If you have made the decision to get a pet, the only thing that is left to do is decide where to get it from.  Some of us know pet breeders or maybe we have a friend looking to find a loving home for a kitten or puppy.  Still, all too often, people go straight to the pet store to pick up a new dog or cat.  While there’s nothing inherently wrong with buying your pet at a store, there are so many great reasons to adopt a pet from an animal shelter.

1. When you adopt, you save a life.  Some estimates have between 8 and 10 million dogs and cats taken to shelters every year in the United States.  Of these animals, as many as 6 million of them may be euthanized because the shelters cannot afford to keep them and cannot find them a suitable home.
2. Animal shelters provide you with a lot of choice.  The variety of available pets at animal shelters is pretty surprising.  One reason many people go to pet stores is because they want a pure bred or because they want to pick and choose their new pet.  In fact, animal shelters often have pure bred cats and dogs as well as a wide range of breeds and mixes of any age.
3. Adopting a pet can save you hundreds of dollars.  Purchasing a puppy or kitten from a pet store can be very expensive and so adopting can save you a bundle.  Most animal shelters don’t take money for the actual pet, but you may have to pay for vaccinations, training, or other costs.

As you can see, adopting a pet from a shelter is an excellent way to expand your family.  Plus, you’ll feel good about possibly saving the life of an animal that otherwise wouldn’t experience the love associated with living with a caring family.