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.

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 :)