There are many reasons to bring a pet into your life. Maybe you want to be more active or have the responsibility of taking care of something. Maybe your apartment just feels lonely without a little furry roommate. Whatever the personal reason may be, adopting a pet is a major milestone – you're essentially adding another member to your family.
Once you decide to adopt a pet, there are literally millions and millions of them out there waiting for you – you just have to know where to look. And the good news is that you don't have to look very far. Here are the top six reasons to adopt from your local animal shelter:
1. You can save an animal (or two, or three...) from being one of the millions that get euthanized every year.
According to statistics from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, about 7.6 MILLION companion animals enter U.S. shelters every single year – and of that amount, about 2.7 million of them are euthanized, mostly because the shelters get too full. Adopting a pet from your local shelter saves them from being euthanized and also frees up a spot for another stray animal.
2. You can give animals a second chance.
Many shelter dogs, cats, and other animals are picked up off the street as strays, but a large portion of them are given up by their owners due to a multitude of reasons – their owner is too old to properly take care of them, the owner is moving somewhere that pets aren't allowed, the owner doesn't have enough time or money to take care of their pets, etc. Whatever the reason may be, when an owner surrenders their animal to a shelter, that animal's life is flipped upside down. Everything they knew about the world is suddenly different, and they have likely given up hope. By adopting an animal from the shelter, you're giving them a second chance and flipping their life upside down again – but this time, in a good way.
3. Many adult animals are already house-trained and socialized.
Most adult or senior animals at shelters have already lived with people in their homes, meaning they are likely already house-trained and might even know a few basic tricks! Additionally, shelter animals are around each other constantly, so they are already socialized and accustomed to others in their space.
4. Adopting from a shelter decreases the demand for mass-producing breeding facilities.
Throughout the country, there are thousands of facilities in the business of mass-producing puppies, kittens, or other young animals for profit. Unlike shelters, these mills put profit over the welfare of animals, typically keeping them in unsanitary and tiny conditions with no medical care. Going through your local shelter to adopt makes sure you aren't falling victim to animal mills' deceptive selling practices and giving them your money.
5. Help break the stigma that shelter animals are "damaged" or "aggressive."
Animals in shelters often get a bad rap for being "scary" or "aggressive" in the public eye, simply due to their breed/species or their whereabouts before coming to the shelter. Many people won't even consider adopting these animals because people are afraid of them "snapping." This is a dangerous stigma that keeps millions and millions of loving, adoptable animals in the shelter every year. Shelter animals are just like all other animals, who have the capability of being the most loyal and friendly companions in someone's life, no matter their background.
6. Lastly, adopting from a shelter is typically cheaper than any other route.
Shelters are usually so willing to help their animals get adopted that they will spay/neuter them before adoption, which can save you hundreds of dollars. In some cases, they'll even microchip and vaccinate animals too. Local shelters will still charge adoption fees, but not for profit, like animal mills. These fees are necessary and essential for the shelter to afford massive amounts of food and veterinary care for their animals. Still, some shelters will give discounts on adoption fees, like on National "Clear the Shelters" Day on August 19th, or when you adopt multiple animals at once. (In high school, my family adopted two cats and one dog at once – our local shelter completely waived our dog's fee. Score!)
If you're still not convinced, I encourage you to visit your local shelter or nonprofit and take a look at all of the wonderful animals that are waiting to be adopted. When you adopt from a shelter, you know that you're giving at least one animal a second chance at life – and, you get a life-long companion out of it, too.
