Adopting Versus Buying a Pet

[Krista]

Hi everyone,


I've had pets, mostly kitties, since I was young.  I've always adopted pets from local shelters.  I tend to lean toward adoption rather than buying a pet because there are so many cats and dogs who are unnecessarily euthanized in shelters each year. 


I personally don't have an issue if someone chooses to buy a pet, but I hope that if people choose to buy pets that they use a reputable breeder. 


Do you prefer to adopt or buy pets?  Why do you prefer one over the other?

[Henley]

I prefer to adopt. I didn't always though.

We are a dog family and dogs can be such a mixed package when you're adopting dogs with an unknown ancestry. Personally, I'm comfortable being around dogs of any breed, but I was not comfortable with having my children around dogs of any breed. There are just too many horror stories out there.

Usually at shelters, the breeds are educated guesses. Looks can be deceiving though. Our last dog was a lab on the outside but an absolute hound dog on the inside. That was perfectly fine with us but it just goes to show that you can't trust what you see.

Now that the kids are grown, we adopt. We've always adopted our cats. I think there are less surprises with them.