I have never known life without a dog. I grew up side by side with a gorgeous, slightly overweight golden retriever named Kayla. By the time we were both five-years-old, I followed her around everywhere and loved her more than all of my stuffed animals combined, a rarity for a child my age. As I was learning how to read, I sat on the kitchen floor with her and read children’s books out loud to teach her too.

Our family soon began to grow as we took in rescue and foster dogs of all colors, shapes and sizes and levels of fluffiness. Although I was very young, I could clearly see and feel the impact this had on not just the dogs but our family as a whole in a way that was bigger than just adopting one or two along the way.

With each lost and lonely dog we brought in, I could see the pain disappear from their eyes, and I could feel their bony ribs less and less. I felt the satisfaction and joy of seeing their rehabilitation, and my heart swelled every time I saw them go to a new home (followed by the obligatory tears, of course).

Thousands of dogs are euthanized every year. Thousands. Meanwhile, 34% of dogs adopted come from breeders that are actively seeing to it that the dog population grows, despite their obvious over-population. So many furry little lives would be saved if we were to stop purchasing dogs from breeders.

We adopted a purebred golden retriever a little over a year ago from a shelter. Rescues such as Lab Rescue of LRCP, Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue, or Beagle Rescue League Inc provide homes for abandoned purebreds, and there are organizations like these for almost every breed you could want for your family.

When I was about twelve-years-old, I was convinced that I was going to become a crazy dog lady (as opposed to the common crazy cat lady). We rescued our one-eyed, squirrel-loving, can’t-go-outside-if-the-ground’s-wet girl, Ms. Petee, and she became my instant best friend and eventually my furry sister. It is scary thinking about what could’ve happened if she had ended up in a kill shelter.

Give those sheltered dogs the chance they deserve to be not only your best friend but your family member, and they will love you unconditionally.