Where to Find a Puppy to Adopt
If you are planning on adopting a puppy you may be wondering where to look for one. There is an abundance of places to adopt puppies if you are willing to take the time and effort to give one a home. This article will give you an overview on some of the places you can search for a puppy. Before you choose to adopt a puppy be sure you are going to be able to take care of it financially, emotionally and understand that owning a pet is a decade long (plus) commitment.
Where to Find Your New Puppy
Ask Around
Ask friends, co-workers and family if they know of anyone who has any puppies they don't want or cant take care of. Also ask these people if they know of anyone who has a puppy they don't want. If someone you do know has a puppy they are willing to adopt to you, you most likely won't have to pay an adoption fee, although you may need to get your dog spayed/neutered and brought up on shots on your own dime.
One benefit of adopting an animal from someone you know is that you will know the animals personality and background, which is a luxury not always available when adopting from a rescue or pound.
Humane Societies and Pounds
Humane societies and pounds are a great place to search for a puppy who needs a home
The difference between pounds and humane societies are that humane societies are volunteer/donation based and practice a no-kill policy which means they will keep an animal as long as it takes them to be adopted whereas pounds give animals a certain period of time to be adopted before they are euthanized.
Unfortunately there is a common misconception that animals in humane societies and pounds must have something wrong with them. However there may be many reasons they end up there such as: being a runaway, being abandoned by their owners, being surrendered for financial reasons or even simply because their owners did not realize owning a pet is such a time consuming and lifelong commitment.
Online
There are a plethora of places to find puppies online. Websites such as Craigslist and PetFinder are a great place to find puppies. Many Shelters and independent rescues list puppies on these websites and they are easily search able. Using these websites you can search for certain characteristics such as breed, age, and size.
Great webpages to find dogs up for adoption
- http://www.petfinder.com/
- http://www.petango.com/
- http://www.puppyfinder.com/
- http://www.craigslist.com/ - look in your local area in the "pets" and "free" sections
