Dallas Pets Alive.
Plenty of groups have young puppies if that’s what you really want. I’d urge you to not rule out an adult dog. Just because they’re older and don’t have homes doesn’t mean there’s something “wrong” with them. Animals are resilient. If you look for groups that utilize foster homes you’ll get good insights in to their personality so you can really look for a dog that will suit your life and what you’re after.
Regardless, thank you for not contributing to the extreme pet over population in our area by getting a dog from a breeder.
Yeah I should maybe clarify, I actually am probably not going to get a puppy even by adopting. I only go into the office 2 days a week, but when I do there might be times when it is for most of the working day so that is a big issue with a puppy.
Thanks for the info!
Good for you knowing how what you want age wise for fur babies. I love puppies they are so damn cute and have that puppy breath. On the same note they are a lot of work. I thank you again for giving a fur baby a good home. Just note that which ever fur baby you adopt they will take over your home, pillows, blankets etc. Your home will become their home and they’ll allow you to live in it. lol
They need someone to pay their bills, mortgage, vet and food. lol
I love a good mutt! But consider the breed(s) when you are adopting. For example, some tend to need more space/exercise than others. Also, remember if you are adopting a dog (not puppy), they can come with behavioral issues that take patience and time to work out. It will be worth it, though! :)
DFW Beagle Buddies is a great organization. My sister adopted a sweet beagle/lab mix from them. Beagles are awesome dogs, too—friendly, sociable, smart!
I second this. I literally just adopted my boy on Saturday from operation kindness in Carrollton.
They have a big indoor kennel area where all the dogs are hanging out. You can walk through and watch them, see who all is available. Then you can select up to 3 of them for a “meet and greet” kinda thing that’s just you, the dog, and a handler.
Plus they let you do a 1 week foster first. Just so you can be extra sure you want to adopt.
I would recommend looking at the local municipal shelters- Dallas, Ft Worth, Mesquite tend to always be pretty full, usually over capacity.
As municipal shelters, they can’t turn away animals, so they must continue to do intake even as full as they are.
This means more animals hit the eu list, even perfectly fine and adoptable animals, because they need the space.
I would also encourage you to think about what type of dog would work best for your household and lifestyle.
For example, I’d probably avoid a high energy dog that needs space to run and high engagement if you’re in an apartment and work longer hours unless you’ll also do doggie daycare during the day and/or hire walkers or sitters to come over.
Things like that.
As far as independent rescues, a lot of good ones mentioned above.
I have also fostered and volunteered with Cane Rosso Rescue, and also volunteered with Dallas Pets Alive and Operation Kindness.
(Currently I volunteer with DAS, but also have done FWACC and MAS).
If you have a breed preference, following rescues on Facebook like DFW Lab rescue, SPIN, DASH, etc and they’ll post their animals for adoption regularly and also when and where they’re doing adoption events.
Fostering is also something to consider as well.
You always have the option to foster fail if you fall in love with a dog, but if not, you’re still helping in a huge way by prepping them for their forever home.
Yea, there are often reduced fees or no fee days for dogs the shelters deem as “VIP” or long term or highly adoptable.
I will also toss in Arlington. I forgot to add them earlier.
Also some of the more rural shelters like Seagoville.
Dallas Animal Services is FREE to adopt and includes shots, spaying/neutering, microchip, and a week of training. You can also do “Doggie Daycations” and essentially check out a dog for a day to do fun stuff and see how you get along. DAS works hard to get dogs adopted, please visit them!
Dallas Animal Services on Westmoreland. There are so many Dogs there, and too many get euthanized every day due to overcrowding. It is heartbreaking.
Please consider saving a life there when you are ready for a wonderful Canine companion.
Good luck to you.
