The Banner

Scruffy, Princess, Lucky, Rex. They all have different names, colors, breeds and different siz- es, but one thing they have in common is they are all beloved pets.

However, millions of domesticated animals who deserve loving homes are impounded every year; resulting in over half of those impounded being euthanized.

In California specifically, animal shelters are overrun by stray dogs and cats. Shelters and pounds are frequently filled to maximum capacity because of the large amounts of animals that are either born in the wild or abandoned by their owners. Even the humane society has a difficult time taking in new animals.

By California law, the maximum time an animal shelter is obligated to hold stray animals is four to six days. This means that if a pet is lost and impounded, the owner of that pet has less than a week to reclaim it. After that holding period, a shelter is authorized to euthanize the animal. Shelters also tend to euthanize older animals because they have a harder time finding homes, and may even euthanize baby animals due to lack of space.

Riverside Department of Animal Services' statistics show that in the year 2009, 13,176 animals admitted to the shelter were euthanized, which made up approximately 60 percent of all the animals taken in. These statistics were better compared to the year before, when 24,072 animals were euthanized in the Riverside area alone.

Clearly, there are many animals that go without homes and whose lives are brought to an end because they never get adopted. Animal shelters are great places to find a pet, and they are adoptable for a small cost, as opposed to spending over $200 to buy a full breed puppy or kitten. Studies have shown that mutts and mixes make for much better pets in the long run, and with the amount of animals available for free at shelters or through the humane society, there is no need to spend too much.

Not only can pets be adopted, but they can be spayed and neutered to help control the animal population. More often than not, the shelters are putting down animals that are born in the wild due to cats and dogs that were never fixed. Spaying and neutering are harmless processes, especially if done when the animal is very young, and they truly lessen the amount of animals that are homeless every year.

There are many advantages to adopting a pet, both for the animal and for the owner. The pet gets a happy, healthy home, and the owner saves a life and gains a lifelong companion. After all, isn't that why they say that dogs are "man's best friend"?