Adopt, Don’t Shop

Alexis Schofield | Posted on September 17, 2019

Photo courtesy of aspca.org

Many have heard the phrase, “Adopt, Don’t Shop” before, and the meaning is pretty self-explanatory. It corresponds with an animal-rights movement that pushes the idea that instead of buying a pet from a pet store, adopt one from a shelter instead.

Why are pet stores so bad? Dogs sold in pet stores come from puppy mills which are a dog-breeding operation that provides dogs with horrendous living situations and cruel conditions. Also, they take puppies away from their mothers too soon creating health and behavioral issues. Since governments do not regulate most puppy mills, they can get away with doing such hateful and inhumane things to the animals. Simply put, puppy mills care more about making a profit than caring for the animal’s well being.

Why adopt from a shelter? The most obvious reason is that you are saving a life. Consequently, when you save one animal’s life from a shelter, you create more shelter space for other animals needing to be saved. Additionally, adopting from a shelter takes business away from puppy mills. The hope is to take enough business away from them to shut them down.

When you adopt from a shelter, a lot of the time you adopt an adult animal that might otherwise have never been bought since pet stores only sell puppies. Moreover, adult animals are more likely to be trained, unlike the puppy you would be buying. This means less training on your end and a pet whose life has been turned around for the better.

Another benefit of adopting from a shelter is that you will be matched with the right pet for you. The shelter is concerned with finding lifelong homes for animals so they are not brought back to the shelter. At pet stores, they simply do not care who is taking home the animal, they only care about the profit they are making. Additionally, shelter animals cost way less than pet store prices because they are not sold for profit.

Everyone should know the impact adopting from a shelter has instead of buying from a pet store. It may seem small, but if you adopt from a shelter, you are sending the message to others around you that adoption is the way to go and ultimately fights against animal abuse.