Pets are a wonderful, loving edition to any home. But if you’re planning to adopt a fur baby, I ask you consider adopting one from the shelter before a breeder. Breeders are for sure nothing like puppy mills you see on the news, but unfortunately, they are aiding the population problem. According to thedogrescuers.com “Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. - and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born.” And not every person born even adopts a pet. There is no way we can give a home to every single kitten and puppy born on a daily basis along with those already alive in shelters. So what have we resorted to doing to try and help? Euthanize them, of course.

ASPCA.org states “Each year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized (1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats).” That’s a lot of innocent animals dying because we just can’t support them all in the shelters. If there’s no demand for breeder dogs then they won’t have a reason to breed anymore. Plus have you ever been to a shelter? You can interact with the animals and see how many will practically beg you to take them home. You’ll end up wanting to adopt them all! And you may not get a brand new, purebred pet but you get the one that chose you too. There are an estimated 13,600 animal shelters nationwide so there’s no shortage of shelter options to pick from.

And it gives you a pet with a story. It’s an animal that may have been abandoned or even abused with big sad eyes and scars. And I’m not saying breeders are these bad people and the only cause. A lot of people do not spay or neuter their pets, which leads to unwanted puppy and kitten litters that end up in shelters. And shelter animals really do need us. If you’re willing to adopt a pet, even just visit a shelter and consider it before choosing to adopt from a breeder. Shelters can always use donations and volunteer help. The more animals a shelter accepts, the more money they’re going to need to support them and people to help care for them.

Another option is to foster an animal. You can home a cat or dog and keep it out of the shelter life until it goes to another home permanently. My mother and I have fostered them for even just a day to give them time to run around outside, interact with other animals and just get shown attention for a day. There are still so many different ways to help shelter animals even if you choose to adopt from a breeder. They are animals who need all the help and support we can give. They have no way of saving themselves so it’s our job to try and make a difference for these animals who just need a home or helping hand. So next time you decide to adopt, stop by your local shelter and at least give them a chance.