Three reasons why you should adopt a dog

Many people find that their family is incomplete without a dog and if you have made the decision to get a dog, you can look forward to many fun times ahead enjoyed with your furry friend. However, there are many considerations involved, starting with how you will obtain your new pet. Buying a dog from a reputable breeder is an option many people go for, particularly if there is a certain breed that they would like to have. Adopting your dog is another great option that helps out dogs in need. Here are three reasons why you should adopt a dog.

1. You can help to fight puppy farms

Puppy farms are factory style mass breeding facilities that make profit a higher priority than the welfare of the dogs. Mother and father dogs spend their entire lives in cramped, dirty cages being forced to produce litter after litter to the detriment of their health. When they can no longer breed, they are abandoned or killed. Puppies born in this environment are often sick and unsocialized, due to a lack of personal attention and veterinary care, as well as unsanitary conditions. The sad fact is that there is estimated to be 10,000 puppy mills currently active in the United States, with the majority of puppies sold in pet stores and online having originated from such barbaric situations. By adopting a dog from a shelter you can be safe in the knowledge that you are helping rather than adding to a cruel problem. While the dog might have originally been rescued from a puppy farm, by adopting rather than buying from a disreputable pet shop, you are avoiding financing this cruel and unnecessary breeding practice. By adopting rather than buying, you can help put an end to puppy farms.

2. You can provide a home to retired working dogs

Dogs are highly intelligent animals and as such they can be trained to carry out a wide range of tasks to assist in various arenas. From guide dogs who help visually impaired people to safely carry out their daily tasks, to military and law enforcement dogs involved in dangerous operations, there comes a time when these hard-working dogs can put their paws up and retire. Such dogs do have certain special requirements to ensure that their needs are met. Due to their training, they might require an owner who knows how to handle them correctly, for instance, and some might have complex care needs due to injuries and health issues sustained while on active service. As such, priority for adoption might be offered to prior handlers and people with a background in that field. However, sometimes adoption of retired working dogs does open to the public. If you would like to adopt a retired military dog, remember that these are different to your ordinary family dog and have different needs. Structure and obedience are very important to these dogs, and they require mental stimulation and regular exercise. You can learn much more about adopting military dogs before making the final decision to submit an application for adoption.

3. You can save a life

Dogs come into animal shelters and are put up for adoption for a variety of different reasons. Their previous owner might have died, or have been unable to continue caring for their pet to a high standard due to moving properties or a change in personal circumstances. Other animals might have been removed from a cruel environment, such as a puppy farm or other such neglectful and cruel home. By adopting an animal from a shelter, you are giving the chance of a new, happy life with loving and caring owners to a dog who has previously experienced neglect and cruelty. Animal shelters in the United States are overflowing with animals in need of a home, to the extent that tragically some shelter have to euthanize animals who have not been adopted in order to make room for others that need their help. When you adopt from a shelter, you are quite literally saving the life of that animal and to ensure that your adoption matters even more, you could seek to adopt your new dog from a traditional shelter that does operate a euthanasia policy. Although there is a lot of stigma surrounding such shelters, they are often county shelters that have no choice but to take every animal, leading to vast over-crowding. Shelters that operate a no-kill policy have the luxury of turning away animals when they are full and do not have room to house them, meaning that these animals often end up at traditional shelters, with someone else making the difficult life or death decision. You can help put an end to overcrowding by making sure that your new furry friend is spayed or neutered to prevent unwanted puppies.