National Puppy Day

Observed each year on March 23^rd, National Puppy Day celebrates the unconditional love and affection puppies bring to our lives. Colleen Paige Celebrity Pet & Home Lifestyle Expert and Author is recognized with starting the National Puppy Day movement in 2006. The idea is to focus awareness on puppies in need of adoption, and on the abuses found in puppy mills. Adopting is one of the best things you can do in life. Not only do you get a best friend, but a new family member for life! Dogs represent true love, who could pass up this never-ending affection? A puppy mill is an inhumane high-volume dog breeding facility that churns out puppies for profit, ignoring the needs of the pups and their mothers. Dogs from puppy mills are often sick and unsocialized. There are about 8,000 to 10,000 puppy mills in the United States including “backyard breeders”. Puppy Mills are the main reason why there is an overpopulation of dogs in the United States, along with lack of spaying a neutering. Today, the focus is to convince pet stores to stop selling puppies, so that puppy mills will diminish. If you have a puppy, celebrate the day by spending extra time with them. Take them for a walk or teach them a trick. Buy them a new toy, treat, outfit, collar, or leash. Take your puppy to a vet for a check up and make sure that all their health records are up to date. If you don’t have a puppy or can’t adopt here are some things you can do to help.

Ways to make a difference:

1. Donating time, money, food, or toys to a local shelter.
2. Create a fundraiser for a shelter.
3. Share a photo of adoptable dogs and puppies to help find their forever homes.
4. Safeguard your pet! There is nothing scarier than losing your pet. Make sure that you microchip and I.D. tag your puppy so the shelter can locate you if he gets lost.
5. Volunteer some time at a shelter to give you your recommended daily dose of dog cuteness.

Shelters conduct behavioral analysis, provide training, and medical treatment, and find great dog owner matches so their animals have a long-lasting home. Puppies are a big responsibility. Be sure to consider everything involved and adopt from a shelter. Doesn’t matter breed or gender, all puppies are the perfect solution to a terrible day! According to statistics people who have one or more pets in their lives are considerably healthier. Visit your local shelter today!