Looking to buy a new pet for yourself, a friend or your family? Before you visit the local pet store or breeder (professional or backyard) please consider adopting one of the many homeless animals from the DelMarVa Region’s animal control centers, animal shelters or pet rescues. And, in case you didn’t know…adopting a “best friend” from a shelter or rescue is much more affordable than buying one from a breeder or pet shop! Adoption fees for cats and dogs can run anywhere from $50. to $100.
Adopt a Shelter or Rescue Pet
“Adopt, Don’t Shop”
Which typically includes the necessary shots, spaying or neutering, microchipping, as well as future health check-ups. Prices for small animal adoption fees are as low as $5.00. You won’t get this kind of deal from a pet store or breeder. On a side note, be careful when buying a puppy from a pet store or online. Many of these animals have come from puppy mills and have numerous health problems. (Read more about the horrors of puppy mills on the ASPCA’s website).
Adopting is more humane than buying!
As we have mentioned on our “About Us” page, the primary mission of MarylandPet.com is to support and promote the state’s animal welfare organizations. According to the advocacy group, Save Maryland Pets, 96,000 cats and dogs enter Maryland shelters yearly. Fifty percent never make it out of the shelter. As many as 45,000 cats and dogs die in Maryland shelters every year at a price of $8 to 9 million dollars per year. With cost effective spay and neuter programs and statewide humane education, these numbers can be dramatically reduced.
Shelters and animal control facilities
Shelters and animal control facilities offer mixed breed as well as pure-bred dogs and cats, while animal rescues usually specialize in animal type (dogs, cats, birds, farm animals, horses, reptiles, guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets and other small animals) or animal breed (primarily dog or cat breeds). In fact, many rescue groups actively visit kill shelters (as well as no-kill shelters) on a weekly basis to save animals who have been issued a “death warrant”. Unfortunately, many of these public shelters can only keep lost or abandoned animals for a short period…sometimes only 4 days! A sad, but true fact. So many of these unlucky animals have been family pets for years, only to be displaced by an owner’s death, home foreclosure, or other unfortunate circumstance.
Others, have never known the love of a human – born on the street, only to euthanized, alone and scared, before even reaching adulthood. For this reason, we ask that you please give these innocent creatures a fighting chance to find love and kindness again.
MarylandPet.com is a staunch advocate of the PetFinder Foundation, whose mission is “to help ensure that no adoptable pet is euthanized for lack of a good home”. Check our website’s adoptable pet pages featuring birds, cats, dogs, farm animals, horses, pigs, pocket pets, rabbits, and reptiles, all courtesy of the PetFinder.com organization. Founded in 1996, Petfinder houses and offers access to the largest database of homeless pets on the internet, featuring hundreds of thousands of adoptable pets at more than 13,500 animal welfare organizations nationwide.
PetfFinder’s large database allows visitors to search for pets by animal type, breed, age, gender, state and zip code! Our site’s PetFinder pages lists animals in Maryland, but if you can’t find what your looking for, check for your new “best friend” in the neighboring states. And, if you manage a shelter or pet rescue group and are not yet a member of PetFinder we urge you to sign up today! It’s a great way to get the word out to millions of prospective pet parents! Click here to register your organization today!
Local shelters and rescue groups may also list their organization and all fundraising events FREE OF CHARGE on the new Maryland Pet Guide which lists businesses (for-profit and non-profit) and pets events by category and Maryland Region. Non-profits may click here to register for a free a account.