Shelter Dogs Need Your Help
According to the ASPCA, 3.1 million dogs enter animal shelters each year in the United States. But only 2 million dogs are adopted each year from those shelters. So what happens to the other 1 million? Most of them are euthanized, meaning they are humanely killed. This is a big problem, but there is a solution- adopt don’t shop. Adopt don’t shop means that when looking to bring a dog into your family, adopt a dog from a local shelter, instead of buying one from a breeder or a puppy mill. According to Paws, puppy mills are defined as “commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce dogs (and cats in cat mills) for sale through pet stores, or directly to consumers through classified ads or the Internet”.
In 2019, about 23% of dogs purchased by families were adopted through shelters, whereas 34% were bought from breeders and pet stores, according to the ASPCA. 34% is a lot of dogs. Imagine how many more dogs could be saved from being euthanized if that 34% found their dogs from shelters instead of breeders and puppy mills.
This concept of adopting from shelters instead of buying animals at puppy mills is especially important now, in the wake of Hurricane Ian, which had a big impact on shelters in the southern states. As Scott Neuman explained in his NPR article titled “Hurricane Ian's havoc is forcing some Florida families to give up the family pet”, Hurricane Ian has caused many more animals than normal to need care in shelters. Some animals were strays that were living on the streets when the floods hit, while others were abandoned by their owners who left to avoid the floods. Either way, these animals were all sent to shelters to be cared for. This has caused an even greater abundance of pets in already-full shelters. This is why, now more than ever, people should be adopting animals from shelters and not breeders. If all of these animals aren’t adopted, they are going to have to be euthanized or left outside to fend for themselves. This is because the shelters don’t have enough money or resources to properly care for them.
In addition, it is better to get your next dog from a shelter because puppy mills mistreat, and even abuse, their animals. Sarah Burke explains that when in puppy mills, puppies are taken very early from their mothers and are shipped in cages to pet stores, where they are sold. Burke's article includes the statistic from a 2005 investigation, which states
"44% of the [California] locations that were visited had sick and/or neglected animals, without food or water, living in cramped or unsanitary conditions."
This is behavior is unacceptable and we should not be allowing these people to profit from it. In her article, Burke also explains how dogs are bred as often as possible in hopes of puppy mills having the most possible puppies, and therefore the highest amount of profits. This is insane and can have detrimental effects on the dogs, who are constantly pregnant and not receiving proper pregnant care. Therefore, if people stop buying dogs from breeders and puppy mills (and only buy from shelters), it will put puppy mills/breeders out of business, and fewer puppies will be born. This would allow for not only more shelter dogs to be adopted, but it would also mean that fewer dogs would be introduced to a world that already has more dogs than owners for them. This would save the lives of many puppies.
In her article, Nichola Brooks elaborates on how the breeding dogs are mistreated in puppy mills by explaining that “the dogs [in breeder mills] are treated like machines that are simply there to make profit, once they stop working there is no reason for the breeder to keep them alive”. Imagine that. A perfectly good, healthy dog is being killed simply because they aren't useful to the breeder anymore. That is not fair to the dog at all. They did nothing to deserve this. Just because they can't make puppies anymore isn't justification for their life to be over. They still have so much life to live, and yet they don't get a chance to because the owners of the puppy mills don't care.
Brooks also points out how many breeder dogs "lack proper exercise, nutrition, and grooming, all in an attempt to cut costs". This is all because breeders want to make the most amount of money possible. Picture that. Being kept in a small cage all day and only brought out to mate. This behavior is awful and shows that the breeders don’t really care about their dogs. By purchasing dogs from these breeders, people are (often unconsciously) promoting this animal cruelty. These dogs do not deserve to be treated like this, and therefore we need to stop encouraging this behavior.
Another reason to adopt from a shelter instead of buying from a breeder is that breeders only offer a few breeds of dogs. They know customers like (and therefore will buy) the most popular breeds of dogs, so they only have that small variation of puppies to choose from. However, with shelters, you never quite know what type of dog you are getting. Each dog is special, from their size to their coloring to their patterns. They are often mixes of many different breeds which makes them cuter, healthier, and unique. You might even get more compliments on them and it can be a great conversation starter!
However, some people gravitate toward breeder or puppy mill dogs because they want a dog that looks a specific way. Breeders and puppy mills can breed dogs to be super cute, or the perfect mix of two breeds, which is very convincing for people. Everyone wants to have the cutest dog, so they choose to buy the perfect-looking puppy from a breeder instead of adopting. Or, some people might choose to buy their dog from a breeder because they want a purebred dog, as opposed to the mixes often found in shelters. While this is a valid point, shelters sometimes have purebred dogs. They will often try to rescue older dogs who are no longer good for breeding and would otherwise be killed. These purebred animals can still make wonderful companions. Even if you can't find the exact dog you were looking for at a shelter, I repeat, it is not worth it! Having a "designer" puppy is not worth looking past this atrocious behavior and allowing it to continue.
Another idea presented by the critics of the adopt don't shop philosophy is that there are responsible breeders, people who are licensed by the government to breed dogs. These people treat the dogs they breed kindly and take care of them like they should. Also, many responsible breeders have explained that they take their adult dogs to the vet to be tested and examined to make sure that they don't have any serious health problems before breeding them. This makes sure that the puppies are as healthy as possible, and that they don't get any serious diseases from their parents. Getting a puppy from these breeders is definitely better than getting one from a puppy mill, as these people actually care for their dogs like they are supposed to. But, these breeders are still adding puppies to the world, when there are so many puppies out there who don't have homes. Adopting a dog from a shelter helps make room for another dog to be rescued, and it gives dogs with an abusive past a second chance at love, happiness, and a good life. Everyone deserves a second chance, so we must work together to give these innocent dogs what they deserve.
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