Community Corner

Live Lunch Chat: How To Successfully Adopt A Rescue Dog

And once you've got the dog, how do you solve common problems rescue pets face? Join our chat from noon to 12:45 p.m., Thursday for answers!

By Elissa Bass

There is no shortage of questions every time dog behaviorist Mary Ellen Walsh joins Patch for our Thursday live lunch chat! So we are pleased to be bringing her back again at noon Thursday.

This week, Mary Ellen will specifically focus on questions related to successfully adopting a rescue dog (although all dog behavior questions are accepted!).

According to the ASPCA:

  • Approximately 5 million to 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, and approximately 3 million to 4 million are euthanized (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats). Shelter intakes are about evenly divided between those animals relinquished by owners and those picked up by animal control. These are national estimates; the percentage of euthanasia may vary from state to state.
On Petfinder.com, there are 272 animal shelters listed, ranging from private groups to municipal animal control facilities.

From Mary Ellen's website, The Grateful Dog:

Mary Ellen Walsh has been a professional dog trainer for over 25 years. As an experienced dog whisperer, renowned canine behaviorist, and champion AKC dog breeder, she has dedicated her career to dogs – a life-long passion since childhood. 

In 1983, Mary Ellen founded The Grateful Dog – a private, in-home dog training company helping pet owners in the Southwestern Connecticut and Westchester County, New York areas. To date, she had successfully trained over 20,000 dogs … all breeds, ages, sizes, and temperaments. As a certified association pet trainer and mother of two, Mary Ellen has seen and resolved virtually every type of real life family situation involving dogs, children, their parents, and family “scheduling.”

Read a transcript of Walsh's April 25 live chat on Patch here.


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