Do you have a pet at home? If you do, your household is one of the 84.6 million households in the United States that own an animal. That animal could be anything from a dog to a reptile. A recent study showed that only 44% of the 84.6 million were dogs from a rescue or shelter and only 47% for cats. While there are many different options for obtaining an animal, such as breeders or pet shops, adopting from a shelter is the best way to go.

The Puppy Mill Dilemma

Sometimes, a dog that is bought from a pet store is from a puppy mill. A puppy mill, also known as a puppy farm, is a place where dogs are bred excessively in horrible and dirty conditions. Many dogs that come from puppy mills develop or are born with health issues, but they are not given the veterinary care that they need.

You know how dogs in good homes have a ton of toys scattered throughout the various rooms and halls of the house? And how they are given lots of praise and treats? Yeah, well the in these puppy mills never get to have any of those simple joys that other dogs have. Instead, they are forced to live “in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs—and it is not unusual for cages to be stacked up in columns.” The dogs in these places are not even provided with clean water, let alone enough water.

The dogs that the mills use to produce the puppies are treated horribly. A female dog is forced to produce litter after litter of puppies. Eventually, the females get to a point where they physically cannot produce more puppies anymore. They are typically killed since they cannot provide the mill owner with any more “use”.

Despite all the issues that animals may develop from being mass produced in a puppy mill, the people who work at the mill continue to breed these animals excessively. A lot of the mills throughout the world do not have the licenses that they need to commercially breed dogs.

The Problem with Pet Stores

On top of the puppy mill crisis, animals that are brought to pet stores to be sold are terribly mistreated or misjudged. A lot of the smaller animals in pet stores, such as birds, hamsters, rats, etc. are not sexed properly. So if someone were to buy a rat or hamster, there is a chance that it’s pregnant.

Animals in pet stores often come from mass producing mills. According to Peta, “[an] eyewitness documented that thousands of animals were confined to plastic bins stacked in shelving units like filing cabinet drawers at Holmes Farm, a massive animal mill in Pennsylvania that supplies hamsters, rabbits, gerbils, chinchillas, ferrets, and other small animals to PetSmart, Petco, Pet Supplies Plus, and many other stores across the eastern United States.” So, dogs are not the only animals being treated like merchandise. But mills are not the only source of the animals that pet shops sell.

Some types of animals that are not as common are referred to as “exotics”. Exotics may include many species of reptiles, arachnids, birds, amphibians, crabs, scorpions, chinchillas, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, and more. A lot of the animals that fit under the exotic category are taken from their homes in the wild, rather than being bred in captivity. How would you like it if someone came and took you from your home, only to sell you into a new one (assuming that you survive the journey to the store)?

Lemon squeezy not so easy

Have you ever walked into a pet store and seen an animal care sheet rack? If so, have you ever picked up a sheet out of curiosity and at the top, it says “beginner pet”? Chances are, that animal that has been listed as an “easy beginner animal” is actually a lot more work. I have three snakes of my own, and two of them are ball pythons. Ball pythons are often seen as a great starter snake, but that is 100% wrong. It can be hard to get them to eat, they require a constant monitor of humidity, especially while they are in a shedding phase, and they can easily get respiratory infections from their bedding or from a temperature change in their cage and environment. Does that sound like a “great beginner pet” to you?

A baby banana ball python at a Petsmart with some stuck skin on the left side of its face and eyecaps from its previous shed cycle. (Photo by author)

Just like with puppy mills, animals at pet stores are not always given the care they need. Snakes that I have seen in pet stores, such as Petco, have layers upon layers of stuck skin from a previous shed they did that did not end so well. Animals at pet shops may not be getting fed as much as they need to. I have seen snakes at that pet store that are so skinny, that you can see their hips, and snakes are generally pretty girthy animals to some extent.

Stop and Think

Impulse buying often occurs at stores with a mass supply of animals. Impulse buying is a common occurrence with any type of shopping, but animal impulse buying can cost a pet its life. People are sometimes quick to buy an animal because “it has a cute face” or “it is really cool”, and then they buy the animal without having the proper supplies to care for it. Even if they buy the supplies and the animal at the same time, this can be extremely stressful for an animal. What are you supposed to do with the pet while you set up its cage or stuff? It definitely can’t just run around the house without supervision. People also buy the animal without realizing how expensive it will be to give the pet the proper care it needs.

Shelters > Shame

So what is there left to do? Adopt from an animal shelter or humane society.

