Adopt Don't Shop
7 Reasons Why You Should Adopt a Pet
Are you thinking of adding a pet to your family? More and more people are looking at adopting a pet rather than buying from a breeder or pet store and here are the reasons why.
1. Save a Life
Adopt from a rescue centre or shelter and you’ll be giving an animal a second chance. Many of the animals you find in these places will have been neglected, abandoned or abused. Some may be there because their owners simply couldn’t look after them due to illness or a change in circumstances. Unfortunately, there’s often a lack of space in some shelters and animals have to be euthanised. By adopting, you’re stopping this from happening.
2. Save Money
While saving money might not feature at the top of your list when you’re looking for a pet, it’s a benefit worth considering. Most of the animals offered for adoption will have been micro-chipped, spayed, neutered and vaccinated, so you don’t have to pay for the procedures yourself.
3. Help to Eradicate Puppy Farms and Pet Shops
While there is a lot of legislation in place in many countries to stop the practise of puppy farms and pet shops selling puppies and kittens under six months old, the same rules aren’t common practice everywhere else. If you adopt from a shelter, you won’t be playing a part in such an inhumane trade. Puppy farms are run by breeders who don’t care about the animals they are producing. Instead, all they care about is making as much profit as possible. The living conditions are way below an acceptable standard, with animals being kept in small cages and given little human contact. Puppies are taken away from their mother and litter far too early, which can lead to behavioural problems later on.
4. Unconditional Love
Take it from a rescue pet owner, they seem to know when they’ve been rescued and the bond between you and your pet will be especially strong.
5. Spayed or Neutered
Adopting an animal from a shelter means it will have been spayed or neutered where possible. Spaying or neutering is important in controlling the animal population.
6. Older Pet
Have you considered adopting an older pet? There are considerable advantages, for example, they are often calmer and happy to sit in your company rather than demand constant attention. They may also be less likely to destroy furniture if they’ve already been trained. An older dog will already have a more developed personality and you’ll be able to pick up on this when visiting a shelter.
7. Unexpected Pet
When you visit a shelter, you’re likely to have an idea of what you want, but there will be a wide variety of animals looking for a new home and you might end up going home with something completely different.
Welcome a rescue animal into your life and they’ll bring lots of love to your home.
By Dawn Cowles for Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe (LIFE)