The decision to share our life with an animal is an act of responsibility that must be thought through thoroughly by ALL members of the family unit. Let’s not forget that it is a LIVING BEING, to which we will have to dedicate our affection, time, space and money to cover all its needs for a time that can reach, even exceed, 20 years in the case of dogs.
If we have already informed ourselves of all these needs and reflected on whether we can and accept to assume them, it is when it is time to decide where to acquire our future “best friend”: do I buy it or adopt it?
But an even more important question is where do I do it? Because choosing a breeding or adoption center for the one that will be our housemate for many years is as important as the rest of the questions that we have asked ourselves until we are convinced to add another member to our family.
Unfortunately there are people who, taking advantage of the illusion of people who are looking for the ideal furry companion, only pursue economic performance. Not only can we be victims of a scam or have a sick animal delivered to us, with the consequent suffering of the family, but in many cases behind all this there is cruel animal abuse , dangerous criminal organizations that we will be financing, fraud fiscal and potential risks to public health.
Reasons why we are inclined to buy
- Control of the health status of their parents. Serious breeding centers are true experts of the breeds they reproduce, thus knowing the “typical” diseases of these. In this way, they select healthy males and females for breeding and with diagnostic tests (from DNA analysis to radiological studies, analytical tests…) that rule out genetic diseases, from joint problems to heart diseases, ophthalmological…
- Socialized puppies. In addition to choosing healthy breeders, they are also selected for having a sociable character. In addition, the professionals of responsible breeding centers are in charge of working on the education and behavior of the puppies of the litters.
- The choice of specific characteristics. Once again, by having the parents clearly identified, we will have a good approximation of what their adult children will be like: size, colour, hair type and even behavioral characteristics.
Why adopt?
- It is an act of charity. You are giving a home to an animal that has no family. Hundreds of thousands of animals are abandoned each year and a large percentage of them will never be adopted. Furthermore, unless the dog is in a foster home, you will avoid the suffering of a companion animal, which, with few exceptions, needs a family for its emotional development.
- You are giving another dog a chance to be rescued. With adoption, you will not only be helping the animal you take home, but another abandoned animal can take its place in the shelter.
- Know the character of the animal. The volunteers and workers of the adoption centers interact with the shelter animals constantly: they feed them, groom them, walk them, play with them… Even some lucky ones live with a foster family until they are adopted. So you have very valuable information about his state of socialization and education: if he already relieves himself in the street, if he walks correctly on a leash, if he is an escapist, if he gets along with children or other animals…
- You have a wide variety of animals. It is enough to visit any shelter to realize that all dogs are unique and extraordinary, mestizos whose qualities can make us fall in love. But if you are interested in a purebred dog, there are also some! Abandonment does not understand ” pedigree ” and, although it is practically impossible to find an “advertised puppy”, you can find adult dogs of that breed that you like so much.
- You support a great social work. The number of dogs waiting for a home continues to grow by the thousands each year. Although it should be a task carried out by the public administration, most of the animals fall on the backs of non-profit entities. The rescue and care of these animals represent an expense of millions of euros per year, either from the public herald or from the personal and economic effort of animal protectors.
