Each year millions of abandoned pets are destroyed in U.S. shelters. Believe it or not, many people are unaware of how easy it can be to save them. Here are ways to spread the facts about adoption and help save the lives of countless animals.
Suggest to anyone you know who is looking for a pet that they adopt from a shelter or rescue. If it’s a specific breed of dog for instance, inform them that roughly one-third of dogs in shelters are purebreds. There are also breed-specific rescues for just about every breed in existence. Due to the home foreclosure crisis, there are more pets in shelters than ever before, and many of them are purebreds. Tell them they will save a great deal of money by adopting as opposed to buying a pet from a breeder or pet store.
Shelters and rescues will charge an adoption fee to help recoup some of the cost that was incurred for the pet’s care, but it will be quite a bit less than what a breeder would charge and much less than what a pet store would charge. Many people are under the impression that pets from shelters and rescues tend to not be as healthy as pets from breeders or pet stores. On the contrary, the overwhelming majority of dogs from pet stores are bred at puppy mills, mass breeding facilities that neglect the health of their dogs and tend to produce sickly puppies that are taken from their mothers too early.
They over breed their dogs because their bottom line is profit rather than the health of their animals, and many end up with genetic disorders. Inform people that AKC papers do not guarantee health, because aside from the fact that you can never guarantee the health of a living being, the American Kennel Club registers dogs from puppy mills. Let them know there’s a good chance of finding a dog at a shelter or rescue that’s already housebroken or a cat that’s used to going in litter. They may have already been trained by their former owners.
With a new puppy, they would have to start from scratch. Also, puppies from pet stores are used to going in their cages, so they will be a lot more difficult to crate train. Tell prospective adopters that if they would rather not visit a shelter in person, they can attend an off-site adoption event. Many shelters and rescue organizations sponsor these events, usually on a weekend at a place like a park.
