1

Melanie Schall

Professor Adrienne Cassel

English 1201

9 July 2020

Adopt, Don’t Shop

When a family decides they want to get a dog, they have options on what path they take

in finding their new family member. The options they have are to adopt a pet, or to buy a pet.

Because puppy mills and bad breeders are a big problem due to the conditions that they keep the

dogs in, adopting is a much better choice. The dogs in those bad conditions can end up sick,

injured, possibly dying and can cost a ton of money to make better. Puppy mills and bad breeders

should not be supported and if you adopt a shelter pet, you can be sure you don’t give those

malpractices any money.

What is the best way to find a dog to adopt? This question has been on my mind since we

adopted my dog from a rescue 5 years ago. She was rescued by the nonprofit rescue group

Luv4K9’s from a puppy mill where she was kept in a cage her whole life to have babies. When

she lived with her foster mom it was the first time she had ever seen grass, went potty outside,

played with other dogs, and slept in a comfy bed. When we got her she was 7 or 8 years old and

we watched her slowly become more of a dog. She started playing with toys, digging some

holes, burying bones, and playing fetch. None of which she had done in the first 2 years we had

her. She lived to be about 13. She had many health issues due to her living in a cage her entire

life. She ended up passing away due to cancer and heart failure. I have always wondered about

where her puppies went. Were they sold to a store? Another breeder? Or a loving family? With

these questions in mind, what is the best place to adopt a dog from? Is it bad to buy one at a shop
 2

for pets? Maybe to adopt from a rescue or shelter is better. There are so many different places to

get a dog, how are we supposed to know which place is the best and if the dogs are healthy and

being taken care of? Will they have health defects that will end up being costly? Based on the

research I have done, adopting your dogs from a shelter or rescue is significantly better for many

reasons.

A puppy mill is a place that breeds dogs and sells them for a lot of money. They usually

breed purebred dogs and designer dogs. Designer dogs are dogs that are a mix of two purebreds.

A purebred dog is a dog that is bred the same from generation to generation and usually they

have the same characteristics as each other. Purebreds can have many health issues due to

inbreeding, but they are very gorgeous, popular, and sought after dogs. Dogs from puppy mills

can cost thousands of dollars, and that doesn’t include medical bills. A breeder is very similar to

a puppy mill but usually with less dogs and better conditions. They breed dogs together on

purpose to create puppies with specific traits that they then sell. They also can have many bad

health conditions when coming from a breeder if the breeder is partaking in line breeding,

breeding dogs with their own siblings. Buying a dog from a breeder can also cost thousands of

dollars, rarely including the medical bills.

An animal shelter is where animals go when they end up homeless or lost. Usually they

take in dogs, but sometimes cats are welcome too. Shelters help many dogs reunite with their

families after they have gotten themselves lost or have run away. They also help stray dogs, or

dogs who were abandoned, find new and loving homes. They usually have an adoption fee less

than $100 and that usually includes their medical bills for being spayed or neutered, and their

shots they need as a puppy. Rescues are places that save animals from bad conditions or off the

streets. A lot of animals rescued are saved from puppy mills. Some are also saved from abusive
 3

households or have been neglected. Along with many shelters, they truly try to find the best

home for their animals. Rescues usually charge a small adoption fee that goes to them to help

them afford to save more animals. An animal adopted from a rescue will have all of their

vaccinations and will be fixed already.

The campaign slogan “adopt, don’t shop” is slowly becoming more popular. According

to Sally Jones’ article Adopt, Don’t Shop: A Phrase Worth Thousands of Lives, this movement

supports adoption of animals in the shelter instead of purchasing them from stores. One reason

for this is by adopting from shelters or rescues, puppy mills are not being supported in the

process (Jones). Puppy mills use the female dogs until they can’t anymore, pack the dogs into

gross cages that sometimes have feces, and don’t supply them with proper water and food. All of

these terrible conditions just so they can get more money and create designer dogs. These

designer dogs can be put in pet stores and can get them thousands of dollars (Hall). The Humane

Society of the United States, in their article Top Reasons to Adopt a Pet, writes about how puppy

mills put their own money needs above the welfare of the dogs. They are supported by customers

who are not aware of the issue and shop for their pets in stores, online, or through ads. These

puppy mills will not stop operation until people stop financially supporting them completely.

