Help keep One Green Planet free and independent! Together we can ensure our platform remains a hub for empowering ideas committed to fighting for a sustainable, healthy, and compassionate world. Please support us in keeping our mission strong.
It’s one thing to be an animal lover; it’s entirely another to be conscious of what that love means. The feeling of holding your newborn ball of fluff for the first time is amazing, but it’s easy to be so enamored that you forget to ask what his life was like before you. Below are five things that animal lovers don’t do, from the favoring of our littlest friends to the patronage of companies who have failed them.
1. Stick to the Purebreds
The popularity of events like dog shows has propagated the trend of animal owners placing physical appearance ahead of health concerns. Purebred animals often appear to have all the ideal proportions in all the perfect places while underneath, practices such as inbreeding and line-breeding have taken a toll. There is an abundance of issues that stem straight from the small gene pools that human beings have manipulated in dogs; 60 percent of golden retrievers will die of cancer before they turn eight. If only so that you can keep your pet around longer, opt for a canine of mixed heritage.
2. Invest in Pet Store Pups
The only contribution we’re making when we buy a puppy from a pet store is toward the span of the owner’s wallet. Unfortunately, the majority of pet store puppies originate from puppy mills, or farms where the dogs are bred in mass quantities with no regard for their health or well-being. Late last year, the ASPCA began a campaign simply called “No Pet Store Puppies,” to discourage the 88 million people who planned to purchase a gift for a pet that December from doing so at a pet store, where the money would go to Support cheap mass breeding. An alternative that you can feel good about is to adopt from a shelter, where thousands of animals who deserve good homes await. Your chosen canine might not be a spring pup, but let’s be honest: she’ll always be your baby.
3. Favor the Babies
Speaking of babies, let’s tackle the ever-present conundrum of the small, poorly coordinated animal effect: there’s no denying what the presence of a fluffy, tiny, feather-soft baby will do to our eyes and hearts. However, there’s another sight that will have effects on our eyes and hearts, and that is the sight of an all grown-up animal alone and caged ‘til what could be the end of its days. It’s easy to tell ourselves that someone else will pick up that seven-year-old sheltie or 12-year-old pug, but the truth is that we can’t know unless we’re the ones to give it the home it deserves. So when you’re in the market, instead of making best friends with Kate the shelter receptionist so that you’ll be the first to hear when a new little one arrives, take a trip and get hands-on with the animals who need it most. Chances are you’ll end up bonding with someone whose life you’ll save, and there’s no better feeling.
4. Take On the Responsibility Before Being Truly Ready
Animals are known for guiding us; facilitating our journeys through difficult times. Unfortunately, the periods in life that we need Support the most are also likely the times that we’re most unfit to be the guardians they deserve. As tough as it is, often the best decision you can make for an animal is to wait until you’re at a very stable point in life prior to taking on that responsibility. A better alternative would be to look to the future positively, using that dream as galvanization to reach a point that you’ll be more than ready for a dependent.
5. Buy Pets During the Holidays
Despite a myriad of heart-warming vids on YouTube documenting the “Christmas Puppy Effect,” these animals have the highest chance of being given away either after the holiday season or once they’re no longer tiny enough to fit in the palm of a hand. As exciting as it is, you’re doing no one any favors when you stick that chihuahua in a shiny red box on Christmas Eve – it’s true that festivities make our hearts grow two times as big and we’re often blinded to the reality of our situations in those months. If you have the pet itch, take several months to think on it, and if you ever feel the urge to impulse buy, know that most animals who end up in shelters don’t make it out.
Image source: Clevergrrrl / Flickr
While I agree with many points here, it should be noted that the fact about Golden Retrievers is incorrect. While 60% of them do die from cancer, they still have an average life span of 10 – 12 years, and I could not no evidence to validate that most of them die before the age of 8 (even checking the website the author linked to). Please make sure that the information you\’re using is correct – the more incorrect it is, the more likely people will continue to dismiss valid arguments.
To further your point… Mixed breed dogs can pass for a slew of reasons. One positive of seeking out a purpose-bred dog is with a great breeder you can have a greater assurance of getting a healthy dog. I have a rescue, likely of puppymill stock and he is very likely to pass for some reason due to his poor breeding. That is part of the reality of adopting a rescue dog of unknown parentage. I\’ve accepted this fact but to pretend that mixed breed dogs of unknown will always be healthier than purpose-bred dogs that are selected for health status is a ruse.