Host: What is a dog's life like in the care of a shelter?

Michelle Otis: That really depends on the shelter and it depends on the resources of the shelter and for the most part, a dog can expect to be fed twice a day, in the morning and the evening or morning and afternoon. They should be able to expect some time outside of the kernel, daily walks or daily visitation outside of the kernel environment with a staffer or volunteers at least three times a day. But some shelters don't have the resources to interact and socialize with the dogs on that level. So I would say at minimum, a dog's life in the shelter is been fed twice a day, seeing people walk by and view them, sometimes if the dog is really lucky, they get to come out and meet a potential adopter or if the shelter has a strong volunteer program, they can spend some time with some volunteers and just get a little one on one interaction with people and then when the shelter closes, they go to bed and or they dote and they stay up and they chew their toys and it certainly is not a replacement for a home environment and that's why most shelters focus on trying to get these dogs out as quickly as possible so that they can go into their new home and transition into a traditional lifestyle.