I resolved in 2007 to encourage pet adoptions from shelters or breed rescue organizations, and on Dec. 1, 2006, my wife, Robin, and I put a puppy where our mouth is.

We adopted a pooch which, in all honesty, really shouldn't have been born. She was part of an entire litter of sneezy, wormy pups dumped at Animal Care and Control in Chicago before being re-located to the no-kill PAWS Chicago facility. While I'm grateful we found little Ethel, the story of unwanted animals repeats daily at shelters across America.

"Of course, the mother of those puppies should have been spayed," says Paula Fasseas, founder and chair of PAWS Chicago. "There are so many unwanted pets out there; it's all about spay/neuter to prevent future generations. I think the message about spay/neuter has mostly gotten through to more educated people, but there are still many (people) who just don't do it, particularly those in impoverished communities. They don't understand why spaying or neutering benefits them, and benefits their animals."

PAWS Chicago, like so many shelters, now offers low-cost and even no-cost spay/neuter services and supports a public relations campaign touting the benefits. Such efforts are working. Far more pets are being spayed and neutered than a decade ago. Certainly, the proliferation of no-kill shelters has garnered huge public support and raised awareness. But sadly, just because there are no-kill shelters doesn't mean fewer pets are dumped or given up to municipal shelters.

Today, there are adoption options outside traditional shelters, most notably purebred rescue groups. If a dog looks like a Basset Hound, Basset Hound rescue will swoop in to rescue the pet from a shelter and place it in a foster home. This frees up shelter space and gives the rescued animal a chance to live comfortably with a caring family until placement. Would-be owners looking for purebred animals can also use the Internet to find a rescued pet.

"I don't know that people understand all breeds are now available through rescue," says Emily Scott Pottruck, San Francisco, CA-based author of "Tails of Devotion: A Look at the Bond Between People and Their Pets," $29.95 (available at www.tailsofdevotion.com). "Even though there are rescue groups, you can still visit a local shelter and find a purebred dog, or at least a dog that closely resembles the breed you like."

Marketing matters, and in recent years adoption has become "cool," as well as pet rescue. "People have big hearts when they know there's a need," says Wayne Pacelle, CEO and president of the Washington D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States. Adoptions increased after Hurricane Katrina. Still, Pacelle says, fewer than 20 percent of all dogs are adopted from shelters.

According to the American Humane Association, approximately 9 million pets were euthanized at U.S. shelters in 2005. Diane Leigh, co-author of "ONE at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter" (No Voice Unheard, Santa Cruz, CA; 2003, $16.95), says she's done the math. The heartbreaking news: Every nine seconds, one animal in an American shelter is euthanized. "The overwhelming majority of these animals have done nothing wrong; circumstances have just put them in a shelter," Leigh says.

In the time it's taken you to read this column so far, several animals have been put to death in shelters. "Let's tell the truth: These animals are killed, says Scott Pottruck. "Euthanized makes it almost sound pleasant, or at least acceptable."

While adopting pets from shelters has become a trend, so is the buying of high-priced designer dog breeds like Labradoodles and Goldendoodles. "It just drives me crazy," says Scott Pottruck. "I mean, they're bred, but when it comes down to it, they're what we used to call mutts. The only thing to come out of this trend is that one day soon we could need Labradoodle rescues."

Another problem is the stigma of getting "damaged goods" from a shelter, says Pacelle. "It's a perception, and one we have to do a better job at changing."

Scott Pottruck, who's donating proceeds of her book to shelters and animal welfare groups, adds: "Awareness and education are needed in the world of pet adoption. I believe that many of us involved in the pet world think everyone knows what we know. I'm a classic example of a person who loves animals and yet was so clueless about the world of adoption. There are so many reasons to adopt from a reputable shelter."