You are now ready to add a new member to your family. Congratulations! I know you’ve probably been to those pet stores at the mall many times and stare at those cute puppies in their cages. The best place to find a puppy is at your local animal shelter or breed rescue group. They have a large selection of purebreds, mixed breeds, large and small dogs. You’ll have many to choose from.  When you adopt from a shelter, you’ll be doing something great by providing a second chance for a dog or cat. You also will not add to the nations overpopulation problem. Did you know that about 3.7 million unwanted pets have to be euthanized each year because they could not find families to adopt them?

If you don’t find a puppy at your local animal shelter of breed rescue group you could buy one. The important thing to remember when buying a puppy is to buy from a responsible breeder that breeds and only sells well socialized puppies. Typically responsible breeders will not sell to pet stores.  Responsible breeders usually want to meet the prospective families to insure that their puppies will be raised in a good, healthy environment. Unfortunately, those cute puppies that you see at the pet stores in the mall usually come from puppy mills and are raised in inhumane conditions.

So before you buy that dog leash or pet carrier, do your homework.