These silky roosters are available for adoption through the Animal Rescue League of Berks County in Mohnton, PA, 610-373-8830.
When most people think of pet rescues and animal shelters, they think of dogs and cats. If they are thinking of obtaining a ferret, an iguana, or a horse, they may not even realize that adoption is still an option. My message to the public is that you can adopt any kind of pet. From hamster to cow and parrot to goat, you can find the perfect pet for your household through adoption.
Pet stores that don’t sell puppies and kittens trick us into feeling that because they don’t sell these two major types of pets, their company is ethically sound. They make it seem natural that we would buy a guinea pig that has been bred as a commodity and now is being sold as one, when many of us would never consider buying a pet store puppy.
The problem is that guinea pigs, rabbits, and rats, parakeets, cockatiels, and macaws, and iguanas, bearded dragons, and anoles, all deserve to be bred and raised, not quickly and cheaply to be sold, but carefully and humanely to become quality pets for qualified owners.
We can all avoid funding this factory-style breeding of
This rat is also available for adoption through the ARL.
pet animals by refusing to buy our pets from pet stores. Adoption is the best option, followed by purchase from a reputable breeder, who breeds to better the breed and works for quality, not quantity. An additional step, if you can find a source for your pet supplies that does not sell live animals, is to avoid patronizing these establishments entirely. The same tactics we are using to fight puppy mills need to be used to fight the other animal mills as well.
So if you are looking to adopt a special pet rather than buy, what do you do?
Your first step is the check with your local shelter. It is estimated that up to 40% of dogs in shelters are purebred, and a small number of purebred cats may be available as well. Shelters also commonly have small birds like parakeets (budgies) and finches, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, ferrets, iguanas, and more. After cats and dogs, rabbits are the third most populous in animal shelters.
Breezy is available for adoption at the ARL.
Shelters in out lying areas may also have horses, goats, chickens, potbellied pigs, ducks, and possibly even cows. Essentially any kind of animal you can legally own (and even some that legally you cannot, which is why they end up there) will arrive at your animal shelter at some point in time.
If you broaden your horizons beyond you local shelter, you are sure to find exactly what you are looking for. There are dog breed rescues placing everything from American Bulldogs to Yorkshire Terriers. Purebred cat rescues adopt out Siamese, Snowshoes, Persians, Oriental Shorthairs, and Sphynx. Your breed of choice will certainly be available.
If you contact reptile rescues, they will have boas and iguanas, and all your scaly friends. Rodent rescues will have mice and gerbils. Farm sanctuaries will have sows and cows.
Also available at the ARL, this dog was found as a stray
So where do you find these rescues? That’s the easy part. The internet has taken all the work away.
Several sites now maintain databases of adoptable pets that you can search to find exactly what you are looking for.
If you don’t have luck with those sites, try using a general search engine like Yahoo! or Google, typing in the breed or type of animal you would like to adopt, followed by the word “rescue.”
As in all situations, you will come across lots of reputable groups, but there are a few “bad apples” out there. Feel free to ask for references from the group, but more importantly, make sure they ask for references from you! You should be required to fill out an application, sign a legally binding adoption contract, accept a home inspection, and pay an adoption fee.
A good rescue keeps track of their animals for life, so that if you have any issues with your adopted pet, you have the resources available to help you. The rescue will take the animal back in cases of personal tragedy, and provide advice whenever you need it.
Before you buy that chinchilla or cockatoo, try adoption on as an option. You’ll find the perfect pet for you, and save a life!
