You've just had a new baby, and taking care of both baby and dog seems like too much for you; you're going through divorce and can no longer afford to take care of your dog; the dog barks too much, jumps on people, won't obey; the dog is getting old, and you want a puppy for the kids; the dog is sick, and you can't afford the bills; you're moving and can't take the dog with you.

If you take your dog to a shelter, here is what most likely will happen to him. He suddenly finds himself torn from the home he loved and trusted possibly since he was a baby; he now finds himself among strangers too tired and overworked to give him the love and attention he needs. They evaluate him, test him, and put him in a cage. He is now surrounded by not only strange humans but also strange dogs who are frantically barking; some of them may also be frantically biting, and he may be put into a cage with one of those desperate dogs because the shelter is full. Your dog senses the confusion and fear around him; he becomes equally anxious and begins to shake; he does not eat; and when he is removed from his cage, he strains for the door, wanting out, wanting to find you. He may be lying in his own feces and urine in the cage; or hosed down to clean the cages, so that he is now wet in addition to being filthy. If you did not give him heartworm pills and regular vet care, he is probably already sick, and unless equally over-taxed rescue volunteers take him in, he has an automatic death sentence. If he is sick or contracts a disease in the shelter, the terror and sense of loss are compounded. If one of the dogs he's caged with attacks him, he may have wounds now that become infected; he may now even have a broken leg. Since he is unadoptable because he is so withdrawn or sick or injured, your dog is dragged, pulled, or carried to a room where he is placed on a steel gurney, usually after only three days, sometimes less: he is held down by those tired workers, and injected with poison to end his life as he stares fearfully at these strangers and the needle.

You may have thought your dog would be adopted by someone visiting the shelter, but unless he gets very lucky (statistically, his chances of adoption are slim) or it is a no-kill shelter (extremely rare), he most likely will die because he is not adopted in time, the shelter's budget is too strained to treat his illness, or there is simply not enough room for him. And he shakes with fear.

Before you take your dog to a shelter, re-think the behavior: maybe it is only temporary; maybe obedience training, therapy, or medication will help. (In the rare case that the dog is aggressive to the point of viciousness, then why inflict him on others including shelter workers, rescuers, and unsuspecting adopters? Make that decision for humane euthanization by your own clinic.) If he is old, let him finish his days in the home he has loved all his life: you owe him that. If the dog simply needs a new home because you cannot keep him, perhaps a kind friend or family member would take him. If none of these are alternatives for you, try to find him a home yourself. He gave you his devotion; spend a little time returning that devotion by placing an ad in the paper or on www.petfinder.com to adopt him (be honest about the dog and ask for a fee to insure a serious adoptive home and avoid his being used for medical experiments or attack training).

Better still, call a rescue group. The volunteers will take him to the vet, treat him, foster him during his rehabilitation, and find him a loving home. Most city and county shelters do the best they can and are honorable institutions. But they cannot keep or take care of the millions of dogs who are brought into them across the city and the nation every year. Before you take your dog to a shelter, look into his eyes, put yourself in his place: then do what is right for this loving, living, feeling creature. Above all, don't dump him on the street, thinking he will die in the shelter and is better off fending for himself or getting picked up by some kind soul. He will go hungry and thirsty; he will develop heartworms and other parasites; he may be shot, kicked, chased; and in his confusion he may be hit by a car to die alone and terrified on the side of a road. Find him a home--or call rescue workers.

For every animal who is saved, millions more die in the shelters. Before you take your dog to a shelter, please get help for your dog that might save his life and allow him the future he deserves.