Buying Vs. Adopting Pets

[AXO Alum]

Okay - here is something that I grapple with everyday -- there is a huge sign on one of the biggest roads in town that changes with the number of animals put down by the shelter each day because there aren't enough homes for them -- its very sad. But yet, the papers are filled with breeders and puppies for sale. I have never bought an animal (except for our ferret, and we truly didn't know better at the time) and don't see the appeal in having a dog for the sake of saying its a pure bred and you paid $$$ for it, when there are so many "death-row" inmates up for adoption, and even pure-bred dogs from rescue groups.

I'm really being sincere here - I know my usual sarcastic tones may sound like they are jumping out, but I'm not trying to be rude.

So I would like to hear from people who have bought dogs, and why -- not that you have to "explain" yourself to me or anyone else, I just want to get a prospective from the other side of the fence. (Just for clarification since I mentioned it previously - I do own a pure black lab, but he was a rescue - he and his entire litter were left on a road side during a terrible snow storm).

[mgdzkm433]

I'm going to hop in here because I have experience from both sides of the fence.

1. Adopting a pet from a shelter/Rescue Unit/Specific Breed Rescue: Truely a noble thing. The United States is very over populated with dogs and cats. You might not realize how badly. Just some facts from the Humane Society of America:

~Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year:
8-10 million (HSUS estimate)
~In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can theoretically produce 420,000 cats.
~In six years, one female dog and her offspring can theoretically produce 67,000 dogs.
~Number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year:
4-5 million (HSUS estimate)
http://www.hsus.org/index.html

A good way to help prevent this overpopulation problem is to spay and neuter your animals. It's NOT cruel, and has actually been proven to EXTEND the lives of cats and dogs. Shelter dogs/cats are good animals who need a LOT of love. I wouldn't expect to train them past the normal sit/stay stuff (it also depends on age). my two dogs are wonderful and loving and just great. Ok, off my little education soapbox.

LXA~Shelters are mostly full of mixed breed dogs and cats. Only about 25% of dogs in shelters are pure bred. A lot of people turn to pure breeds because mixed breeds can often be a 'surprise'. With a pure breed, you know what you're getting into. You can check out books in the library that will inform you of the habits and training methods best for each specific breed, but when you have a mixed breed dog--it is hard to estimate how to train your dog, how it's temperment will be, and what type of conditions the dog is best suited for--and these are major factors in raising dogs. If you have a dog that is mostly a beagle, for instance, you don't want to confine it to a small one bedroom apartment and expect it to be a lap dog. Beagles need excersize and places to run. The problem with mixed breeds, however, is it is often hard to determine which breeds might be in the dog. Some are easy, but some are very difficult/impossible. I have 3 animals (2 dogs and a cat) in my house, all from the shelter, all mixed breeds. I've had quite a few surprises here and there from my dogs and cat due to this. I still love my babies though

2. Pure bred dogs from a CERTIFIED trainer: This is your best bet in finding a good dog. This is why lots of people buy from breeders, because they produce good dogs from good parents. They know what they are getting, they know how to prepare, and they have a dog that in the future can be trained for show. Showing dogs is a great 'hobby' or career and is fun. Lots of people enjoy it and enjoy furthuring a particular breed of dog and really can appreciate the features and abilities the dogs have. A good certified breeder doesn't care about the money they get for the puppy as much as they care what kind of HOME the puppy is going to. They want to see their puppies grow up respectfully and be a good example as to what their breed is about. They work hard to track dogs lines to produce great dogs.

3. Breeders you typically find in the newspaper and Puppy Mills:
These are considered 'backyard' breeders and Mall shops get their dogs from Puppy Mills. NOT a good place to start. Get refrences. These people usually breed dogs in poor conditions to poor animals. You don't know WHAT you are getting. Puppy mills breed dogs too often, producing poor litters that will most likely be more likely to get infections and diseases and die young or as puppies. They churn out puppies for PROFIT.


My 2 dogs came from the shelter this time, but in the future I'd like to get a pure bred dog to train and show (I'd like a great dane). If you respect and admire a specific breed, I suggest finding a breeder and getting a puppy. But if you just like dogs and want a good companion, I'd go to the shelter first.

OH--another thought--shelters are starting new foster programs throughout the US. If you're looking for a dog, try fostering one first to get to know it, then maybe adopt it.

[Shelacious]

I feel rather strongly on the topic as well, so long post. I'm coming from a dog perspective here, but it applies to other animals as well, I think. I truly think that unless you plan on showing a dog, or using a dog for a breed-specific job (like for birding or herding), people should investigate shelter/abandoned/rescued animals first.

