We often hesitate to adopt a dog from the Humane Society because we figure we don't know what we're getting into adopting somebody else's used dog. We assume that if the dog is at the pound, there must be a reason. He chews up your smelly shoes, he pees on Aunt Molly when she comes to visit, he rummages through the trash ... there must be something really wrong for the dog to be at the pound.

But that's the big myth. In fact, adopting a dog from the pound, they often have some kind of record about the dog. Any training he's had, whether he's been an outdoor or indoor dog, plus they've spent a few days around him and know if he's friendly, aggressive, fearful, etc. Dogs don't just appear on their doorstep. People turn them in, and in doing so, they fill out a fact sheet about the dog.

My very first dog was a dog pound special. She was a year and a half old, and knowing nothing about dogs, boy was it a tough choice! I didn't want to train a dog from scratch, so I didn't want a puppy. I wanted the dog to at least be housebroken and maybe sit or lay down on command.