blogONEAs some of you know, my dog is old (should be reaching 13 this year)…and we don’t know how long he’ll exactly hold out. All I can say is that when he DOES go, he WILL be missed — we always speak of how we’d finally be able to take a REAL family vacation somewhere, since there wouldn’t be a dog at home requiring aid, but now that we think about it more…we definitely see the benefits of having a dog at home all the time. Yes, it does seem kind of bad talking about how what we’d do when our current dog passes on, but just wait to see where I’m getting at.
It’s common to see people buying puppies from pet-stores — it’s a little bit less common hearing of people buying puppies from puppy mills. Well… “what exactly are puppy mills?” you might ask. A puppy mill is a place that breeds dogs specifically to produce puppies for sale and profit — most, if not all, mill owners (besides performing something illegal) do not provide the necessary shots and care for these dogs. It would also be rare to find a mill that also certifies these dogs, it’s also rare to find a pet store that certifies them too.
Just because you are dishing out thousands upon thousands of dollars on a puppy at a pet store does not necessarily mean that your new dog is healthy — pet stores may neglect providing the required medical attention (ie. shots, pills, check-ups etc.). You are also not guaranteed to have a real pure-bred, or even a certified dog. Anyway, moving on from that…what is my point?
My dad and I were at PJ’s in STC on Sunday, and were discussed where we’d obtain our next dog, when ours passed on. We both agreed that we would prefer to rescue a dog — we’d go to the Humane Society and adopt a dog from there (sometimes a small fee), or take one off the hands of friends/family (acquaintances etc)…but we would NOT pay for one at a pet store, classified ad or puppy mill. A lot of people go crazy about getting an animal [and pay a lot of money for them], but when they finally get one and have to actually start taking care of it (or when shit starts flying), some choose to give the animal up. Animal shelters are constantly filling up to the brim with cases like these and need help!
My dad and I have decided to take the rescue route (I wonder about my mom, haha 
)…how about the rest of you?