I got my mother a dog from the shelter 7 years ago, who just was put down a week ago today because of a stroke ((sniff, sniff, we're all still very emotional about it)). San Francisco has a no-kill policy, so Ubu (formerly named Ella, 2 year old shepard/dobbie/lab mix) had been in the shelter for two months before I found her. She had been a bit traumatized, and would not bark or come to the door. I ended up selecting her over a yellow "almost pure" lab youngster that had just shown up at the shelter. Because my mother was single, with no children at home, Ubu was the perfect companion to my mother for these past 7 years and blossomed under her care.

My own dog, Rambler, an APBT/Shar Pei (Pit Pei) mix, was "purchased" as a rescue from a neighbor at 6 weeks old. Without my influence, Rambler would have probably been given to a pseudo-macho guy who wanted her to breed or fight. Now she's a 55-pound lap dog who think she's a cat, loved by my mother and grandmother.

These are just two examples of how adopting or rescuing can provide new life for dogs that would be in dire straits. There are many pure bred dogs that you can still rescue (my neighbor has a wonderful (and best friend of my dog) pure Rottweiler that had been used to breed two litters first). I'm not completely against purchasing pure-breeds, but I think some folks like to have the "name recognition" that comes from a pure-bred rather than a respect and appreciation for the breed itself.

Last note, just want to point out for all the predictions you can make from a pure-bred from a behavioral standpoint, you also get a host of medical issues that you don't get from a mixed-breed. Many people not familiar with the chronic health conditions from a Shar Pei, Pug, or Dalmatian are unpleasantly surprised and frustrated when they're encountered.

By the way, I love pure-bred papered black Labs and now have a love for pure-bred papered APBTs as well!

[AXO Alum]

Originally posted by mgdzkm433:
in the future I'd like to get a pure bred dog to train and show

And that's perfectly legit -- I can understand it if its for show, or like Shelacious said - birding or herding LOL!

But people get on my last nerves when the dog subject comes up, and they jump right in with "well we have a $600 Black Lab" -- they don't even say his/her name or anything. Of course, I guess its like those people who when you say "I like that dress you're wearing" and they say "Oh - its Liz Claiborne - cost me a fortune, but I like it" --

Some people have said to us that Oscar (the lab) is not a pure bred because he's so tall - and he is about 2 inches taller than the AKC will allow for registration (not that we care) -- BUT - he was 1 and a half times the size of his entire litter -- they are all the exact lab size. And Oscar is totally lab - he's just our order of "biggie fries" (and if we ever did register him, he'd be Oscar Biggie Fries-Baby Teeth ...yeah - I know that's not an accepted name, but its a moot point! )

But we don't care - he could be everything rolled into one, and we couldn't love him more! My parents rescued a puppy from the shelter - she could fit in the pocket on a shirt she was so small, and yet they had her in the pen with all the big dogs like Dobie's and stuff -- they were so mad. She was just absolutely terrified to move. It took some time, but she is little miss everybody's business now.

Shelacious - honey I am so so sorry for your loss. That is terrible for your family. I'm so glad that you were able to give your mom such a precious gift of friendship, and that Ubu had such a wonderful loving home. I'll be keeping you all in my prayers, and I know that Ubu is playing over the Rainbow Bridge with my Poochie.

[Corbin Dallas]

Originally posted by AXO Alum:
[BMy parents rescued a puppy from the shelter - she could fit in the pocket on a shirt she was so small...[/B]

When I was about 11 or 12, my cousins dog had puppies. At the time, my cousin and the dog lived with my grandparents. Anyway, there was a runt of the litter. I think they were all half Chow, half beagle-mutt-type dog. The runt was so tiny, and couldn't feed with the other pups around and they were FAT! At the time, my grandpa had cancer. It was maybe 6 months before he passed away, so he was weak from all the chemo and drugs and everything. I remember how he used to laugh at how ugly that little runt was... He started taking care of it, feeding it out of a bottle in his lap, the whole 9 yards. It kept him and the pup happy He ended up giving the dog away to my cousin's babysitter, but now it's a big old fat mutt that don't take no $#!t from nobody I remember how he used to laugh at how ugly that little runt was...

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

[newbie]

I have a question...and I don't know if you all can answer it or not, but how much does it cost generally to adopt a puppy?

I don't think I can adopt a puppy until I move out of my house (my mother is allergic to most pets ), but I was just curious!!! I've always wanted a pet to take care of! (I used to have a guinea pig, and he was just sooo very adorable and lovable!)

Thank you!!

[This message has been edited by newbie (edited June 08, 2001).]

