Purchasing a new puppy from a pet store or bad breeder is a horrible idea. It has happened to many; they see a cute tiny puppy in a window at the mall and have to have it. That person has just contributed to the death of another shelter pet. Pet overpopulation is a major problem in this country; in fact, over six million pets are killed annually in U.S. shelters. Large puppy breeders or puppy mills like the Hart Corporation produce over three hundred thousand puppies a year. These babies are sold to pet stores all over the country.They are often sold with high price tags to the unsuspecting public. Many are sick or diseased. Companies like this breed the same females year after year until they can no longer produce and they are put to death. They live their lives in rows of cages with no human intervention. The price these moms pay to produce a puppy is their life. Another factor in overpopulation problem is irresponsible owners who do not spay or neuter or who dump animals at the shelter when they decide they don’t want them any longer or for whatever reason they make up. Many buy a puppy, not realizing
the work involved in its care. In fact, over thirty percent of shelter pets are purebred. Some even have registration papers. Shelters are full of very adoptable, love starved animals that have no one to love them. They each have a story. Some are worse than others, but they too need love and with each purchase or breeding of a new puppy, there is the death of another unloved shelter pet. For those homeless pets it is a race against time to survive.People should remember the encouraging words of Bob Barker, from The Price is Right, “Help control the pet population. Spay and neuter your pet.”
To see pets for adoption in local shelters visit http://www.needfulsouls.org
