buying vs. adopting

Before I get started, I have a confession. I bought my dog from a breeder...I am guilty of the thing I am so against now...buying a puppy / dog. See when I was looking for a dog, I was under the impression that dogs that came from shelters were old and perhaps even mean. A short while after I bought Izzie, my sister adopted Phoebe, a sweet, beautiful collie mix who was about 4 months old. One big difference between adopting and buying is the price. For $400 I got handed a beautiful, 3 pound, 6 week old puggle who had no vaccinations, and was not spayed. For $100 my sister got handed a beautiful, 15 pound, 4 month collie mix, who had all her shots and got spayed! Looking back, heck I should have spent $100 and gotten a dog from the shelter. {side note: I love love love Izzie and I can't imagine life without her, but I wish I would have found her at the shelter instead of in an ad in a newspaper}

After buying Izzie and realizing she had no shots, I laid down another $150 for shots, and her spaying cost me $350!! So all together, Izzie cost me $900!!! And it is not all about the money. Most shelters are kill shelters meaning that in order for them to take in new animals, the same amount of animals need to be adopted. If not enough animals are adopted, the animals that are most likely going to be adopted {elderly dogs, or dogs with special needs, or specific breeds} will be euthanized. Recent statistics show that about 6-8 million animals are brought to the shelter each year, and about half of those will be euthanized. 

So many people want to adopt a specific breed and what they don't realize is that there are specialized dog rescue organizations that have specific breeds. I had no idea until I started to do some research. Petfinder is a great website where you can find an animal specific by breed. They literally have all breeds, even Izzie who is a puggle {considered a designer doggie} are listed on there. 

I just read an article on CNN that Detroit is having some major problems. People are out of jobs, and in so much financial distress that they see no other choice but to abandon their animals. These dogs are left to fend for themselves, waiting for someone to rescue them. There are literally tens of thousands of dogs running the streets looking for love. 

My plea to you, if you are looking for an animal {most specifically a dog or a cat}, look at your local shelter, check Petfinder if you are set on a breed, and consider adopting from a Detroit area shelter so you can make room to save the next dog. Whenever it is time for Izzie to become a big sister, I am 100% adopting a dog..no more buying for me! It is a waste of money and a waste of a life!

Save a life & adopt!