Ideally, there must not be any shelter, and every pet needs to have a caring and loving home. Regrettably, in a real-world situation, this is not happening. Not all people buy pets from shelters and go to breeders for pets. In the United States, each year, 2.7 million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized as a result of the overpopulation problems (Top Reasons to Adopt a Pet). When people do not adopt pets and buy them from breeders, the problem of overpopulation is seen in shelters(PETA). This attitude needs to be changed to protect animals and save their lives. There are numerous good reasons to adopt rather than buy a pet. Pets also provide different benefits to humans, and these include different physical and mental health benefits. This paper will discuss the advantages of adopting pets as compared to buying them from breeders.
When people adopt pets from a shelter rather than buying from breeders, then it costs them less. People normally get afraid that all shelter dogs are impulsive and are associated with behavioural matters. This is not always true, and most of the pets in shelters are a result of a change in family position and not a reaction to their impulsive behaviour. Moreover, animals in shelters are already vaccinated compared to those animals that you buy from breeders. Breeders sell animals taken from puppy mills, and these are not brought up in good hygiene conditions. Puppy mills do not provide animals with proper medical care, and as a result, there is a danger of illness and sickness as a result of contact with these animals. When people buy pets from shelters, then the vaccination costs are also saved for the owners.
When a pet is adopted from a shelter rather than bought from breeders, then two lives are saved. The adopted pet’s life is saved as it is now in your home, and there is also space now in a shelter for another dog to come. Most shelter pet animals are already bestowed with house training, and the love and affection that these shelter dogs will provide are not always the characteristics of dogs that are bought from breeders. It is difficult to find a breeder that is more concerned with quality than quantity, and this is not an issue with shelter homes. Shelter homes always maintain the quality related to pet animals.
Furthermore, pets purchased from breeders are not trained, and owners need time to train them. If they are not properly trained, then they may rapidly mature as an out-of-control adult dog. Thus, pets that people buy from breeders need to be properly trained. A person can easily have an idea of a pet’s temperament if he purchases them from shelters as they perform temperament evaluations before keeping a dog in a shelter. Shelters take in homeless animals and offer them veterinary care along with food and shelter. Shelter staff can advise the buyer regarding the pet’s personality and suitability for the family.
Breeders have a goal to make money and earn a profit, while shelters are more concerned with saving pet’s lives(Weiss et al.). Apart from the advantages of having animals from shelters regarding cost and other benefits, morally, people should purchase animals from shelters. People do not have the chance to have a good home for animals if they purchase animals from breeders. With this practice, the country also moves towards an overpopulation crisis. Thus, to avoid all these issues, there is a need to increase the purchasing from shelters and enjoy the associated benefits.
Works Cited
PETA. Myths About Pet Stores and Breeders. 2012, https://www.peta.org/living/animal-companions/myths-pet-stores-breeders/.
Top Reasons to Adopt a Pet.http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/adopt/tips/top_reasons_adopt.html.
Weiss, Emily, et al. “Why did you choose this pet?: Adopters and pet selection preferences in five animal shelters in the United States.” Animals 2.2 (2012): 144-159.
