October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, a month dedicated to helping more shelter dogs find homes. In 2025, 2.8 million dogs entered shelters and rescues across the U.S., while 2 million dogs were adopted. Dog adoptions rose to 57% of dog intakes, but large, adult, and senior dogs continued to face greater challenges finding homes. The dog standing in front of you at a shelter may also behave differently once they are in a home. A study of 99 adopted shelter dogs found that 100% of owners…
