Well…I could not believe my eyes.  Local and national US agencies report donations are down, with give-ups rising steeply because of the economy.  There’s no roof over poor Rufus’s head here.  But in the UK, the dog adoption story and the economy seems to take a very different path.

Dogs Trust, the largest dog welfare organization, announced Thursday that the month of February–despite the weather and being the shortest month of the year–has produced the highest record of adoptions since record keeping began!

Dog Magazine reports that to the Dogs Trust it appears that people are deciding quality of life, in the form of  sharing family life with a dog, is more important than worrying about the money it will take to keep him or her healthy.  Adopting a dog is less expensive than going to a breeder, and the Trust suggests that with the loss of gym memberships, a dog is a good stand-in for gym regimented exercise, if you take it seriously.  Dogs Trust CEO, Clarissa Baldwin, said “It seems that as times are getting tougher for people financially, they are seeking fulfilment in more real ways…
You cannot place a price in pounds on the value that dogs add to our lives…”

The ASPCA estimates there will be about 1 million homeless dogs this year, on top of the already burgeoning populations testing shelters’ capacity.  There’s another story to pursue on this side of the pond.

Opening January 16, Hotel for Dogs is the story of two orphaned siblings who must give up their dog to live with their new guardians.  The children decide they can’t give up their dog, and find an abandoned hotel they convert into an efficiently mechanized home-away-from-home for their dog Friday, and the many strays he befriends.

From the Dreamworks trailer it’s easy to see that this is a film with a message to kids about the responsibilities of dog guardianship and is fun to watch. 

Following on the heels of “Marley & Me”,  “Hotel for Dogs” will get my vote for being thoughtful and painlessly instructive.  It drives an ‘adopt from shelters’ message and supports the ASPCA’s humane education message which underscores “learning to care for [and about] the animals in our homes and in our communities.”  Teaching kindness is always a good thing!

Based on the 1971 children’s book authored by Lois Duncan, it looks like the screen adaptation might be worth a family trip to the movies.