Veterinary Wellness Blog

Adding on to the Family

November 4, 2015

Adding a new pet to your family is an important decision.  There are many ways to acquire a new pet, be it from a rescue, a humane society or other adoption facility, or from a breeder.  But how do you know if you are working with a reputable source?  Here is a list of questions to help!

Rescues:

1.  Do they have you fill out an application.  It should look at your plans for neutering/spaying (if not already done), your knowledge about pets and their interactions, your training intentions, and what your household is like (other pets, children, adults, work schedule, activity level, etc.)  A good rescue wants to place pets in the best possible situation for the animal, so they will try to find a good fit with lifestyle and pet personality.  They may even ask for references, such as your current veterinary clinic.

2.  Do they do “meet and greets” where current pets and the new pet get to meet, or home visits to see how the pet interacts with the family?

3.  Do they work with you for training issues, behavioral issues, or offer to take the pet back if it does not work?  Again, they should have the pet’s best interest at heart, so if it does not work out, they should be willing to help make it work or find another home for the dog.

Breeders:

1.  Do they screen or test for heredity conditions?  They should know if their pets are carriers for certain diseases and take care not to breed these pets.  Blood tests, eye exams, and/or joint tests should be performed to ensure healthy parents.  Temperament should also be taken into account with breeding, and aggressive animals should not be bred.  Inbreeding and accidental breeding should be avoided as well.

2.  Breeders should not have more animals than they can care for in high quality.  Fresh water, high quality food, shelter, veterinary care, and exercise and socialization should all be attended to.  If you’re planning on keeping the pet in the house, having the animal be raised in a house is a good first step.  Having them be exposed to children, other animals, etc. is also good, but since young animal’s immune system is not fully matured, care to keep strange people and animals to a minimum should be taken.

3.  Breeding should be done with consideration for mom’s health, age, and condition.  The goal should not be as many litters as possible per year, but rather to have good, healthy litters and to allow mom to recuperate between.  Mom should not be too old nor too young.

Breeder’s should also do some of the same things as rescues, asking about owner’s expectations, lifestyle, help with behavior and training, and have some sort of return policy.

Lastly, you should check that breeder’s follow all laws for their area, all veterinarian recommendations for their animals, and whether they allow you to see where the animals are kept, etc.  If pets are purebred, do they register with their breed association?

Overall, you should make sure that you feel comfortable with the people you are working with to get the pet, and have the pet checked by your veterinarian soon after adoption to ensure they are in good health at that time.

Hopefully with these guidelines, you can find a pet that fits well with your family and comes from a reputable source!