Carla Hall wrote an article called Pet Stores Should Not Sell Animals from Commercial

Breeders in 2018. She says that “Puppy mills are essentially the factory farms of dog breeding.

But shutting them down is almost impossible.” Hall states that about 80% of breeders in the US

go unlicensed. The breeders that are licensed may follow the drastically low standards set by the

Animal Welfare Act making it so they can keep the animals in tiny cages, breed the mothers

continuously and hurting her health, and give them water sometimes only twice in a day. The

breeders who are the worst may get cited but if they don’t repeatedly violate the rules then they
 4

get to keep their license (Hall). Carla Hall wrote about this topic to fight for California Assembly

Bill 485 to be passed in 2018 so that the supply of animals can be cut off to California pet stores

from puppy mills. These pet stores are some of the biggest markets in the country for these

puppy mills. Since this article has been written, the bill has been passed. However, so many

other states are still allowing horrid puppy mills to sell to pet stores.

Animals Australia is Australia’s number one organization for animal protection. In July

of 2020 they published an article called 7 Reasons to Adopt your Next Best Friend. In this article

they argued the idea that if no one bought dogs from stores or from the internet then the puppy

mills won’t exist any longer. The sooner people stop supporting puppy mills by unwittingly

buying animals from pet stores and online, the sooner these abusive, cruel dog factories will be

shut down and run out of business.

When adopting a shelter dog, you could be saving several lives. If a dog is at a kill shelter

for over a certain amount of time then it will be put to sleep. They do this to create more spaces

in the shelter for new dogs found on the streets, you are saving that dog’s life along with the one

you adopted. If the shelter is not a shelter that kills, you are still creating a spot for other dogs to

get in that shelter and be saved. Clayton Greenway, a veterinarian, in his article Why You Should

Adopt a Pet Rather Than Buy says that 3-4 million pets within the US are killed in shelters every

year and if adoption from shelters happened more often, we wouldn’t have to worry about dogs

becoming overpopulated. This would make shelters less full of homeless dogs in the future.

(Greenway).

Any kind of pet that you need or want is available at a shelter or rescue. Some animals

end up on the streets and in shelters because people decide they can't or don't want to care for

their pet anymore, so many shelter or rescue animals are already house trained. In an article
 5

called Why You Should Adopt a Shelter Animal it explains how shelters accept all types of dogs.

It doesn’t matter how old they are, what color, how big, how small, or what their personality is

like. No matter what kind of dog you are looking for, you can definitely find one that suits your

household, lifestyle, and will be your best friend (Why You Should Adopt a Shelter Animal).

Based on a CNN article written by Jennifer Gregg called ‘Dog Whisperer’ Cesar Millan

on Adopting the Right Dog, Cesar Millan is called the “Dog Whisperer.” He uses his talents to

teach others about how to train dogs. He says he strongly supports adopting pets from shelters

but you must find a dog that fits with your family, don’t just adopt one out of pity. He says that

he strongly suggests people to think about the adoption and be reasonable with it. It is important

you are completely compatible with the dog and you are ready for the amount of energy needed

to care for it. People will often feel bad for the dog and adopt it immediately. The poor animal is

then brought back to the shelter because it was no longer a good fit for the family and the home it

was provided with (Gregg).

Animal shelters care about where their dogs are going. They care about finding them a

home that suits them. They want the dog to fit in with your family. They will provide you with

the details needed to inform you on the dog’s attitude, hyperness, how they get along with kids,

other kinds of animals, strangers, and more. They want to be sure that this dog is going to the

right family for them (Jones). Animals are often taken care of by volunteers who will foster the

animals until they find a home. The foster volunteer can find a home for them that fits where the

animal needs to be. They can assess the applicants and be sure the animal is going to the perfect

family. They can also check to make sure the animal will be good in different environments

“which can be really helpful if you already live with animals or children, as foster carers can
 6

provide helpful insight on the behaviour of animals in their care” (7 Reasons to Adopt your Next

Best Friend).

