Dogs are a man’s best friend, a loyal friend to their owners. But dogs are constantly putting up with abuse and lose their homes too often. According to the ASPCA, five to seven million dogs enter shelters nationwide each year because their owners cannot care for them, or they are found homeless.

Freshman Bronson Barnes adopted his dog from the same pet shelter as his brother. “I was so shocked my parents’ actually allowed me to get a dog; I was elated,” Barnes said.

At the shelter, he picked out a German Shepherd because “she was the smallest and would be the best to have.” Dutchess, Barnes’ dog, got her name from a show he was watching on television. He thought it would fit her best.

Similarly, Spanish teacher Susan Chandler adopted her current dog from a shelter called “Oldies But Goodies Cocker Spaniel Rescue,” a shelter for Cocker Spaniels of all ages.

Her dog, Casper, is a mix of a yellow lab and cocker spaniel; he looks like a golden retriever puppy. Chandler sees him as a “permanent puppy.”

“It’s amazing how he’s so happy to see you when you get home,” she said.

Chandler said she does not know Casper’s background, but that his owner may not have been able to care for him.

“People think all rescue dogs were mistreated, but really, some were just unable to be taken care of,” she said.

Freshman Hailey Parker-Combes’ dog was in a shelter as well, but instead of having an abusive past, his owner was unable to care for her because he was moving. The dog was in the SPCA shelter of Jersey Shore when Parker-Combes picked her out. 

Parker-Combes said her dog is a pit-bull mix, and was adopted at about two to three years of age. “She was the nicest one,” she said. “We were listening to ‘Hey There Delilah,’ the song, when we got her,” she said; because of this, her pit-bull became known as Delilah. 

Concerning adopting pets and shelters, there are upcoming events happening in the area where students can adopt a pet of their own.

This Saturday,” Mutt Love Rescue” is coming to the Fairfax Petco from 12 to 3 o’clock p.m. “Mutt Love Rescue” is a nonprofit, volunteer dog-rescue organization aiming to find homes for the stray dogs of Washington D.C.

This organization strives to find good owners and homes for dogs at risk of being put to sleep, dogs of abuse and homeless dogs, and takes care to educate people about how to care for them. All animals taken in are spayed and neutered and are virtually housetrained. This organization holds adoption events at listed locations on Saturdays for potentially new owners.