That’s why we often recommend that anyone thinking about getting a pet might want to consider an adult pet, not one who is hard to train and seems like too much hard work.
At the same time, it is possible that if the pet is adopted very late, it would be difficult for it to accept the new owner. If the owner is tired of the animal, it can be difficult to find a new owner, especially once they are pretty muck past the age of 6.
Getting your animal from a shelter
In this current period of time, it is almost criminal to buy a pedigree puppy, when that money could be used to rescue one or more animals from a shelter. It is a sad but true fact, if you do have your eye on a designer dog or cat, chances are you will find at least a dozen of them dumped in a shelter! And thus can get one for the low price of the adoption fee, and save yourself the puppy or kitten training phase!
A lot of people who have to give up their animals for whatever reason dump them in shelters, rather than trying to find a responsible home. Still others just dump them by the side of the road, or just let them wander off.
Setting an animal free to fend for itself is the worst thing that you can do. If you have had it from when it was small, its life is at risk every moment it has to try to fend for itself, and will put the animal’s life at risk from other animals, wild animals, cars, and diseases.
continues in A Reality Check for Potential Pet Owners Part 3