A million choices

According to the ASPCA, “approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year.” So there are many, many animals to chose from. Say you want a dog, but not necessarily a puppy. Chances are, a shelter near you will have a few different dogs that are still at a young age, but not so young that you will have to do all of the training. Shelters have animals of different size, age, color, breed, gender, species, etc.

A four-month-old, male Australian cattle dog mix at the Animal Humane Society in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. (Photo by author)

Money, Money, Money

Everyone likes money, right? And everyone likes stuff cheap or at a discount, right? If you want a new pet for the family that is a reasonable price, then a pet store is not the best place to go to get that animal. Pet stores often jack up their prices on their animals. If I want a guinea pig, I would much rather pay $22 for one at a shelter, such as the Animal Humane Society, than $37.99 for a guinea pig at a Pet Smart. Which would you rather pay for?

Not only are pet store prices for animals way over the top, buying a dog from a reputable breeder can cost up to 11,000 dollars. Meanwhile, at the Animal Humane Society, a dog will cost up to 500 dollars depending on the breed and age. If you still want to pay a fortune for a new, furry family member, go ahead. But you’ll be able to find me at a shelter adopting one.

The Animal Humane Society uses the money from people buying animals to pay for more supplies and food for the animals in their shelters. [perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Without people buying pets from shelters, they would not be able to keep saving lives.

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A Second Chance at Life

Animals that end up at shelters sometimes have not had the most ideal life in the world. Some may have been a stray, abused, beaten, or abandoned. These animals are brought to a shelter to be given a second chance at life.

Adopting an animal from a shelter is one of the best feelings ever. My family has adopted two cats from shelters; one from the Animal Humane Society and the other from Angels of Hope Animal Rescue. The newest cat that we adopted, Brady,

Photo of my most recently adopted cat, Brady. (Photo by author)

was a stray that was brought to the Animal Humane Society. Our older cat, Quinn, her background is unknown. But since I was able to adopt these little cats from a shelter and give them a second chance, it makes me feel happy every time I look at them.

More than Just Health Benefits

Chances are if you are buying from a shelter, the animal you will take home will be a lot healthier than one from anywhere else, as stated by Clear the Shelters. Not only are they likely to be more resistant to minor sicknesses, but the animal will also more than likely be house trained; whether it is a cat trained to use a litter box or a dog trained to go outside to do its business.

When animals are brought to shelters, they are spayed or neutered right away. The common term for this process is being “fixed”. Fixing an animal gets rid of the ability for it to reproduce. Getting an animal spayed or neutered is spendy. So if you get a pet from a shelter, it will probably already have been fixed, so you will not have to pay for that. When my family and I were looking for a second cat, we looked at many different cats. As we looked, we noticed that on the forms for each animal, if they were not already fixed, the Animal Humane Society would not send the animal home with you until it was fixed.

Opposing Views

Breeders are Better

If you are looking for an animal to participate in shows, a breeder that specializes in breeding that animal is an excellent place to acquire that animal. Another reason to buy from a breeder is due to the fact that an animal that is a purebred is guaranteed. 

According to the American Kennel Club, “Ethical breeders spend lots of time socializing, caring for, and observing their puppies, they will be able to recommend the puppy most likely to fit best into your life.” This will result in the puppy probably being used to human interaction and affection. If you are looking for a dog to raise from a puppy, a breeder will be able to provide a dog at a young age. Good breeders will also tell you what to buy before bringing a puppy home. The American Kennel Club also says that great breeders “find good homes for every animal they breed, and they keep track of them once they leave.”

Pet Store Pros

Almost every town has a pet store, or a town close by with one. This makes them very convenient to buy pets and pet supplies from.

Pet stores are not all bad. At the Pet Smart in my town, they host an animal adoption day every weekend. The animals they adopt out are from rescues and foster families. So, it is kind of like going to a shelter to adopt. Pet stores often offer a large variety of pets, including exotics.

Conclusion

As a result of animals not being given the proper care or being treated right at pet stores and breeders, are you still in favor of buying a pet from those places? It would not give you the same feeling as adopting. I mean yeah, it will make you happy because you are getting a pet either way, but you have to think about if it is worth it to buy from a mass producer rather than a shelter. A motto to follow when it comes to pets is “Adopt, don’t shop.” Remember that the motto was made for a reason, and that reason is a great one to follow.

Want to Help?

If you cannot afford or do not want the responsibility of a pet right now, there are other ways to help the shelters. On the Animal Humane Society’s website, there is a tab that will provide a list of different ways to help. Some examples include volunteering, donating, fostering, and more.

featured image by author