I absolutely agree with this. So much so I am going to steal this forum for a moment to write what is essentially a non review, but something that I hope will do some good.

I've been asked to help find a home for a dog in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. They call him Dan and he is a Great Dane/Rotweiler mix, probably somewhere between 1 and 2 years old. He's a good natured dog, leash trained and house trained, and would best be an inside dog. He has been declawed, nuetered, and is up to date on his shots. I've been told to emphasize HE DOES NOT LIKE CATS. However, there is no indication he wouldn't get along with other dogs.

Dan is at the Horseshoe Bend Animal Control Shelter. They can only keep animals a certain amount of time before they have to be put down and Dan's time is running short. You can email them at sillysetters1@aol.com or call (870) 670-4664. It costs $50 to adopt a dog from this shelter. If you need help you can contact me through this site and I'll pass anything along or do what I can to help.

Horseshoe Bend is about halfway between Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee, so if you know anyone in that area that might be interested, pass this along to them.

You can see pictures and a video of Dan here.

http://www.adoptapet.com/pet2782211.html

Yes, I'm bumping. Yes, I'm hoping more people see this.

Adopting is good but if you want a pure bred do your homework and go to a responsible breeder who truely cares about the breed and can help educate you further on the breed. The puppy mills that supply dogs to the pet stores are only in it for the money. They never do health checks or pedigree research to see if the cross they are making is going to better the breed. Most of these puppy mill bred dogs end up in the shelter or parents of mixed breeds. Back yard breeders are either small versions of puppy mills or just don't know better. Ask tons of questions and if the breeder resents this then move on, if in return they ask you lots of questions you are headed the right direction.

Always the best option, I appreciate the fact that the one I have adopted from practiced early spay/neuter.

lollypop farm is your friend! (you will not understand that unless you live in Upstate NY)

this is the best idea. i find it so sad and depressing to look at the puppys in a pet store. you want to save them from their conditions, but at the same time know that buying the dog means you are supporting the system of puppy mills. shelters are the best option, its especially important to find out a shelter's policy on putting down dogs if they run out of room. If a shelter is like that, then you could be saving a dogs life.

I live close to an animal shelter and on still nights I can hear the distant barking of a hundred miserable, lonely, abandoned dogs. It's sad. Really, adopting from a shelter is an excellent idea.

The shelter is absoloutely the best way to get a dog or cat. Get a certain breed and you will be paying a lot of money for it and may face future disorders of the breed, like hip dysplaysia in Labrador retrievers and respiratory diseases in pugs. Get a puppy from the pet store and you are at the risk of supporting a puppy mill. Who needs all that trouble? Adopt a dog. Save a life.

Its good and dandy to talk about adopting dogs from shelters but what on the subject of birds? I guess you could try adopting but a parrot is much more emotionally complex then say a dog or a cat and can be pretty difficult to deal with unless you get it some kind of psychiatric help (believe me, I'v seen this kind of thing.) If you want to get a parrot get it from a breeder, never a pet store (sometimes a shelter) Parrots from pet store come from cruel bird mills and adoptible birds are most of the time emotionally or phisycally hurt, but I have seen many bird owners who just had to give up their pet. In this kind of case, I would suggest adoption. Breeders should be looked into just in case their methods are cruel in which case they should not be purchased from.

I wish you would label this Animal Issues instead of Animal Rights. Animals don't have rights per se, in the Constitution. We need to focus on proper humane treatment, not on legalities.

every cat i've ever gotten i've gotten from a shelter or a private owner.

My family got our cat at a shelter and he is the sweetest and cutest cat. The people there said that he had been there for a while and that if no one came that he would have been put to sleep. I am so glad that we gave him another chance at life.

Unless you're looking for a specific breed adopting from a shelter is the way to go. Most people who have children adopt a young animal and that is understandable as they all grow up together. I have no children so if the time ever comes that I adopt a pet I'd prefer an older animal.

There are shelters and animal rescue groups all over the place with several animals who need a loving home. The older the animal is, the harder it is to get them adopted, too, so I would encourage people to consider animals that aren't necessarily babies as well.

I volunteered at a adopt a pet shelter and it was heartbreaking to see hundreds of homeless dogs and cats. The great thing is shelters do not kill the animal, unfortunately the pound does.

I got my calico cat, Cassie, from the animal shelter. I 'm so glad I adopted her because she is affectionate and amusing and has brought me a lot of joy.

Millions of dogs and cats die each year because people breed or go to pet stores. When you're looking for a new dog, consider the shelter. They take in new dogs every day, which means the others have to be put to sleep because there is no room. There are so many unwanted dogs, young and old, looking for a chance to live. You could give one of them that chance.

YES! This is the best place to go. This is where are got my cat. It was hard to pick him. He was climbing up the cage, reaching his paw out. How could anyone say no to that?

Purebreed pets of any kind often come with all kinds of problems because of the narrow breeding pool. This is just short of inbreeding and causes all kinds of defects. I read somewhere that 1 in 9 dalmations is deaf because of this. Also, muts often offer the best pets anyway. I would buy from a shleter and keep a dog from being put to sleep.

This makes some sense because I hear that the pets in pet stores are bred in puppy mills. I got my Lulu (click on my user name for her picture) at a Miniature Schnauzer breeder. However, it would be a great idea to adopt from a shelter... I think I might just do that...