Consider Adopting a Pet From a Shelter

Times are changing, and more people are coming to realize that adopting a pet from a shelter is the better way to go. While many still feel that a professional breeder will provide the "best" pet, certain facts are coming to light that show it isn't always so. From time to time, someone buys a pet with papers, only to discover the animal has severe health problems, costing many thousands of dollars during the life of the pet... if it lives.

At the same time, as more shelters appear, and established ones expand and become better known, people are beginning to see that there is more oversight in the welfare of the animals in those places. Also, it has been estimated that about 25 percent of pets surrendered at shelters are purebreeds, many with papers.

However, registered pets that are surrendered to shelters are usually spayed and neutered before an adoption is made, and any papers will either be destroyed or stored in their files... not the new owner's. Remember, one of a shelter's goals is to find homes for unwanted animals, and toward that end, as more and more pets are given up, there is no way to keep up with the enormous flood of dumped animals unless there is a policy of population control.

When people who want pets have learned to consider the welfare of animals in general, they are more willing to choose one at a shelter or rescue facility. Life at a shelter shouldn't be the end of the road for a pet. It's supposed to be a "half-way house," where they live only temporarily, while waiting for someone to find a place in their heart and their home for the next one that has no place to go. Not all shelters are no-kill facilities. They can't be. So while someone buys a pet from a breeder or a pet store, thousands are being killed at shelters simply because there aren't enough homes for them all.

Until our society wakes up to the plight of innocent animals and starts caring, this cycle will continue, changing very slowly as the times change.

When you are ready to adopt a new pet, here are some more tips to help in the decision: http://www.theproblemcat.com/articles/adopting.html