Just a warning, this article has some unpleasant parts to read
I see this is a symptom of the larger problem of the unaffordability of life we face today due to low wages and inflation. People being unable to afford simple life necessities can certainly not afford to keep the pets they once cared for. It’s horribly tragic, and pets are now suffering the consequences.
Actually, the number of euthanized animals annually has plummeted from like 20+ million a year 50 years ago to close to the 1-3 million iirc. The problem has gone down despite increasing inequity
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I don’t think that’s it actually. There are fewer animals abandoned because of greater awareness of spaying and neutering and also more charities dedicated to moving pets around the USA. Traditionally, a lot of animals were killed down south, where strays are more of an issue. Now people pay to ship the animals up north where there’s demand.
It’s also due to increased efforts to get people to spay and neuter their pets, including reduced cost and free sterilization programs.
And the time commitment. I have been having to work more time than ever before just to maintain. I would love to have a dog but I know I don’t have the time to properly care for one
I have always had a cat for my entire life. I can’t imagine not having a cat. I just can’t. But I have to admit, it’s getting a lot more expensive to have a cat, wtf. Between cat litter and food, my expenses have exploded, but my pay hasn’t. That’s a problem.
A friendly reminder to “adopt don’t shop!” My wife and I just adopted a dog a few weeks ago (sadly, we had to put down one of our dogs a few months back)
I agree with you 100% but even adoption has been corrupted. Go to petfinder.com and search for a doodle. You will instantly see a bunch of puppies that are clearly from the same litter with an “adoption fee” of $800. I recently learned it’s called “retail rescue”.
We need to start heavily regulating breeders and educating the public.
Most people really need to stop getting their hearts set on a specific breed when adopting. I constantly see posts of people rehoming dogs because they can’t keep up with them or meet their needs. Like, yeah, maybe instead of adopting a 1 year old Aussie, you should’ve gotten a 5 year old chihuahua if you’re not the kind of person who runs and does agility and shit.
Also, I had a labradoodle who was rescued (as a 7 year old) from a puppy mill, which is where pretty much all doodles come from now. He shed like a motherfucker, was absolutely not hypoallergenic, and cost a ton of time and money in grooming bills. He was also the single most anxious dog I’ve ever had. We adored him but they’re not some magical perfect breed. (We didn’t seek one out, my parents just fell in love when I was fostering him.)
You kind of made your own point against your argument in the first paragraph. There are different traits to different breeds, and that is a fact. I would never get an Australian Shepherd (or any shepherd) because they simply have higher energy and exercise needs than most other dogs do. So I insist on getting a breed with lower exercise requirements.
The point is: breed matters. Environment and training matter, but so does the breed. Get one that suits your lifestyle.
The thing about most shelters is they are filled with mutts. Yes, breeds have traits. But with mutts, visual breed identification is notoriously difficult. Best to go to a shelter and meet with a dog to feel it out.
And don’t believe whatever label they slap on it. They are guessing (no fault on them, they gotta write something down). My recent adoption was labeled as a high-energy breed and he’s pretty chill. I almost skipped over him because I was afraid I couldn’t handle the breed that they thought he was/what he looked like.
Oh I know. I also know that it’s popular to call everything a lab mix if it looks like it might have any pitbull in it. Improves the chance of adoption.
I’m not anti-pit, by the way. I just know that you can’t trust what the shelters say.
That’s why you go to a local shelter or through a legit nonprofit. My poor guy was a stray abandoned in a park and cops took him to the SPCA :(
But yeah, that just sounds like backyard breeding with extra step
Same goes for children, too!
I don’t expect this to be a popular opinion, but by all means, adopt the pets created by unethical breeders instead of buying ones from breeders who are ethical, cautious, involved, and caring.
All these people who are vehemently “adopt, don’t shop” never like to have it pointed out that they are adopting puppy mill dogs who need to be rescued. Those dogs do need to be rescued, but we should support good breeding practices at the same time. Responsible breeders should not be lumped in with the puppy mill trash. They should be what we aspire the future of dog breeding (and buying/adopting) to be.
This argument pretends that you can’t support shutting down the mills while adopting. It also ignores the stray population and revoking of adult dogs, which is the biggest burden on shelters.
No. My argument is exactly that you should support adopting dogs while better enforcing laws against puppy mills.
Those edge cases that you mentioned are the ones that shelters should be there for (those revoked adult dogs usually didn’t come from proper breeders).
I think a lot of people got pets during covid and are now dumping them.
That’s certainly been the case here. Shelters are overwhelmed with dogs who were never properly trained or socialized, which in turn means it takes longer to get them adopted because they need extensive (re)training.
FWIW, this is anecdotal evidence based on my recent adoption but in chatting with staff, that wave is largely over.
My equivalent of doomscrolling is going to animal shelter websites in the region and looking at all the doggies I can’t adopt (we already have two).
Thankfully, the shelter in this county is a no-kill shelter. But they are definitely overwhelmed.
Tax the puppies and kittens!
