Shelters to the Rescue

There is not always a solid understanding of what it means to buy, adopt, or rescue an animal. These words are often used and misused in the pet industry. This leads to confusion by those outside of the industry.

Buying

Buying is the idea that when you purchase a pet from a private seller or business. There is a rather straightforward process in which money is exchanged, either all at once, or in payments. The types of sellers include reputable breeders, owners, and back yard breeders. Reputable breeders only sell registered animals and breed only to better the breed. These breeders take their animals to shows to prove their worth as breeding animals. Owners contribute to the buying process when they can no longer continue to keep their pets or have a large litter of animals. Back yard breeders breed their unregistered dogs and sell the puppies or kittens to pet stores.

Adopting

Adoption is an action completed by non-profit animal shelters or charity run pet rescue groups. These groups and shelters can include kill, to non-kill. The pets are adopted out at a relatively low cost, compared to those bought from breeders or pet stores. For an animal to be adopted, a contract is usually involved, to prove commitment and further information about the animal’s new living environment. Adopters are screened and go through a process of qualifying. Adoption contracts generally require the animal to be returned to the shelter or rescue if the adopter cannot keep or take care of it.

Rescue

There are three types of rescue groups (in relation to dogs and cats).

As mentioned above, one is an adoption from a non-profit animal shelter. When the shelter euthanizes pets, an animal is truly being rescued by an adopter. Although it can be considered acceptable to use the term “rescue” when adopting from a no-kill shelter as well, it is not a true rescue in the sense of an animal being in danger or distress.

The second type of rescue is when an animal was in distress. The person who found the dog or cat will attempt to find the original owner and pay the veterinary costs. In the end, the finder will keep the dog.

The third type of rescue is when a person takes over the duties of a parent (usually the mother’s) after a litter is left on its own. This form of rescue can be expensive and hard work. When this situation arises, it is important for the rescuer to know what they are doing and accept all the professional help they can get.