Love Your Pet Day is celebrated on February 20th in the United States. It’s a day completely dedicated to appreciating the support we get from those precious little furbabies. Pets provide emotional support, stress relief, comic relief and unconditional love to so many people. And in Morgantown, a lot of them still need homes.
There are multiple places in Morgantown to adopt a new friend from, including The Monongalia County Canine Adoption Center and the Animal House.
The Monongalia County Canine Adoption Center is actually the only adoption center for both Monongalia and Marion County. A lot of dogs and cats come through those doors that are just waiting for someone to take them home. All of the pets are spayed or neutered and given basic shots before they are ready to be adopted, so all that’s left is a basic vet check up and they’re ready to go home
Animal House is located on High Street and the nonprofit has friends of all species available for adoption, the last time I visited they had everything from puppies, hamsters and rabbits, to tarantulas, snakes and rats. They even have an alligator. Animal house focuses mainly on rescuing and rehoming animals, although they do purchase some of the more popular animals from time to time to keep customers happy.
Both of these places are perfect for anyone looking to adopt a new pet, and what better day to take home a new buddy than Love Your Pet Day?
But if your apartment complex doesn’t allow for pets, or your parents say you can’t bring one home for the summer, there are other options on campus to get your furry friend fix. One of those amazing opportunities is the therapy dog program we have at WVU. Many of the colleges have therapy dogs that hang out on campus and are available for students to love on.
The Reed College of Media has its own therapy dog, Omega, a grey standard poodle with an adorable bedazzled vest and an extremely calm temperament. Omega can turn any bad day into a good one. All of these options are great opportunities to give a loving pet a forever home or to help you cope with the stress of college and missing your own pets at home.
Just remember, every day is Love Your Pet Day, but on February 20th we just acknowledge it.