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The shelters here do not have a lot of dogs except pitbulls. There are no herding breeds or even mixes, no purebred dogs (unless it is a pitbull), no small dogs or medium dogs (unless they are old), etc. Dog in OP's pic would have been adopted out immediately if he was in a shelter here.
There are valid reasons not to adopt - that is all I am saying. I think it is great when someone adopts but I don't think one should be judged for not adopting.
Yup.
Same here. Pits pits pits and lab mixes.
I don't want a lab anything and I sure as EFF do not want a pit.
Sad...we just went yesterday so my son could donate $10 "so they can have food and water."
We'll stick with our smooth and rough collies. Entirely predictable, sweet, smart dogs, which unfortunately are impossible to find in shelters (and our local breed rescue is psycho). When kids older, we'll start rescuing senior collies even if we have to go put of state. Old dogs deserve a soft landing.
As for now, the only way to get a puppy is to buy one.
Now we have to be careful and not generalize that all puppies from stores are supplied by puppy mills
A reputable breeder should be able to find good homes for their puppies and not have to resort to selling to pet shops.
But yes, you are right about the supply and demand. For some reason, people demand puppies that come from deplorable living conditions, and so these places continue to thrive.
I think pet stores should not sell dogs or cats. Just host rescue events. We've donated thousands of dollars of food to those rescues. The store gets $ and the rescue gets help.
I think each person should do what their heart tells them.
My reason for starting this thread was just to remind folks to consider the options. The smelly shelter dog with fleas is not as appealing as the pampered pooch from a breeder but smelly dogs clean up nicely Heck get both.
I don't see the reasoning behind any arguments on this thread. Why are some folks being so defensive?
If I suggest volunteering at the animal shelters someone will want to know why I didn't suggest volunteering at a nursing home, etc
If the thread doesn't apply to you then just scroll on by...........
What I see happening is in a short time this thread will be closed due to the arguing
I think pet stores should not sell dogs or cats. Just host rescue events. We've donated thousands of dollars of food to those rescues. The store gets $ and the rescue gets help.
I think each person should do what their heart tells them.
My reason for starting this thread was just to remind folks to consider the options. The smelly shelter dog with fleas is not as appealing as the pampered pooch from a breeder but smelly dogs clean up nicely Heck get both.
I don't see the reasoning behind any arguments on this thread. Why are some folks being so defensive?
If I suggest volunteering at the animal shelters someone will want to know why I didn't suggest volunteering at a nursing home, etc
If the thread doesn't apply to you then just scroll on by...........
What I see happening is in a short time this thread will be closed due to the arguing
Good reminder, thanks! I would have missed out on the LOVE of my LIFE dog had I not gone dog shopping at the pound. I swear to you, God put her there as a present to me.
Maybe you should go do some research on puppy mills if you don't think lining their pockets is a bad thing. I can't imagine anyone who knows what happens at such places would be defending them.
I know all about puppy mills. I adopted a discarded mama who came from one. Maybe you shouldn't pre-judge people like that
I'm poking fun at the people who think they are some sort of hero for adopting a dog. Meanwhile the dog is the same dog. Where do you think shelter dogs come from?
Take care of your dog no matter where you got it from.
The big shelters know that a lot of people want puppies and they don't want certain breeds.
And in order to keep their revenue streams up, they are importing dogs into certain regions from other regions and even from overseas.
And I wonder what conditions those dogs came from...but it doesn't matter, as long as they are stamped with "RESCUE" people can feel good about themselves. It's brilliant really
I think each person should do what their heart tells them.
My reason for starting this thread was just to remind folks to consider the options. The smelly shelter dog with fleas is not as appealing as the pampered pooch from a breeder but smelly dogs clean up nicely Heck get both.
I don't see the reasoning behind any arguments on this thread. Why are some folks being so defensive?
People are being defensive because of the high and mighty attitudes on this thread
I agree with you, I think everyone looking for a dog should look at their shelters and rescues first. Absolutely. But sometimes that doesn't work out for very well-known reasons
I haven't read all of the posts, but got the gist of some that I did see. Adopting shelter dogs vs. buying dogs from either breeders or pet stores...it can spiral into a huge debate. At the end of the day, I think that the main point of this entire thread is to encourage people to look at adopting a shelter dog first because of the overwhelming amount of dogs who languish - and often die - in shelters because there aren't enough people willing to take them.
I've done both. I've adopted a shelter dog; I've bought a dog from a breeder (border collie, because I'd always wanted a dog of this breed). Is it wrong to buy a dog (from a qualified breeder) vs adopting? No. But adopting a shelter dog is something that I think a lot of people should consider as an option, since the problem of people dumping or abandoning pets in North America (sometimes with good reason, many times without) has taken on such horrendous stats. And the way that some shelters still dispose of animals can to this day be indescribably sickening (watch the documentary "For the Love of Dog"...in one part of the movie, they have some graphic footage of a number of dogs being gassed at one shelter...I wish to God I'd never seen it; it will torment me for the rest of my life).
I'm not sure exactly what my point is here. I suppose part of it is in the fact that many people will automatically write off all shelter dogs as untrainable, dangerous, etc. Yet while some shelter dogs may come with problems - often temporary in nature - many many more do not (many shelters today also work with quelling any issues before putting them up for adoption).
The dog I bought from a breeder was not given proper socialization as a young pup, was separated from his mother at a very young age (2 wks) because his mother got sick, and he wound up with many fear-based problems that I had to work through with him after he came home. Before him, I was a dog walker at the local animal shelter, and I adopted a shelter dog who was twice returned by other adopters and was on a list for euthanasia because she had developed 'issues'. She had been languishing in the shelter for so long that some problems developed, but her "problems" were so much less than my breeder dog had. Kaya - my shelter dog - turned out to be the most amazing, wonderful, smart, loyal dog I ever had the pleasure to meet. We had her for 15 years, and of all the dogs I've had in my life, she was the absolute best.
It's understandable when people do go to breeders if they are looking for a specific type of dog, and/or want to know the bloodlines and background, and no one should be condemned for that (OP was not suggesting this) but it's also good to keep in mind - if you are simply seeking out a companion - that so many dogs in shelters can make absolutely excellent pets, and upon adopting one, you are saving a life.
And I am a firm believer that the only dogs or other animals that any store should ever sell are the ones coming from shelters. My city is finally - slowly - making this legislation, so the output of backyard breeder pets will be eventually - hopefully - wiped out.
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Heck get both. 
