Pet Adoption Vs. Shopping: The Advantages of Each

If you’re thinking about buying or adopting a dog and making them the newest member of your family, congratulations! Dogs are truly wonderful animals and your life will be better for having a dog in it. Sure, there will be times when they’re a lot of work and drive you crazy, but the good times definitely outweigh the bad ones. 

One of the biggest dilemmas that people go through when considering a dog is adoption vs. shopping. Essentially, it comes down to whether you want to buy a dog from a dog breeder or do you want to rescue a dog from an animal shelter. Deciding between these two options isn’t always easy, especially if you have a specific dog breed in mind. If you’re struggling to decide which route is better for you, you’ve come to the right place. 

1. What’s the Difference Between Dog Adoption Vs. Shopping? 
2. Advantages of Adoption 
3. Advantages of Shopping 
4. Is One Option Better Than the Other? 
5. Conclusion

What’s the Difference Between Dog Adoption Vs. Shopping? 

Adopting a Dog 

When you adopt a dog, you go to a pet rescue shelter or dog pound, find a dog that you like, and adopt it. The process is usually fairly straightforward and simple, depending on what type of facility you go to, and it usually goes something like this. 

1. Once you’ve selected the pet you want to adopt, click on their picture and fill out the adoption application. 
2. Set up a meet-and-greet day to meet your potential pet. During this time, your application will get reviewed to make sure you’re a good fit for your future pet. 
3. Most shelters charge a $50 to $200 adoption fee to cover the costs of spaying, neutering, food, and shelter during their stay. However, this cost is very minimal in comparison to what it actually cost the shelter to care for your dog or cat. 
4. Once the application is approved and the fee is paid, it’s time to take your pet home and fall in love with them for good!  
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While there are many advantages to adopting a dog or cat, the main one is that you’re saving its life. On average, Texas euthanizes around 100,000 dogs every year in rescue shelters. Together, with your help and the help of shelters around the state, our goal at GoodCharlie Energy is to make Texas a no-kill state. 

Buying a Dog

If you decide to buy a dog, you’ll likely do just as much if not more research than you would do with adopting one. When people buy dogs rather than adopt, it’s usually because they have a particular breed in mind, or because they want to buy a puppy. It’s possible to find puppies at rescue shelters, but most dogs get sent there as young adults because families can’t handle them. 

Buying a dog is usually more expensive than adoption, especially if you go after a special breed. However, it’s important to do your research to ensure you don’t buy a dog from a puppy mill. Puppy mills are dog breeding operations where little to no care is given to the dogs on-site, and female dogs are kept only for breeding purposes. Once they can no longer breed, they’re usually put down. 

Advantages of Adoption 

Now that you have a decent idea of what the adoption process looks like, let’s weigh its pros and cons. 

You’ll be saving the life of not one, but two dogs. The life of the dog you adopted, and the life of a new dog that can move into the shelter because you just freed up extra space. 

• The pet you get will already be spayed or neutered which saves you the money 
• Many shelter dogs are already potty trained 
• You’ll save hundreds if not thousands of dollars by adopting a dog or cat rather than buying one from a breeder 
• There are more breeds and ages to choose from at rescue shelters 
• Just because an animal is at a shelter doesn’t mean they’re bad or poorly behaved 
• You’re giving a dog or cat a second chance at life, even though they didn’t deserve to be at a shelter in the first place 
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Advantages of Shopping 

If you’re not sure whether or not adoption is the route you want to do, here are the advantages of shopping around. We always recommend adopting a dog vs shopping, there are thousands of dogs and cats in shelters that are in need of a loving home, and we believe you will be able to find the pet you want with adopting. 

You’ll have more options in regards to breed. But if you look and call around, a lot of times you will be able to find the breed you are looking for with adoption.

• You’re guaranteed to get a dog with pure bloodlines of your choosing. 
• Most breeders are cat or puppy mills and many are responsible, loving caretakers. 
• You’ll know exactly where your dog came from, what their background is, and their medical history. 

The biggest advantage of buying a dog is that you can find the exact breed that you want. While you might be able to find the exact breed and age of dog you’re looking for at a rescue shelter, it may take slightly longer to find. 

Is One Option Better Than the Other? 

When it comes right down to it, pet adoption is one of the best and most noble things you can do as a human. When you adopt a pet from a rescue shelter, you’re giving that dog a chance to find the loving home that all dogs deserve. Adopting a dog will also remove the idea from your head that only bad dogs end up at rescue shelters. This idea couldn’t be further from the truth! Most of the time, dogs end up in rescue shelters due to no fault of their own. Rather, their original owners simply got tired of them or couldn’t afford to care for them properly. 

It also isn’t true that special breeds such as German Shepherds, Labradoodles, Rottweilers, and others can’t be found at rescue shelters. With a little research and patience, you can find nearly any dog breed of your liking at a rescue shelter, and for a fraction of the price! 

To be clear, there isn’t anything wrong with buying a dog or puppy from a breeder, there are just more rewards and benefits when you make the choice to adopt. 

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it’s entirely up to you as to which route you go. There are plenty of advantages to both buying and adopting dogs and cats. The main thing is that you’ll end up with a new family member and your life will be better for it.