Last week I wrote an article about the similarities and differences between traditional animal shelters and “no kill” animal shelters. I also touched on some statistics about the animals that are in these shelters. This week I wanted to touch on the subject of breeders and their impact on the animals that are in the shelters. I, in no way, am saying that breeders are doing anything wrong; my family has actually gone through breeders before for some of our dogs. Yet, every time we did go through a breeder in the past I always felt sorry for the animals that were in the shelters. The following are a couple of pros and cons lists that compare going through a breeder or going through an animal shelter when it comes for you to get your future family pet.
Pros of Breeders
- You Know What Type of Animal You’re Getting
- Generally, when you go through a breeder, you know what type of animal you’re going to get because you know the parents of your soon to be family pet. You generally don’t have to question what breed of dog or cat you have when you go through a breeder.
- No Hard Times Yet
- In most cases, these animals available for adoption haven’t gone through any problems in their life yet. They haven’t had time to develop any problems, whether that be behavior issues or others, from their life experiences.
- Fresh Start To Training
- You are able to train your animal in the way you see fit without someone else’s training already in their minds. You will mostly likely have an easier time training your animal the way you want it when you go through a breeder.
- Chain Of Custody
Cons of Breeders
- Price
- Typically when you go through a breeder the price you will pay for an animal is going to be more expensive. Sometimes you could end up paying up into the thousands of dollars for an animal of your choosing.
- Wait Lists
- When you go through a breeder sometimes you are put on a waiting list and you aren’t always guaranteed an animal in the first litter, sometimes not even in the second litter. Sometimes it’s a big waiting game when it comes to your future animal.
- Waiting Again
- Even when you get to choose your animal from the litter, you have to wait some more before you get to bring them home. In most cases you have to wait at least eight weeks before you can bring them home and sometimes that time can be hard.
Pros of Shelters
- Price
- Compared to some breeders, the price to adopt an animal through a shelter is significantly less. Some fees I’ve seen have been in the low hundreds, sometimes under a hundred dollars. The adoption fee one of the last things you think of when looking at shelters.
- Not Much Waiting
- Most times when you walk into a shelter to look at animals you can walk out the same day with one of your own choosing. You don’t have to wait the same eight weeks you do when you go through a breeder.
- Variety
- A shelter typically has more than one kind of dog breed or cat breed within their walls, which gives you plenty of choices to pick from. You have plenty of chances to pick the right fit for your family or yourself.
- Unconditional Love
- Most of the animals in a shelter are looking for their forever home and have nothing but love to give to you. I’ve seen animals in shelters before and from what I can tell from looking into the cages of these animals is that they are waiting for the perfect person or family to come alone that will love them unconditional, just as much as they love them in return. The love from an animal to a human being isn’t something that you can teach them, they are born with that knowledge already and all they have to do is wait for that perfect fit.
Cons of Shelters
- Unknown Past
- Typically the past of the animals in a shelter is unknown, which can be scary to potential families looking to adopt. You don’t know where they came from, what hardships they have gone through, or even what their parents were like. You have no basis to go on when choosing your future animal in most cases.
- Unknown Problems
- Sometimes the animals in these shelters are going to have health problems, behavior problems, and trust issues. Just like the previous point, you don’t know their past so you most often won’t know the roots of their problems. This can sometimes scare people away from choosing one of these animals. I understand the unknown can be scary but I also know that these animals are probably just as scared as you are if you think about it.
- Training Might Be Harder
- Because most of the animals in shelters have had a past, they might have been used to someone else’s training habits. This can make it a challenge for you in the future if you want to train them your own way. It will be harder but sometimes it will be so worth it if you find the right animal for your home.
These lists are just my opinion and I’m sure that if you ask someone else they might have a different view on the subject. I just wanted to get my view out there and maybe help you in your future to make a choice you will really be proud of. I again want to say that I’m not bashing on breeders what so ever, I’m merely helping to give a voice to all the animals in shelters that can’t do it for themselves. I strongly believe that if you look hard enough you might just find the perfect animal for your family in your local shelter. I want you to consider shelters in the future when you start to look for the perfect pet, you might be surprised with what you find.
