Nothing beats a long walk in the morning or evening with the company of a friendly pet dog. Dogs have been man’s companion for several decades now because they share our lives in several ways many animals cannot. Dogs are always friendly and a perfect human companion that is why many people have always chosen them as pets compared to other animals. It is with no doubt that dogs have always been called a “man’s best friend’ because of their intelligence, loyalty, and affection towards their owners. There are different ways for one to own a dog with one being buying from a breeder and the other one adopting one from an animal shelter. Some people argue that it is best to adopt from a shelter while others argue that dogs should be bought from a breeder and each one has their own valid reasons. In this essay, I will argue that people should adopt dogs from animal shelters instead of buying from a breeder because adopting a dog is cheap and a perfect way of saving a life.
With shelters keep receiving thousands of animals every year, it is evident that there is a selection of pets ready for adoption every day. When looking for a pet, an individual should consider the chance to save a life instead of benefiting breeders by getting one from an animal shelter. Animal shelters are non-profit organizations that rescue homeless pets in addition to rescuing them from dangerous environment and abuse. Therefore, adopting a dog will help save a life and to give the pet a place to call home since many shelters do not have enough room to keep the pets (humanesociety.org). If more people could opt to adopt pets instead of buying them, fewer animals will be killed by shelter houses thus saving the lives of these animals. Therefore, let us choose to adopt a dog essentially to save lives because if these pets are not adopted, they are euthanized due to overpopulation.
There are several reasons why people should adopt dogs from an animal shelter instead of buying from a breeder. To start with, people should choose to adopt dogs from a shelter instead of buying them from a breeder because when we adopt pets, we save a life but when you buy from a breeder, you deny a homeless pet the possibility of having a good home. Most dogs in animal shelters or rescue groups are always homeless because they are rescued and given a home. On the other hand, dogs from breeders are solely for business and financial gain purposes and whether they are bought or not, they still have a home with their breeder. Therefore, animals in shelters need a second chance because most of them have been abandoned because they are unwanted by their owners while others are lost and rescued. We should not support an industry that is thriving in short-changing the animal welfare by buying pets from breeders (humanesociety.org). Instead, when we want to buy a dog, we should focus on adopting one from a shelter because this way, we will have saved one dog from being homeless by giving them a new life and a loving place to call home. Dogs are friendly and a “man’s best friend,” however when they are homeless, they feel lonely as they lack the human companionship, but, they can get it if we save their lives by adopting them and giving them a home.
On the same live, adopting a dog from a shelter is one way to support the good charitable work of offering a shelter to homeless animals. Every country requires animal shelters because of the increasing number of pet animals on the loose roaming the streets. When an individual adopts a dog or any other pet from these shelters, it is a support to a valuable charity in the community. Animals shelters improve public health by ensuring that the homeless animals are free from the streets where they are a threat to public health and they are well taken care of (Luescher and Medlock 63). Most importantly, animal shelters diminish the chances of having unwanted pet animals on the streets because it encourages people to adopt animals from shelters.
In addition, people should adopt dogs from animal shelters instead of buying them from a breeder because buying a pet is very expensive and it can cost about 500 to 1000 dollars or even more, yet adoption is cheaper because it ranges between 50 to 200 dollars (labradortraininghq.com). People love pets, and it is no doubt that when on acquires one, he or she has to take good care of the pet by ensuring that the pet lives in a good pet house in addition to ensuring that the pet has the right food. Therefore, while getting a pet dog, let an individual cut on the costs and adopt one from a shelter and use the money that could have been spent buying a pet from a breeder to ensure the pet gets proper vet checkup, has the best place to sleep, and is provided with the best food meant for pet dogs. Pet adoption fee is low and for this reason, people should adopt dogs instead of buying them from breeders who sell them expensively.
Most dogs in shelters will always have their history documented meaning that if they do suffers from any condition, the rescue group will be aware of the problem and a pet owner will be informed about it prior to purchase. However, when one walks into a pet store or a breeder’s farm, he/she buys a pet and after you leave the store, it is you and the pet. Most breeders do not provide any support when problems arise with the pet dog because their work is just to breed and sell for financial gains (labradortraininghq.com). Therefore, for this reason, people should focus on adopting dogs from animal shelters instead of buying from a breeder because this way, they will get the entire history of the pet. In addition, since pet shelters are focused on ensuring the dogs get a good home whereby they will get food and a place to sleep, they will always offer support when a need arises because they would not wish the dog to become homeless once again. Therefore, an individual can cut on vet bill costs and the risk of losing a pet dog by opting to adopt a dog from a shelter instead of buying one from a breeder. In fact, adopting a pet in an animal shelter gives a pet owner a lifetime resource with the shelter employees.
