Why To Adopt From An Animal Shelter

There are so many reasons to buy from an animal shelter versus going to the various internet sites out there targeted to help you find a breeder, or a new addition to the family such as Kijiji, Craigslist, Facebook or the many other sites that I failed to mention. There are so many other sites out there listing reasons as to why you should adopt from an animal shelter versus buying from a breeder, but I feel this is a very important topic that although has already been brought to your attention many times I still feel like people are just not getting it, therefore are still turning their heads when it comes to going out and adopting because they would rather have a "pure breed" (pure breeds end up in shelters too, you know) or just have it as a puppy because they feel the bond will be greater if they get it as a puppy, this however is wrong.
Others feel that shelter animals are "damaged goods" for say. Which hurts me to hear actually, because no single dog is perfect, every dog I'm sure if you look has it's flaws, however most the time the reasons that dogs, cats and other animals end up in a shelter is not a fault of the animals themselves, but rather a fault of the owners.
There are a lot of reasons for animals to end up in shelters from, the previous owners moving away and not able to take their animals with them (which drives me crazy, I would NEVER move to a place that wouldn't accept my babies), to the animals being found as stray.. Which is horrific and beyond sad because that means some people were low enough to actually just toss animals away to fend for themselves, and yes these animals will probably require more socialization training and obedience than animals surrendered from previous caring homes but that does not mean the outcome will be any less rewarding. To me I would think that to rescue a stray and show him love and trust would be more rewarding than any other way of owning an animal. Other reasons may be, their owner passes away or becomes ill and unable to properly care for the animal, maybe the person has run into money problems, maybe even bankruptcy and is unable to provide proper nutrition and vet care and has been forced to turn them into the animal shelter, there are countless situations and yes there will be the animals that will come in from abuse, neglect, or maybe the owners did not understand the needs of the dog so it was uncontrollable for them but may be a perfect fit for you? An example of that would be someone taking in a high energy puppy because they thought the puppy was cute, without looking into the breed or energy level and being a relatively low energy human, the dog will become restless and bored in this environment and may act out, that may include excessive barking, destroying furniture, tugging and being very unpredictable during walks due to excess energy. Which would be a perfect fit for an active family!
So reasons to adopt rather than buy:
1. You will probably save a life.. Most shelters are high-kill which means if they are not adopted within a set time frame the dog will be euthanized. If that right there isn't enough to change your mind, continue reading...
2. The average fee to adopt is around 250$ and this includes their vet check, spray/neuter (if old enough), shots, fleas, worms and tests for conditions. So now, not only are you saving a life, you're saving money too! Think about that before you go to fork out 1,000$ on your new pure breed puppy.
3. When buying from pet stores/breeders you are supporting the mass breeding and overpopulation of animals now because if the breeders/pet stores keep selling they will keep them in stock causing more and more breedings, when a percent of those puppies sold will someday turn up in a shelter or rescue.
4. Adopting an older pet can eliminate any "surprises" your pet will already have their personality predetermined, energy level, their size, fur, vet checked everything so there is less room for error when picking the right one for you!
5. Most importantly the unconditional love your new pet will show you will be one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have. :)
A good site to help assist you in finding the perfect rescue pet for your home in your area is www.petfinder.com. Be sure to stop by and visit your local SPCA and independent rescue groups.

My Thoughts On Buying From Pet Stores.

This is a very controversial topic when dealing with animal lovers as everyone has a different idea of rather or not people should buy from pet stores. This post is my thoughts on that touchy topic.
When asked if they should go to the pet store to buy a new pet I am always kind of unsure of what to tell them because I see this topic two ways..
On one side:
This is the same argument as my parents made to me growing up when I went through the whole "I don't want to eat meat, an animal has to die"and my parents would always say "The animal is dead, it didn't die because you wanted to eat it, and if you don't eat it now you're wasting it and it died for nothing" now it don't sound like that should be the same argument as buying pets from pet stores but; hear me out. If you are one of those people that believe buying an animal from a pet store supports the animal mills and mistreated animals then, I do agree with you because if people never bought them, they wouldn't keep bringing them into stock, however those animals that are there, are either going to be there until someone buys them, or they will die and rot in that store. So in my mind, buying a pet from the pet store almost feels like I'm rescuing said animal, from the poor conditions they were kept in. Including the small improper enclosures, improper use of bedding, cedar and pine wood shavings are not good for many animals, although pet stores use them because they are good at controlling the odor of the animals, as well as repelling unwanted bugs or insects. However these shavings have potential health risks involved with using them that a lot of pet owners aren't aware of because people assume "well they use them in pet stores, so they're good" but truth is they aren't especially when it comes to the respiratory problems, such as asthma, inflammatory, allergic reactions and these can develop into pneumonia, which can very often be fatal to your pet. As well as studies have shown that housing your pets in shavings can cause dramatic changes to the liver enzymes. So with so many other better methods out there like as I use for both my ferrets and rats, just plain laid out news paper, (which is also recycling ;)) there is no reason for people to be using shavings and exposing their pets to these risks. I will never discourage buying small animals from pet stores because I think of it as saving and rescuing, however when it comes to dogs, I won't discourage it so much as I will warn, these are mill dogs, and because of that they have not been properly socialized, they probably are not in good health, they are not dogs for just anyone, even though you think it is easy to just go to the pet store and buy a dog, make sure a task like that isn't for everyone and buying from a good well known breeder is a much better method for almost everyone, unless you have the proper training, time, money, and vet care that this animal may need after taking it from the pet store, because although I still view it as a rescue it will have it's disadvantages that can be avoided by buying from a breeder.
The other side:
Simple as this: They are mill animals, kept in cruel conditions and bred for quantity not quality, mass producing, inbreeding, and buying from them does support and empower pet store owners, and the companies.
If you choose to buy from a pet store be sure to know what you are looking for, this is very important in ensuring you pick the one in the best health:
1. Check the eyes, for discharge. Check the ears, making sure they are clean. Check the nose, making sure there is no red mucus (this is not blood, but mucus, a sign of respiratory infection).
2. Check teeth, mouth and gums, you want to see a nice pink colour.
3. Beware of bald spots, sometimes with rodents bald spots simply mean they are allergic to their bedding of horrible shavings but could be a symptom for bigger problems.
4. Watch for coughing, sneezing, or shaking of the head, these are obvious signs of there being something wrong, but again it may just be the result of horrible bedding, or bigger problems.

