Saving a life is easier than some people may have been led to believe. All it takes is making one choice; a life defining choice, that is. When looking to add a new addition to a family in the form of a pet, it becomes very important that a person makes the most well-informed decision. Adopting and buying a dog will both leave drastically different footsteps behind and it is important that people make themselves aware of this. Pets are being left without homes quicker than shelters are able to take them in and every animal that is adopted, as opposed to purchased, makes a difference. Purchased pets are believed to have more appeal to them,but that idea is purely superficial and giving into this idea will only increase the number of dogs that are euthanized. To adopt a dog from a shelter is to give a loving pet a second chance at life that it deserves. Spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a dog seems absurd when perfectly fine dogs are in shelters waiting to be adopted for a fraction of the price. Adopting a dog is more beneficial than purchasing one despite the stigma surrounding adoption because the process of adoption is cheaper and provides the same, if not better, results.
To adopt a dog is to save a life. Dogs that are not adopted within a certain time period, which varies per shelter, end up being euthanized. Shelters don’t have the resources to keep every dog that is brought to them. As much as a shelter may wish to keep a dog alive it is simply unrealistic to care for the growing number of pets. According to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), “approximately 670,000 dogs are euthanized each year in the U.S. alone.” That number is incredibly high and could be lowered if people began to realize how beneficial it is to adopt a pet into their family. Dogs that have been rescued or been left by previous owners deserve a second chance at happiness. These dogs spend their days in cages with not much affection and they have no clue why they are there in the first place. The happiness that would come to not only the dog but to the person who chooses to adopt them would be immeasurable and pure. To purchase a dog would be to leave another dog in a shelter where the reality of being adopted into a loving home would fade and the dog will instead be met with euthanization. Save a dog from euthanization and adopt.
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The progress of adoption would create a chain effect and leave less dogs out on the streets each year. Street dogs live their lives day by day never knowing where their next meal will come from or if it will even come at all. Dogs who are left out on the streets risk a higher chance of dying painfully, whether it be through starvation or car accidents. If more dogs were adopted they would be taken out of shelters which would then open up room, allowing shelters to bring in dogs off the streets and care for them. The dogs could then be nursed to health and be put up for adoption, creating a cycle and lessening the number of dogs which are left out in the cold completely alone. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), “in 2011 the number of euthanized shelter animals declined from 2.6 million to 1.5 million (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats.” The data goes to show that adoption matters and makes a difference to these animals. An increase in adoption would also spike a decrease in mass breeding facilities. Puppy mills, whose sole purpose is to breed a dog into producing liters upon liters of puppies to be sold in pet stores, would experience a decrease in profits which could in turn get rid of the desire to continue this cruel practice. Adoption reduces the percentage of animals that are euthanized and helps keep dogs off the streets all while spiking down breeding facilities’ profits and giving dogs the opportunities to be brought into loving homes.
Adoption is cheaper than purchasing, plain and simple. When it comes down to the numbers there really is no logical explanation for spending upwards of thousands of dollars on a pet that will bring your family the same happiness that an adopted dog is fully capable of providing. According to costhelper.com, a website that helps educate future pet owners on adoption and buying costs, “adopting a puppy can cost anywhere from $70-$300, where buying a quality breed puppy can cost anywhere from $300-$1500 or more!” The difference in prices is absurd and although some may make the argument that one is paying for the quality of a dog it can be easily debunked by understanding that shelter dogs are not inherently damaged. Many dogs are left at shelters for reasons completely unrelated to their character. Many pet owners wish that they could keep their companions but life circumstances, such as having to move out into a home that does not allow for pets, make it impossible to care for them. As a result, these perfectly good pets end up placed in shelters, alone and afraid, hoping that they will once again find a loving home. If anything, adopted pets may prove to be even better characters than purchased pets as they tend to show more affection and gratitude.
Adopting a pet, as opposed to purchasing one, would create a change. Dogs would be avoided the faith of euthanization, the number of dogs on the streets would decrease, and much less money would be spent in acquiring a new member of the family. Shelters do not have the resources to keep every pet that wanders in and in return it ends in euthanization. Save a life and adopt.
Works Cited
- “How Much Does Buying a Dog Cost?- CostHelper.com “Costhelper, CostHelper, inc., 2019, pets.costhelper.com/buy-dog.html
- “Pet Statistics.” ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 2019, www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics.
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