49 "My Views on Pet Adoption Stories"

I have always felt strong about pet adoption. As a matter of fact I adopted my last best friend from the Humane Society. He was my best friend for over 12 years when I finally had to put him down due to cancer. I decided then that I was never going to have another dog because it was very hard on me when his time was up and had to make that decision. I missed him and it took me a long time to get used to the fact that he was no longer around, as I know most true animal lovers do.

By the way, his name was lonesome and a mix breed of Aussie and Keeshound. A great dog and best friend. I didn’t feel I would ever be able to replace him with anything close.

The point I am getting at is the fact that people are always pushing pet adoptions and like I said before, I am all for adopting. I just feel that when they say people should adopt rather than buy from a breeder or a pet shop, they shouldn’t put it in a way that is going to guilt people into adopting or make them feel guilty for not adopting. Some people are guilted into adopting and then really are not happy with the pet they adopted for some reason or other. No one should ever adopt just so they can say “I adopted”. It has to be taken into consideration that the people might want a certain breed of pet and can’t find one of that breed that is up for adoption.

I will use myself for an example. When I decided to retire I made the decision that I wanted one last best buddy that would, more than likely, be with me for the rest of our lives. He has to be my Best Buddy because my girlfriend is my Best Friend. I was living in a trailer park at the time and there was a limit to the size of dog that was allowed in the trailer park. The limit was 14 inches. I had always wanted an Australian Shepherd. The standard Aussie is 18 to 25 inches, females being smaller than males. So, that was out of the question. I had heard a few years before that they had come up with a Mini-Aussie breed. The Mini-Aussie’s maximum height was 18 inches. I talked to the management of the trailer park and they said that as long as he/she didn’t exceed the 18 inches they would allow it. So the search was on. I did search every adoption place and rescue center on the Internet and local that I could find before I even considered going to a breeder. I really didn’t have a lot of money to spend. There were no minis to be found. So I resorted to the Internet and started searching for puppies and then for breeders.

I took a trip to Colorado to pick up my sister and then we went to Missouri to visit our dad. When I took my sister back to Colorado I thought I would start searching that area. There were no breeders of minis anywhere close to where I was. I even checked for places on the way back home to California.

I was unable to find any on this first round of searching, not even in So. Calif. With reasonable prices that is. I did find one in Tennessee but I decided that was a little too far to travel. Yes, I could have had him, it was a him, shipped to me, but I don’t think that is good for the animal plus I want to be able to see him before I make the final decision. I did find one in Arizona that I was considering going and picking him up. Then I found the breeder in Susanville, north of Sacramento, in California. The breeder had a video on their web site showing the puppies running around and playing. You can see this video if you go to my hub, “It’s Me, Harley.” The one I saw and fell in love with was Harley. I was willing to drive up there to pick him up but they informed me that they were going to be in Ridgecrest for Thanksgiving, which was less than 2 weeks away, and they would be more than happy to bring Harley down with them if I would like to meet them there. If I wanted to wait until the day after Thanksgiving, they would bring him into Anaheim since they were going to Disneyland. That would only be about 35 miles for me one way. But I decided that I would drive the 127 miles each way to be able to get Harley the night before instead of the day after. I’m glad I did, it sure made for a great Thanksgiving having Harley with me. If you read the hub mentioned above you will get the story from Harley himself about the first 6 months of his life with me.

The reason I told this story, and maybe I carried on a little too much, but I wanted you to know what I went through to have the best buddy I wanted. I didn’t go down to a pet store and pick out the first cute face, and there are a lot of them. But it isn’t always easy to get exactly what you want. I did get exactly what I wanted and really needed in my life. The perfect size, 15 inches, for where I lived, an Aussie, smart as whip and has been my Best Buddy now for over a year and a half. I picked him out from the description and his actions on the web site. They said that he talked and I found out that he does. He sometimes argues with me if I tell him to do something and he doesn’t really want to do it, but the good dog he is he always does what he is told.

Heck, look at how much time and effort I put into finding Harley, and then I put him on a puppy plan at the vet for the first year I had him.

I do feel that no one should purchase from a pet shop, dealer or even a breeder without checking them out and finding that they are reputable.

It’s just that if someone is going to get a puppy or an adult dog, just take your time and find one that is going to fit your lifestyle and don’t get one just so you can say you have a pet. Don’t ever forget that a dog or puppy has feelings too and need to be shown a lot of love and affection. I know Harley does need love and affection, actually craves it, and he returns that love and affection ten fold.

I spent the time to find exactly the Best Buddy I needed. Harley has turned out to be exactly what I wanted and he will be with me until the end.

Just, please people, if you are going to push for people to adopt, don’t lay the guilt trip on people that don’t adopt. It breaks my heart every time I see the SPCA adds on TV and they show the pets that need homes and especially the ones that have been mistreated. The ones that abuse their pets should be the ones you push the guilt on. Also, if you have a pet don’t abuse it. Love it as though it were your child and see how much you get in return.

Please, feel free to adopt, just be sure you adopt what will make you happy and that pet will make you happy in return.

Greg