Adopting a New Friend
By Jessica Reddington
When you adopt an animal, you are saving two lives: the life of the animal you adopt and the life of the animal that takes its place in the shelter. Some people are skeptical about adopting from a shelter because of the unknown health condition of the animal.
As stated in an article from humanesociety.org, most shelters examine and give vaccinations to animals when they arrive, and many spay or neuter them before they are adopted. This makes the cost of adopting cheaper and more beneficial than buying from a store or breeder.
It is important to do your research and ask the right questions when adopting. The Humane Society has a page on its website of questions you should ask the shelter staff.
Ask about the animal’s history. Was it given up by the owner or was it a stray? If the owner gave it up, why? Ask about medical and behavioral assessments. Ask about the adoption process and if the animal was spayed or neutered. The Humane Society has more information about adopting and about questions to ask in its article, “The Adoption Process: Questions to Ask Shelter Staff.”
When adopting an animal, you need not only ask the shelter staff the right questions but yourself, as well. Are you ready to take care of an animal? Do you have the time to be with your animal to make sure that it is getting everything it needs? Can you afford this animal financially? Will this animal fit well in your home? You want to give your adopted animal the best home and you need to make sure yours is the one.
Approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the United States simply because too many people give up their pets, and too few adopt, as it is stated in the article, “Top Five Reasons to Adopt,” found on humanesociety.org. Most animals found in a shelter are victims of owners handing them over because of financial or other personal reasons. These animals are not bad and are not put in shelters because of their attitudes. Many shelters will even screen the animals to see how they behave before they are adopted.
Adopting is not only beneficial to the animal, but to the owner as well. When you adopt from a Humane Society or animal shelter, breed rescue group, or the local animal control agency, you open room up for more animals to come off the streets. If more people adopt animals instead of going to a pet store, more animals can be saved.
Sometimes the dogs you find in a pet store are dogs bought from puppy mills. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) describes a puppy mill as a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation that places profit over the well-being of its dogs, who are often severely neglected. A puppy mill acts without regard to responsible breeding practices. If you choose to adopt from a pet store, you should ask where these animals are coming from. You could be buying a damaged puppy. By damaged, I mean that your puppy could have been abused or not cared for properly. You think you are buying a healthy, lovable puppy when, in fact, the animal is suffering from one or more illnesses and has people problems.
If more people adopted from animal shelters and rescues, the puppy mills could possibly be eliminated. There is a bigger risk of your animal having health problems when you buy from a pet store than there is if you buy from a shelter. If the store buys from a puppy mill, knowingly or unknowingly, the animals are at a high risk of having medical issues because the puppy mills do not care for the well-being of the animal. The puppy mills only care about one thing, and that is money.
Some people are hung up on the breed status. Some people want to buy a purebred animal. Purebreeds are nice and sometimes you may be able to find one in the shelter, but the most important thing should be saving a helpless animal’s life. The breed status should not matter; mutts are going to love you just the same. If you are worried about getting a purebred, you should make sure the breeder is caring for the animal in the proper way. Some breeders are no different than puppy mills. Some of them have an end goal to become richer and will manipulate you to believe your animal is healthy.
There have been studies that show how animals can help you emotionally, physically, and psychologically. There is a reason that hospitals and schools sometimes use pets to cheer people up. During finals week at some universities, schools bring in animals to relieve the stress and pressures that students are feeling. In some hospitals, they do the same thing to cheer up the patients. Animals offer unconditional love and will be loyal to their owners. Animals give people a purpose and make them feel needed. Animals also help their owners physically because they need to exercise and that gets their owners out of the house.
Adopting animals will make you and your pet happier and healthier. Buying your pet from a shelter will start to end the cruelty of puppy mills. Adopting from shelters is, financially, a better choice than buying from breeders and pet stores. Make sure you ask the shelter staff and yourself the right questions. Most important, save lives. Animals can’t always help themselves, so lend them a helping hand.
Jessica Reddington is a junior majoring in English with a creative writing concentration and minoring in public relations. Learn more about her on her blog.