However instead of supporting animal mills and risking health risks and heartbreak, why not go to your local animal shelter and adopt a loving animal that is has already been health checked and is in need of a loving home?
:)

Henry & Max :)

I feel my first "real" page should be dedicated to my rat babies, Henry and Max. Their my inspiration for so much that I do in life. It's hard for people to really understand what they mean to me, I mean.. Their rats, people trap them, poison them, shoot them, anything they can do to kill them, and although everytime I tell people "I have rats" the response is always the same "EW" and then I'll follow with "no no, they aren't wild, their domesticated, and extremely clean and friendly" and people laugh, and never believe me, But seriously they are.

I got Henry May 9th 2013, he's a brown and white hooded dumbo rat, at the time I got him I also got a beige albino boy whom I named Bacon and lost only 8 days later after a very costly vet trip to find out he had pneumonia (an inflammatory condition of the lungs) which when it occurs in humans is not all that major but in pet rats it is almost always fatal unless caught in the early stages, however due to these being my first rats, inexperience caused me to not see the signs, although I was told he was sick when I bought him and at that point there was nothing I could have done for him I now know what to look for when buying a rat from a pet store to help ensure they are healthy. When I asked why my rat was sick the vet told me that when buying rats and many other animals from pet stores they are not kept properly, wood shavings are NOT good for rats and almost always result in a respiratory infection if kept there for too long. I will make a post to my thoughts on pet stores and buying animals from them later.

Rats always do best in pairs so a month later on June 7th 2013 I bought my 3rd rat Max, a black and white dumbo, so that Henry was not alone. I spend almost all day with my rats, I take them with me in the car (which they love), I take them to visit my family, they get on average 8-10 hours out of their cage running free each day (rats will need at least 1-2 hours to run free, mine are just spoiled rotten). 

Rats unlike hamsters, gerbils, mice have huge personalities. Both my boys are so different when it comes to their personalities it is so cute, Henry is very laid back, yet a huge momma's boy and is nervous around strangers, and will usually hide in my shirt when faced with a new environment. While Max is so friendly and loving towards everything and everyone, my other cats, and dog included. He will go to anyone and just loves to sit on your shoulder and give kisses. 

Rats are easily litter trained, both mine are almost flawlessly litter trained with very little messes outside the box, making cleaning their cage very easy to do everyday. I lay newspapers in the bottom of the cage for easy clean up, and use "Yesterday's News" litter for their box. I wipe out the whole cage with a lysol wipe everytime to kill the bacteria, then I wipe with water and then dry before laying new newspapers down (to ensure their is no cleaner in the cage for them to lick).

Rats also can be bathed, now.. Mine probably would tell you otherwise as they HATE it, so I try not to do it if that is possible, however I have seen rats on Youtube enjoy it.

Rats are VERY intelligent, they can even learn tricks just like your dog! (I will upload a video of my Max doing some tricks soon)

Rats are very clean, and spend just as much time a day grooming as your cat does. 

TL;DR? Rats are the best. Hands down. :D

I will be posting more posts devoted so some of the points I briefly mentioned above, but if there is anything you want to see a post on, leave me a comment below :)

Meet the girl, & her purpose

My name is Erica, I'm a small island girl living in Atlantic Canada. I'm 20 years old and a student 
aspiring to become a Doctor of Veterinarymedicine. I am an animal activist and the reason I want to make this blog happen is to help people understand animals, animal behaviour, and their pets.
As an activist I understand that when it comes to animals, it is not the animal itself but rather the owner of the animal that has a problem, for this reason I believe that some breeds are not suited for everyone, yes but no single breed is "bad" it has just been raised improperly, the owner was not the dominate one and able to control the animal therefore they acted out of dominance only trying to protect their pack (you, as the owner) and hurt someone or another animal or won't listen to you.
I also have 2 male rats, whom I love as if they were my own children. I also aspire to run a rescue rehoming and taking in rats because I feel they are so underestimated, so mistreated, so I plan to provide tons of information on having rats as pets on here, as well as by sharing pictures and videos of my rats.
I have tons of experience with animals, including owning a total of a dog, 7 cats, 3 ferrets, 4 geckos, countless fish, and 2 rats, and still having all but the geckos and 3 of the cats. I spend almost every day of my live devoted to my animals and my dream of being a DVM.
This blog will be a blog providing posts on all kinds of different animals, as well as my personal pets, but also a reflection of my journey to reaching my dream of becoming a DVM, rather that be reflecting on my studies to relieve stress from the pressure, or my findings during all my volunteer work I have been doing to help build a resume. Including a lot of work with dairy cattle.
If you ever have any questions, about anything don't hesitate to comment, or email me and I will do my best to help answer your questions :).