Clear the shelters, they tell us. Adopt an abandoned or abused animal. Donate to pay for the care of animals someone else has mistreated or didn’t want to be responsible for. What’s wrong with this campaign that’s been going on for years and shows no signs of ever solving the problem?

Well, it seems to be treating the symptoms and doing little or nothing to cure the cause. It is difficult to resist the pathetic images of neglected and abused animals, but we should remember that dogs who have survived bad relationships with people do not easily adapt to new owners. They have trouble trusting humans and are usually wary and defensive. As many as twenty percent of shelter dogs are returned as being difficult or impossible to fit into their new homes. Even dogs that have come from happy homes that were unable to keep them for unavoidable reasons are apt to have lost trust in humans and have difficulties settling into a new environment.

Dogs are by far the most frequently returned of all shelter animals, possibly because they become much more closely and emotionally dependent on their owners than other pets. Having been in complicated, mutually beneficial partnerships with humans for much longer than other animals, dogs seem to understand and care about us as much or more than we care about them, going so far as to imitate our behavior and even attempt to talk with us. It is clear that they understand many words even though they cannot speak.

All that said, it seems incredible to me that anyone would chain or pen up a dog without sufficient shelter, food and water or even the chance to seek those necessities for himself. Most dogs, left free, are capable of surviving on their own. Confining a dog in addition to neglecting him, is the cruelest act of all. It is not the thoughtless and cruel owners who support the animal shelters, they close their hearts and run away. The rest of us are asked to adopt and donate – dealing with the “symptoms” of the “disease” while the basic cause of the problem is inadequately dealt with. All this is about as effective as a band-aid would be in curing a migraine. The problem is never going to end as long as we continue as we do now. The people responsible should be the ones who pay the bills, not those of us who are constantly being asked to pay for the cruelty and neglect of others. The cause of over-crowded shelters must be eliminated, but I’ve no idea how to go about achieving that.

Meanwhile, those of us who want to help can donate to shelters and adopt or foster shelter animals, but we must take care and learn about the dogs we offer to share our homes and lives with. All dogs have unique personalities. Each breed has certain traits that are present in most individuals, but in varying degrees. Do not assume that because a breed is described as being “good with children” that all members of that breed will be the perfect pet to adopt into your young family. The individual dog’s experiences are more relevant.

My dad raised dogs for several years, and as a teenager, I attended dog shows and learned about many different breeds. Among one of the breeds that I became most familiar with, it was quite evident that each dachshund, while exhibiting most of the traits of the breed, had its own personality. Gretel, a serene black and tan grandmother was patient and obedient. Schnappsie, a muscular, low-slung, red-coated young fellow perfectly suited to his intended role of digging into badger holes and killing them, was aggressive, arrogant and lightning fast. Blondie was demure, cooperative and an exemplary mother – not at all a killer, she once attempted to mother an orphaned squirrel. There were also beagles, water spaniels and dalmatians, each individual unique and none totally typical of the standard AKC description. As for my experience with dogs in more recent years, of the four golden retrievers who have been members of our household (three from the same bloodline) no two were even close to being alike but all shared two traits – an intense desire to please and boundless playfulness.