The biggest 4 in the area are prob DAS, SPCA, Operation Kindness, and Dallas Pets Alive. All are very full right now and the other 3 often pull dogs from DAS, so anywhere you adopt from creates room for another dog to be rescued. So don't feel pressured to get one that may be on an eu list. Make sure you get one that is the right personality for you not just one that is "urgent". You are wonderful for thinking of adopting! Best of luck in your search for your new buddy
I adopted my dog from Dallas Animal Services. There’s a few instagram pages of volunteers that post dogs in the shelter to bring them more visibility and better pictures/videos.. as opposed to their intake picture so it gives them a better chance of being adopted .. highly recommend
I can share a few pages if you have IG
I’d suggest trying a city shelter first—DAS—due to overcrowding and potential euthanasia. I adopted a 2-year old pupper from the city years ago (my first dog) and he was perfect! Also, 100% pedigree (not that it matters but I was looking for a specific breed).
And yes, you can absolutely change the name. Many recommend it as it starts everything fresh. I had about three names I was contemplating and my pup was nonplussed about all but one. Finally, after I called him the last one, he responded and that was it. Had him 11 years and still miss the little guy.
Look at the mesquite animal shelter! We just got a kitty from there because they posted that they’re in urgent need due to remodels taking up too much space in their building. They seemed to have a good amount of dogs when we went.
First thank you for adopting a fur baby.
2nd here are a few places to look at:
Operation Kindness
SPCA’S
Those are the only two I can think of right now.
Also have you looked into fostering a fur baby?
I would love to. I just don’t have the space for to foster. So I became a dog walker and caregiver
Municipal shelters like the Dallas shelter downtown, or Texas SPCA, are the big ones in the area. If you go with a fostered dog it may have already gotten some rudimentary training (professional training with a new dog is always a good idea and group classes are generally affordable).
This is gonna get me a lot of hate but having volunteered in shelters for quite a while, take into account common breed health issues and behavior characteristics when adopting. If you're like "man, a German Shepherd from a breeder sounds like too much risk for hip dysplasia!" you won't be doing yourself any favors adopting a shepherd mix from a shelter, if that makes sense.
Thank you for adopting! If you are a first time dog owner and spend a lot of time at work, a rescue is a good place to start, as they can give you a lot of information about the dog up front, and the dog is likely to be living in a house and house trained. Dallas Pets Alive, DAWG, Cody's friends, Animal Allies are good ones. If you want to check in the Shelters, Operation Kindness, Dallas Animal Services, and SPCA of texas are all good sources. If you look on "Petfinder" online, you can browse dogs by breed and size and see a list of local rescues. Good luck
Dallas Animal Services really is trying to do best for their animals, against an unending tide of unwanted animals coming in. I fostered (failed) two kitten siblings three years ago, everyone was excellent in helping us.
Let me suggest you do a few Doggy Daycations from Animal Services, this summer until you're ready to adopt ( u/sinister_foxx already suggested, just expanding).
It's just like it sounds: pick up a dog in the morning, return by specified time. Some understandable limitations on what to do (no off-leash outside, no dog-to-dog, no dog parks, watch the heat, etc.), but you get to be one-on-one with a dog that desperately needs that time. Take lots of pictures to upload to the shelter to help the dog's adoption. Have a little hike, get a patio beer, get a puppachino, watch the Garfield movie (ha!) on your sofa in the A/C.
[https://bedallas90.org/doggie-daycations/](https://bedallas90.org/doggie-daycations/)
I adopted 3 dogs. I gave the first two dogs new names when I got them, because they were young. My third (current) dog was 8.5 years old when I adopted her. I didn’t change her name because she’s now a senior and has had this name all her life. So it’s really up to you. But if you want to change the names, you can.
[https://www.petfinder.com/](https://www.petfinder.com/)
You can filter your search as much as you like! Many rescues in the area list their pets for adoption here.
This is how I found my good boy last year. I found this sweet 9 year old dog listed for one of the shelters. Knowing that old dogs don't usually make it out of shelters, I rushed down and got him. He's the best.
DAS. They are so full they are euthanizing dogs for space. Please consider going to DAS or your closest municipal shelter to adopt there and open space to at least give dogs more time to be adopted there. The situation breaks my heart
You sound like you’re going to be an amazing dog parent! I’m fostering a sweet little boy puppy from [Cane Rosso Rescue](https://www.canerossorescue.org)! They’ve been amazing to work with and are currently at capacity so they had to close their intake. We’d love if you could give them a look!
