Every time I see some kind of bleeding heart influencer encouraging people to take on dogs they may not know how to handle, I get a strong case of the rage. As someone who’s had and been responsible for animals since I was 7 years old, what matters more is not the sourcing of the dog, but the abilities, lifestyle and knowledge of the person who gets the dog. Here are my top five reasons why the “adopt don’t shop” mantra is a problem (for me).
One: “Adopt don’t shop” is sanctimonious dribble
The “adopt don’t shop” bumpersticker slogan is a way for pompous saints of rescue to look down upon people who’ve shelled out fat stacks to get a dog from a breeder. It is often used as an insult. Insults are put-downs. Put-downs are used to elevate the sayer by knocking the sayee down a few pegs. If the aim is to get people to rescue dogs who need it, indirectly insulting people who already have dogs they wrote checks for is not the answer.
And yes I know I just insulted the pompous saints of rescue. That’s the idea. They need to come down a little bit from their high horses.
Two: It’s needlessly binary
There are many great reasons to adopt a dog. Just as there are many great reasons to buy a dog. There is also a third option the rescue rangers seem to skip over: you can do both. Adopting and shopping have pros and cons. But the phrase “adopt don’t shop” has a connotation that it is always better to adopt.
That is false and I would argue actually makes the original problem worse which I’ll discuss further in reason three.
Three: It can replace one problem with another
Why do dogs end up in shit situations from which they need rescue? For the sake of simplicity, I’ll boil it down to the simplest of concepts: people suck and deserve to be smacked with a shovel. They’re selfish, irresponsible, short-sighted, insensitive and cruel. My two Black Mouth Curs, Daisy and Dozer, were dumped in a field when they were puppies. An adult human with a beating heart and functioning brain, took a box full of adorable puppies and abandoned them in a field.
Typically the breeds of dogs not dumped in fields are pure bred dogs that sell as puppies for thousands of dollars. When was the last time your local Facebook town page asked for people to adopt Great Dane puppies, Sheltie puppies or the much beloved but anatomically insane Frenchies? Tell me when was the last time you saw a stray Golden Retriever? Never, would be my guess.
Four: Reputable breeders and their customers (shopping) are not the problem. Irresponsible people are.
I’ve had 7 purebred dogs from three reputable breeders. The spoiling and care my dogs receive is disgusting. Without question, my dogs have better medical care than I have.
People who spend thousands on a puppy are probably in it to win it for the dog’s life. The kind of person who buys an expensive dog is not the kind of person to fail to spay or neuter the dog and then dump the puppies in a field for someone else to deal with.
Five: It’s okay to know and get what you want.
When you buy a purebred dog from a breeder, you buy traits. My Shetland Sheepdogs, for example, are smart, willing to please, affectionate, bossy, vocal and add hours to any trip I take them on because everyone wants to pet them. I know about how big they’ll be, how much hair they’ll drop, how many burrs I’ll need to pull out of their coats. Those are their breed characteristics.
Each breed has breed characteristics and to pretend otherwise is irresponsible.
It is not always easy to tell what you’ll get from a rescue dog. Puppies are impressionable in that you can start fresh. But you may not know the breeding of the dog. Does that always matter? Of course not. But to those people that it does matter, they’re allowed to select a dog that is right for them and shouldn’t be shamed for shopping.
Some dogs are “too much dog” to handle. For this reason, reputable breeders will screen possible owners and discourage or refuse to sell to the wrong person. Someone in an apartment, for example, has no business with a Border Collie. Someone who’s never had a dog before shouldn’t even go near a Belgian Malinois. For that matter, only law enforcement, military personnel, or someone competitive in Schutzhund should have a Malinois.
But often rescues are so full and desperate to “empty the shelters” they need to move dogs out, and cannot feasibly screen who a person is and what their dog background is to make sure the match is right. This isn’t the rescue’s fault. They’re overrun with dogs and are doing their best. Unfortunately, self-awareness isn’t always a trait every adopter has.
