Adopt-a-Dog Month

The month of October is Adopt-A-Dog Month, a month dedicated to encouraging people into adopting and rescuing a dog at their local animal shelter. There are many great reasons why you should adopt, rather than buy, a dog at your local shelter. You can also visit your local animal shelter and learn more information about adopting, what kind of shelter they are, and much more. If you still want to support your local shelter but can’t maintain a pet in your home, then there are other actions you can take.

Sure people believe that you should purchase a dog at a pet shop rather than adopting one because dogs from a pet store are cleaner, less-problematic purebreds. That’s a myth. There are plenty of good reasons why adopting a dog is better for both the dog and the adopter. These reasons include:

• adoption of a dog mean saving that dog's life
• purchasing a dog or a puppy from a pet store is more expensive than adopting
• you can choose whether you want a puppy or an adult dog that's more likely to have been trained already

Not only are they cleaner, but they are also healthier. Shelters usually vaccinate their dogs as well as spay and neuter them. On top of all of that, shelter dogs don’t have as many problems on a genetic level than dogs from a pet shop. Pet stores rely on obtaining “purebred” dogs from puppy mills. Dogs that are purebred are forced to mate with their relatives, and as a result, end up receiving more genetic defects and diseases than mutts do.

Those who run puppy mills don’t care about the fact that their animals may end up or currently have physical problems. They don’t even take great care of their dogs. To them, dogs are nothing more than a means to earn more money. Adopting a dog can discourage the demand for dogs bred from these cruel puppy mills.

You can learn whether or not your local shelter is a no-kill shelter by checking them out in person. The shelter can provide you with useful information on how their dogs are treated, and how to care for a dog, yourself. Maybe your next visit will end with you adopting a new dog.