Open Letter About Adopting Pets

Dear Future Pet Owners,

Did you know that puppy mills overbreed dogs and cause health problems for both the puppies and their parents? I am writing to you to tell you that what puppy mills and people who over-breed are doing is wrong. That they are hurting animals and why adopting animals is better than what they are doing. When people get pets, they do a few different things. You can purchase a pet from a trustworthy breeder, adopt a pet from a shelter, or sometimes, they purchase a pet from over-breeders, who force pets into breeding for profit. Adopting animals is really great for both you and your pet, while buying from over-breeders is bad for you and especially your pet. What they are doing is bad, and if people don’t stop buying animals from them, they will keep doing what they are doing.

Shopping from large breeding companies is supporting animal abuse. When animals are overbred, they are kept in dirty cages (“Stopping Puppy Mills | Humane World for Animals.”). This later causes health problems for the animal’s babies and their parents. Another factor for health problems is the fact that the animals don’t receive proper medical care when they are sick or underfed (“Stopping Puppy Mills | Humane World for Animals.”). When animals have health problems, it is sad for them but heartbreaking for the owner. Imagine you had just bought a new puppy, and two days later, you found out that it had health problems. You would be very sad, right? I don’t think I could ever handle my pet having serious health problems, and I would never want anyone to have to endure it either.

Animals in shelters need your help. Most of them have been abandoned or lost, and they need someone to take care of them. Approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized (put to sleep) per year because no one adopts them (“Pet Statistics”). Around 6.3 million animals are taken into shelters annually and need an owner; someone who can take care of them and give them some love (“Pet Statistics”). Shelters also do a lot of good, and should be supported. 90% of animals in animal shelters in Austin, TX are rescued, adopted, or returned to their owner, which is amazing (“Austin Animal Center Outcomes”). Yes, sometimes rescue animals can be skittish, but that’s only because they have endured so much. Besides, as a pet owner myself, I know that if you give an animal some love, they will love you right back. Also, yes, adopting animals does cost money, but not nearly as much as it costs to buy a pet. Anyways, when you adopt a pet, the money that you pay goes toward many necessities, such as deworming, vaccinations and a carrier for the pets.

Supporting puppy mills is contributing to animal abuse, and also many animals in shelters need help. Which is where you come in. We need your help. Don’t support animal abuse, but instead support animal shelters, where animals need homes. Buying animals from people who over breed them is supporting animal abuse, while thousands of animals in shelters die every year because no one adopts them.

Sincerely,


Harper Rosenfield, animal shelter supporter




Works Cited
“Austin Animal Center Outcomes.” Data.Gov, data.austintexas.gov, 25 March 2025, https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/austin-animal-center-outcomes.
“Pet Statistics.” ASPCA, https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics.
“Stopping Puppy Mills | Humane World for Animals.” Humane Society, https://www.humaneworld.org/en/issue/stopping-puppy-mills.