Puppy Adoption – Think Twice When Someone Offers Free Puppies!
You have decided that you, or you and your family, should adopt a puppy as your next family pet. When he checks with local dog breeders, he is appalled to hear what they charge. You know enough to avoid pet store adoptions when dogs can come from puppy mills, but then someone says they know someone who gets rid of puppies for free… Let’s be real: we all like them a lot. And compared to what they want for purebred dogs, especially any popular puppy breed, at first glance it seems like the perfect solution for your next family pet, but is it?
In some cases getting free puppies is a smart move and you will be happy with your decision for many years to come. But the decision could also haunt you for some time if you are not careful about it. So many people are looking for small dogs for adoption that one wonders why anyone would be giving away spitzes, pugs, or shitzus. Most people who adopt a puppy aren’t necessarily looking for purebred dogs, so even those with mixed bloodlines still earn a fair dollar. And the same goes for medium-sized dogs like beagles, although the biggest demand is for smaller dogs. So why give puppies for free?
Your first concern is the animal’s health, and if you can’t figure out its lineage, you don’t know what medical characteristics and concerns are endemic to your prospective adoptee’s dog breeds. Also, has the dog been neutered or spayed? Has this cute canine been examined by a qualified, licensed vet to make sure he doesn’t have parvo, heartworm, or other common puppy diseases? Does he or she even have a flea collar? Not all puppy diseases are obvious to the untrained eye, or even to a professional without standard lab tests, etc.
Another concern when adopting a puppy is what training, if any, has been given and what socialization has been given. Are they used to children holding them and playing with them? Have you ever been involved in training puppies or educating them? Are you sure a senior dog might not be a better fit for your family, at least one old enough to have been trained?
And if you don’t know the breed of the puppy, you have to be sure of the puppy’s temperament, or what it will become as the dog matures. Do you have small children at home or do you plan to have them one day? If so, you need to make sure that the family pets and the whole family can successfully cohabit.
Yes, on the surface, free dog adoption, especially getting free puppies, seems like an ideal situation. But in truth, paying what it takes for a dog shelter or dog society adoption like an ASPCA adoption or RSPCA adoption can turn out to be much less expensive in terms of money, complaints, and time. So think twice when you are offered free puppies and consider whether you would be better off with an adoption from a humane society, and whether adopting a puppy is right for your situation or whether you should adopt an older dog.