[Animal] Shelter or store? Most Americans say no question

hosted ^ | May 12 | SUE MANNING

[JoeProBono]

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Remember that old song, "How much is that doggie in the window?" For most Americans, it seems it's no sale. More than half of people in an Associated Press-Petside.com poll said they would get their next dog or cat from a shelter, nearly seven times the number who said they would buy their next pet from a store....

[I Buried My Guns]

"...Our local shelter is really a racket and some of their practices really bother me, but that’s a topic for another day..."

Feel free to start a thread on this topic; there is a lot of interest here on that subject.

As an aside, I just got a notice from my city, Houston, that I must register my cat and pay them a fee. The ONLY way they could know I have a cat named Punkin is if my kitty kennel or Banfield told them. I am upset about that disbursement of my (and Punkin's) personal info, and ignored the notice. I refuse to give that bloated, unresponsive bureaucracy any of my money so they can promote lesbian day in the schools or some other program that is apropos of nothing.

[JoeProBono]

[VRWCmember]

There are a lot of good breed-specific rescue organizations. After we rescued our Golden (who happens to be the best dog ever) from a local shelter, MrsVRWC started getting involved with Golden Retriever Rescue of North Texas. One of the many virtues of rescue organizations is that, along with getting the dog's veterinary needs completely up to date, the rescue will profile the dog and the adoptive family to ensure that each dog is matched with the best new home possible.

This adorable little foster pup Nemo, a product of a back-yard breeder, will make a GREAT dog for some worthy family. And even though he would be rejected by the "pet stores", when he is adopted he will probably be in better overall health condition and a much better prepared family member than the "registered" dogs that you could buy from a pet store.

[justsaynomore]

I’ve never had to get a cat at a rescue - they just show up at my door LOL

[WakeUpAndVote]

I would like to have the K-9 meowwoof.

[JoeProBono]

[tgusa]

We’ve always been partial to GRs - they love kids and will put up with about anything.

[tgusa]

Nemo is ADORABLE!!

[VRWCmember]

You have no idea. Those pics don’t even come close to capturing his sweet and playful nature.

[VRWCmember]

We recently met another very sweet and likable Apollo, who at 1 year is almost a carbon copy of our 6 y/o Robbie (the best dog ever), at a picnic for foster families and volunteers. There were a couple of times that Apollo came up and hugged against me while I was sitting in a lawn chair and I had to do a double take to be sure he wasn't Robbie.

[tgusa]

Apollo looks very much like Ike, our previous GR. He sounds like a sweet guy.

[JoeProBono]

[VRWCmember]

my profile page has some pics of Robbie (the best dog ever) and Lilah (our foster failure that we decided to adopt within about five minutes of picking her up for the rescue).

[justsaynomore]

Simba, our 17 pound (probably Maine Coon) cat - who showed up at our door 4 years ago.

[justsaynomore]

Cream soda dum dum. Nom nom nom

[tgusa]

Unfortunately the pix won’t load, most likely due to our firewall. I’ll check back from my home computer later. Thanks!

[CSM]

“If I want a mutt I’ll go to a shelter. If I want a pureblood I’ll go to a reputable breeder or a rescue organization. If I want a goldfish I might go to a pet store.”

Spot on! I would never buy a puppy from the puppy mill retailers!

[magslinger]

Have you read any of Dean Koontz recent works? If you haven't, try The Darkest Evening of the Year.

Even if you don't care for Koontz' usual offerings, A Big Little Life is non-fiction about his golden retriever Trixie.

Likely you already know that Mr Koontz supports a GR rescue organiztion.

[VRWCmember]

Koontz is my favorite author. I've read all the Dean Koontz works that have been published under his own name, along with a few that were published under his pseudonyms. If I have my novels straight, Darkest Evening featured a central character who operated a GR Rescue. His latest, Breathless, also features a character who is a veterinarian that volunteers significant time and services to rescue organizations.

[magslinger]

I suspected that might be the case, but I would have hated not telling you if you didn't know.

A Big Little Life is good, but the printing is defective, it gets a little blurry towards the end.