Almost 4 and a half years ago, we rescued that cute dog on the left from getting euthanized. Her mom had 8 puppies, and the Gainesville Pet Rescue adopted all of the puppies and the mother. We paid a total of $75 for the adoption fee, and she had already been fixed and had up-to-date shots. Since my wife and I didn’t have kids immediately after getting married, we were glad to get a dog with a ton of energy and a lot of love. I am not some kind of crazy PETA member, but it bugs the hell out of me when I hear that people pay thousands of dollars on pure breed dogs and cats, when there are SO many great dogs and cats in animal shelters waiting to be adopted. Here are a few reasons why you should adopt a pet instead of going to a breeder or pet mill.
You’ll save hundreds of dollars
Seriously, $75 to $100 plus the supplies is all you’ll need to pay for the dog or cat. We walked into a pet store the other day just because my wife likes to look at the puppies, and they were anywhere from $800 to $1,200. Some breeds go for a lot more than that. I know there are many of you out there with NO good reason to be spending that much on a freakin’ pet. You make $40k a year and you’re going to spend $1,000 on a dog? Really? Pure breeds need homes too, but let the millionaires buy those dogs and cats, because a $1,000 to them is like $10.
You don’t have to get a puppy
A lot of the dogs and cats at shelters are there for no good reason. Their owners just didn’t want to deal with them anymore, their owners moved (which I still don’t understand why they can’t move a pet with them), or the pet was abused and taken away from the owner. Whatever reason they are there, they can’t help it. Have you ever raised a puppy or a kitten? They are a TON of work. At shelters/pounds, a lot of the pets there are house broken, and even though the puppy stage is cute, it can be very annoying. Adopt from a shelter and you can find an older pet.
Pure Breeds Have Problems
Not all pure breeds have problems, but a lot of them end up having genetic defects or they are prone to certain genetic disorders which could end up costing you a lot of money. The reason for this is because many breeders aren’t the dog or cat lovers you think they are. Their greed clouds their judgment, and they start in-breeding, which dirties the gene pool. The bad genes in mix breeds are often filtered out, and that’s another reason why mix breeds are so great!
Don’t take this post the wrong way. Am I sounding a little preachy? Yes, but I wrote this because so many people buy pets for loved ones on Christmas, and I don’t want people to go into debt or drain their savings by spending tons of money on a pure breed when there are so many perfectly good pets in shelters and pounds around the country. If you are set on a certain breed, that’s cool, all I ask is that you go check out your local animal shelter first and see if you don’t fall in love with another pet there. Remember, little kids don’t care what breed a dog is or if its mom and dad were AKC champion show dogs. They just want a cute dog that will be their best friend. You can find that at the animal shelter.