Buying a pet is much more costly than adopting one. Dr. Clayton Greenway described

that compared to buying an animal, it can save you a ton of money to adopt. With the healthcare

of a pet, shelters will perform the vaccines and microchipping for you beforehand. They will

even fix the animal. In an article written by Janaki Jitchotvisut, she was clear in explaining that

most animals adopted from a shelter get fixed immediately upon entering the shelter and get their

shots soon after. Adoption fees are nothing compared to the prices at a store and then all the

medical bills to follow.

A lot of rescues use the adoption fee that you pay to get supplies, food, materials, and

more so that they can rescue and support more animals. When spending that fee on an animal it

is good to know it will be going to make your pet happy and also giving back to the other pets

and saving even more lives. (7 Reasons to Adopt your Next Best Friend). Paying that cheap

adoption fee to get your dog with it’s first medical expenses taken care of and while helping

other animals in need is worth it. Paying hundreds of dollars to a bad business to buy a dog that

might have underlying health issues and none of it’s medical expenses taken care of is not worth

it.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, provided a chart of

statistics about US shelters, they are estimates and they will not be exact for each state (Pet

Statistics). Out of the 6.5 million animals taken in by shelters in a year’s time, the amount of

dogs is 3.3 million. That number has declined an estimated .6 million since 2011. In a year the

number of pets euthanized in shelters is 1.5 million, the number of dogs is 670,000. That total

number of euthanized pets was 2.6 million in 2011, so it has gone down by 1.1 million. “This
 7

decline can be partially explained by an increase in the percentage of animals adopted and an

increase in the number of stray animals successfully returned to their owners” (Pet Statistics).

The number of animals adopted out of a shelter in a year’s time is 3.2 million, 1.6 million being

dogs. 710,000 animals that were in shelters and labeled as homeless are given back to their

original family who lost them, 620,000 of those are dogs. 23% of dogs find a family through

being adopted at a shelter or the humane society along with 31% of cats. 34% of dogs and 3% of

cats are bought through a breeder (Pet Statistics).

Although puppy mills are bad, not all breeders are. Many people don’t agree with the

campaign slogan “adopt, don’t shop” because there are many real, good, and licensed dog

breeders out there who sell puppies and are dedicated to their dogs. They perform humane

practices and are great at keeping their purebred dogs healthy and sending them home with

people who are ideal for their needs (Jones). In favor of buying a dog from a breeder, people

argue that they breed gorgeous purebred dogs which are otherwise hard to find. It can be difficult

to find a purebred in a shelter or rescue. Jackie Brown wrote an article for the Spruce Pets

website called 9 Reasons to Buy a Dog From a Breeder. She explained that, “If you must have a

purebred puppy, your best option is to find a reputable breeder who is dedicated to raising

healthy, temperamentally sound puppies of their chosen breed.” If you do find a good breeder

they can teach you what to expect from the breed and help you make the decision on if that will

be a good fit in your life and in your household (Brown).

Many people don’t think that getting a dog from a breeder is a bad thing. For these

people, Kim Evans at the Humane Society wrote about how to pick a good dog breeder to buy

from. In her article, Tips from the Humane Society on Picking a Good Dog Breeder, she said

making sure the dog lives in a happy, clean home is important. The dogs should not live outside
 8

in a kennel and the breeders should be very knowledgeable about the breed and their dogs. They

should have health records, veterinarian documentation and should feed them high quality food

to avoid health issues in the future (Evans). All of these things being said, many still disagree

with getting a dog from a breeder. According to healthcareforpets.com, pets at shelters are less

likely to be purebreds. Mixed-breeds are known to be healthier than purebreds. They are not as

likely to have health issues that will make them suffer. These issues can be caused by inbreeding

that affect purebred dogs (Greenway).

