10 Good Reasons to Adopt a Pet

There are numerous benefits to adopting a pet. For most people, giving a defenseless animal love and protection is its own reward. However, when you adopt rather than buy a pet, you gain the peace of mind of knowing that you are saying no to cruelty to animals. You also gain its love and companionship.

  1. Emotional Health Benefits

    • Pets are good for your health. Caring for an animal gives people a sense of purpose and lessens feelings of isolation in all age groups, according to The Humane Society of the United States. Animals adopted fom shelters have often been neglected or abandoned and you have the additional satisfaction of knowing that, by caring for the aninmal, you are giving it a much-deserved fresh start in life.

    Physical Health Benefits

    • Spending time with an animal can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Physical activities, such as dog walking, and even grooming and petting, improve blood circulation and strengthen the heart.

    Companionship

    • Pets, particularly companion animals such as cats and dogs, offer unconditional love. Dogs are loyal and devoted companions and your cat's whimsical antics will put a smile on your face. Adopted animals will enjoy your companionship just as much, as rescue workers don't have the time to give them one-on-one attention while they are waiting to be homed.

    Saving A Life

    • Staff at animal shelters sometimes have to destroy healthy pets because of sheer overcrowding. You save a pet's life when you adopt it from a shelter.

    Helping Other Pets

    • When you adopt a pet from a shelter or humane society, you create a space for another animal that might otherwise be endangered or on the street, as overcrowded shelters often have to turn needy animals away.

    Preventing Cruelty

    • Puppy mills and some unscrupulous breeders put profit before their animals' welfare, according to The Humane Society Of The United States. These establishments wouldn't exist if people stopped buying the pets. By adopting instead of buying, you can be sure that your aren't inadvertently supporting cruelty to animals.

    Teaching Children Compassion and Responsibility

    • Most children love animals and looking after a pet fosters compassion toward other species. Assigning special duties to children, such as grooming or cleaning a hamster's cage, helps children to learn responsibility toward pets.

    Choice

    • Animal Shelters offer pets of all shapes, breeds, temperaments and sizes. Someone who doesn't want the hassle of house-training a puppy, for example, has plenty of adult dogs to choose from.

    Support

    • Animal sanctuaries and shelters are usually happy to give advice and tips about training and caring for your pet after you take it home. Most rescue centers will take the animal back if the adoption doesn't work out.

    Healthier Pets

    • Animals adopted from rescues and shelters are vaccinated, wormed, treated with flea prevention and spayed or neutered before being adopted. The animals often receive a general health check to rule out disease.