Do You Adopt?

[Luketendo]

2 Gerbils from Pets at home.
2 cats bred from my auntie's cat, 1 cat rescued from my aunties friend. My aunties friend just keeps them for breeding and stuff and they're not kept well, my aunt doesn't approve.

 

[guppy fan]

I woudn't reccomend buying a pupy from a petstore because they often buy from pupy mills, shivers, awfle places!

 

[boxerbeth]

After being a member on a forum mainly focussing on boxer dog rescues I would personally NEVER buy a puppy, backyard breeder, store or reputable breeder. It was on the news only yesterday that the RSPCA are having to turn away up to 50 unwanted pets EVERY DAY, just because these animals don't fit into families Christmas plans, or because they're buying a nice new puppy for Christmas so that adult dog is no longer wanted.

I believe the dog I rescued (Beth) was an ex breeding dog. When we got her a year and a half ago she wouldn't back, didn't know what a toy was, wouldn't go outside for a pee on her own. Still some things upset her, long poles, the hoover, loud noises, all because of what's happened to her in the past. If more people went to rescues instead of lining breeders pockets these things would be prevented. I don't know if it's the sam ein USA but here in England some places will put a dog/cat down if it hasn't been claimed within 7 days if there's no room in a rescue. Why should an innocent animal be put to sleep because there are greedy people out there who want to churn out the puppies, regardless of what homes they're going to, just to get a few quid for themselves.

Sorry, rant over, as you can tell, I feel very strongly that more people should turn to rescues instead of going to a breeder for a new cute little puppy or kitten. Here's my rescue girl Beth, she's the most loving girl you could find, and she knows we've given her a home and there's a different kind of bond there

 

[nakomis90]

Im a mutt fan!,
All 5 of my cats rescued (including a kitten we found... in a bag)
my 2 dogs mixed breeds
and all my fish mixed breeds!
Love my mutts because they have such great personality...

 

[K.J.]

The two cats were adopted from the shelter as kittens, both young at 6-7 weeks.
The oldest dog Asia wandered onto our property. Her owners said she was 'stolen' (aka dumped) but they didn't want her back. She is perfectly trained, but not well socialized. She's never played with a toy in her life.
And the 10 week old puppy was from a breeder. Don't lecture me on buying from breeders, I've been volunteering at the shelter for a year and I've seen 1 litter of puppies - black labs.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

the RSPCA are having to turn away up to 50 unwanted pets EVERY DAY, just because these animals don't fit into families Christmas plans, or because they're buying a nice new puppy for Christmas so that adult dog is no longer wanted.

that is disgusting. what is wrong with people like that?

i still say that going to a reputable breeder for a purebred puppy (none of this designer mutt nonsense) is justifiable. i've posted my arguments previously and i'm not going to change my mind, so i agree to disagree with folks.

it's always been my impression that a lot of the dogs in breed-specific rescues suffer from genetic problems (cleft palate, hip dysplasia, epilepsy, etc.) To what degree would you guys say that this is true?

 

[boxerbeth]

Reputable breeders at least care about the pups/kittens, it's these puppy mills that are responsible for the majority of the problems. I personally would always rescue. I'm not sure about the health problems, my babe's got a grade 5 heart murmer, and problems with her legs (the vet thinks it's a growth on the spine). We didn't get her from a breed specific rescue and all we were told is that her owner had died. That I don't believe, there's too many other things that suggest otherwise.

Just read this on another forum site...

'Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,
every shelter is full - we are lost but not found,
Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare,
we hope every minute that someone will care,
They'll come to adopt us and give us the call,
"Come here, Max and Sparkie - come fetch your new ball!!
But now we sit here and think of the days
we were treated so fondly - we had cute, baby ways.
Once we were little, then we grew and we grew,
now we're no longer young and we're no longer new.

So out the back door we were thrown like the trash,
they reacted so quickly - why were they so rash?
We "jump on the children:, "don't come when they call",
we "bark when they leave us", climb over the wall.
We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,
now we suffer the consequence of the errors THEY made.
If only they'd trained us, if only we knew,
we'd have done what they asked us and worshiped them, too.
We were left in the backyard, or worse - left to roam,
now we're tired and lonely and out of a home.
They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-bye,
"Maybe someone else will give you a try."