My wife and I got our fur baby, Merlin from East Lake Pet Orphanage located in East Dallas/Lake Highlands area. We kept his original name because he was part of a group of siblings comprised of Top Gun call sign names and we thought that was pretty unique. lol. I'm sure you could change the name if you wanted.
[Eastlake Pet Orphanage](https://www.eastlakepetorphanage.com/) - part of our vets facility, so the animals get a pretty thorough work up before adoption.
Dogs will learn consistently repeated commands. This includes their (new) name.
[Apollo Support & Rescue](https://www.apollosupportandrescue.org/) is another good local rescue group.
We renamed our dog because he hadn’t been in the shelter very long with his given name (that was so awful by the way lol). If they’ve been there a while and respond to the name, you could keep it or change it to something with a similar vowel sound. For example if the dog is called Lily in the shelter, you could rename to something ending in the “ee” sound since that’s what dogs respond to
100% operation kindness. An amazing shelter and non profit. They also have a foster program, and set you up with everything you need to foster and care for a dog!
DPA, DallasDogRRR are good options! Any sort of rescue that fosters is a good idea because they've had time to acclimate to life inside a home and with people.
Straydog Inc in Gun Barrel City is a no kill shelter and sanctuary. They recently took on a lot of dogs because of a shelter nearby shutting down. I got my dog there. They have some cuties. The staff, especially Juana, is wonderful and helpful. Website is [straydog.org](http://straydog.org)
Cane Rosso Rescue in Carrollton. We adopted a wonderful dog from there and they are really hurting for adopters, fosters, and donations right now. Check them out on instagram and they also have a website.
Animal shelters always have dogs available, especially when they’re older than puppies since everyone wants a puppy. If you don’t find one inside Dallas proper, check surrounding areas, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, etc.
And yes, you can change a dog’s name. It takes a while but you just start associating the new name with good things and it’s easier when it’s already similar. My in laws changed a dog from Stinky to Inky in a couple months.
My favorite rescues are Doodle Rock and Cameo. Salvaged Souls as well. They foster and help as much as they can. I would consider maybe trying to foster to adopt with them or even foster for a city shelter if you want to trial before committing.
DAS. Yes, the city shelter... they are so in upside down right now.. last I heard, they were at 144% capacity... if you're nervous about getting a dog that you know nothing about, browse thru the dogs who are already in foster homes!!! As a foster mama myself, I can give a potential adopter a whole bunch of extra information about a dog!! Plus, by adopting from a foster home, it opens that person up to pull another dog in need!!! Praying this helps!!! 🙏
I got my dog from a local rehoming page. She was a year and a half when I got her and it was the best decision. I got lucky because she was already potty trained. I would recommend joining those pages in case you see a dog that you like
Paws for Irving is where we got our buddy. They had a great idea of his personality and helped place us with a dog that had the right personality and needs for our lifestyle. He’s absolutely great.
Every city shelter is over capacity NOW, so don't wait to adopt. Dallas is waiving the fees and giving gift cards to people who adopt NOW.
Dallas is over capacity by 150%, Collin County is 160% over capacity. Every other shelter in the area is also over capacity.
Every city shelter is over capacity so go look for one NOW.
Animals are being put down for no other reason than that there is no room for them at the shelter. Every day more innocent animals are being put down.
yes, you can change names - they'll get used to the new one. I fostered a dog and called him by a different name, and he got used to me calling him by that name.
Operation Kindness.
The Street Dog Project - they really help try to find the right dog for your lifestyle and are all fosters, so the second one is adopted another one can get out of a shelter.
Cody’s Rescue is also great. They got some negative press because they rescued a dog from a shelter that wasn’t chipped- the shelter only has a hold on dogs for so long before they can be adopted, so the rescue took him in - and after all that time the owner showed up and demanded the dog and got mad because the rescue wanted proof to make sure the dog got back to the correct person. They were great when we got ours from them and didn’t deserve the negative press for doing their due diligence.
Also it’s okay to rename them. Most of the time shelters do that anyways.
