| Adopting
a pet through city or county departments of Animal Regulation
or Animal Care and Control shelters is an easy, economical way
to bring a pet into your home. Unwanted, lost, stray and abandoned
animals of every shape, size, age and breed can be found at
your local shelter waiting for a good home. More than 15 million
pets end up in animal shelters each year and nearly 11 million
of those are "put to sleep." About 30 percent of these animals
are "purebreds," the majority coming from what are commonly
referred to as "backyard breeders" and the "Midwest puppy mills,"
found in Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma
and Pennsylvania.
These public shelters can't possibly place
all the animals that are found or brought to them. Even privately
funded shelters, such as local Humane Societies or SPCAs (Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), have a difficult
time finding homes and human companionship for their rescued,
unwanted animals. For example, a typical Humane Society shelter
in a major metropolitan area might house as many as 18,000
pets a year, but, on an average, can only find homes for 1,200
of them. In many of these shelters the animals are Free. In
others the shelters charge an adoption fee to cover vaccinations,
licenses (dogs only), medical exams, neutering or spaying
which can run between $35 and $100. In many cases, shelters
offer Free, discounted or low-cost services, collars and leashes
and cat carriers to qualifying senior citizens or people with
low incomes. To help you select a puppy or dog from one of
these groups, you may want to pick up a copy of The
Chosen Puppy or Secondhand Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin,
generally available at your local humane or anti-cruelty society.
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