Moreover, it is best to adopt a dog from a shelter as opposed to buying from a breeder because the people from the shelter help a pet owner through the familiarization period. When any pet is moved to a new home, a pet can feel insecure and lack of a sense of belonging because of the change of ownership. Dogs will always take time to familiarize with a new owner and a new home. According to Bennett et al., for some, it might take a month to feel comfortable in a new place while others it might take several months to know the personality of their owner and to familiarize with the other people in the home and acclimated in the new environment (164). Therefore, when one buys a dog from a breeder, that is the end of business between the breeder and the buyer and it is upon the buyer to work hard on familiarizing with the pet dog and making it comfortable it its new environment. However, when one adopts a dog from a shelter, the rescue group or rather people from the shelter will help with the familiarization window to make the dog comfortable because their work is to ensure that these dogs are provided with a good home (Luescher and Medlock 63). Therefore, there is no way they will let a pet owner go through a difficult time with the familiarization of the pet alone when they want the best for the animal.
People should learn to adopt dogs from a shelter instead of buying them from a breeder because, in the adoption of pets, one has the chance to choose the age and the type of dog he/she wants. In an animal shelter, there is an advantage of picking an adult animal that is housetrained and one will not have a difficult time dealing with the puppy phase. Young dogs or rather puppies might be cute and playful but again they can be a handful. Young dogs are the best but it can be difficult to handle them at a very young age and most breeders always sell puppies. However, in adoption, there are older dogs and the good news is that an individual has the choice of choosing the age of the dog he/she wants to adopt for his/her convenience. According to Luescher and Medlock, adult or rather older dogs are the best to adopt because their rescuers always train them and adopting in a new home will be easier for them (65). In contrast, Hansen notes that most breeders sell puppies to pet owners and when they reach their new home, it becomes hard for them to settle or rather familiarize since a majority of them are not already trained and some of them even end up dying yet there is no compensation (labradortraininghq.com). Therefore, people should adopt dogs from a shelter instead of buying them from a breeder because with shelters, one is allowed to choose the age of the dog and since most dogs are adults, they are already trained and they will have no problem with their new owner. The new dog owner will not have to go through the pain to train the puppy.
On the same line of having to choose a preferred age for a pet dog in an animal shelter, these shelters give a pet owner a variety or rather a great selection of dogs to choose from. Since animal shelters host lost and abandoned animals, it means that all types of dog breeds can be found here something that is impossible to find with the breeders because they have a tendency of breeding the same types of breeds (Reese et al. 53). Different types of dog breeds find their way in animal shelters and this gives them an advantage over breeders. Hence, people should opt to adopt a dog because of the great selections found in animal shelters. Additionally, dogs in animal shelters are well taken care of ranging from vaccinations to screening on their arrival. Therefore, when adopting a dog, an individual gets the best pet that is well taken care of by the experienced staff.
When we adopt dogs from shelters, we help break the cycle of overpopulation in these animal shelters. Most pets in animal shelters are rescued pets who either are abandoned by their owners or get lost and no one claims them meaning most of these animal shelters are overpopulated with pets. Therefore, when we adopt a dog from an animal shelter we help reduce overpopulation and give a chance for new dogs to be rescued. Today, there not y enough animal shelters for pets especially dogs that is why we still find a good number of them roaming on the streets. As a result, Simmons, Kaitlyn, and Hoffman note that every year, millions of dogs end up being euthanized because there are not enough homes to keep them after their rescue (11). However, if people regularly adopted pets from shelters instead of buying them from breeders, we can dramatically reduce the number of animals being euthanized.
