PRACTICAL THOUGHTS ON PET ADOPTIONS VERSUS BUYING
This will be a quickie because there’s not that much to say on the topic. But I started thinking about this conundrum recently when I saw something on TV about dog adoptions.
A few of the possible fees when adopting a pet.
Basically, people and organizations admonish potential pet owners that they should adopt rather than buy their new little pal. I’ve always thought that sounded like the kind thing to do, but I never gave it more consideration than that.
But then it hit me—when you adopt a dog, you have to pay a bunch of fees, which people have told me can run into the hundreds of dollars, so that means that you’re basically buying a dog anyway! (Those fees usually include spaying or neutering, microchipping, a general exam at a veterinarian, and all of the animal’s basic shots.)
If only pet shops looked this cute.
And then there’s this fact that never occurred to me before, nor, apparently, to anyone else: the animals from a store or breeder, who wind-up not bought, then become…the new homeless ones! So they either go up for adoption themselves, or even worse, are euthanized!
So whether you buy or adopt, it doesn’t lessen the number of animals in the world. It’s just a matter of math!
On a side note, I’ve had only two dogs in my life, both with Mr. X. I’m sure that viewers of my former TV show, Karen’s Restaurant Revue, remember my precious Clarence, The Singing Dog. He was much more popular than I was. And I hope that long-time viewers also have fond memories of my original co-star—my beloved Bud, The Wonder Dog. (He didn’t sing, but he was the most adorable little creature who ever lived. And he was kind, which is a weird trait for a dog; he was always happy to go to other people to cheer them up. I even took him to retirement homes occasionally. But I secretly adored that Clarence didn’t want to even talk to anyone who wasn’t me. Unless they were carrying some meat in their pocket, of course.)
Photos of Bud, The Wonder Dog, taken by Angie Dickinson, who also framed them together, making this display one of my favorite gifts of all time.
I was truly the luckiest girl in the world to have loved those two now-angels. (I still do, of course.) And Mr. X and I bought them both; Bud from an upscale (if there’s such a thing) pet shop, and Clarence from a breeder, (which, trust me, did not look better than a pet shop, on any level! We had done tons of research before we chose one, but the place was still gross!)
I’m sure we would have fallen madly in love with any toy poodles we would have wound-up with, as most everyone does with their own pets. But the point of this article is my original premise that made me want to write it to begin with: Adopting a pet instead of buying one doesn’t lessen the number of animals in the world.
Karen Salkin and her precious Clarence, The Singing Dog. Photo by Mr. X. (Who else would be around when these guys are napping?)
However, this discussion of adoption versus purchasing doesn’t really apply to me—it’s been several years since Clarence went to the next level of life, and the few times I’ve asked Mr. X if he’d like another dog, he queries back, “Is there one who doesn’t die?” So that’s the end of that for us. But for the rest of you, I’m not judging, not even a little bit. I’m just giving us all something to think about.
And if anyone can explain how the pet population is decreased if a pet is adopted instead of being purchased from a breeder or store, please enlighten all of us in the Comments section below. I’d love to understand the concept.
