Nowadays, a good way to start looking for a dog is the Internet. Most animal shelters and rescue groups have their own web site that shows you pictures of most of the dogs they have for adoption. You can start with search pages like Petfinder.com or 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com. The links on the right will take you there. These sites will ask you questions about the type of dog you are looking for and then narrow the search for you. You can type in your location, size, age and breed of dog, and you will be given a list of shelters and rescues that might have what your looking for. BEWARE: Many puppy mill puppies are also sold through innocent sounding newspaper ads and over the Internet. Try to go to where the puppy is being raised and see the living conditions of the house or facilities where it is being raised.

                         Puppy Mills

Thinking of buying that cute pet store puppy? Think again. That puppy most likely came from a puppy mill. Puppy mills are large, substandard breeding centers. They house dogs in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions without adequate shelter, food, water and veterinary care. The breeding stocks are bred as often as possible and spend their entire lives in cages. Once these dogs fertility wanes, they are often abandoned or killed because they are no longer profitable. By buying that puppy, you are perpetuating and supporting a cruel industry. The only way to put an end to this cruelty is to stop buying dogs from pet stores. Almost every animal at a pet store comes from a puppy mill, and pet stores selling puppies should not be patronized. For reliable information on puppy mills and the current laws in your state, go to www.stoppuppymills.org or www.nopuppymills.com. If you live in the Washington, DC area please visit www.petstorecruelty.org for information about puppy mill puppies sold in that area. There are plenty of homeless puppies at a shelter or rescue group near you. Please help put an end to these puppy mills.

                               Rescues

Most rescues will have an online application that you need to fill out first. If approved, you would then be able to meet the dog you are interested in. Fees can vary from group to group but they usually include spay or neuter cost as well as shots, microchips, heart worm and other vaccines. Most rescue groups are all volunteer and the dogs are living in temporary homes or foster homes. This is a great way to get the dogs socialized. These families really get to know the dogs and can tell you alot about their personality before you adopt them. They can also tell you if they get along with other dogs and cats and how they are with children, too. Most of these dogs come from shelters and were pulled out by the rescue volunteer before their time was up. So by adopting one of these dogs you are truly saving a life and also allowing room for another dog to be rescued from the shelter.

  There are also breed specific rescue groups for nearly every kind of dog. So, even if you really want a certain breed, you can still help save a life and get the breed of dog you want.

ATTENTION: There is an incredible number of big, black, dogs across the country that need homes. For some reason they are repeatedly passed over for lighter colored dogs. They are being euthanized in shelters at an alarming rate. Please give these beautiful black dogs a second look when searching for a companion and check out the rescue just for black dogs on the rescue groups page.

                             Shelters

  Shelters are still a good way to find a great dog. Some shelters evaluate a dog for certain personality traits and can tell you a little about the dog and maybe a little about why it ended up there. Alot of these dogs are very stressed waiting in the shelter and don’t act themselves. Sometimes, the shelter will let you take the dog for a walk  or go to a fenced in area where you can get a better idea of what the dog is like. Unless you find a no-kill shelter, these dogs truly have a time limit and unfortunately, good dogs will be euthanized simply because their time was up. Please consider checking out your local shelters. There is probably a lovable mutt there waiting for you!

   NoPuppyMills.com

Bea

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