Pets can come from anywhere, not just from a store or breeder. According to  ASPCA.org, out of the 7.6 million pets that enter animal shelters, only 2.7 million are adopted each year. October is Adopt-a-Pet-Month, and it helps give pets a second chance.

When freshman Juliana Swartz walked into Wayside Waifs ‘just to look,’ the first thing that struck her was a pair of big brown eyes.

Those eyes belonged to a skinny golden retriever sitting on a couch. The dog was malnourished and had chunks of fur missing. When Swartz went to sit by the dog, she saw ticks crawling off the retriever’s skin.

Her dad was hesitant at first, but after more visits, the Swartz family brought Saydie home.

“She wasn’t the prettiest dog, but she had the same eyes as our previous black lab, so we fell in love with her,” Swartz said. “We nourished her back to health, and now she’s part of our family. You could tell there was this spirit about her; animals have that.”

Saydie was around seven when she was adopted. Swartz believes she was used previously for a puppy mill and escaped.

“We wanted to adopt an older dog because they don’t get adopted as much; they get kind of [ignored],” Swartz said.

When Saydie was first brought home, she was so thin that many people worried she was sick. Swartz and her family worked on bringing her back to health. Now people are amazed at the transformation Saydie has gone through.

Swartz values adopting from shelters. She wants to help dogs with a past.

“Pet shop pets go within days,” Swartz said. “Shelter puppies have a past, and they are looking for a loving home. They don’t get adopted as much. By adopting at a shelter, it’s like saving a dog’s life.”

Swartz thinks some people look down on dogs from shelters because their past is unknown, but she feels very lucky with Saydie.

“She has a presence and a soul to her; she’s part of our family,” Swartz said.

As freshman Helene Bechtel walks out onto her back porch, she sees a small brown blur racing across the yard. The blur quickly turns around and speeds in the other direction. ‘Elsie,’ she thinks.

Elsie is an Italian greyhound-chihuahua mix whom Becthel and her family rescued.

When Betchel was in second grade, she and her brother pleaded with their parents to get them a dog. Their parents refused, until one day their uncle called and said he had found a dog that needed a home.

Their uncle was driving when he saw Elsie’s head pop out of a bush. He stopped and went back to pick her up. There were no houses in the area, so he put up signs to find her owners. He couldn’t find them, so he needed to find Elsie a new home.

“He called us … because she was so small that she wouldn’t have lasted [without a home],” Bechtel said.

Becthel and her family believe Elsie came from an abusive home. When they got her, she had cuts and scrapes on her. Once when Becthel’s dad was swatting a fly with a newspaper, Elsie was frightened and hid under the computer table for nearly a week.

Becthel thinks some people have a misconception about dogs that have been rescued.

“Some people think that they are dirty, they have rabies or there is something wrong with them [because] they are from a shelter,” Becthel said. “They’re not different; they’re just hurt.”

Elsie has her own personality. She is very fast, due to her Italian greyhound side, and occasionally leaves offerings of rodents she has caught on the back porch.  Becthel has taught her many tricks, except how to fetch and roll over.

Elsie also has filled her job as the house guardian. When a neighbor jumped the fence to retrieve a ball, she cornered him in the playset until Becthel’s mom came outside.

“She is really smart; she is also one of the dogs that tries to understand what you’re saying,” Becthel said. “She has an amazing little mind.”

Volleyball coach Rebecca Colson arrives home and is greeted by two excited balls of fur. Her two dogs, a terrier named Bo and an Australian shepherd named Kyluh, have waited all day for her arrival. Now they want to play.

Colson got both of her dogs from a shelter when they were puppies. Bo had originally been found on the side of a road when she was five weeks old and brought into the shelter. Kyluh was part of a litter of eight puppies taken into custody after an arrest.

When Colson first got Bo, the puppy weighed only five pounds and couldn’t walk.

“She started walking a couple days after we got her because she was so small and so scared,” Colson said. “It is really hard for dogs to survive in shelters for long periods of time, especially puppies. They don’t get the attention or affection that they need.”

Now Bo has learned many tricks. She can sit, shake, roll over and lay down. She can also distinguish the difference between a ball, rope and toy.

Colson recently decided to adopt her second dog, Kyluh. Colson is working on potty training Kyluh and is reminded how much work puppies are.

“Don’t adopt or get a pet until you are ready financially and have the time to do it,” Colson said. “Taking on more than one pet is a lot. You have to really be prepared to give the time and money.”

Colson said she would never adopt from anywhere else but a shelter. Her dogs may be a handful, but they are worth it.

“Every day is an adventure with them,” Colson said.

Sophomore Kate Wasmer has always had many pets at one time — a varierty of cats, dogs and guinea pigs.

When a family friend found a cat wandering around the neighborhood, Wasmer’s family decided to take it in. Now they have a total of four pets, all rescues.

The cat found wandering in the neighborhood was adopted when Wasmer was in second grade. His name is Patrick. She used to call him a ‘holstein cat’ because of his markings, which reminded her of a cow.

Soon after, a collie-mix who had been hit by a car was brought into the vetrinary clinic where Wasmer’s dad worked. The dog, named Bear, was Wasmer’s eighth birthday gift, complete with a cast that read happy birthday.

“Bear was not a very good dog, to be honest,” Wasmer said. “He would mess up the yard, so we decided to get him a friend, Harry, who ended up being even more ornery.”

Harry, a jack russell terrier, was adopted from an animal shelter. He was going to be put down unless someone adopted him.

Bear and Harry have now calmed down. They are brought on family trips, including visits to the lake.

The most recent edition is Mimi, a tabby cat. She was part of a litter of kittens brought into a vet that neighbored her mother’s own clinic. Deemed the friendliest of the bunch, Mimi was brought to the Wasmer house.

“Mimi is my go-to, and she likes to be in my room a lot,” Wasmer said. “Sometimes it is kind of annoying, but other times I do not take it for granted.”

Wasmer loves all of her pets, but has a special affinity for the cats.

“When I am having a really bad day, I can turn to them and just pet them,” Wasmer said. “I guess I connect more with cats than dogs, but I love both of them.”

Since the actual ages and birthdates of her pets are unknown, Wasmer and her family have made up special birthdays corresponding to each animal. For example, Harry’s birthday is Nov 9, which is the same as her brother’s, and Mimi has the same birthday as her grandma.

Their pets tie the Wasmer family together.

“They make our family happy,” Wasmer said. “My dad and brother have a connection with the dogs, and my mom and I have a connection with the cats. It works out perfectly.”