Dear Editor:

With Christmas approaching, I wanted to encourage those who are planning on buying a puppy or a kitten to think of adopting a rescue animal.

Our recent experience — and our first with rescue dogs — has made me a big believer in adopting pets that are in shelters.

We first went out to Haven of the Ozarks to check on two dogs we saw in the paper. Their names were Cantaloupe and Melon — which likely caught my attention first!

They were gorgeous dogs who had been rescued together. Unfortunately, after a month of visiting, they still would not come to us unless someone at the shelter brought them to us, and they are still fairly young dogs.

Additionally, since we are retired, we decided that an older dog would be best for us.

After checking out all the senior dogs, we settled on Lucy, an American Pitbull Terrier, and not a dog I would have normally chosen, probably due to my own prejudices.

Well, Lucy is a dream. Already house trained, follows commands (for the most part!), and is an absolute love. She goes everywhere with us, waits in the car nicely and even travels to Minnesota!

While trying to entice Cantaloupe and Melon, we watched and were amazed at all the work the volunteers and employees do to care for the animals they have. We were also shocked at the sheer number of dogs that are there. I think there was only one kennel not in use.

Our time at Haven of the Ozarks made us believers that shelter dogs are some of the best dogs you can have.

I hope some people consider adopting a rescue rather than getting a puppy or a kitten, and that more people volunteer their time, money and/or support to the very worthy mission of Haven of the Ozarks.

Claudia S. Colleran

Cassville