Okay, I voted shelter...a lot of our babies have come from a shelter, and they are some of the best babies. I also have a weakness for strays...I see a kitten outside in the cold and it's comin in the house...Jeff knows this..lmao...same goes for a puppy. Anyhow...some of our "small critters" like our ferrets came from a pet store. We would strictly get those from personal breeders and/or selters if we had one close and if they weren't so dag-gum expensive! You pay $130 a Petco..or drive 500 mies to the nearest shelter then pay $250 or $300 for the critter...then the gas to get back home. I used to work in a shelter, I know they need the funds...but how much food can one kitten or one ferret really eat? The spay and neuter is donated time usually...workers here are mostly volunteers...the one's that aren't are paid by the city. Yet the dog/cat shelter close by continues to raise the prices of adoptions. It used to be $30 for a cat/kitten and $35 for a dog/puppy...now it's $60 for either. I now that covers first shot,worming and spay/neuter...but geeze...in 2 years time it pretty well doubled! Anyhow...what I'm getting at is we need more responsible pet owners so there isn't he NEED for shelters...we need to keep shelters reasonably priced...and we need more shelters! We need shelters that will take in ferrets, birds, guinea pigs, animals like tat!
Adopting pets is much better. Buying them from breeders or pet stores does not guarantee good health. Almost every pet we've ever had either showed up on our doorstep or came from the animal shelter. Pets love you so unconditionally and I think even more so with rescued pets.
I agree with cutie and ripi,animal shelters are the best place to get an animal, because most of them have been abandoned by their owner, or the owner can no longer afford to care for the dog or cat. Most of your pet stores buy from a puppy mill anyway, which sometimes aren't the best of conditions. I know of at least one here in Maryville.
I agree with Cutie. Get an animal from a shelter. They probably have had a home before and want to be at a home again. I'm afraid some pet stores might unknowingly get their animals from an breeding farm where conditions are sometimes bad and it is a business for profit.
Any animal that I see in an animal shelter or a pet store melts my heart and I would take any of them home. The only problem with pet stores is that you never know what you are getting. We bought a dog from a pet store and a month later it ended up dying from parvo. I would rather have a dog from an animal shelter. Sometimes mutts can be some of the best dogs. If you have ever been to an animal shelter they are so sad and if the dogs don't get adopted out they euthanize them.