What I have come to learn in life is that the person who said, “diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” has clearly never owned a dog.
For me, my dog is my best friend. When I am home, he is always right beside me (even when I take a shower, he sits and waits outside the bathroom door). It’s not surprising to me that my dog is my best friend, because it’s in their nature. Dogs are loyal companions.
My family adopted our dog from our local animal shelter in January 2018. My mom and I had been volunteering at the shelter for a couple of months before we decided to adopt.
How we waited that long, I don’t know!
During our time at the shelter, is was incredibly sad to see the number of dogs that were there to live their lives in cages. From strays to owner surrenders, each one had their own story. To come back week after week and see the same dogs waiting to find their forever home was heartbreaking. Even volunteer favorites were passed over due to size, breed or just the misfortune of having their cage located in a poor area.
My time at the shelter really opened my eyes to the kind of lives animals without homes live. I know that the puppies in the mall are super cute but before spending a $1,000 on a puppy go to a local shelter and consider adoption. My family paid $70 in adoption fees and it was the best decision we ever made.
Now, without ranting about the horrors of puppy mills, I will simply say that, essentially, the more we support the private “adoption” industry, the more we support puppy mills.
I understand that owning a pet is a big decision and time commitment, but let’s not also make it a big expense. Next time you are walking in the mall and see the cute puppies in the window, don’t go in and adopt one. Instead, go to your local animal shelter and adopt, and if you can’t adopt, become a volunteer and bring a little joy into the lives of these dogs waiting to find their forever homes.
Gifs courtesy of giphy.com