[Shelacious]

Originally posted by AXO Alum:

Shelacious - honey I am so so sorry for your loss. That is terrible for your family. I'm so glad that you were able to give your mom such a precious gift of friendship, and that Ubu had such a wonderful loving home. I'll be keeping you all in my prayers, and I know that Ubu is playing over the Rainbow Bridge with my Poochie.

This was one of the sweetest things I have ever read! . I was just in tears...thank you SO MUCH AXO ALum--you are a wonderful person. I'm going to cut and paste this in an email and send to my mother too, if you don't mind! Sisterly, Shela



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Finer Womanhood: the "Cat's Meow" Since 1920

[SSS1365]

I have a pure bred beagle that was adopted from the SPCA. Before him, we had a pure bred cocker spaniel, also adopted. We've also had numerous cats that we've adopted over the years. It's not impossible to get a pure-bred dog from an adoption program; my family has done it twice. A friend of mine works in a pet store, and occasionally adoption centers will bring a bunch of dogs there to be adopted. I've seen all kinds of pure breds there. I would never buy a dog from a pet store because a large percentage of them were raised in puppy mills where the conditions are less than humane.

[mgdzkm433]

I have a question...and I don't know if you all can answer it or not, but how much does it cost generally to adopt a puppy?

It cost me 18 dollars to adopt my last dog. 15 for adoption fee, 3 dollars for county dog tax. Our shelter gives us a slip that gets us 25% off spaying/neutering at a local vet's office though. But when/if you adopt or buy an animal--also remember there is are huge expenses in taking care of them. Shelters have you sign a contract saying you will have the animal spayed/neutered by a certain date and that costs some cash, not to mention if you get a large dog--they eat more food. They need vaccinations and check-ups (especially at first because dogs in shelters are more at risk of contracting things like kennel cough, distemper, and parvo--which WILL kill a animal). If you get a puppy from the shelter, chances are it will have worms and usually the shelter's wormer isn't enough. You might have to take it to get wormed by a vet (depending on the type of worms it has). Dogs also might have worms. The last dog we got had tapeworms, which had to be taken care of by the vet.


Just a note: poodles have hypo-allergenic coats. I know it probably sounds weird, but they really do. So if you think of getting a pet before you move, think about getting a poodle for your mom's sake. Not to mention they don't shed--which everyone will love. But their grooming bills will be sky high!

[AXO Alum]

Originally posted by Shelacious:
I'm going to cut and paste this in an email and send to my mother too, if you don't mind!

Of course I don't mind! Just let her know that I'm thinking about her and your family - the loss of a pet is a big deal, just look at how big the section of pet loss sympathy cards at Hallmark is! I hope that someday, if the right situation presents itself, she will receive another blessing to love and care for (and be loved and cared for too!)

If any of you have a friend who has lost a pet, if you'd like to do something caring, send them a note or card, and include that you have sent the Humane Society (or whatever animal welfare group you support) a donation in memory of their pet. Its a great way to recognize the pain that loss brings, while also helping out other pets in need. You don't have to specify the amount donated, even $5 helps a needy animal -- remember - its the thought that counts!

[CRMSNTiDEGRL717]

I love my dogs so much. I live on a farm, so we've collected many strays and giveaways over the years. Im gonna start crying not that ive thought about it. Dogs are so special and unless you want to show, breed, bird or herd, mixed breeds(mutts) are just as awesome. The dogs i have right now are all pure bred, but they were all given to us for various reasons.
BEAU-- now 85 lb. black lab was given to us when he was only 2 mos. old. The owners were naive and didnt realize he was going to keep growing, and they ran out of room for him to play.
TIA-- also a black lab who weighs 65 lbs. and is BEAU'S sister. Tia was given to us a year after beau b/c they couldnt keep her under control.
Sydney-- 3 yr. old miniature dapple dachsund and is MY BABY. Fourth of July 2 summers ago my dog Peanut(1/2 dachsund, 1/2 chihuahua..sp?) who had been w/ us since i was 3 got scared at the lake when people started shooting off fireworks. We couldnt find her for 3 hrs. and when we finally did, she had been hit by a car and died. My b'day is only a couple of weeks after the fourth and sydney was a gift. He had been living in someones basement w/ no one to play w/ him.
FRITZ-- 9 yr. old deaf jack russell terrier. He was given to us in 1991 b/c an old couple couldnt house train him, or figure out why. So we decided we would take him. Turns out he's deaf and was born that way, and thats why they couldnt house train him. Our family also kids around and calls him a schizophrenic, b/c he acts like he hears voices and he freaks out.
Im sorry this is so long, i just had to respond
Liz