Pedigree prejudice?

The decision of whether or not to get a new pet is an important one, but the decision of where to get it from might be more important.

Volunteering for two weeks this Christmas at a cattery has really made me believe we, as a society, need to undergo a significant evolution in terms of how we approach buying our furry friends.

Every year, thousands of dogs and cats kept in rescue shelters are euthanised because they never manage to find a new home. At the same time, according to Government estimates, 560,000 puppies are born in the UK each year, at a minimum.

Changing attitudes

As a second year vet student with little experience as either a breeder or a dog owner, I recognise I have little position in which to tell people where to purchase their pets. But if our attitude to pet buying remains unchanged, this self-perpetuating issue will only continue – in fact, with dog and cat ownership on the rise, it might get worse.

We appear to prefer the new to the old when it comes to pets, in the same way that, given the choice, most people would opt for a brand new car over a second-hand model.

We also seem to be very blinded by the ideology of our favourite breeds. Pure-bred animals make up a very tiny percentage of shelter occupants and are also often the first to be adopted.

Domino effect

Most sheltered animals are there because their owners couldn’t cope, changed jobs, moved abroad or even passed away. The animals that never make it out of shelters aren’t necessarily aggressive, undisciplined or even unfriendly, it’s simply because they don’t match up to our idea of the perfect dog – which, to me, is truly heart breaking.

So many advantages exist to adopting from a rescue shelter, for starters you kick off a really positive domino effect by not only creating room in a shelter for another animal to be taken in, but by educating your family and friends to an option they may never have fully considered, potentially leading to more adoptions.

The process will also be less expensive than buying a pedigree puppy or kitten and you have the added bonus of knowing you are both changing and saving an animal’s life.

Happy and healthy

Even if you do decide to go with a breeder, you can still look out for animal welfare by buying from one you trust and is properly licensed.

You can help to validate the health of the puppy/kitten by asking to see the mother – if she seems happy and healthy this is a good indication of the same for her offspring – and ensuring the animal you are taking home is fully vaccinated and treated for worms.

By buying from recognised and responsible breeders, rather than puppy/kitten farms, you are still helping reduce the number of animals that needlessly end up in welfare and to move towards a future where shelters never have to put a healthy animal down.