By Joia Vieira

New York, January 8, 2019 – A trend in New York is set and this trend washes away all the feelings of loneliness. Citizens are likely to adopt a dog. More people are becoming aware of the wellness of animals and the options for adopting animals are increasing. Animal care centers are popping up everywhere, especially since NYC is such a progressive city. At Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in New York, you are able to adopt a dog for 250-350$ from any breed or size, without required records. Nowadays, open adoption is popular in the city. Dogs from all over the United States are brought to shelters in the hope of finding a new home. Open adoption means that the adoption centers do not need to know where the animals come from – they have less strict policies. Their intentions are good, since they want to pull more animals from shelters. This means they do same day adoptions where home checks, credit checks, background checks and vet checks are not required. The adoption is conversational based, which could be a risk for the animal to find a suitable home. After talking to owners of rescue dogs throughout the city center and doing some research on how the animals are doing, very joyful dogs were found.

Wally – 2 years old

At Central Park, Michael was walking his dog. ‘’The last thing I wanted was a big dog, turns out Wally was 75% Dobermann’’ says Michael. He was drunk and in love when his new girlfriend suggested they should adopt a puppy. They bought the puppy at an expensive shelter where he was spoiled and well-treated by rich people. Wally was the only dog with a white paw, out of a nest with 7 other farm dogs. They were born unintededly and the nest was too big for the previous owner to take care of. ‘’What I learned from adopting this dog is that every bad thing can turn out to be completely right. Even though it seemed like a big mistake to own such a big dog in the city, Wally is now part of the family and I cannot imagine him not waking us up every morning when he wants to play!’’.

Jango – 2 years old

Originally from an animal rescue in North Carolina, Jango was brought to his new owner on the Northern main border of Canada. Jango got a ride from 10 cars in total, going from one place to the other in order to get to his new home. Now he has moved again, to the city center of NYC. Together with his young and lively owner he is living a happy life.
‘’He has changed my life’’ says Amrita. ‘’I walk him four times a day and I got to meet a lot of new people by taking Jango out. Puppy training was not only a social event for my dog, but also for me!’’.

Asia – 1.5 Years old

‘’Asia cannot catch a ball yet. It just hits her in the face’’. Asia is the third and last rescue dog her owner will adopt. Asia’s background is unknown, but she was adopted by her owner in a rescue in New York.

The owner, a woman in her 60s named Helen, feels like she is too old to start raising another puppy, but she is very happy with Asia as her last little project. She feels like her dog is her work-out. ‘’Asia forces me to go outside and have a nice long walk. Sometimes, when I don’t hold on the her leash strongly enough, she even forces me to do a sprint.”

Biscuit and Waffles – 3 years old

Both of these dogs have been raised very well. They are not from the streets, but their owner was an older woman who passed away. The rescue center prefers them to be adopted together, since they are such good friends. The dogs were born in the same nest and they have shared everything. From their bed to their food.

‘’Biscuit thinks he is a cat – he sleeps on your neck and hangs out on top of the couch. Waffles is a fancy guy. He only eats expensive food and wears his red jacket with love.’’

Gus – 1.5 years old

Gus is a male dog coming from a rescue in North Carolina. Gerdhard is Gus’s owner and he does not know anything about his background. The only thing that was known was that he had been living on the streets for a short period, he was skinny and dirty when he was brought to the rescue.

He loves the cold, he likes winter more then summer just like his owner. Gerdhard explains: ‘’can’t wait for the snow. He is afraid of glass doors, so when you enter a building your going to have to open the door very wide in order for him to walk in. I think he got a glass door closed onto him when he was a puppy.

Luna – 3.5 years old

Luna is from California. Molly was looking for a cat, but Luna cached her eye and she was crazy about her straight away. She adopted her on the day itself. ‘’They say your animal chooses you’’ – and for this reason Luna started a new life with Molly in New York.

She is hyper allergic which was ‘the last straw that breaks the camels back’. Molly describes her as very goofy and good with the kids. ‘’Also she loves feet. She loves trash.  She is too friendly, way more friendly then I am’’.

Pennie and Snow – 4 years old

Walking together with Sophie, who is an experienced dog-walker that has been in the industry for almost 4 years, both Pennie and Snow are wearing a muddy white t-shirt. The question is, why? ‘’They eat through all their sweaters, so their owners have given up on buying expensive dog-clothes’’ she explains.

Both dogs are new to the dog walker and she has walked them for 4 weeks now. She does not know anything about their rescued background. What she does know, is that these dogs manipulate everyone in the park to pet them!