When Getting a Pet: Adopt from shelter, buy from store, or get from a breeder?

For me, the answer to this question is entirely situational. I have used all three methods to find pets. Pet stores can be questionable sources for pets. While there are many out there that are reliable and do not do business with puppy mills, you need to be careful. Shelters are great options, but they can require a lot of patience on your part in order to find a pet that fits in to your situation. As well, care is needed as the history of the animal may be unknown. A good shelter will screen for health and behavioral issues, but they can't always catch problems. Breeders are certainly the best option for finding the exact breed of animal that you are looking for, but this is also likely the most expensive choice. Our most recent pet came from the CT Humane Society, and we could not be happier. Once we decided that we might like to bring a dog home, I began to search on PetFinder.com for a potential match. After a couple of weeks of sporadic searching, I found several possible matches at the Humane Society so we decided to stop by for a visit and check things out. We went on a Monday - my thinking that a lot of dogs would be put up for adoption over the weekend. I was wrong! The place was relatively empty. Apparently, weekends are a lot busier for adoptions than they are for abandons. So... more searching on PetFinder.com for me. Well, by the end of that same week, several more options had become available so we went back - this time on Saturday. The place has really busy! We signed in to announce our intent and went to take a look at the then-available dogs. We picked out 4-5 dogs that we thought would work for us - fine with cats, children, stairs, etc. It took 3 hours for someone to finally get to our position in line. By that time, all of our picks had been adopted! While I had no strong desire to house break a puppy, the volunteer told us that they had some puppies available. Well, she brought out and incredibly cute 3.5 month old puppy and we instantly fell in love. On November 1, 2008 at 5:32 PM (they close at 5:30), we were on our way home with Ginger - a 3.5 month old Plott Hound-mix puppy. Given her size and appearance, we think she is mixed with Whippet.

My pets are usually strays that discover me, and pull at my heartstrings. I have never bought a pet at all.

I like to get mine from the pet store since shelters only usually have cats and dogs, and my apartment is not big enough for big pets. I am usually only going to get small pets like hamsters or rabbits or something of the rodent family. If I had a big enough place then I would be sure to get and animal from a shelter because I know how much they need love.

I prefer to adopt from a shelter. With so many animals needing a home I can't bring myself to go an purchase one from a store or breeder. The shelter pets have been screened to assure that they are healthy. They are also screened to be sure they are suitable pets - vicious or sick animals are not allowed to be adopted. Most shelters also offer free or significantly discounted spay and neutering services. If your intent is to breed animals for resale then of course you are going to need a pure bred animal from a breeder. Sometimes these animals have serious mental health issues though due to the nature of their breeding so it is still important to be assured that you are receiving an animal that has been screened and is appropriate for adoption without illnesses.

Shelter pets are great if you can find the right dog for your family needs. Only problem is that if you are looking for a specific breed then getting a dog from the shelter may be a bit more difficult. If I were looking and wanted a specific breed I would go first to local breed rescues, then breeder direct and lastly pet stores. Local breed rescues are great because they act in the same manner as the shelter but only deal in certain breeds. Breeder direct is necessary if you are looking for an animal that is registered especially if you are looking to breed the dog you are purchasing. This way you can see the sire and dam. Lastly the pet store because they often purchase the dogs that the breeder could not/would not sell directly. These dogs often have health issues that are not disclosed. My last puppy was purchased breeder direct though the internet site puppyfind. I was able to talk to the breeder at length and learn alot about the parents of the puppy. The reason I went breeder direct is that I intend to raise papillions and needed one that I could get AKC papers on.