Adopt Don’t Shop: Why You Should Rescue Your Next Pet
If you’re looking for a new forever friend, you should rescue on instead of going to a breeder or pet store. Here is why “adopt don’t shop” is the motto to live by when getting a new pet.
It is estimated that there are 10,000 puppy mills in operation in the USA. Most puppies bought at pet stores or online come from a puppy mill. These unlicensed breeders keep the parents and pups in deplorable conditions to make a quick buck.
When caught, these breeders are often charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty. If you have been thinking of adding a pet to your family, maybe you have assumed you’d head over to the pet store to buy your furry friend.
The best thing you can do is adopt don’t shop. Here are the top reasons why.
Save a Life
Each year, 3 million cats and dogs are euthanized in the US. Out of those, 80% (2.4 million) are healthy and could have been adopted by a family.
If everyone who wanted to get a pet went to the shelter instead of to the pet store or online website, more animals lives would be saved.
When you adopt a pet from a shelter, you are saving an animal’s life. By taking that furry friend home, it opens up another spot for a new rescue animal to come to the shelter.
Plus, the price you paid to adopt funds the shelter or rescue group. This means that you are contributing to the shelter’s ability to take even better care of the animals they house.
Get a Trained Pet
When you adopt a cat or dog from a shelter or animal rescue, you likely will get a pet that is an adult (or at least a teen). This means that your new friend is already house trained and often has experience living with a family.
This takes a headache out of getting a new cat or dog. It’s a myth that adopted animals are riddled with behavioral problems and no one wanted to keep them. In fact, many animals end up in shelters because of a divorce or move.
These animals are healthy and happy and ready to go home. Not only are you saving a life, but you’re also saving your rug.
Get a Healthy Hybrid
One beneficial reason why you should adopt a dog is that you get a healthier pet. A mixed breed dog will probably live longer and need fewer trips to the vet. That’s because hybrid animals have the stronger genes from each parent and so are robust and healthy pets.
Purebred dogs are susceptible to a host of health challenges such as difficulty breathing or an enlarged heart. Though there are no guarantees. Your mutt from the shelter has a high chance of being a healthy pet in your home for years to come.
Adopt Don’t Shop to Save Money
The cost to adopt a furry friend is much, much lower than buying one. This is just one smart reason why you should adopt a pet.
Shelters often include the cost of neutering and spaying, first vaccinations and sometimes even microchipping in the adoption price.
When you buy a dog, you could easily spend $1000. This does not necessarily include the cost of those first essential health items.
To adopt a pet costs as little as $50 up to around $200. Part of this cost goes to support the important work that shelters and animal rescue groups do in saving innocent lives. So your money will help support them in their mission.
Do Your Part to Stop Puppy Mills
If you buy a from a pet store or online seller (whether from classified ads or a nice looking website), you’re more than likely getting a dog from a puppy mill.
The animals who are kept in puppy mills live in heartbreaking conditions. They rarely have proper medical care and are often kept in isolation. Stories of dogs with broken jaws and paws encrusted with feces abound.
The female dogs are bred each cycle and the puppies are taken away from her right away. Once the moms are not able to breed, they are often killed in cruel ways or abandoned.
These deplorable operations hide under the radar and are sometimes even licensed. What they have in common is that profit is most important and so no money goes toward proper hygiene and vet care.
Puppy mills will continue to pop up because there is a demand. They will become extinct only when people stop buying from them.
When you adopt a pet, you can be sure that you aren’t funding these cruel factories. Visit the Humane Society for more ways you can help.
Adopted Pets Offer Emotional Perks
Studies show that pets benefit their owners in psychological, emotional and even physical ways.
Spending time with a pet can lower our stress levels faster than many drugs for stress can. Pet owners tend to have lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Having a pet lessens loneliness and reduces depression.
If you have a loved one who is terminally ill, a beloved companion at this time can be a soothing comfort.
This is true of all pets. However, having an adopted animal in your home gives you an extra dose of sunshine because you know you helped an animal in need.
Adoption Is Easy
One of the best things about adopting your forever friend is how easy it is. You can walk into a shelter without an appointment. You’ll have a chance to spend time with all the pets and find a pal you click with right away.
You will find every breed, color, age and temperament of cat and dog at a shelter. Often there are other small pets such as gerbils, rabbits, and birds available as well.
Shelter volunteers will let you hug, hold and cuddle the potential adoptees as long as you want.
Once you’ve decided, simply fill out some easy paperwork and take your new BFF home with you.
Adopt Don’t Shop
We hope this article gave you at least one good reason why you should adopt don’t shop when looking for your next pet.
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