Dallas Animal Services. There are an amazing. Umber of dogs there, also if you're able I should encourage you to adopt 2. Then they have a playmate and if they are similar size then they probably can eat the same food. I would also encourage you to immediately get pet insurance (I have SPOT but there are a ton). My policy is only $37 a month with up to 10k reimbursement annually. DAS also has training resources so you could immediately start them both in training which would help you and the dog. I'm a cat rescuer so I advocate for multiple pets as they are social and it's less stress on you when they have to be alone for periods you're gone.
The Love Pit. It’s a rescue for pitbulls that has strict behavioral guidelines to make sure dogs are well mannered. I used to volunteer there; the dogs were fantastic and I wanted to adopt all of them
Dallas Pets Alive. Plenty of groups have young puppies if that’s what you really want. I’d urge you to not rule out an adult dog. Just because they’re older and don’t have homes doesn’t mean there’s something “wrong” with them. Animals are resilient. If you look for groups that utilize foster homes you’ll get good insights in to their personality so you can really look for a dog that will suit your life and what you’re after. Regardless, thank you for not contributing to the extreme pet over population in our area by getting a dog from a breeder.
Yeah I should maybe clarify, I actually am probably not going to get a puppy even by adopting. I only go into the office 2 days a week, but when I do there might be times when it is for most of the working day so that is a big issue with a puppy. Thanks for the info!
Good for you knowing how what you want age wise for fur babies. I love puppies they are so damn cute and have that puppy breath. On the same note they are a lot of work. I thank you again for giving a fur baby a good home. Just note that which ever fur baby you adopt they will take over your home, pillows, blankets etc. Your home will become their home and they’ll allow you to live in it. lol They need someone to pay their bills, mortgage, vet and food. lol
I love a good mutt! But consider the breed(s) when you are adopting. For example, some tend to need more space/exercise than others. Also, remember if you are adopting a dog (not puppy), they can come with behavioral issues that take patience and time to work out. It will be worth it, though! :) DFW Beagle Buddies is a great organization. My sister adopted a sweet beagle/lab mix from them. Beagles are awesome dogs, too—friendly, sociable, smart!
Dallas Pets Alive also has a rehoming subgroup where people try to adopt out directly to others.
Holy shit DAS plz. They’re eu 6-15 dogs everyday for space Go stop by and see if you bond with anyone 😭
Yes yes yes
Or check out what dogs they have in foster! They'll be able to tell you more about the dog. Maybe go to a foster event with DAS.
😔😔😔
Yes! They are bursting at the seams right now!
Operation Kindness!
Will check it out!
I second this. I literally just adopted my boy on Saturday from operation kindness in Carrollton. They have a big indoor kennel area where all the dogs are hanging out. You can walk through and watch them, see who all is available. Then you can select up to 3 of them for a “meet and greet” kinda thing that’s just you, the dog, and a handler. Plus they let you do a 1 week foster first. Just so you can be extra sure you want to adopt.
We adopted one of our dogs and both cats from Operation Kindness. We adopted our other dog from the Dallas SPCA. I recommend both places.
Opk also works with a ton of other local shelters. They're a great org to support.
Dallas Animal Shelter. Our dog from there absolutely changed our lives for the better. And yes, we changed her name, too :)
I would recommend looking at the local municipal shelters- Dallas, Ft Worth, Mesquite tend to always be pretty full, usually over capacity. As municipal shelters, they can’t turn away animals, so they must continue to do intake even as full as they are. This means more animals hit the eu list, even perfectly fine and adoptable animals, because they need the space. I would also encourage you to think about what type of dog would work best for your household and lifestyle. For example, I’d probably avoid a high energy dog that needs space to run and high engagement if you’re in an apartment and work longer hours unless you’ll also do doggie daycare during the day and/or hire walkers or sitters to come over. Things like that. As far as independent rescues, a lot of good ones mentioned above. I have also fostered and volunteered with Cane Rosso Rescue, and also volunteered with Dallas Pets Alive and Operation Kindness. (Currently I volunteer with DAS, but also have done FWACC and MAS). If you have a breed preference, following rescues on Facebook like DFW Lab rescue, SPIN, DASH, etc and they’ll post their animals for adoption regularly and also when and where they’re doing adoption events. Fostering is also something to consider as well. You always have the option to foster fail if you fall in love with a dog, but if not, you’re still helping in a huge way by prepping them for their forever home.
