All over the country, more and more animals are being thrown into animal shelters for the cruelest of reasons. One of the most common reasons for getting rid of an animal is because owners claim their dog or cat was violent. Let me be the first to give you a reality check: animals are not violent by nature. They act according to how their owner treats them.
If an animal is constantly being abused, it is only a matter of time until they attempt to defend themselves against the violence. It’s an animal’s nature to defend themselves when they feel threatened. Many dogs and cats in animal shelters have experienced cruelty, violence and neglect for the majority of their lives. Why not be the person who gives an abused animal the love they deserve and a home?
Many can argue that they rather have a puppy rather than an older dog. Their opinion isn’t wrong, dogs are cuter when they are puppies and they aren’t as likely to get sick like older dogs. However, the thing that isn’t cute about puppies are their prices.
Most pet stores sell their puppies starting at $3,000 and can go up to $9,000. While it can cost anywhere between $50.00-$150.00 to adopt a full grown dog and approximately $200.00-$500.00 to adopt a puppy from an animal shelter. Also, most pet stores that sell puppies get their puppies from puppy mills. A puppy mill is known to keep dogs in unsanitary conditions and are forced to breed with other dogs. Dogs kept here are beaten and starved. Puppy mills sell their puppies to pet stores in order to gain profit. The more people buy from pet stores that get their dogs from puppy mills, the more money they make. So why would you spend so much money on a puppy who most likely came from a puppy mill rather than giving a dog from a shelter a good home? You might as well be throwing away money and giving abusive institutions like puppy mills more profit.
There are many dogs and cats waiting to be adopted by good owners at animal shelters. There are some owners who throw dogs into animal shelters because they don’t want them due to birth defects. Owners who only have dogs to enter them into dog shows need to have what they believe to be the “perfect breed of dog.” Therefore, many dogs with birth defects are unfortunately abandoned and left at animal shelters.
Be the person who makes a difference and gives an abused and neglected animal a home and a loving family every pet deserves. These animals are homeless and have faced adversity throughout their lives. They smile every time a person comes to visit the animal shelter because they have hope that maybe one day they will be fortunate enough to have someone love them unconditionally.
If you want to make a difference in an animal’s life, here are some local animal shelters:
Nassau County:
The Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter
The Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter
Staten Island:
Queens:
Brooklyn:
Manhattan: