Why should we adopt dogs from animal shelters? Or just pet's in general?

Question

Please explain to me why, I would love to adopt a golden retriever when i'm older, but what I don't get is why people say adopt from the animal shelter, obviously I know to help save the pets but i'm sure theres more depth then that

Answer 1

If you have other pets you shouldn't adopt from a shelter. Because of the overcrowding and constant influx of animals, you risk bringing all sorts of germs home to your pet. I have seen that happen many times. If it is a first pet, then a shelter animal would be fine as long as you are able to choose one with a good temperament.

Answer 2

The most obvious reason is that there are so many animals in need of homes already.

In a "kill" shelter, the animals only have a certain amount of time to find a home before they are put to sleep. by adopting, you literally save that animals life.

In a "no kill" shelter the animals are kept until they find homes. This means that the shelter is almost always at full capacity. If you adopt, you create a space, enabling the shelter to take in another unwanted animal. If you don't adopt, the shelter stays full, so they can't accept more animals. When this happens some peolpe abandon their animals on the streets or take them to a vet to get put down.

Most common pet species suffer from over-population. There are simply more animals than there are homes available.
If you adopt a pet, you reduce overpopulation.

If you buy a pet, either direct from a breeder or through a pet store, you cause more overpopulation. When you purchase an animal you effectively pay someone to breed - so you are encouraging overpopulation, breeding for money, etc.

Aside from adoption, the other places to get pets are breeders and pet stores.

Responsible breeders are very few and far between. They keep all their animals in excellent conditions, are experts in their field, will only sell direct to customers who are strictly vetted - never through a third party or pet store.....
Most breeders are "backyard breeders" who either don';t really know what they are doing or just don't care. There are also "mills" where animals in crammed into tiny cages in awful conditions and bred over and over again literally until they die.

Pet shops are perhaps the worst place to get an animal. They usually get their animals from BYBs or mills, so buying them encourages animal cruelty. Pet shops don't usually care for their animals properly while they are there either - cages are too small, poor diet, little to no vet care etc. Pet store animals frequently turn out to be mis-sexed, pregnant or sick. They also encourage impulse buying - which in turn leads to more animals being surrendered, dumped or killed. When you purchase from a pet shop you fund and encourage cruelty to animals.

Adopting from a shelter or rescue is not only better for all the animals involved, but better for you too. Unlike pet shops or BYBs, shelters will have all their animals fully vet checked, treated if they are sick, etc. They will know the animals personality and needs and can match you up with your perfect new companion. There is far less chance of it being ill, or pregnant - and they will get its gender correct. Many also neuter and microchip all dogs and cats.

Answer 3

There are several reasons that adopting from a rescue or shelter is better than buying from the side of the road, a newspaper ad or a pet store (aka puppy mill or backyard breeder).

As others have said, most every animal in a shelter is adoptable. Those that are brought in with aggression issues or that are sick/injured beyond medical help are usually euthanized without the public seeing them. What you see in shelters are generally perfectly good pet quality animals, and if they're lucky enough to be adopted by the right person, some of those animals actually go on to become certified therapy animals and win titles in obedience and agility and all sorts of other things. Shelter animals are WONDERFUL! :-)

The ones that don't find homes, or that aren't "pulled" by a rescue, are either euthanized (killed) within days, or sold to laboratories for testing. (The selling of animals to labs is being outlawed in most states, but it does still happen in a few places.)

Backyard breeders are the primary cause of shelter overpopulation. People who breed animals with no regard to health or temperament, or don't care where their animals end up. They breed for profit, so there's generally no guarantee that you'll get a sound or healthy puppy. And the pups/animals that aren't sold end up in shelters. They don't take thier animals to the vet, so you (the buyer) will end up with the cost of initial puppy exam, shots, de-worming, etc... generally ranging between $200 - $500 depending on the vet you use and what the exam entails. Add that to the cost of the puppy, and you'll have paid well over what you would have paid for had you adopted a shelter pup. Then there's the cost to have your pet altered, which can range from between $50 - $400 depending on where you have this done.

Shelter / rescue adoption fees include health exam, vaccination, treatment if any is required due to treatable illness (only initial treatment), and in most cases the animal has already been spayed/neutered. MOST shelter/rescue fees are no more than $200. Think of all the money you'll save! :-)

Adopting from a reputable rescue will not only save you money, insure you a healthy animal with a sound temperament, but MOST rescues keep their pets in foster homes. This means that your pup will have been socialized, more likely than not potty trained (or introduced to potty training). It also means that your pup will more than likely have had some basic obedience training and would have been taught proper bite inhibition.

