Written by Gabby Unangst
Getting a dog can be a tough task. You need to know where you are going to get it. Craigslist can be a place you go where you pay a lot of money for a puppy or younger dog from a breeder. You could also go to an organization and get a very old dog that needs attention, or a middle-age dog that has had a rough time in their life. Or, you could find a dog at any age that has probably gone through worse times tucked up into a cage whining, barking, and howling for someone to love on them in the pound.
These are three choices one of them is bad, one is ok, and one is very good.
Worst Choice
The worst possible choice is to go to Craigslist and get a puppy from a breeder. There are many scams that are involved people get so-called parvo puppies and puppies that soon die for many reasons. Plus the over-use of the dogs who produce the puppies is just sickening. The dogs live in horrible situations and soon break families’ hearts who just paid thousands of dollars to get and save those puppies. The word thousands is a large sum of money for your puppies to die just days later. In addition to this sad news, have you heard dog-flipping? It is usually when breeders or someone else claim they need a cheap or free dog. Then someone willingly gives an innocent-looking but devious person their furry friend. Then that person either uses the dog for breeding or resells them. Do you really want to give your dollar to a person like that?
Another Choice
The next choice is ok. It is not a bad choice, but it also isn’t a great choice either. Getting a dog from an organization is a generous thing to do. But the fact is, if you want the higher breeds like Shih Tzus and Yorkies you must pay the price. The older the cheaper. There have been 4-year-old Yorkies for $150. But you can also get an older Poodle for a $100. There are a lot of options. One of the best things about this option is you know the pet’s personality and what they like and dislike. The downside is a home check. If you don’t want somebody inspecting your home then this is not a great option.
Final Choice
The last option is probably the best option. It’s going to the pound and adopting a dog. They have a wide variation of dog breeds big and small. The highest cost for a dog according to the pet nest is $250. It is a lot cheaper than $2000 for a puppy from a breeder. If you get a dog from your local pound, you are giving love to an abused and frightened dog who was probably abandoned. These dogs are deemed good enough to be fostered. But dogs at an organization usually get adopted by their fosters.
Here is a tip: the foster gets the first call on the dog. So even if everything checks out, you don’t have a guarantee of getting that dog. When you go to the pound, there are dogs from Golden Retrievers to Chihuahuas back to Yorkies. There is such a mix of ages too. You can get an 8-year-old or a 2-year-old. You can also get puppies and high-quality breeds at the pound as well.
These are all options, but I think that the pound is the way to go for a new addition to the family.
