Blog Post #2 Persuade; Don’t Shop, Adopt

Pets are great. Having one is like having another family member. Obtaining a pet comes in two different ways: shopping or adopting; adopting, however, is the better option. If you plan on getting a pet, there are various reasons why you should adopt and rescue one than going to a breeder to get a very specific kind of breed.

First off, there are breeding mills. Breeding mills are places that work in similar in ways like a factory. Animals in these mills are forced to mate with one another, continuously, and the living conditions are extremely unsafe and unbearable. Living conditions include: being forced to live their lives in small cages, poor hygiene, and even poor veterinary care. If the animal isn’t a newborn and is used for breeding, they are treated as machines; when they no longer can produce offspring they are usually killed or abandoned (ASPCA). If animals are spayed they will be in better health conditions than if they are not. Spaying can let your pet be more calmer as they are less likely to be in heat; this can make them more well behaved. “Spaying [also] helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats” (ASPCA). Letting an animal to just breed at any opportunity possible is no way to let an animal live; buying from breeding mills supports corrupt activity like this. Animals are not objects, they have feelings just like we do, and they can suffer mental trauma and physical problems because of these kinds of experiences.

Secondly, animals that are in need of homes at shelters are set on a time limit. Shelters are overloaded with so many animals that they’ll eventually euthanize them if no one wants to adopt them. “For a dog, the shelter is an immediate sensory overload. A dizzying diversity of scents, sounds and strangers” (Cotroneo). The atmosphere of an animal shelter is scary, being in an unfamiliar place around unfamiliar people and scents. They will obviously act in ways that do not reflect their true self, and that can be considered very unattractive to those who want a happy and sweet, fun-loving pet right off the spot. The answer to this is, you’ll still get that sweet pet even if they look completely different in nature at the shelter, all you need to do is take a chance. “If your dog is old or an undesirable breed, you can expect him to be euthanized…Any sort of bully breed dog has very little chance of being adopted” (Cotroneo). There’s a common theme within animal shelters, specifically being chihuahuas and pit bulls. They are less desired than most other dog breeds. Despite how they look in an animal shelter their problems can more or less start by being in the shelter, and it doesn’t reflect how they’ll behave as a pet when they get to know you at your home. There are stereotypes on pit bulls being aggressive, and chihuahuas having a bad attitude; nevertheless, if you interact with one of them individually you may be pleasantly surprised that they can be just as affectionate as other dogs.

All the pets I’ve ever had were rescues. I never had a choice on how they looked, I just wanted to save them. They repaid me back by being apart of my family. Having a pet is an amazing thing. The experience of having a pet can keep you in touch of what it’s like having connections with others that aren’t solely human. It can teach you great lessons on how to properly support and take care of others. Pets can be also used in a therapeutic way to help you calm down when you need to relieve yourself of the stress from your daily life. These animals are dependent on YOU to give them a forever home filled with love and care; they cannot survive on their own and they all deserve great lives. Breeding mills continuously creates animals in need of being rescued instead of minimizing the problem. It does not matter if you prefer a certain breed, any animal will give you love if you love them back. Consider adopting at an animal shelter than going towards a breeder. If you can’t afford to take care of a pet, you can always try donating if it’s ever possible. I’d still recommend having a pet at least once in your life because in my opinion it can teach you very many valuable things. Thank you for reading.

Works Cited

ASCPA. “The Hallmarks of Cruel Breeding.” ASCPA. https://www.aspca.org/barred-from-love/puppy-mills-101/hallmarks-cruel-breeding. Accessed 30 Jan. 2019.

Cotroneo, Christian. “If Everyone Read This, The Shelters Would Be Empty.” TheDodo, 30 Dec. 2015,
https://www.thedodo.com/dog-shelter-guide-adoptions-1532460278.html. Accessed 30 Jan. 2019.

ASCPA. “Top 10 Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Pet.” WebMD. https://pets.webmd.com/reasons-spay-neuter-pet. Accessed 30 Jan. 2019.