Doggo Debunked: How Adopting A Shelter Dog Can Change Your Life For The Better

Are you ready to make a FUR-riend for life? Then mark your calendars, because Adopt a Shelter Dog Day is just around corner! This April 30th HOWL-iday is a great opportunity to give a shelter dog a new lease on life and make your family complete. 

Don't be afraid to wag your tail and show your support for shelter dogs everywhere, because when you adopt, you're not just making a furry friend, you're saving a life.

According to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter animal shelters in the United States each year, and of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs. 

UnFURtunately, not all doggos get the opportunity to find their forever homes…We Love Doggos Charity will not stand for that and work around the clock to transport dogs from high-risk shelters into safe-haven shelters and foster homes. We know JUST how good it is to have a furry companion there to greet you when you walk through the door and want to share that with all of you in hopes that you make the move to get a doggo yourself!

Some of you might be thinking “I don’t have time for that,” or “I’m too busy for a pet.” Well, we’re here with another Doggo Debunked to share with you how scientists are uncovering EXACTLY how adopting a shelter dog can change your life for the better.

Adopting a shelter dog can bring numerous benefits to your life, including an increase in serotonin and oxytocin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, while oxytocin is a hormone associated with social bonding and happiness.

When you adopt a shelter dog, you open yourself up to a new source of social interaction and physical touch on the daily! Recently, a study was conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia; they found that individuals who adopted shelter dogs experienced an increase in serotonin levels in their home environments. 

The study involved 39 dog owners, 18 of whom had adopted their dogs from animal shelters, and 21 who had purchased their dogs from breeders. The study found that the individuals who had adopted shelter dogs had significantly higher levels of serotonin compared to those who had purchased their dogs from breeders!

Additionally, the study found that the individuals who had adopted shelter dogs also had lower levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress. 

What does all this scientific jargon mean exactly? We’ll break it down for you…adopting a shelter dog can bring more than just joy and unconditional love into your life; it can also lead to improved mental health and overall well-being. These findings suggest that shelter dogs can have a positive impact on serotonin and stress levels in humans.

On behalf of all the rescue dogs in our We Love Doggos Community, we urge you to consider adopting…not shopping. We are certain that it was have a PAWsitive impact on your daily life. As the late Betty White once said, “If you want a best friend, you can adopt one!”

Let us know if you do! If you adopt a shelter dog this upcoming April 30th, share your story with us in the comments below.