There is a lot of cruelty in mass pet breeding facilities. All over the world, there are thousands of pet breeding facilities where millions of pet animals for sale (kitten mills and puppy mills) are bred in a cruel manner. The female dogs in these facilities are locked up and impregnated each and every time while being treated in a cruel manner yet most dogs yearn for human companionship and a free life. In addition, they are kept in intolerable environments, which at times lead to the death of some of them while some are killed or rather destroyed after they are no longer profitable, yet their breeders are not ready to stop as long as they get money. Therefore, if people adopt pets instead of buying them from breeders, it will help stop the cruelty in the breeding facilities because the breeders will have fewer clients thus end up closing their facilities (Garrison and Weiss 58). Adopting a dog from a shelter will help save dogs from animal cruelty and it means that we will be helping in the fight against cruel practice such as animal breeding.
Taking a dog as a pet requires careful consideration of how and where to acquire it. There are several moral and financial benefits in adopting a dog from an animal shelter and purchasing it from a breeder and this should be considered before making any rash decision to get a dog. When one adopts a dog from an animal shelter, it means that the individual has helped save one of the countless dogs that are living in animal shelters. The goal of animal shelters is to save the lives of pets and prevent their suffering while they are homeless. On the other hand, the breeder’s goal is to make money even if it means using cruel practices to breed the animals. Shelters take in abandoned, unwanted, and lost animals and provide them with shelter, food, water, vet care and later on find them homes where they can enjoy human companionship. According to The Human Society of the United States, people should learn to adopt dogs from animal shelters and not buy them from breeders because this will be supporting animal cruelty through breeding mills (humanesociety.org). Opponents might argue that animal shelters still charge adoption fee which is the same as buying from breeders. However, this is not the case because the adoption fee is used to cover the animals’ vet costs, cost of food, spray, regular screening, and the cost of those who take care of the animals. Giving money to breeders’ means that they will use the same money to continue their cruelty against animals but money given to animal shelters is used to take care of the animals that we homeless. Therefore, let us choose wisely, where we take our money while getting a dog for a pet. Let us help stop animal cruelty by adopting dogs from animal shelters because these animals need a second chance and a place to call home after they have been rescued.
In conclusion, while bringing home a pet dog can be extremely exciting, people should consider making a wise decision before acquiring one. There are different ways to find a per and they include rescue shelters or inbreeding factories and getting one from an animal shelter is a great experience. People should learn to adopt dogs from a shelter instead of buying them from a breeder because it costs less, it saves a life, shelter dogs are trained, and there are more dogs to choose from, in addition to giving an individual the chance to choose the age of the dog he/she is interested in. Adopting a dog will help in fighting against puppy mills which is animal cruelty. In addition, it will help save a life since most animals in shelter houses are euthanized due to overpopulation. Buying a dog from breeders denies a homeless dog a chance to have human companionship and a chance to have a good home. Therefore, let people make wise decisions while acquiring a dog by adopting it from an animal shelter other than buying from a breeder, which is promoting animal cruelty.
Works Cited
Bennett, Sara L., et al. "Comparison of SAFER Behavior Assessment Results in Shelter Dogs at Intake and after a 3-day Acclimation Period." Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science18.2 (2015): 153-168.
Garrison, Laurie, and Weiss Emily. "What do People Want? Factors People Consider when Acquiring Dogs, the Complexity of the Choices they make, and Implications for Nonhuman Animal Relocation Programs." Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 18.1 (2015): 57-73.
Hansen Sarah. Adoption from Shelter vs. Buying from a Breeder: What’s Best For You? 15 Jan. 2018, https://www.labradortraininghq.com/labrador-puppies/adoption-vs-breeder-whats best/
Accessed 19 November 2018
Luescher, Andrew Urs, and Medlock Robert Tyson. "The effects of Training and Environmental Alterations on Adoption Success of Shelter Dogs." Applied Animal Behavior Science117.1-2 (2009): 63-68.
Reese, Laura A., et al. "No Dog Left Behind: A Hedonic Pricing Model for Animal Shelters." Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 20.1 (2017): 52-64.
Simmons, Kaitlyn E., and Hoffman Christy L. "Dogs on the Move: Factors Impacting Animal Shelter and Rescue Organizations’ Decisions to Accept Dogs from Distant Locations." Animals 6.2 (2016): 11.
The Human Society of the United States. Top Reasons to Adopt a Pet. 2018, https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/top-reasons-adopt-pet Accessed 19 November 2018