Shelters and rescues don't want you to bring the animal back, so they will work with you and do everything they possibly can to help keep your pup, should any behavioral issues arise and some even help with health concerns. If you do, for some reason, have to re-home your pup, they will take it in again. (A reputable breeder will do this as well, but a backyard breeder will tell you that it's not their problem... = your pup will most likely end up at a shelter and be euthanized.)

I've been on the receiving end of both shelter animals and those that come from backyard breeders. In my experience (and I'm sure others can vouch here), shelter animals, or those that were pulled from shelters by a rescue, ALWAYS seem to have more love to give. It's as if they know that you saved them, and they are truly grateful for your gift. They will return it tenfold.

Lastly, you'll be saving a life! :-) And by NOT supporting puppy mills or backyard breeders, you will be doing your part in helping put a stop to a very big problem - poorly bred animals and homeless pets. If people stop buying these pups, these so called "breeders" will have no one to support them, and they'll HAVE to stop producing them.

Added: I'd like to add, that not all shelter/rescue animals are "mutts". There are actually quite a few pure bred animals in shelters and rescues that are waiting on forever homes. I'm sure if you look on petfinder or talk to someone at your local shelter, you'll find your pure bred Golden, or any other breed that you desire. :-)

If you have other pets, you can and should quarantine the new one just after bringing it home. You should take the new dog to the vet as soon as possible whether you have other pets anyway, and your vet will be able to tell you if it's safe for your new dog to be around any other pets.

Answer 4

If you don't buy from a reputable breeder, then your other choices are to adopt, buy from a pet store, or buy from a backyard breeder.

You should never buy from a pet store or backyard breeder, because you are just wasting your money on an animal that is most likely sick or has health problems. Almost all of puppies for sale in pet stores are already sick or have disease in their system. Backyard breeders don't bother to check the temperament or for genetic problems in the dogs they breed.

Adopting from a shelter or rescue group is saving a life. The adoption fee is usually $100-150 and includes spaying/neutering, shots, sometimes a microchip. Most dogs at the shelter are there because of the owner's problems, not the dog's.

Answer 5

Morning Shannon! Quicker isn't always better if the dog and the person isn't a great match to begin with. Putting cutsie names on mixed breeds will not IMO help the situation out one bit. Shelters are doing the best they can but their limited funding and shortage of personel makes it very hard for them to do the background checks and screenings a slower process than most would like. Yes they could do as you suggested and place cute names of dogs but in the long run wouldn't that just be adding to the peoples need/want for one type of mixed breed more than it already is? I wouldn't want to see shelters in a competition with BYB in the price for people who want to adopt a dog from a shelter. I think then the message would be lost to adopt from a shelter.

Answer 6

pet store = sick, puppy mill pups. My friend just purchased a beagle from a local pet store against my advice to adopt from a shelter (there are several in my area) and it had parvo. The pup died and killed her existing elderly dog. Obviously she was not issued a refund ($155) and is currently taking the pet shop owner to court bc her 5yr old son is traumatized and cries everytime he even sees pictures of dogs (the older dog died in his bedroom). I adopted all 4 of my ferrets and my dog from local shelters because I knew they wouldn't live much longer had they remained there. All of the animals were given their shots free of charge and had lab work done as well as a free follow up vet check after adoption was complete. That saved a lot of $$$. They now have a wonderful, loving home.

Answer 7

hmm maybe b/c shelters are being over populated with dogs and cats that they want ppls to adopt them so they dont have to put them down? Also when you adopt an animal you show that animal that 'the grass is greener on the other side' b/c most animals in shelters were abandoned and so forth. These animals have alot to offer, they are young, high spirited and love unconditionally, regardless of experiences.

Answer 8

Not only are you saving a pet but you're also going to save yourself a hell of a lot of money - and heartache.

A pet purchased from a shelter is already spayed or neutered, defleed, dewormed, tested for various diseases, up to date on its shots and microchipped. And all this comes for an adoption fee of about $100.00.

With a dog purchased from a breeder or pet store you get none of this - and for a Golden you'd probably pay about $500 or more. To get all the things done about you'll easily spend another $300 - $500. And here's where the heartache comes in - you may end up with a dog that's very ill and will possibly die on your because the breeder or store didn't test it for various diseases or knowingly sold it to you sick.

Answer 9

You will feel great about it. Some animal shelters are forced to put down dogs after they have been there too long and you know you are saving a life in getting one from the shelter.

Answer 10

Take a trip to an animal shelter. When you leave, just remember the animals you saw who don't get adopted will not be alive in a couple days. how much depth do you need?????