Stamp: You don't have to adopt to help

There are other ways to help shelters other than adopting the animals. I have nothing against adopting an animal or anything, just pointing out how else you can help.

Donate money. Donating money helps with with vaccinating, chipping, and fixing the animals, and other things.

Have your pets fixed. It helps prevent more animals from being born, and thus the ones in the shelter have a higher chance of being adopted, and it prevents putting more animals in the shelters. Now, if you're a legit breeder or the animal has issues and cannot be fixed, that's one thing, but if that's not the issue than you have no excuse for not having your pet fixed. I don't care about your good fencing and that they never get out, spaying and neutering is 100% effective.

Don't get a pet on a whim. If you get an animal when you aren't ready, or don't have time for it, that means there's a higher chance you're going to have to surrender it to a shelter, OR that you're going to neglect it and get animal control called on you, and them take away your animal and put it in a shelter. Now, I have no problem with people who get rid of their pets, but I do have a problem with people who don't THINK before getting an animal. God gave you a logical side to your brain, use it.

Don't get just any ol' animal of any ol' breed. As much as animal lovers screech "THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A BREED! ALL ANIMALS ARE THE SAME!" at the top of their lungs, it's just not true. The breed of an animal affects it's temperament, personality etc. For example, labs are hyper, unintelligent, and hard to train because of those two things. You need to read about the breed of dog, or type of animal you want, before you get it, and think LOGICALLY. Is this breed or animal really for me? Can I really handle this breed / animal? Do I have enough room? ect.

People get any breed of dog, and then have to get rid of it because they couldn't handle the breed or train it properly. Or, under certain circumstances, get animal control called on them.

Don't get an animal from just anyone. Make sure they are a legit breeder first. Backyard "breeders", millers etc don't have good quality of animals. They don't train the animals properly, don't feed them good food (they feed them the cheapest foods), don't make sure the animals are healthy, will breed them under horrible conditions (e.g. cancer) and will bred biologically related animals together (incest), and once the animals are "used up" (can't breed anymore), just just throw them off on the side of the road or kill them. Because of this, the babies aren't of good quality. And by buying from these people, you're supporting their horrid "breeding" and "jobs." 

Note: Pet shops often get their animals from backyarders and millers. So avoid buying animals from pet shops as well. And apparently, petco gets their ferrets from millers as well.

If you don't know what a mill or backyarder is, read these;
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppy_mi…
www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/p…
www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/p…
www.humanesociety.org/issues/p…

www.almosthomerescue.org/whati…
www.paws.org/get-involved/take…
www.thespruce.com/signs-of-a-b…
www.baxterboo.com/fun/a.cfm/wh…
www.ktcampbell.com/taji/rbvsby…

Don't take it every animal that needs a new home. Because then you run out of room for the animals you got, and might have to re-home or take some to a shelter. Or you could get animal control called on you for animal hoarding. If you want to help that animal, make sure you have enough room, not too many animals as it is, can afford it, have enough time to spend with it, everyone else that lives with agrees to it etc. Or tell your responsible friends or family members about the animal and see if they can adopt it.




You're already doing a lot, just by being smart and a responsible pet owner. You don't have to adopt an animal, if you're being responsible and smart, you're already doing your part (and no, I'm not saying that because it rhymes). So don't feel bad if you didn't adopt your pet, or don't plan on adopting a pet, or simply don't live close to a shelter and thus can't get one.