If you decide to continue the path of getting a pet via a breeder, you will get to know the

past history of your puppy. Adopting from a shelter or rescue, that is not guaranteed. “Meeting

the puppy’s parents and other close relatives will give you a very good idea of how you can

expect your puppy to look and act when he grows up” (Brown). They will also know the health

condition of their puppy’s relatives and you will most likely get to see the condition your pup

was living in before adoption.

Many reputable breeders who truly care about their animals will offer you a lot of help.

Some are very concerned and careful about their pup’s health. They may offer guarantees so that

if the dog ends up getting sick you can get a full refund, a new dog, or they will help you cover

the costs of the medical bills (Brown). This is extremely helpful if your dog does end up getting

sick. A lot of breeders will also offer to take the dog back if you decide you no longer want them.

This helps keep their pups off the streets and out of kill shelters.

If you find breeders who truly care about their dogs, it isn’t the worst thing to buy from

them. It can be a difficult task finding someone who will put the best interest of the dogs over

their own convenience. Especially if they are only in it for the money. By adopting from a shelter
 9

you can be sure that it is all based on the needs of the dog. These dogs need homes that can love

them, keep them safe, and will not ever let them end up on the streets again.

To shut down abusive and cruel puppy mills and malpractice breeders, adopting dogs

from animal shelters and rescues is important and necessary. Shopping for them at pet shops, on

the web, or other places is just as bad. In conclusion, saving an animal’s life, spending less

money, and finding the perfect fit to your family is the best option. Getting a dog from a breeder

or second handedly from a puppy mill can have detrimental effects on your dog’s health and may

cost you way more money in the long run. To shut these malpractices down, we cannot support

them in any way.

 10

Works Cited

"'Dog Whisperer' Cesar Millan on adopting the right dog." CNN Wire, 6 Mar. 2012. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/

A282222172/OVIC?u= dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=d53c8475. Accessed 6 July 2020.

Evans, Kim Masters. "Tips from the Humane Society on picking a good dog breeder." Animal

Rights, 2011 ed., Gale, 2011. Information Plus Reference Series. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc /EJ2220006542

/OVIC?u= dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=1ce9a32b. Accessed 6 July 2020.

Greenway, C. “Why you should adopt a pet rather than buy.” Healthcare For Pets, 12 February

2017, https://www.healthcareforpets.com/article/Why-you-should-adopt-a-pet-rather-

than-buy/. Accessed 25 June 2020.

Hall, Carla. "Pet Stores Should Not Sell Animals from Commercial Breeders." Gale Opposing

Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/XSDZJX974463605/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=47c81628. Accessed 6 July 2020. Originally published as

"Puppy mills are hubs of animal cruelty. We don’t need their business in California," Los

Angeles Times, 20 Sept. 2017. Accessed 9 July 2020.

 11

Pennacchio, G. “Life in the Doghouse.” ABC 7, 12 September 2018, https://abc7.com/animal-

rescue-shelter-hurricane-katrina/4213885/#:~:text=%22Life%20in%20the%20Doghouse

%22%20tells,it%20comes%20to%20saving%20lives. Accessed 25 June 2020.

“Pet Statistics.” ASPCA, 2020,https://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-

surrender/pet-statistics. Accessed 9 July 2020.

Plesset, E., & Jankiewicz E. “Why you should adopt a shelter animal.” NBC 5 Chicago, 15 July

2016, https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/clear-the-shelters-

reasons-to-adopt-shelter-pet/2009158/. Accessed 9 July 2020.

Sally Jones. “Adopt, Don’t Shop: A Phrase Worth Thousands of Lives.” Canine Journal, 12

February 2020, https://www.caninejournal.com/adopt-dont-shop/. Accessed 25 June

2020.

“Top reasons to adopt a pet.” The Humane Society of The United States, 2020, https://www.

humanesociety.org/resources/top-reasons-adopt-pet. Accessed 25 June 2020.

“7 Reasons to Adopt your Next Best Friend.” Animals Australia for a Kinder World, 25

March 2020, https://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/reasons-to-adopt.php.

Accessed 25 June 2020.