When you adopt an animal, you are saving two lives: the life of the animal you adopt and the life of the animal that takes its place in the shelter. Some people are skeptical about adopting from a shelter because of the unknown health condition of the animal.
As stated in an article from humanesociety.org, most shelters examine and give vaccinations to animals when they arrive, and many spay or neuter them before they are adopted. This makes the cost of adopting cheaper and more beneficial than buying from a store or breeder.
It is important to do your research and ask the right questions when adopting. The Humane Society has a page on its website of questions you should ask the shelter staff.
Ask about the animal’s history. Was it given up by the owner or was it a stray? If the owner gave it up, why? Ask about medical and behavioral assessments. Ask about the adoption process and if the animal was spayed or neutered. The Humane Society has more information about adopting and about questions to ask in its article, “The Adoption Process: Questions to Ask Shelter Staff.”
When adopting an animal, you need not only ask the shelter staff the right questions but yourself, as well. Are you ready to take care of an animal? Do you have the time to be with your animal to make sure that it is getting everything it needs? Can you afford this animal financially? Will this animal fit well in your home? You want to give your adopted animal the best home and you need to make sure yours is the one.
Approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the United States simply because too many people give up their pets, and too few adopt, as it is stated in the article, “Top Five Reasons to Adopt,” found on humanesociety.org. Most animals found in a shelter are victims of owners handing them over because of financial or other personal reasons. These animals are not bad and are not put in shelters because of their attitudes. Many shelters will even screen the animals to see how they behave before they are adopted.
Adopting is not only beneficial to the animal, but to the owner as well. When you adopt from a Humane Society or animal shelter, breed rescue group, or the local animal control agency, you open room up for more animals to come off the streets. If more people adopt animals instead of going to a pet store, more animals can be saved.
Sometimes the dogs you find in a pet store are dogs bought from puppy mills. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) describes a puppy mill as a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation that places profit over the well-being of its dogs, who are often severely neglected. A puppy mill acts without regard to responsible breeding practices. If you choose to adopt from a pet store, you should ask where these animals are coming from. You could be buying a damaged puppy. By damaged, I mean that your puppy could have been abused or not cared for properly. You think you are buying a healthy, lovable puppy when, in fact, the animal is suffering from one or more illnesses and has people problems.
If more people adopted from animal shelters and rescues, the puppy mills could possibly be eliminated. There is a bigger risk of your animal having health problems when you buy from a pet store than there is if you buy from a shelter. If the store buys from a puppy mill, knowingly or unknowingly, the animals are at a high risk of having medical issues because the puppy mills do not care for the well-being of the animal. The puppy mills only care about one thing, and that is money.
Some people are hung up on the breed status. Some people want to buy a purebred animal. Purebreeds are nice and sometimes you may be able to find one in the shelter, but the most important thing should be saving a helpless animal’s life. The breed status should not matter; mutts are going to love you just the same. If you are worried about getting a purebred, you should make sure the breeder is caring for the animal in the proper way. Some breeders are no different than puppy mills. Some of them have an end goal to become richer and will manipulate you to believe your animal is healthy.
There have been studies that show how animals can help you emotionally, physically, and psychologically. There is a reason that hospitals and schools sometimes use pets to cheer people up. During finals week at some universities, schools bring in animals to relieve the stress and pressures that students are feeling. In some hospitals, they do the same thing to cheer up the patients. Animals offer unconditional love and will be loyal to their owners. Animals give people a purpose and make them feel needed. Animals also help their owners physically because they need to exercise and that gets their owners out of the house.
Adopting animals will make you and your pet happier and healthier. Buying your pet from a shelter will start to end the cruelty of puppy mills. Adopting from shelters is, financially, a better choice than buying from breeders and pet stores. Make sure you ask the shelter staff and yourself the right questions. Most important, save lives. Animals can’t always help themselves, so lend them a helping hand.
Jessica Reddington is a junior majoring in English with a creative writing concentration and minoring in public relations. Learn more about her on her blog.