In the interest of fair disclosure, my dog Tiny didn’t actually come from the shelter. He was one step away from it, though, I got him from a lady that was giving him away on Freecycle. But all my really great dogs were either shelter dogs or shelter-bound.

The cool thing about getting a dog from the shelter is that you can get a dog that has already been trained and is old enough to not be all uppity-puppy. Tiny was about 3 years old when I got him. He was perfectly house trained and was quite adapted to a leash. He’s never been hyper since I’ve had him. He’s seriously the best dog I have ever had, and I will never get a puppy again.

Of course, with an older dog, you have parts of your dog that you will never know or understand. Like the picture up there. Tiny cannot stand to have his picture taken and always looks like that when you approach him with camera in hand. Could he have been the dog of paparazzi that used Tiny as practice? Could he have been terribly traumatized by Princess Di’s death so much that he still gets upset when he sees a camera? Some things I guess we will never know.

One thing I do know is I feel good about keeping a dog from being homeless. Consider adopting an older dog when you get a pet for your child.