Owing a dog involves a lot of responsibility, though it can be beneficial for you as well. Studies have shown that owning a dog can add up to 10 years to your life! This study is based largely off of the ability of animals to reduce stress and prevent depression in their human owners. However, when choosing to own a dog, you need to make the choice of where you will begin your search for a dog. Will you adopt your dog from a shelter, or will you purchase your dog from a breeder or pet store? Before making this choice, it’s best if you first examine the positive and negative factors in your decision.
Buying a Dog
- Positive Aspects
If you are looking for a purebred dog, you will most likely purchase your dog from a breeder. Reputable dog breeders will sometimes provide you with documentation of your dog’s lineage, and may even provide documentation of your dog’s genetic defect status. Since many purebred dogs are prone to genetic conditions, this documentation can give you assurance that your dog will most likely be unaffected. - Negative Aspects
If you purchase your dog from a breeder with low standards, you may end up with a dog that is extremely inbred, and prone to genetic defects. If you purchase your dog from a pet store, you run the risk that your dog is infected with parasites, or suffering from stunted growth due to malnutrition. Also, by purchasing dogs for sale a pet store, you are supporting puppy mills, which often subject their puppies to extremely inhumane conditions.
Adopting a Dog
- Positive Aspects
By adopting a dog from an animal shelter, you are ensuring that your dog will not be among the 50% of shelter animals that are euthanized each year. In addition to this, you are providing an animal that is truly in need of a home with much-needed attention and care. Adopting a dog from a shelter is also a good financial decision, as most shelter dogs receive basic medical care, vaccinations and a spaying or neutering operation. This can save you hundreds of dollars in veterinary bills! - Negative Aspects
Some shelter dogs have been so severely abused that they may require special care and training before they are able to trust humans. Though most dogs are screened by shelters to assess their psychological condition for being a family pet, it is still possible that you may adopt a dog with potentially bad behavior habits.
Conclusion
In general, it is more beneficial to adopt a dog from an animal shelter. Adopting from a shelter is both cost effective and an act of kindness for the dog that you are adopting. Shelter dogs are truly in need of loving homes, especially if they have had bad experiences with humans in the past. In addition to this, the inclusion of medical care for most shelter dogs can save you a significant amount of money. This can help you to spend a bit of extra money on high-quality food, interactive toys or other pet supplies that will help care for your dog.
Mon, Dec 21, 2009