Tomorrow is Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to share five reasons why adoption could be the best choice when looking for your new pet.
It lets you skip the puppy years.
We love puppies, you love puppies, everybody loves puppies. But let’s face it, they are a huge amount of work. Owning a dog is a big responsibility, owning a puppy (or being owned by a puppy) is an even bigger one. The main reason for this is the amount of your time that they need. If you don’t have a flexible schedule that allows you to spend lots of time every day with a puppy then it’s going to be incredibly hard to shape your puppy into a well-behaved member of your family. A puppy needs a time commitment that many people just can’t provide. But the great news is that with adoption you can find a pet that is a good fit for your lifestyle. Maybe that’s an older dog who’s already housetrained, who has outgrown the chewing phase and who is ok with being left alone for a few hours every day. Older dogs have just as much love to give if they get the chance!
Saving an animal from being euthanized.
Thousands and thousands of animals are surrendered to shelters every day, adding up to over 7 million each year. The sad news is that 30percent of these animals end up being euthanized. Every pet adopted reduces this figure and gives another animal a chance at a life in a happy and loving home. Shelters aren’t just full of problem pets; animals are surrendered for a multitude of reasons including financial hardship of owners, changes in living arrangements, unplanned litters, and too many others to list. With a little research, it’s possible to find the exact dog you’ve been looking for whether it’s a one-year-old purebred Labrador or a ten-year-old mixed breed, your perfect dog is waiting.
The unexpected.
Many of us have an image of our dream dog or cat when we start to think about bringing a pet into our home. One of the amazing things about shelters is meeting and falling in love with a dog or cat we would never have given a second look to before. This dog or cat who’s breed is impossible to pinpoint greets you with a lick, and you know instantly that you’ve met your new best friend, there’s just something about them that feels right. Connection is something we can never plan for and definitely can’t buy, shelters give people the opportunity to have that moment to bond with the unexpected and give a home to a pet who might have been overlooked otherwise.
Helping to end the use of puppy mills.
Stores selling puppies are often supplied by puppy mills. Puppy mills are dog factories where female dogs are bred over and over again to produce as many puppies as possible. The mother is only valuable to the breeder while she is still producing large litters. These poor dogs live in terrible conditions, produce litter after litter who are taken from her at the youngest possible age, and then abandoned when they are no longer useful. These breeders don’t maintain the health of the dogs, and the puppies are often at high risk of developing serious illnesses due to the lack of testing for genetic problems. This irresponsible and cruel breeding practice is supported by the sale of puppies from stores. Every dog that is adopted rather than bought from a store is a step towards ending the role of puppy mills in the pet industry.
You’ll have more money to spoil them.
Adopting a pet is considerable cheaper than buying from a store, meaning you’ll have more money to spend on buying your new pet fifty different toys, five beds, three leases, ten types of treats, a coat in case it’s cold, sunglasses in case it’s hot, a bow tie…
Or you could donate the difference to your favorite animal shelter. Shelter’s don’t often charge the adopter the true cost of what it takes to rescue, health check, microchip and rehome an animal. They provide those services by relying on donations and every little helps!
