Should I Adopt Rescued Or Shelter Dogs

I once visited a shelter where an experienced vet gave a talk about the pros and cons of adopting dogs from a rescue or shelter. Starting the talk he said that animal shelters are great places to get a canine companion of your choice, but they may not suit all. It is best to carefully consider the various pros and cons of adopting a dog from animal shelters. I thought I would share with you all some of the points of his talk.

Reasons why you should adopt a dog from an animal shelter:

1) You would be doing a very noble task of saving one of the million dogs that are euthanized in shelters every year; you would be able to give an adorable dog a second chance to a new and healthy life as a member of a happy home.

2) Adoption of a pet dog from an animal shelter would work out more economical than getting one from a pet shop or breeder; all you have to pay is the adoption fees.

3) Visiting a shelter to adopt a dog gives you the opportunity to discover that the dog you want may not be the one you need; you may find that it is better to adopt an older dog that is calm and trained than a puppy, thereby getting your best fit.

4) Shelters have been instrumental in uniting lost pets with their owners, so it is quite possible you find your lost dog.   

5) Shelters give you an opportunity to know more about your pet than a pet shop or breeder; they provide you with plenty of information regarding the care, support, temperament, evaluation and more. Also it is possible to get a lot of information from the shelter workers and volunteers since they spend a lot of time with the animals. They are able to provide you information of how the pet is and what he/she needs.  

6) If you feel you want to support and contribute to the cause stray animals you could get involved in the shelter either by adopting, donating money or volunteering. In fact most humane societies and privately run shelters usually depend almost entirely on donations and volunteers.

7) You could again feel great adopting a shelter dog with special needs; you could save the dog and also give it a home.

Why you should not adopt a shelter dog:

1) Shopping for a shelter dog may sometimes not get you the breed of the dog you want and there could also be a waiting period to provide for owners to reclaim their lost dogs.

2) Shelters require you to answer a number of personal questions and submitting a lot of paper work. Also your application may be rejected if you do not meet the organization’s requirement.

3) You may not be willing to deal with the special needs of some dogs from the shelter and rescue.

4) The dog that you have adopted from the shelter may be different from what you expected when you saw it.

5) Some shelters are underfunded, so they may not be spacious or spend money in screening or training the dog.

Hope you make the right decision in adopting a dog from a shelter or breeder or pet shop. 

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