So now here we are, all confused and alone,
in a shelter with others who long for a home.
The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,
with so many to care for, they can't stay to chat,
They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer,
we know that they wonder how long we'll be here.
We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads,
of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.
Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears,
our friends filled with emptiness, worry, and fear.

If you can't adopt us and there's no room at the Inn,
could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?
We count on your kindness each day of the year,
can you give more than hope to everyone here?
Please make a donation to pay for the heat
and help get us something special to eat.
The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,
and more of us will, if more people will give.

 

[Amunet]

We got Cid from a backyard breeder. Yes I know, shame on us, but I'm glad we did. Our Ciddy Bear is the best. I wouldn't go back to another backyard breeder again though. It's not that the person we got him from was terrible. She was just a normal woman, great home, had kids, she took really great care of her pets making sure they had their shots etc etc, but she was just in it for the money.
Whenever we decide to get a frenchie, I'll definitely be looking for a reputable breeder.
Our 2 other dogs... one ws a rescue from an animal shelter. She was my brother's dog at first. Him and his wife purchased her from an animal shelter when she was a pup. We eventually just started taking care of her b/c my bro and his wife weren't in a really great financial situation and couldn't.
The other was from a batch of puppies of a rescue that fiance's family found. When they found the mother, they found her and her lil brother on the side of the road when they were little puppies. They both were bloated from malnutrition and had an aweful skin disease that made them stink to high heaven. They were adorable though and with antibiotics, real food and some TLC they got better. They eventually gave away the male dog and kept the female. She got out of their yard one day and well.. ended up preggers. They gave away all of the puppies including our Kiwi, but the person who took her gave her back for whatever reason, so we ended up with her.
Our cat Fatty (RIP) was a rescue not from an agency though... fiance's family found her as well when she was a kitten and gave her to us.
And our other cat Stewie was from a litter from a cat fiance's sister rescued from a person's property. The mother cat was being pretty much hunted by the land owners dogs. So the land owner called fiance's sis to see if she would rescue the cat b/c it already had kittens. So she took it home, raised the kittens, gave them away, the cat got outside before she could get it fixed and got knocked up again, and yep.. that's how we got our Stewie. He's the best cat I've ever had though and spoiled rotten heh

 

[slakey]

i would adopt dogs if I was allowed. but we did rescue zeus his mum and his brothers and sisters.
got rid of him at first but I got him back I knew he was mine to keep.

 

[kribensis12]

Reputable breeders at least care about the pups/kittens, it's these puppy mills that are responsible for the majority of the problems. I personally would always rescue. I'm not sure about the health problems, my babe's got a grade 5 heart murmer, and problems with her legs (the vet thinks it's a growth on the spine). We didn't get her from a breed specific rescue and all we were told is that her owner had died. That I don't believe, there's too many other things that suggest otherwise.

Just read this on another forum site...

'Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,
every shelter is full - we are lost but not found,
Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare,
we hope every minute that someone will care,
They'll come to adopt us and give us the call,
"Come here, Max and Sparkie - come fetch your new ball!!
But now we sit here and think of the days
we were treated so fondly - we had cute, baby ways.
Once we were little, then we grew and we grew,
now we're no longer young and we're no longer new.

So out the back door we were thrown like the trash,
they reacted so quickly - why were they so rash?
We "jump on the children:, "don't come when they call",
we "bark when they leave us", climb over the wall.
We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,
now we suffer the consequence of the errors THEY made.
If only they'd trained us, if only we knew,
we'd have done what they asked us and worshiped them, too.
We were left in the backyard, or worse - left to roam,
now we're tired and lonely and out of a home.
They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-bye,
"Maybe someone else will give you a try."

So now here we are, all confused and alone,
in a shelter with others who long for a home.
The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,
with so many to care for, they can't stay to chat,
They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer,
we know that they wonder how long we'll be here.
We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads,
of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.
Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears,
our friends filled with emptiness, worry, and fear.

If you can't adopt us and there's no room at the Inn,
could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?
We count on your kindness each day of the year,
can you give more than hope to everyone here?
Please make a donation to pay for the heat
and help get us something special to eat.
The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,
and more of us will, if more people will give.