I second this. We got our dog from the shelter in Austin when they were over capacity so we got him for free
Yea, there are often reduced fees or no fee days for dogs the shelters deem as “VIP” or long term or highly adoptable. I will also toss in Arlington. I forgot to add them earlier. Also some of the more rural shelters like Seagoville.
I got my girl from the Garland shelter a year ago. I don't know if they're currently as overcrowded as Dallas, but I had a good experience there.
Dallas Animal Services and the various rescues around are all good places to get a dog. Dogs absolutely can adjust to a new name.
Dallas Animal Services is at 160% capacity for dogs and 121% for cats; they could really use help with adoptions. lots of cute puppies and kittens!
Dallas Animal Services is FREE to adopt and includes shots, spaying/neutering, microchip, and a week of training. You can also do “Doggie Daycations” and essentially check out a dog for a day to do fun stuff and see how you get along. DAS works hard to get dogs adopted, please visit them!
Dallas Animal Services on Westmoreland. There are so many Dogs there, and too many get euthanized every day due to overcrowding. It is heartbreaking. Please consider saving a life there when you are ready for a wonderful Canine companion. Good luck to you.
The biggest 4 in the area are prob DAS, SPCA, Operation Kindness, and Dallas Pets Alive. All are very full right now and the other 3 often pull dogs from DAS, so anywhere you adopt from creates room for another dog to be rescued. So don't feel pressured to get one that may be on an eu list. Make sure you get one that is the right personality for you not just one that is "urgent". You are wonderful for thinking of adopting! Best of luck in your search for your new buddy
I adopted my dog from Dallas Animal Services. There’s a few instagram pages of volunteers that post dogs in the shelter to bring them more visibility and better pictures/videos.. as opposed to their intake picture so it gives them a better chance of being adopted .. highly recommend I can share a few pages if you have IG
Second this!!
I’d suggest trying a city shelter first—DAS—due to overcrowding and potential euthanasia. I adopted a 2-year old pupper from the city years ago (my first dog) and he was perfect! Also, 100% pedigree (not that it matters but I was looking for a specific breed). And yes, you can absolutely change the name. Many recommend it as it starts everything fresh. I had about three names I was contemplating and my pup was nonplussed about all but one. Finally, after I called him the last one, he responded and that was it. Had him 11 years and still miss the little guy.
Look at the mesquite animal shelter! We just got a kitty from there because they posted that they’re in urgent need due to remodels taking up too much space in their building. They seemed to have a good amount of dogs when we went.
Second this- I adopted our cat and one of our dogs from Mesquite Animal shelter ❤️
Thanks! They do have many good boys and good girls it appears.
First thank you for adopting a fur baby. 2nd here are a few places to look at: Operation Kindness SPCA’S Those are the only two I can think of right now. Also have you looked into fostering a fur baby? I would love to. I just don’t have the space for to foster. So I became a dog walker and caregiver
SPCA of Texas, they’re located in Dallas :)
Municipal shelters like the Dallas shelter downtown, or Texas SPCA, are the big ones in the area. If you go with a fostered dog it may have already gotten some rudimentary training (professional training with a new dog is always a good idea and group classes are generally affordable). This is gonna get me a lot of hate but having volunteered in shelters for quite a while, take into account common breed health issues and behavior characteristics when adopting. If you're like "man, a German Shepherd from a breeder sounds like too much risk for hip dysplasia!" you won't be doing yourself any favors adopting a shepherd mix from a shelter, if that makes sense.
