09/30/2025
October is the month every year when we turn our hearts toward the hopeful dogs waiting to find forever homes during Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) sponsors and promotes Adopt a Shelter Dog Month every October, while the American Humane Society has celebrated a month-long October campaign encouraging the adoption of shelter dogs in 1981. Community shelters make it a priority to match each dog with a compatible owner and environment to support the dog’s best second chance at a loving and stable forever home.
Today there are approximately 5,000 community animal shelters nationwide and perhaps as many as 10,000 when including rescue groups and animal sanctuaries in the count. Knowing there are so many places of refuge for unwanted dogs gives us hope that every dog in every shelter will be adopted into a loving permanent home during Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
HOW TO SUPPORT ADOPT A SHELTER DOG MONTH
1. Share your adopted dog story
Sharing your personal story of a successful shelter dog adoption is a great way to celebrate National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. Hearing about your experience may be just the catalyst that encourages another human to make room in their heart and home for a dog in need of a best friend and forever home.
2. Rescue a senior shelter dog
We admit that “puppy dog eyes” are hard to resist. But the most loyal of all dogs may well be the senior dog rescued from a shelter. The advantages of adopting an older dog may include fewer “accidents” since most older dogs are house broken, less destructive chewing (common problem with young dogs) and saving money on obedience classes.
3. Volunteer as a doggy foster parent
If you already own a dog or love dogs but cannot commit to having a dog in your home long term, maybe being a doggy foster parent is right for you. National Adopt a Dog Month is the perfect time to contact your local shelter about providing foster care for a dog. There is a great need for people willing to provide temporary, safe, caring homes for dogs in transition who need to be observed before being made available for adoption.
5 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT DOG OWNERSHIP
1. Increased physical activity and socialization
Owning a dog forces otherwise “potentially” lazy humans out of bed early every morning and off the couch late every day for walks, and hopefully to the local dog park once a week for some serious dog and human playtime.
2. Better Stress Management
Petting a dog has a calming effect on people by stimulating the release of relaxation hormones and lowering levels of stress hormones in the human body, according to multiple studies including a report by Harvard Medical.
3. Dogs Promote a Natural High
Simply gazing into your dog’s eyes releases a bonding hormone in humans called oxytocin, according to one study reported on in the journal “Science.”
4. Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
Humans experience a reduction in blood pressure and a decrease in heart rate when petting a dog.
5. May protect us from heart disease
The American Heart Association released a statement in 2019 that owning a dog may in fact protect us from heart disease, based on their review of all available research on the calming effects of owning a dog.
