LIVING IN YOUR PET'S WORLD: Another animal rescued – Dayton Daily News

A sad statistic: Each year, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates that 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. shelters. Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.
Sadder: Of those, 390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats are euthanized.
Helping to stem the tide should be everyone’s goal.
Both Teddy, our dog, and Pip, our cat, came from rescue organizations — Love of Labs Indiana and Xenia-based Francis Kennels Rescue, respectively.
Our daughter, Jordan, grew up with a dog and a cat. As a kid, she would tell people her parents wanted one kid, one cat and one dog. She would point to herself first then her pets — Lucy, a mixed-breed dog from the Warren Country Humane Society, and Abby, a domestic short hair cat, from our dear friend Julie, a rescuer of stray neighbor cats — and count, “One. Two. Three.”

So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Jordan announced she and her boyfriend, Alex, were adopting a dog. She already had a cat, Wednesday, a Chantilly Tiffany she adopted from the SICSA Pet Adoption and Wellness Center in Dayton.
Jordan started her search on petfinder.com, a database of animals who need homes. It is also a directory of nearly 11,000 animal shelters and adoption organizations throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico that is updated daily.
Petfinder gives potential pet owners, like Jordan, the ability to search for a pet. They can then reference a shelter’s web page and discover what services it offers. The website has discussion forums, a pet‑care resource directory and a library of free pet‑care articles.
About a month into the search, a photo of a smaller-sized black puppy popped up on Petfinder. The little guy was with the Stray Haven Pet Rescues in Aurora, Indiana, situated in the tri‑state area between Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville.
My daughter was drawn to the pup’s bright eyes and sweet face. Alex agreed with her assessment. The fact that the dog was going to be medium in size, weighing around 40 pounds, was good for Wednesday and life in their condo.
The pup was being cared for by a rescue family in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Once Jordan and Alex’s application was approved, the two met the pup and his foster at the My Furry Valentine pet event at the Sharonville Convention Center. Papers signed, the three made their way back home to meet Wednesday, the resident family princess.
The black cat wasn’t quite as excited as Jordan and Alex about their newest member. Wednesday stared him down and then turned and walked upstairs with all the “unimpressed” dignity a princess could display.
Within a few hours of playing and watching the pup interact in his new environment, Alex thought the name “Carl” — a silly character from the Adam Sandler movie “Billy Madison” — fit the black pup.
Carl is energetic and curious. He loves to play with other dogs and will seek out pets and tummy rubs from Jordan, Alex and, well, just about everyone else.
Teddy and Carl are already friends. Together they love to roll around and chase after balls and sticks. The two wear us all out.
The black pup loves when Jordan rolls the ball down their townhouse’s staircase. Carl happily retrieves it and brings it right back to Jordan to do it all over again.
Carl was lucky. He didn’t become a sad statistic. Jordan now has her numbers in order: One kid (her), one cat and one dog. Alex is a bonus.
For more information
Petfinders.com
Strayhavenpets.org
Karin Spicer is a member of The Dog Writers Association of America. She lives with her family and two furry pets who inspire her. She can be reached at [email protected].

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