Awwwww, i almost cried!!!!!!! Trust me, i dont EVER cry! I dont have any dog's or cat's becasue my dad, older bro, older sis, little bro, adn me are allergic to long haiored animals. So i suggested short hair, but we got hard wood floors put in, and my mom said she dosent want them messing up the floor's, scrathching up the couches, or pooping on the floor! 3 years till college, cant wait to get me a irish setter . They are so pretty! If that dosent work, i want a yorkshire terrier!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I've adopted numerous fish over the years from people who didn't want them or couldn't keep them anymore, two of my most favorite fish are actually adopted (my two huge orange goldfish) and one of my common plecos is adopted as well, loads of other fish are adopted as well, like my RTBS etc.
My first and third hamsters were also adopted from people who couldn't keep them anymore.

I would definately adopt an animal if was looking for one of its type in general and had the means to keep it properly. Quite often i see animals up for adoption that i really want to take in, but i do not let myself as i know if i adopted every animal in need i would no longer have any space left in my house for myself lol .

Anyways, the large majority of my fish though have been bought from petshops or have been home bred, one of my rats was a gift while the other two i bought from a petshop (however if i had seen 2 young female rats up for adoption at the time i would properly have adopted those ones instead of buying brand new ones from the petshop).

 

[chrissaysyes]

I'm big on adopting animals. Especially dogs. My dog is a shelter pup, one of the smartest and most appreciative animals EVER. Not to mention I try and take in sick (not terminally) marine fish when I can to nurse them back and return them or sell them.

 

[Buslady]

I gotta healthy list. You can see I like rescuing when I can too. From now on turtles & tortoises are either handed to me, adopted, or bought from breeders- I try not to buy wild caught ever again. Don, Jess, Raph & Suzie are all WC turtles, and I feel sorry for them, they don't belong here but I try to give them what they need to live well.

Cats:

• Jinks: shelter adopted
• Sharkey: sis-in-law's cat until she'd realised her son was allergic

Turtles:
CA Ornate Wood turtles, aka painted wood turtles-

• Donatello: PetCo
• Jessie: PetSmart
• RaphII and Suzie: Trades for Ben & Alicia (same species as Don & Jess)
• Steve, Bender, Leo, Herbie and Squirt: Born here, from momma Jessie and daddy Donnie.

Spotted-

• Spot, trade for Bender and Leo from breeder

Reeves-

• Cody. Purchased from Chelidman, a well known breeder

Red Ears-

• Raph, Mikey,Casey, Tokka: Chinatown turtles, raised them up until their tank drain broke-all adopted to folks with ponds
  Rescues: Notch and two others, all found new homes with ponds. Notch was kept in a small tank, and she was a good 12" female with a deformed shell and shell rot. She's good now!

3-toe box-

• Lia: PetCo rescue, they handed her to me. adopted to keeper with a colony

Tortoises-

• Ben: given to me from student
• Alicia: purchased @ reptile store- the last WC bought, company for Ben.

Turtles are my first love; but the fish I've always had since a kid. I've only just got this big tank and am having a blast watching my goony convicts. My side of the family is a cat fam, so I had to have one cat, Jinks chose me- but then, 2 years later, we move into this house and here comes Sharkey cos my nephew's allergic. Sharkey and Jinks are best buddies and Sharks helped calm Jinksy down too.

 

[guppy fan]

I have a dwarf netherland rabbit that I rescued from some people who didn't want her any more. Her name is rosie because she has pink eyes. My family and I have a lasha-apso maltees mix that we got from a back yard breeder. Yes I know that wasn't the best idea, but we didn't really know any better at the time. She was a nice woman and she took very good care of her dog. We Wouldn't give up our lasha-tees for the wourld, we love him very much ! We also got a teakup shi-tzu from a renound breeder. We lover her, but she's more prone to illnesses than our mixed breed, so I think we'll stick to mixed breeds from now on. Also, after learning more about shelters and shelter animals, I think we'll adopt from now on.

 

[benniebru]

both my cats were adopted first one i found while hunting bout 7 or 8 yrs back he was a little kitten who would deff have died, i found him under a tree b/c the snow was so deep, so being the softy i am i picked him up and put him inside my coat and took him home, the second cat i got from a friends sister who let in a stray that was pregnant ,(rosco) is his name and he fetches better than my old dog use to lol great animals but a pain when im doin water changes since they are always in the way