My Gus and Cesar fresh from the Animal Shelter. |
I Pledge to never purchase a pet through a Pet Shop, Breeder, or Online Seller. I exclusively will adopt from a reputable Animal Shelter, Rescue, or by "discovery". For the sake of not making this post too long, I am going to talk specifically about dogs but I feel even more strongly about cats.
Wonderful hound, a typical breed found in local shelters. |
I have seen first hand the misery caused by Puppy Mills. While the Director of a Humane Society located inside of a county owned kill Animal Shelter, there were many instances of abuse as a direct result of Puppy Mills and irresponsible Breeders. Personally, until there are no more pets killed in U.S. shelters, I choose to not adopt from responsible Breeders as well. It's simple economics... Why would I trade the life of a shelter pet for one purchased from a breeder? I wouldn't.
A "vicious" shelter Pitbull & PCHS Pres. Rita. |
A growing trend is to hide the cruelity by selling pets on the internet masked by cute or heart wrenching websites. You may think that "others" are doing their part and picking up the slack for your decision to adopt from an unknown online dealer -- NOT... According to Wayne Pacelle, CEO and President of the HSUS, only 1 in 5 owned pets are adopted from a Shelter or Rescue. More people need to face the facts and the numbers that animals are dying directly because of their purchase decisions.
My sweet doggie Simba, my first shelter pet. |
While I was in the midst of pet madness as Humane Society Director, I often wanted to scream at the top of my lungs (and actually did) for people to take this issue seriously and NOT PURCHASE A PET but ADOPT instead! Irresponsible breeding takes such a physical and mental toil on the good souls that are trying so desperately to help our little furry babies. Kindness and love has totally disappeared from the souls of Puppy Mill breeders... it's time they were put to a stop and you can help by making thoughtful and humane purchase decisions.
-Rebecca
So sad, so true, and very well stated, Rebecca. There's a world of difference between pet owners who want fashionable, designer pets versus those who want to save animal lives. There's a lot of work to be done out there!
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