I think we could all agree that pets are an important part of life. In the United States, approximately 47% of households have at least one dog, and 37% have at least one cat. That’s around 80 million dogs and 94 million cats owned by people around our country. When it comes to obtaining these pets, there are many means to do so- such as adopting from a shelter, buying from an owner, picking up lost animals, or receiving one as a gift. When getting a pet, many people will ask “what are the reasons to NOT adopt from an animal shelter?” If you really think about it, there aren’t many reasons to not adopt from a shelter. However, the reasons TO adopt from a shelter are plenty. When you adopt from a shelter, you’re potentially saving the pets life, ensuring your pet gets its first round of shots/medical needs for a fair price, and getting a life-long companion. As someone who has adopted many animals from the shelter, I am here to give you a more in-depth look into each of these reasons.

According to The ASPCA, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in the country, an average of 7.6 million pets are put in animal shelters each year. If you or your family is ready to take in a pet, adopting from a shelter increases the survival rate of this animal by tons. Out of the animals who go to shelters, 1.4 million dogs are adopted and 1.3 million cats are adopted. The remaining 2.7 million animals are euthanized due to limited “housing” space for the animals already at the shelter, as well as incoming animals. When adopting from the shelter, not only are you saving the life of the pet(s) you adopted but you are also allowing a conversation to be brought up which could persuade others to adopt from the shelter. It is said that around 40% of pet owners learned about their pet by word of mouth from others who adopted. You are also saving the lives of these pets by reducing overpopulation by bringing them into your home and having them spayed and neutered.

This brings me to my next reason to adopt from the shelter. When you adopt a pet from the shelter, you are ensuring that your pet gets its first round of shots/medical needs for a fair price. It is really important for the animals to get these medical needs and you get a great deal when adopting from a shelter. Most animal shelters around the country will provide the spaying/neutering when you adopt your pet. The prices of adopting can range anywhere from $25-$100 so having the spaying/neutering included is a deal in itself. You may think, “well I just won’t get my animal spayed/neutered” which in the end could cost you more money or put more animals out on the streets or in shelters. According to humanesociety.org, 18% of male dogs and 23% of female dogs are spayed/neutered and live longer lives than those of the ones who were never spayed/neutered. If you find your pet on the street or get it from a breeder, there is a chance it will not be spayed or neutered. The typical cost of spaying or neutering is more when it is not done through the animal shelter when you adopt the pet.

Last, but not least, adopting from the animal shelter gives you the promise of a life-long companion. According to nhes.org, a lot of the animals found in shelters are already medium size to full grown. This gives you the assurance that you know what size they will be at their maximum growth age as well as their temperaments and their habits/how they interact with other pets. The pets at animal shelters are typically already house broken since they are on a schedule of when the volunteers take them out for bathroom breaks. Also, contrary to popular belief, there are many different breeds of animals at pet shelters ranging from purebred to any random mix of breeds that comes in. At the animal shelter, they also have a room where you can take the animal to play with to see how he interacts with humans or children.

Each animal also has a sheet outside their kenneled area that lists how they act around others. When adopting a pet from a shelter, you are sure to get a fun, loving animal that will love you until they die. I can speak from experience and say that this is true. My family has adopted three cats and one dog from the animal shelter. All of these pets we have adopted are very playful and the best pets we could ever ask for. When we went to adopt each of them, the workers were very helpful with telling us all the information we needed to know about them. Our three cats all get along very well even though one of them is from a different litter than the other two. Our dog, Marley, is a mixture of golden retriever and chow and she is so fun and loving.

Along with the reasons I just explained to you, the adoption of a pet from a shelter can also give the shelter funds to keep running, and provide you with an eye-opening experience that you can share with others. According to petsmartcharities.org, when you adopt an animal from the shelter, a portion of the fees goes to the actual shelter itself which allows it to keep running along with donations given from people. Adopting from a shelter also gives you an eye-opening experience that can change the way you view things. Personally, seeing all of these animals in need of homes breaks my heart and makes me want to help in any way I can.

With all of this being said, if you are someone who is fit to take care of a pet and are looking for a pet to adopt, always check out the animal shelter, whether it be local or from somewhere else. If you can not adopt, I hope you at least took from this motivation to help out at your local pet shelter. There are many things you can do, such as volunteer, take supplies needed, or donate money. If you are looking to help but not necessarily adopt, you can also apply to be a foster home for dogs or cats which may then inspire you or others to adopt.