If there's anything that I support more than equal rights, it would be the choice to adopt over shop for a pet. There are so so many loving animals in need of a home. With the whole puppy mill industry being at an all time high due to the high demand for certain breeds of dogs like pugs, french bulldogs and countless others, I feel like it's our job to bring an end to this cruel way of bringing pets to our homes.
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People often think they'll only find 'broken' animals at the shelter that aren't loving, smart or pretty. I was hesitant about looking for a dog via adoption sites but after having met my first potential dog during the summer of 2014 I couldn't allow myself to spend the money on a cheap pet shop dog or even a pure bred dog. Knowing that I'm always on a budget also prevented me from going either of those two ways. I met the most lovely jack russell dog who was rumoured to be unstable and unreliable around men, but when I met him all he wanted was love. He licked my arm and cuddled the entire time. He even sat at my boyfriend's feet which really blew me away. Animals really sense love and protection which helps them settle down.
The amount of animals that are just left to fend for themselves because people didn't get what they expected is massive and heartbreaking. It's come so far that people create false identities to re-home and/ or sell animals on social media (mostly facebook from my own experiences). It's hard to tell who is doing it because they really can't afford to take care of their pet or just because it's become a nuisance in their daily lives. My pug Tobi actually came from a couple that had to get rid of him because the wife was expecting a second child and couldn't stand the smell any longer. Strange if you ask me because when I went to pick him up she was standing right next to his dirty puppy pad and hugging him. Either way Tobi is in a happy place here and having the time of his life.
The animals waiting for you at the shelter are so grateful once they realize they can leave the cold confinements of a cement holding pen and can roll around in bed with you. With that being said it's often way cheaper to adopt than shop. Shelters often only ask a small fee, which is used to cover the vet bills and other things. Here in Holland kill shelters don't exist as it goes against animal protection laws. An animal is only put down if it's quality of life can't be improved or if it imposes a threat to the workers and society. Most animals here in Holland are adopted within a few weeks. Utmost care is taken to ensure a good match between person and pet here, thus there's often a interview/ inspection session to prevent any bad adoptions. I was surprised when I was sent home after meeting the jack russel to have a good night's sleep to think about it all. In the end I was happy I was sent home to think because I found out I wasn't ready at the time. I felt so guilty to leave the dog at the shelter but I kept in touch. About 2 months later I found out the jack russell went to a good home :-).
I've come to the point where I really want to help out as a volunteer at the shelter when it gets busier. All the dogs need to be fed, walked, trained, bathed and loved. I've already looked at a few places and will be making a call soon to register myself :-) I may not be able to make a huge donation yet but if I can make the animals happier by lending a hand I'm more than happy to do so!
Comment below and tell your pet's story! Did he/ she come from a shelter or family that could no longer provide for it? I'm a sucker for rescue stories.
Toodles! x
People often think they'll only find 'broken' animals at the shelter that aren't loving, smart or pretty. I was hesitant about looking for a dog via adoption sites but after having met my first potential dog during the summer of 2014 I couldn't allow myself to spend the money on a cheap pet shop dog or even a pure bred dog. Knowing that I'm always on a budget also prevented me from going either of those two ways. I met the most lovely jack russell dog who was rumoured to be unstable and unreliable around men, but when I met him all he wanted was love. He licked my arm and cuddled the entire time. He even sat at my boyfriend's feet which really blew me away. Animals really sense love and protection which helps them settle down.
The amount of animals that are just left to fend for themselves because people didn't get what they expected is massive and heartbreaking. It's come so far that people create false identities to re-home and/ or sell animals on social media (mostly facebook from my own experiences). It's hard to tell who is doing it because they really can't afford to take care of their pet or just because it's become a nuisance in their daily lives. My pug Tobi actually came from a couple that had to get rid of him because the wife was expecting a second child and couldn't stand the smell any longer. Strange if you ask me because when I went to pick him up she was standing right next to his dirty puppy pad and hugging him. Either way Tobi is in a happy place here and having the time of his life.
The animals waiting for you at the shelter are so grateful once they realize they can leave the cold confinements of a cement holding pen and can roll around in bed with you. With that being said it's often way cheaper to adopt than shop. Shelters often only ask a small fee, which is used to cover the vet bills and other things. Here in Holland kill shelters don't exist as it goes against animal protection laws. An animal is only put down if it's quality of life can't be improved or if it imposes a threat to the workers and society. Most animals here in Holland are adopted within a few weeks. Utmost care is taken to ensure a good match between person and pet here, thus there's often a interview/ inspection session to prevent any bad adoptions. I was surprised when I was sent home after meeting the jack russel to have a good night's sleep to think about it all. In the end I was happy I was sent home to think because I found out I wasn't ready at the time. I felt so guilty to leave the dog at the shelter but I kept in touch. About 2 months later I found out the jack russell went to a good home :-).
I've come to the point where I really want to help out as a volunteer at the shelter when it gets busier. All the dogs need to be fed, walked, trained, bathed and loved. I've already looked at a few places and will be making a call soon to register myself :-) I may not be able to make a huge donation yet but if I can make the animals happier by lending a hand I'm more than happy to do so!
Comment below and tell your pet's story! Did he/ she come from a shelter or family that could no longer provide for it? I'm a sucker for rescue stories.
Toodles! x
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One of our cats we have is from a shelter. My dad wanted a cat and we went to the shelter in our city. We saw an advertisement about a cat and maybe we wanted to adobt her. When we were there, the cat didn't really fit in the family and it didn't click. So we looked at the other cats that were there. One cat kept asking attation from us. So we kinda play with him and we end up liking him. From what we heard, the cat was found on the streets and he had no owners or the owners never picked him up. ( he wasn't chipped) Either way we took the cat and we still love him. We have him for like 7,5 years now and he love us too ofcourse. His name is Chaffin, we didn't like the name the shelter gave to him haha.
ReplyDeleteAnother story. On a website (marktplaats) I saw an advertisment about 2 free bunnies. So long story short I picked them up. The owner didn't want the 2 bunnies anymore. They have a new dog and as for as I know they didn't had time or space to keep them. I was the only person that wanted to bunnies as pets not as breeders. The owner did had a lot of messages from breeders. I am not sure what would happened if I didn't took them. But the bunnies lived happy together in the end!
It's good to know there are more people that think the same way about adoption! Any animals typically bought at pet stores these days typically support puppy/ kitten/ pet mills.
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