Adoption is Always an Option

It's not a big secret to my friends and coworkers that I spend many hours every week volunteering at our local animal shelter shelter, doing everything I can to promote the adoption of homeless dogs. As you can imagine, when those same friends and coworkers decide to purchase puppies from breeders instead of saving a life through rescue, it is incredibly upsetting to me. Honestly, it makes me physically ill. When people tell me about the new puppy they are buying instead of adopting, my gut starts hurting as if someone just punched me in it. Really, they might as well have.

It might seem like I'm being overly dramatic, but when you've spent 10 years of your life watching helplessly as wonderful dogs of all shapes, ages, sizes and breeds are euthanized due to lack of suitable homes, it is painful to know that people--even people I know and have talked to about rescue--are still choosing breeders over shelters.

The fact is, with a little patience, a little extra research, and possibly a little travel, it's always possible to find the dog that you want through a shelter or a rescue. Most people just don't want to wait for the type of dog they are looking for to become available. They buy dogs when it's convenient for them. They buy dogs because they have papers. They buy dogs so they can give them as gifts. They buy dogs because they want tiny puppies instead of 4-5 month old puppies. They buy dogs from disreputable breeders without doing any research. They buy dogs with no concern for overall animal welfare.

It doesn't have to be that way. Adoption is always an option. Check out Petfinder.com!