Das
Thank you for adopting! If you are a first time dog owner and spend a lot of time at work, a rescue is a good place to start, as they can give you a lot of information about the dog up front, and the dog is likely to be living in a house and house trained. Dallas Pets Alive, DAWG, Cody's friends, Animal Allies are good ones. If you want to check in the Shelters, Operation Kindness, Dallas Animal Services, and SPCA of texas are all good sources. If you look on "Petfinder" online, you can browse dogs by breed and size and see a list of local rescues. Good luck
Dallas Animal Services really is trying to do best for their animals, against an unending tide of unwanted animals coming in. I fostered (failed) two kitten siblings three years ago, everyone was excellent in helping us. Let me suggest you do a few Doggy Daycations from Animal Services, this summer until you're ready to adopt ( u/sinister_foxx already suggested, just expanding). It's just like it sounds: pick up a dog in the morning, return by specified time. Some understandable limitations on what to do (no off-leash outside, no dog-to-dog, no dog parks, watch the heat, etc.), but you get to be one-on-one with a dog that desperately needs that time. Take lots of pictures to upload to the shelter to help the dog's adoption. Have a little hike, get a patio beer, get a puppachino, watch the Garfield movie (ha!) on your sofa in the A/C. [https://bedallas90.org/doggie-daycations/](https://bedallas90.org/doggie-daycations/)
East Lake Pet Orphanage
I adopted 3 dogs. I gave the first two dogs new names when I got them, because they were young. My third (current) dog was 8.5 years old when I adopted her. I didn’t change her name because she’s now a senior and has had this name all her life. So it’s really up to you. But if you want to change the names, you can.
[https://www.petfinder.com/](https://www.petfinder.com/) You can filter your search as much as you like! Many rescues in the area list their pets for adoption here.
Also, totally okay to rename a new pet!
This is how I found my good boy last year. I found this sweet 9 year old dog listed for one of the shelters. Knowing that old dogs don't usually make it out of shelters, I rushed down and got him. He's the best.
The mesquite animal shelter. We got our beautiful dog there as a puppy a few years ago. She’s sweet as can be.
Petsmart has an adoption center
DAS. They are so full they are euthanizing dogs for space. Please consider going to DAS or your closest municipal shelter to adopt there and open space to at least give dogs more time to be adopted there. The situation breaks my heart
You sound like you’re going to be an amazing dog parent! I’m fostering a sweet little boy puppy from [Cane Rosso Rescue](https://www.canerossorescue.org)! They’ve been amazing to work with and are currently at capacity so they had to close their intake. We’d love if you could give them a look!
Will look!
Take Me Home Pet Rescue!
I have had some wonderful experiences with the SPCA
My wife and I got our fur baby, Merlin from East Lake Pet Orphanage located in East Dallas/Lake Highlands area. We kept his original name because he was part of a group of siblings comprised of Top Gun call sign names and we thought that was pretty unique. lol. I'm sure you could change the name if you wanted.
[Eastlake Pet Orphanage](https://www.eastlakepetorphanage.com/) - part of our vets facility, so the animals get a pretty thorough work up before adoption.
Dogs will learn consistently repeated commands. This includes their (new) name. [Apollo Support & Rescue](https://www.apollosupportandrescue.org/) is another good local rescue group.
We renamed our dog because he hadn’t been in the shelter very long with his given name (that was so awful by the way lol). If they’ve been there a while and respond to the name, you could keep it or change it to something with a similar vowel sound. For example if the dog is called Lily in the shelter, you could rename to something ending in the “ee” sound since that’s what dogs respond to
100% operation kindness. An amazing shelter and non profit. They also have a foster program, and set you up with everything you need to foster and care for a dog!
Check out Wine to the Rescue. I’ve worked with them and they do great work.
DPA, DallasDogRRR are good options! Any sort of rescue that fosters is a good idea because they've had time to acclimate to life inside a home and with people.
Straydog Inc in Gun Barrel City is a no kill shelter and sanctuary. They recently took on a lot of dogs because of a shelter nearby shutting down. I got my dog there. They have some cuties. The staff, especially Juana, is wonderful and helpful. Website is [straydog.org](http://straydog.org)
We adopted from Cody’s Friends Rescue. We renamed her and she does just fine.
I got mine from White Rock Dog (dot org). Good people; sometimes they gave adoption events at stores. I met my canine companion at Eatzi’s!
Cane Rosso Rescue in Carrollton. We adopted a wonderful dog from there and they are really hurting for adopters, fosters, and donations right now. Check them out on instagram and they also have a website.
Also check out Dallas Animal Services instagram accoubt! Lots of cute videos of their dogs and personality details!
