The animal shelters and rescues in Atlantic
Canada are always all full to the brim with homeless
cats and dogs and turning more away...
Listings for Animal Rescues and Shelters by Atlantic Province:
The Maritime
Animal Rescue website showcases dogs and cats from all over
the Maritimes.
Animatch
is in Quebec but that's not too far to search for a best friend.
Especially if you happen to live in New Brunswick. They have great
policies and a great facility. Worth checking out!
Here is a Canada wide list of breed
rescue clubs
Need help with the cost of a spay
or neuter?
Tip: most shelters and rescue only post a handful of their adoptables
so if you rely solely on the web to find your next pet you may
be missing out. Be sure to phone or email the shelter of your
choice and also getting pre-screened is a very good idea. Most
of them will have an application on their website. That way they
can hopefully match you up with the right pet for your family.
Pet stores
who sell puppies and kittens, backyard breeders and puppy mills
are producing an alarming number of unwanted pets.
In addition to the cruel treatment the breeding dogs are often
subjected to, other problems attributed to the commercial breeding
and sale of pets in stores are:
- puppies and kittens taken from their mother/littermates too
early
- prospective purchasers not being properly screened
- spay/neuter agreements are not in place
These things further propagate the cycle of unwanted pets as
owners who were not prepared for the responsibility are welcome
to take whichever pet they have money to buy without thinking
out the consequences of their purchase.
There will always be shelters as sometimes there are genuine
extenuating circumstances where a pet has to be surrendered but
there should never be as many as we have now and they should never
be so full.
There is nothing wrong with purchasing a dog from a reputable
breeder, but also be aware that 25% of the dogs in shelters
are purebreds.
An adult dog (in particular a dog over 2-3 years of age) can
be a good family choice as it has already established it's personality
and there are less surprises. Do your homework, and be sure to
make the right choice for your household. Many shelters also utilize
temperament testing and the rescue use foster families so you
can eliminate a lot of guesswork.
It's kind of nice to avoid the housebreaking and chewing phases
too...
If you are thinking about entering the world of pet rescue to
work behind the scenes, please read this article
first. There are a lot of factors to consider other than just
loving animals and wanting to save them. You must feel with your
heart, but think with your head. It's not always pretty behind
the scenes...
http://www.bestfriends.org/
What
to do if you have concerns about your local animal shelter.
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