COLD WEATHER TIPS

Your pet needs lots of fresh, clean, cool (not frozen) water every day.

Make sure your pet has a warm place to sleep, out of drafts.

Remove ice or snow from between your pet's toes after a winter walk.

Pet sweaters are good only if the dog does not live outdoors and the sweater will not get wet. (If the sweater gets wet, it will actually make things worse.)

Thump the hood of your car before starting the engine to scare out any sleeping kitties.

Make sure your pet doesn't have access to antifreeze. It's poison.

Why Rescued Dogs?

Too many dogs. Not enough homes.
Up to at least 4 million animals are put to death in the United States every year because no one wants them; there are not enough homes for them. In the Healing Species founding chapter location of Orangeburg, SC, over 5,000 animals are put to death every year because no one wants them. There are not enough homes – so we beg you not to breed or buy while waiting dogs die.

Rescued dogs make great companions.
Rescued dogs actually do know they've been rescued and tend to be extremely appreciative, loyal, protective, and loving companions. Dogs are "pack animals." That means they are extremely social. When they've been abandoned, abused, or discarded by the only pack they know today, humans, and because humans domesticated the dog, they are extremely thrilled to get a new pack – your family!

Healing Species dogs come with a good bill of health. We go to great expense, effort, and veterinary specialty to ensure that even the sickest of dogs we rescue are healthy by the time they are adoptable.

It’s better to “adopt” than to “purchase.”
Dog breeding is often an ugly business. You see the cutest puppies promoted on the internet, at the flea market, or in the store. But behind the scenes, countless undercover investigations reveal horrid living conditions for the adults who produce those cute puppies. The breeding adults are seen as a "thing," a commodity, a tool to raise money- they often live stacked on top of each other in crates, with no social interaction or exercise, nor even light of day in dark warehouses. Their fur is often matted to the point that maggots are festering within attached feces to the dog. The females are re-impregnated immediately upon nursing their last litter only to give birth over and over, to have her offspring snatched away time and time and time again. The adult breeding dog's welfare is not a consideration. Even their health is not a consideration, because it is cheaper to allow them to suffer from illness than to pay for veterinary care. Oftentimes broken limbs, extreme arthritis, intestinal parasites, skin disease, and many other painful ailments are ignored as long as the dog can procreate. Of course on the internet or in the stores- you will not be shown this ugly side to the business. Many breeders put forth very positive images of their "facilities."

Healing Species believes that the most enlightened way to look at this issue is to consider that, where there is sentient life (especially life as social, intelligent, and loving as dogs) they should never be used as a commodity or means to produce income. With millions of dogs destroyed each year because there are no homes for them – our society does not run the risk of eliminating fabulous dogs.

By adopting a Healing Species rescued dog, you are part of the solution!