Are you ready to adopt a new dog into your family?
There’s nothing more exciting than bringing a furry new friend home, but before that happens, you actually have to adopt one! There are lots of ways to adopt a dog, and finding the best one for you is the first step toward bringing your new friend home. Here are the most common ways to adopt a dog:
Friends or Family
When people can no longer care for a dog for whatever reason, they will often look first to their friends and family to find their dog a new home. While this is a less official way to adopt, it has its benefits because you’ll be in the know about the dog’s personality and any quirks or behavior problems they may have ahead of time. You also might be able to adopt the dog on a trial basis to see if it is a good fit. Other times, dogs, much like kids, are adopted into families as a part of new marriages or relationships.
Pet Adoption Sites
There are many different pet adoption sites out there that can connect people looking for dogs with breeders, shelters, etc. While these sites can be a good place to start, you’ll want to make sure that you do your own independent research before choosing to go through someone recommended by a pet adoption site.
Pet Stores
If you’re looking to buy a puppy, and you want a certain breed, pet stores might be your first thought. However, when it comes to pet stores, you’ll want to be careful. Not every pet store gets their puppies from reputable breeders, and if you purchase a puppy that was born into a puppy mill, your money will be contributing to breeders who misuse and mistreat their dogs.
Breeders
If you’ve got your eye on a specific breed of dog, you can better ensure that you’re adopting a dog from a reputable breeder, rather than a backyard breeder or by someone running a puppy mill, if you choose to adopt straight from the breeder. Do your research on any breeder you’re thinking of working with. Instead of searching Google for a breeder, ask your veterinarian for recommendations, or look for a breeder through a reliable, national-kennel-club-recommended site, like AKC Breeder Contacts.
Shelters
Adopting a shelter dog is one of the best methods for adopting a dog because it means saving a life. Shelters can only take care of dogs for so long, and there are an estimated 1.5 million shelter animals euthanized every year. While many shelter dogs are mixed breed, you can also find purebred dogs in shelters. Please keep in mind that some shelter dogs come from abusive or otherwise troubled backgrounds and may have physical or emotional problems as a result. Before adopting a dog with special needs, make sure that you understand and are ready to provide for those needs.
Rescue Organizations
Rescue organizations work to help homeless dogs find the right homes, and some even adopt dogs from shelters that are about to be euthanized. There are some rescue organizations that breed-specific, so if you’re looking for a certain breed, a rescue organization is a good place to start your search. In many cases, rescue organizations foster their dogs in different homes until they find permanent families for them. The benefit of this is that the foster parent can give you all of the information you need about your new dog. Another thing that you should know about rescue organizations is that, because they care so much, they are often very picky when it comes to who they allow to adopt their dogs.
For the best veterinary care for your new dog, choose The Vet Set.
Regardless of whether you choose to save a dog from a shelter or adopt a dog from a friend who can no longer take care of it, you’ll need to find the right veterinarian for your dog. Here in Carroll Gardens, there’s no better animal hospital to turn to than The Vet Set. We pride ourselves in providing the best possible care for our patients, and we offer a wide range of services to ensure that we can meet all of your dog’s needs. Contact us today to learn more.