Hey! I heard you are looking to adopt an animal — that’s great! You see, I used the word “adopt,” not “buy.”
Buying an animal, let’s just say, isn’t so great. I know, walking into the pet store and seeing the cute so-called purebred animal that you have been looking for forever seems perfect. The husky or ragdoll cat that has been your dream animal is sitting there in front of you, longing to be yours.
Fight the temptation.
The $3,000-$5,000 that you spend on this animal strictly goes to the profit of the company so they can continue to import animals from Europe and sell it for an extreme upcharge. And it’s not just that amount of money up front; now you have to pay for it to get spayed or neutered along with any vaccines and for the continuing care of the animal.
You think this animal came from a reputable breeder?
Think again.
Let’s say you happen to walk into one of these stores with your friends and decide you want to take home one of the cute animals that day.
That doesn’t happen when you go to a shelter. You have to go through the process of being a good fit for an animal and making sure that you have a good history of bringing it to get all its vaccines, along with your animal having good health. There’s a reason for this: If you can just bring home any animal you want on any day without researching it, then come to a realization that taking care of an animal requires a lot of work, now what happens?
Adopting a dog isn’t just a choice. It’s a commitment.
“We see a lot of owners come in with puppies that they have no idea how much work they actually are,” said Autumn Stacks, a veterinary technician at Valley Veterinary Hospital. “We often see them either returning the pet or neglecting it.”
Once someone figures out just how much work an animal is, even as little as a fish, they end up bringing it back to the store. Stores like Petco do take small animals back, but it comes with a price on the animal.
“Corporate pet stores such as Petco and Petsmart are responsible for the unnecessary deaths of countless live animals every year,” said Courtney Devault, who is starting a petition against Petco and Petsmart on Change.org. “These animals are often thrown away like trash, simply because they are no longer profitable or are deemed unsellable.”
Using animals as profit should be prohibited. Adopting from a shelter requires prior knowledge along with a track record of correctly treating animals. Pet stores also contribute to the issue of overpopulation.
“The enormous number of puppies mass produced in puppy mills adds to the tragic problem of pet overpopulation and the killing of millions of unwanted dogs each year,” notes the International Society for Animal Rights. “It is unthinkable that people are intentionally bringing more dogs into this already overpopulated world. Purchasing a puppy from a pet shop perpetuates the vicious cycle by encouraging more breeding, which leads to more killing.”
I am not saying Petco should be shut down. Petco and other corporations allow for the ability to buy animal care products, especially when corporations allow for products to be discounted and donated to shelters and those in need of supplies.
“Since its founding in 1999 as the Petco Foundation,” according to Petco’s website, “the organization has empowered over 4,000 animal welfare organizations by investing nearly $375 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts.”
I know it makes it harder to find that certain animal that you have been longing for. Trust me, adopting a dog from a shelter can make all the difference. You can be that difference, especially in that dog’s life.
According to the ASPCA, “approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats. Each year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized (1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats).”
Save a life. Adopt.
This is the opinion of Chief Advocate reporter Zosia Olejniczak.
