The best place to buy your pet

The choice to get a pet is a big decision, and not one to be taken lightly, but it doesn't end there! The same care, or perhaps more, should be taken when deciding the best place to buy your pet.

26 Dec 2023 By Zahra Gaitskell Comments

The first place many people think of when buying a pet is the local pet shop. What child hasn't walked past a window of puppies or kittens, squished their face up against the glass and begged their parents to relent? However there can be a nasty underbelly to pet shops and over the years animal activists have highlighted their sometimes cruel and inadequate practices—such as supporting the puppy farm industry. As such the Victorian Labor government has said it will end the sale of dogs and cats in pet shops and only allow the stores to facilitate the sale of animals through pet rescue groups.

The RSPCA says people looking for pets should check their local RSPCA shelter or a reputable animal rescue organisation first. It says buying a kitten or puppy from a pet shop is risky as you have no information on where the animal originates and what conditions it has been kept in.

If you are looking for a particular breed of pet your first choice should be a breeder. This doesn't mean just any breeder, but one that acts with care, loves their animals and knows the breed. This will be especially important for breeds with possible health issues, for example some breeds like pugs have such short snouts that though absolutely adorable, can cause breathing issues. Make sure you do your research, get to know the breeder and find just the right fit for you!

If you don't have the resources to go through a breeder, or simply want to support a fantastic cause visiting a shelter or animal rescue group is a great place to find a pet. Shelters, especially cat shelters tend to have plenty of animals available around breeding season, and many more who have come from unfortunate circumstances. You can get kittens or puppies fully vaccinated and microchipped for relatively little cost. Even better, if you don't necessarily want a young pet (who wants to toilet train a puppy or deal with those razor sharp kitten teeth?) you can choose an older animal. The benefit of adopting an older animal is that their nature is more developed and the shelter should be able to tell you things about their personality that would be hard to determine with a baby, like how affectionate it is and how suited it is to living with children or other pets.

Your pet will be your friend, companion and cuddle buddy for years to come so do your research and make the right choice!

Where did you get your pet?

26 Dec 2023 By Zahra Gaitskell Comments

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