Well hello there! Welcome to the first post to my blog. I wanted to kick off this blog by talking about adopt don’t shop. Yes, I know, I can hear all the eye rolls because you probably hear about it ALL THE TIME. However, it is not all black and white, so I would like to give a little insight into both sides of the story. Are you ready? Let’s get started!
Hold Up, Right There!
Before I bombard you with so much information that your brain might implode, why don’t we clear up a few things.
- Puppy mills: Large-scale commercial dog breeding facilities. Their one goal is to make money breeding and selling as many dogs as possible. The living conditions are often poor, the animals are treated inhumanely, and mothers spend their whole lives in a cage breeding over and over again. They breed many litters a year. Puppy mills sell their animals at pet stores and online. Once the animals are no longer profitable, they are usually discarded by either being killed, abandoned, or sold at an auction.
- Reputable Breeders: Do not breed animals for a profit and work with 1-2 litters a year. They are very knowledgeable of the breed and try to make sure their breed is as healthy as possible.
- Backyard Breeders: An amateur breeder who keeps a number of dogs and/or breeds and just let them breed. They are not fully knowledgeable of the breed and usually do not take the right health care precautions.
- Animal Shelter: Is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals, mostly dogs and cats and sometimes sick or wounded wildlife, are kept and rehabilitated. They are run and funded by the local government.
- Rescue Organization: A volunteer runned private organization that rescues animals from abusive homes or homlessness.
Who Started the Movement Adopt Don’t Shop?
The slogan was started by Last Chance for Animals. They are an international, non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating animal exploitation through education, investigations, legislation, and media attention.
Adopt Don’t Shop means that rather than shopping for your pets that come from puppy mills and breeders, to instead adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue organization. LCA has used Los Angeles as their model for the movement and their goal is to have the city become a no-kill city. They have made it their mission to go to different pet stores in order to:
- Stop pet stores from selling animals sold by puppy mills in the Los Angeles area
- To aim the public to “Adopt Don’t Shop”
- Establish Los Angeles as the model to end the puppy mill industry
- Work with pet stores to educate them about the puppy mill industry
- Support pet stores when they agree to stop selling puppies from puppy mills and to deal only in rescue and shelter dogs
Why Should I Adopt?
- Well the obvious…IT SAVES A LIFE! Millions of cats and dogs are euthanized in the United States each year. I know that is hard to swallow, but some shelters do not have a choice.
- It could come down to the animal being ill and because of being on a tight budget, they cannot treat all animals.
- It could be because of aggression. Each animal has to go through a temperament test before being adopted. Sometimes certain animals could spend years in a shelter and are still aggressive, so they end up having to put them down.
- Finally, what we are all aware of, overpopulation. So many animals are in shelters because of various reasons. Fortunately, if you adopt, then that is another animal off the streets.
- It cost less to adopt. I don’t know about you, but I certainly do not like spending more money. Most of the time the cost of spay/ neuter and first vaccines is already included in the cost. Animals from breeders and puppy mills usually cost much more than adopting and that does not include spay/neuter and vaccines.
- Your house will thank you. Many animals in shelters or rescues are already house trained because many of them once lived in a home or also have spent time in foster care. The whole stigma of all animals in the shelter are vicious and feral is not true. They can be some of the kindest souls and unfortunately were abandoned.
- It fights puppy mills and breeders. Now this is where the lines start to get blurred. Puppy mills must be stopped because they treat animals as a form of profit rather than a life. It is basically a factory. If no one is buying from them, then they will be put out of business. However, with breeders, there has been a misconception. This is what will lead me to my next topic…
Not All Breeders Are Bad!
Let’s say it again for the people in the back, “Not all breeders are bad!” As you read at the top, there are reputable breeders and there are backyard breeders. I am pretty sure you can get the geist of whom is the better of the two.
If you are completely set on a certain breed and you just have to go with that breed, then at least make sure it is from a reputable breeder. Here are some tips that I have received from the AKC (American Kennel Club) website and how to work with a reputable breeder:
- Check AKC! They have a list of many breeders that have their seal of approval.
- Meet the breeder and the animals. See how both of them interact and get to see the environment the animals are living in. If you cannot meet face to face, then have a video chat with them.
- Ask questions. A good breeder will be happy to answer any questions you have because in the long run, they want to be 100% sure that the animal will be safe and truly cared for.
- See the animal’s parents. This will give you a good feel of how your cat or dog will grow up to be.
- Get a full medical history. The breeder will be happy to show you the documentation such as the OFA or CERF certification.
- Be patient. Don’t expect to come home with the animal on the same day as the meeting. The breeder will let you know when it is safe for the young to be away from the mother.
Alrighty! Before I bid you adieu, here are some current statistics that I have found on The Humane Society website. I would love for everyone to look at it and become aware. The best way to humanely decrease the population of cats and dogs is to neuter and spay. So if you adopt or shop just please make sure to get your new furry companion fixed. This way we can give those animals on the streets a chance. If you have more information you would like to share, leave it in the comments! Thanks! 🙂
Pet Ownership Estimates from Underserved Communities
- Pets living in underserved communities in the U.S.: 23 million
- Percentage of pets living in underserved communities who are not spayed or neutered: 87%
- Percentage of pets living in underserved communities who have never seen a veterinarian: 77%
Community Cats Estimates
- Estimated number of community cats in the U.S.: 30 to 40 million
- Percentage of community cats who are spayed/neutered: 2%
- Percentage of new kittens born each year produced by community cats: 80%
- Percentage of people who believe leaving a community cat outdoors is preferable to having him or her caught and euthanized: 81%
- Percentage of people providing food for community cats: 10 to 12%
Shelter and Rescue Groups Estimate
- Estimated number of brick-and-mortar animal shelters in the US: 3,500
- Estimated number of rescue groups and animal sanctuaries in North America: 10,000
- Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year: 6-8 million (down from 13 million in 1973)
- Of the 3 million cats and dogs euthanized in shelters each year, approximately 2.4 million (80%) are healthy and treatable and could have been adopted into new homes
- Percentage of purebred dogs in shelters: 25%
- Number cats and dogs adopted from shelters each year: 4 million
- Percentage of cats euthanized in shelters: 70%
- Percentage of total shelter intake comprised of cats: Approximately 50% (but in some regions 2/3 of shelter population is cats)
- Estimated amount spent by humane organizations annually: $2.5 billion (about $8 per capita)
- Estimated amount spent by animal control organizations annually: $800 million to $1 billion (about $4 per capita)