Why Adopt, Don't Breed or Buy, Your Companion Animal

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                               There are many good reasons to adopt rather than buy or breed a pet.
     We've listed a few of them here:

  • Purchasing a pet from a pet store or a legitimate breeder can easily cost $500 to $1,000 or more.  In comparison, adoption costs for a cat typically range from $20 to $75 for a cat, and $50-$150 for a dog depending on whether the pet comes from a city shelter or a rescue group that has spent money on spay-neuter, vaccinations, boarding, and vet care.  At the Taos Shelter, Stray Hearts, puppies under 6 months of age are $125, and all other dogs, cats and kittens are on a sliding scale.  At Stray Hearts, your adoption fee includes spay or neuter, deworming, vaccinations, feline viral testing, and microchip.  You can also adopt a cat from Taos Feral Feline Friends which has both pet (aka well-socialized) and barn cats available for adoption.
 
  • Buying a dog from a backyard breeder—those typically selling puppies outside of stores in town--means that puppies from our local shelter and rescue groups have one less home in which to go.  And puppies from backyard breeders are almost definitely not spayed or neutered, have no vaccines, dewormers, vet health exam, microchip, etc.  Buying a dog from backyard breeders only encourages them to let their dogs continue to breed, quite potentially as inbreeding, and leads to more dog overpopulation in our town. Puppies and kittens adopted from Stray Hearts or local rescue groups will include such important health care, and they are invested in finding just the right dog or cat for you.

  • When you adopt a shelter or rescued pet, you safe a life.  Puppy mills are in business to make money, not to help with the overpopulation problem.  Puppy mill puppies are often in ill health that will manifest within days or weeks of purchase.  These health conditions arise because of the poor conditions the dogs are kept in and from inbreeding. Click here for more information on puppy mills.

  • Think you can’t adopt a purebred?  Yes, you can!  One-quarter of the dogs in animal shelters are purebred.  And purebred cats are in the shelters too. If you want a particular pure-breed of dog or cat, why not adopt one and save a life rather than spend hundreds of dollars to buy one?  Dogs and cats in shelters are not ‘problem’ pets, but are often brought to the shelter due to issues that are no fault of the animal, such as the owner died, owner is going on military leave, owner does not want to be responsible for a pet anymore, owners divorcing, owners let the pet have a litter, etc.  Looking for a specific breed of cat or dog that you want to adopt?  Visit www.petfinder.com and type in your preferences to see a full listing of adoptable animals locally and across the country.

  • When you adopt, you get to pick any age pet.  Have kids at home, and want a fun pet for the kids?  Kittens and puppies are cute, but they are a lot of work, and will require training.  A young adult cat or dog will keep the kids entertained without taking up as much of your time ‘parenting’ a kitten or puppy.  Are you a senior or are you looking for a companion for a shorter-term commitment?  Then an older pet is perfect and will likely be mellow and already trained.  Still want a kitten or puppy?  The local shelter Stray Hearts and local rescue groups, such as Four Corners Animal League and Northern New Mexico Friend of Animals often have kittens and puppies available for adoption.  Contact Taos Feral Feline Friends for socialized kittens as well.

  • There are already plenty of barn cat/mousers already available at the local shelter and rescue groups.  Look no further than Taos Feral Feline Friends or Stray Hearts Animal Shelter.  Letting one’s cat breed to produce more kittens is just increasing our cat overpopulation problem.  Instead, adopt a barn/feral/semi-feral (you choose!) cat from TFFF or Stray Hearts and help alleviate the number of cats looking for a safe place to live.  These cats are adult, are savvy about living outdoors, and are vaccinated and spayed or neutered. There aren’t enough places for all the barn cats to go, so by adopting one rather than breeding more kittens, you save a life. 

  • "While Best Friends does acknowledge that there are responsible and caring breeders, we believe that as long as healthy, loving animals are dying in our nation’s shelters, the best and most responsible choice is to adopt pets from local shelters or rescue organizations."  --Best Friends Animal Society

                                  See also:        Best Friends Animal Society's Article on Why Adopt Rather than Buy