having our trip already planned for us. San Antonio is a WONDERFUL place all the way around!

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    1. It's a pretty cool town! I admittedly have not visited as much as I should, but I do have some fond memories. It was our destination in high school for Spring Break one year. We got lost 8+ hours on that loop. Lol...

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  5. Well they say here a house is a house but when you have children and pets it is a home. Bravo to all the good people who go out of their way to help animals. Have a tremendous Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  6. I love this post! And oh my gosh, I was like "oh hey, that looks like I dog I knew" ... and it was a dog I knew :) Didn't even recognize the photo was mine at first. Thanks so much for the photo shout-out, love it when they're useful.

    Now I want to visit San Antonio even more. I'm so impressed by the work they're doing on the sheltering and advocacy front.

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    1. Yep - it didn't click until I was doing the Facebook engagement thing earlier. What a small world! It's a great photo, and thank you for sharing your photos and allowing others to use them. I need to do the same more often.

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  7. My Dad has been there and he said it is a very cool place. Always adopt!

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    1. That's awesome Brian! Glad that your dad enjoyed it.

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  8. I lived in San Antonio twice in my lifetime, it is still a military city and I found it unusual that no mention of military families being unable to keep their dogs as a reason for the high numbers in shelters. We were a family there at one time that had to leave a dog behind before going overseas. In the 70s some families just abandoned their dogs and there were packs just running wild. Our neighbors dog got attacked from one of those packs in its own front yard and died. I am of course glad that they are all no kill now but I think the real source of the issue is not mentioned.

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    1. Thank you Dolly for sharing this. The large dog population in SA is something that I've only recently learned about myself. I find your story quite interesting actually and troubling :( I hope they are able to resolve that problem soon.

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  9. That's pretty cool. We did not know that about San Antonio. Sounds like a good place to live if you are a dog.

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  10. San Antonio is pawsome! My sister lives there. Sometimes when I visit we go the Riverwalk, but Maya and Pierson have never been there. I bet they would like it, especially Maya.

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    1. I have not been to the Riverwalk very much oddly enough. I remember staying at the Marriott there before with my best friend and her grandma when we were in high school. That was pretty fun!

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  11. San Antonio sounds like a great community!

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  12. Mutts are wonderful! They seem to be healthier and they're all one of a kind! We found ours right on the street and I wouldn't exchange her for anything 8 years later. - Alana.

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    1. I also found my doggy on the street in an alley :)

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  13. Great post! I wish our shelter was a NO KILL shelter.

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  14. Sure is a good place to live if your a dog :) xxxooxxxx

    Mollie and Alfie

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  15. Great post Ann. San Antonio is place we want to visit. So many dogs in the shelter that need a forever home. The 1st photo looks like taken from Chicago. Golden Woofs

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    1. I'm sure you'd enjoy it there Sugar. That picture is at the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

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  16. So cool...we were actually in San Antonio in 2006! My husband's brother used to live there, though they have since moved. We really liked it there, and I thought the River Walk was impressive so I recognized it in that first photo immediately! It's great to hear that they're doing such wonderful things for dogs.

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    1. The Riverwalk is a pretty fun place to enjoy :)

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    1. Do you mean do like their own flower? o.O I'm not sure of that one. It's the city with the Alamo in it though.

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  18. I visited San Antonio last year for the first time and absolutely loved my time there. Now, I love the city even more! I had no idea they committed to being a no-kill community. What an amazing thing! Definitely sharing this with a friend of mine in that area. Perhaps she and some friends of hers are looking for some pups to love! Much love, The Scottie Mom.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed your trip! And thank you for sharing :)

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  19. Sounds like they have a great program.

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