ADOPTING VS. BUYING

Consider the Source When Getting a Puppy

If you’re ready to get a new pet, congratulations! You’ll add a loving member to your family and enrich your life. The best place to find a kitten or a puppy is your local animal shelter or breed rescue group. They have plenty of purebreds, mixed-breeds, and big and little dogs or cats -- you’re sure to find a great companion.

And when you adopt from a shelter or rescue group, you’ll give an animal a second chance at finding a home, and you will not add to the nation’s pet overpopulation problem. The reality is that an estimated 3.7 million unwanted pets must be euthanized at animal shelters every year -- many because they could not find families to adopt them.

If you don’t find your ideal companion at your local shelter or breed rescue group, you may choose to purchase a puppy instead of adopting one. In this case, it is important to be certain that you are buying from a responsible breeder that breeds and sells only healthy well-socialized puppies.

Responsible breeders typically do not sell their puppies to pet stores. Most of them want to meet and screen prospective owners to ensure that their puppies are going to good homes. Sadly, most pet store puppies come from puppy mills where animals are not bred for good health and temperament and where they are often raised in inhumane conditions.

Adopt a Disabled Pet!

Disabled pets are incredible. In fact, sometimes they do tremendous heroic and athletic feats! Blind, one-eyed, deaf and three-legged pets can live full happy lives – just spend some time with one and you’ll see how much they can enjoy a wide range of activities and certainly can give just as much love as any pet. Puppies and kittens who are born with a disability, or acquire it early in life, have no idea they’re different, and even adult and older pets can most often adapt to disabilities that humans would find hard to manage. 

Common pet disabilities include being blind, deaf, or losing use of one limb. A pet may be born with their disability, or an injury or illness can result in loosing their sight, hearing, or ability to use one or more of their legs.

Often, when people adopt a puppy or kitten, they don’t realize their pet is blind or deaf right away. Puppies and kittens tend to be a little clumsy and distracted anyway, so bumping into things or not responding when called may be chalked up to normal infantile behavior. Then, they adapt, and learn to navigate the house and communicate with their owner so well, it may take closer observation to discover the disability.

People do not have to do much to accommodate a blind pet’s needs. Dogs and cats use their senses of smell, hearing and touch to get around. But, owners of blind pets usually are careful to keep all furniture in the same place at all times, and even pad sharp edges of furniture. Food and water bowls, litter box, pet bed, and toy stash all need to be in the exact same place for the pet to easily find what she needs.

As for deaf pets, since dogs and cats normally have such a tremendous sense of hearing, it would seem that a loss of this sense would be devastating. But, dogs and cats adapt quite well, and become more sensitive to vibrations they feel. And like all dogs and cats, they are excellent readers of body language, so communicating with them is not as difficult as you may imagine. Deaf pets may not respond to their owner’s spoken words, such as announcing dinnertime, but they read the signals like any other pet. The owner may call their pet by clapping their hands or stomping their feet. Some use a flashlight for visual commands.

Finally, regarding three-legged dogs and cats, they don’t usually need any special accommodations to live normal lives – other than making extra sure they maintain a healthy weight. Their body weight has one less leg to bear it, which causes more stress on the other leg joints. Also, dogs need to have their nails trimmed regularly (as all dogs should anyway) to give them the best footing on hard surfaces. On the other hand, three-legged cats like to jump up on high surfaces like any other cat. It’s the jumping off that can be a problem if there is only one front leg to take the impact. For these cats, the owner needs to make sure all cat-accessible surfaces are a safe distance from the floor.

In conclusion, adopting is better than buying because you contribute to save a life instead of suporting cruel puppy mills. Moreover, every dog or cat deserves to have a good life in a loving home, and should not be overlooked in animal shelters because of a disability. A disability doesn’t necessarily mean the pet will be harder to care for, and certainly won’t make him any less lovable.

Taken from: http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/adoption-pet-care/buying-vs-adopting.html?referrer= and http://www.adoptapet.com/blog/disabled-pets-can-be-amazing/