I rescued Dozer because I knew he would be challenging. He’d been available for adoption for months and the longer he went, the more aloof he was. But I had years of experience handling dogs and knew I could handle him and he’d turn out fine. And he did, relatively speaking (he and his sister have killed one of my cats, however. They’re hunting dogs, they have a prey drive).
Exceptions to every rule? Of course. But the problem isn’t people who buy expensive dogs from breeders who care about their breeds.
The problem is not shopping for dogs.
Strays, rescues, mutts and “mixed breeds” or very poorly bred aka “backyard bred” dogs, however, fill shelters all over the country. Rescues are teaming with mixes crossed with Pit Bull, Shepherd, Lab, Pyrenees, etc. These dogs are here because shitty people made shitty choices and it becomes incumbent on responsible people to clean up after them. But not all people who adopt are responsible.
If I had my way, there’d be a national list of people who, if they failed one dog, would never be allowed another. How we go about this, I’m not sure. But if I get spammed with extended warranty notices from fraudsters, you can’t tell me there’s not a way to keep a list.
We need more honesty about the stressors of pet rescue
Rescuing dogs is hard and we need to be honest about it. The “adopt don’t shop” lecturers spend too much time talking about the benefits of rescue without being honest about the risks, drawbacks, timelines and emotional rollercoasters. And so dogs are surrendered and re-surrendered over and over and over again. How many times have you seen stories of adopters returning a dog for “not acting like a dog” for example?
I posted a little diddy to my Instagram about Dozer, my second rescue dog. Here’s what I wrote:
This is Dozer. I don’t spend a lot of time talking about Dozer and Daisy because my dogs are in a caste system. I make no apologies for it, it had to happen. Daisy and Dozer are high energy hunting dogs who need to spend most of their time outside chasing things. Unlike the Shelties who wouldn’t survive in the wild more than thirty minutes. Dozer is more of what a rescue dog is like, in that it took him a long time to come around. He needed two people to get him out of his rescue situation to get him into my truck. He wouldn’t look at me for three days after I brought him home. It maybe took a week before he wagged his tail and he showed interest in wanting to be around me and the other dogs. That was two years ago. Now Dozer loves hugs. I mean he REALLY loves hugs. He is not super food motivated, he is an affection junkie. This morning as I sat in the doorway and watched the Upstairs Dogs perform their morning constitutionals, Dozer came over for a hug and snug. That’s when I took photos of this sillyhead.
Dozer is not an easy dog, he’s quite mischievous, destructive (he ruined two bras, a gun holster, my shoulder massager, and has shred countless blankets and towels) and has a very strong prey drive. But that’s not his fault. He runs crooked with his hind end tilted inward, which in the horse world we’d call “haunches in,” and has a decent underbite. But in those moments where all he wants is a huggle buggle, to melt like butter in my arms, it’s impossible not to coo all over him like he’s perfect.
I’ll never be an “adopt don’t shop” person. I’ve loved my purebred dogs so much, and I also love my rescues. I’m a fan of both. Yes, you can do both or you can pick what is right for you. Not everything needs to be a choice battle. But either way, if you choose to rescue, give it time! Dogs go through trauma like we do. They need to process, to get used to the new home, to adjust to your life. Don’t pressure them to “act like a dog.” You have the bigger brain, use it to help them.
All pets are lifelong commitments. All of them.
Pets are responsibilities. They’re responsibilities for their entire lifetimes. We shouldn’t make this a choice of adopt don’t shop, but should instead be honest about what is involved, be it cost, time, and emotions, in the 10-15+ years of caring for an animal. People should get what they can handle, what is right for their lifestyle, and not be shamed for doing so.
The real truth is that more people shouldn’t have pets. At all. Pet ownership is not for everyone nor should it be. The way “adopt don’t shop” is casually thrown around makes pet ownership more accessible with a lower initial cost, to appeal to a wider demographic of people who may or may not be ready to bring a pet into their lives.
Pets are living creatures who have everyday needs. They’re not to be put on a shelf or discarded when no longer of use. The more we’re honest about how hard it can be to take care of animals, the more we can discourage the wrong people from having pets at all.
For too many people, the mantra should instead be: Don’t adopt, don’t shop, get a succulent.