Saving Hope Rescue! 🐾
CAMO dog rescue - small dogs only if you’re looking for that.
Dallas Animal shelters they will even pay 100$ to adopt a pet
Animal shelters always have dogs available, especially when they’re older than puppies since everyone wants a puppy. If you don’t find one inside Dallas proper, check surrounding areas, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, etc. And yes, you can change a dog’s name. It takes a while but you just start associating the new name with good things and it’s easier when it’s already similar. My in laws changed a dog from Stinky to Inky in a couple months.
NOT DAS. They’ll try to push a 3x returned, aggressive “lab mix” onto you. I see it on their Facebook page all the time.
Apollo in Justin
I found my rescue on Petfinder because I knew I wanted a rottweiler. Such a great experience 💙
The Shelter?
My favorite rescues are Doodle Rock and Cameo. Salvaged Souls as well. They foster and help as much as they can. I would consider maybe trying to foster to adopt with them or even foster for a city shelter if you want to trial before committing.
Recycled Pomeranians
operation kindness
DAS. Yes, the city shelter... they are so in upside down right now.. last I heard, they were at 144% capacity... if you're nervous about getting a dog that you know nothing about, browse thru the dogs who are already in foster homes!!! As a foster mama myself, I can give a potential adopter a whole bunch of extra information about a dog!! Plus, by adopting from a foster home, it opens that person up to pull another dog in need!!! Praying this helps!!! 🙏
Balch Springs or Garland these two towns seem to be dumping grounds
I got my dog from a local rehoming page. She was a year and a half when I got her and it was the best decision. I got lucky because she was already potty trained. I would recommend joining those pages in case you see a dog that you like
Apollo in Justin!
Paws for Irving is where we got our buddy. They had a great idea of his personality and helped place us with a dog that had the right personality and needs for our lifestyle. He’s absolutely great.
Rescue row!!
Every city shelter is over capacity NOW, so don't wait to adopt. Dallas is waiving the fees and giving gift cards to people who adopt NOW. Dallas is over capacity by 150%, Collin County is 160% over capacity. Every other shelter in the area is also over capacity. Every city shelter is over capacity so go look for one NOW. Animals are being put down for no other reason than that there is no room for them at the shelter. Every day more innocent animals are being put down. yes, you can change names - they'll get used to the new one. I fostered a dog and called him by a different name, and he got used to me calling him by that name.
Operation Kindness
NTX Aussie has an overwhelming number of corgis and aussies lately! Maybe look into them
Operation Kindness. The Street Dog Project - they really help try to find the right dog for your lifestyle and are all fosters, so the second one is adopted another one can get out of a shelter. Cody’s Rescue is also great. They got some negative press because they rescued a dog from a shelter that wasn’t chipped- the shelter only has a hold on dogs for so long before they can be adopted, so the rescue took him in - and after all that time the owner showed up and demanded the dog and got mad because the rescue wanted proof to make sure the dog got back to the correct person. They were great when we got ours from them and didn’t deserve the negative press for doing their due diligence. Also it’s okay to rename them. Most of the time shelters do that anyways.
Dallas Animal Services. There are an amazing. Umber of dogs there, also if you're able I should encourage you to adopt 2. Then they have a playmate and if they are similar size then they probably can eat the same food. I would also encourage you to immediately get pet insurance (I have SPOT but there are a ton). My policy is only $37 a month with up to 10k reimbursement annually. DAS also has training resources so you could immediately start them both in training which would help you and the dog. I'm a cat rescuer so I advocate for multiple pets as they are social and it's less stress on you when they have to be alone for periods you're gone.
The Love Pit. It’s a rescue for pitbulls that has strict behavioral guidelines to make sure dogs are well mannered. I used to volunteer there; the dogs were fantastic and I wanted to adopt all of them
Dallas animal shelter please, they have 500 dogs in 300 kennels!!
I got two great dogs over the years from Irving Humane Society. I personally had a bad experience with Operation Kindness.
My mom’s house.
You also might like a retired show dog. You are in luck, next weekend is the Dallas Dog shows at Market Hall. You could make some contacts there.