After you have made the choice to add another member to your family, you will be faced with the next decision: to rescue, adopt, breed or buy? Good thing Square Cow Moovers are here to help!
There are staunch supporters on both sides of the spectrum, but ultimately the choice is yours.
Why you Should Adopt:
- Animal overpopulation is a huge problem and by adopting you would be contributing to decreasing this problem.
- The cost of adopting is less than buying a dog.
- You could save a life and free up cage space for another deserving animal.
- You have a wide variety of ages, breeds and personality traits to choose from. If you decide that an older dog who already has some training is right for your family, you will be able to find one at a shelter.
- Many shelter animals already have their medical needs taken care of. Some shelters, like Austin Pets Alive, won’t let animals be adopted unless they are already spayed and neutered. You won’t have to worry about paying for this surgery (which can be expensive) later.
- You won’t be supporting puppy mills or pet stores.
- You don’t have to worry about buying a puppy that is inbred.
- You don’t have to worry about vetting and finding a reputable breeder to buy from.
- You will be giving an animal a second-chance with your family!
Why you Should Buy:
Cost and Health
Adopting a pet may have fewer costs upfront, but you may be on the hook for more medical bills in the long term. You can’t know what happened to a stray that was found. A vet may be able to determine some medical history, but you will never know exactly what that animal went through before it was found. Also some animals that are surrendered to a shelter may have special needs that require extra care and cost more.
When you buy an animal from a reputable breeder, you can have a vet evaluate the pet from a young age. A reputable breeder will let you examine both the mother and father to see if they are healthy and they will let you visit their home to see the environment where the animals were born and spent their early months. If a breeder doesn’t let you examine the parents or the animal’s first environment, don’t buy from that breeder.
Choice and the Perfect Fit
Most animals in a shelter are mixed breed and while they may display certain personality traits from each breed, you will be getting somewhat of a surprise. Most breeds have been bred for years to exhibit not only a certain look, but specific personality traits, e.g. Golden Retrievers are known for their friendliness. When you select a certain breed for their specific needs like their energy level and personality traits you will be able to select an almost perfect fit for your family. While every individual animal is different, there are certain traits that hold true.
There are positives and negatives to both options, but you will have decide which is the best decision for your family.
Image Source: pics.hoobly.com/full/k1xY2KPDLm.jpg
Original Source: https://squarecowmovers.com/furry-family-members-to-rescue-adopt-breed-or-buy