There are hundreds if not thousands of pets in rescue centres locally that have been abandoned and are waiting for someone to take them home. So whether you are looking for a puppy or kitten, or an older pet that is already fully grown, there will be plenty to choose from in rescue centres.
These pets have already been checked by a vet, so almost all health problems will already be known. When you buy from a seller on a selling site you have no guarantee what health the pet is in and I have been made aware of cases where people have bought a kitten that has died virtually overnight and the seller did not want to know or give them a refund! Rescue Centre pets will have been neutered, vaccinated etc and all of this is included in the adoption fee. If they haven't been because they are too young, this is reflected in the adoption price and there will be a contract to neuter your pet when it comes to the right age. In most cases where an older pet already has a medical condition such as the gorgeous Bonny who is up for adoption with Thanet Cat Club, because she has daily tablets for a thyroid condition, Thanet Cat Club will pay for the medication, they just want to find her a loving home! The picture below is Bonny and she is 9 years old and up for adoption with Thanet Cat club now!
If you adopt, all of the money you donate goes back into the fund so they can afford to rescue the next animal in need! It costs on average £150 on care for each cat (figure taken from the Cats Protection Website) and most rescue centre workers are volunteers and tend to subsidise some of the care from their own pockets if there aren't enough donations.
The rescue workers will also talk you through any care advice you need about the pet you are adopting, they will do a homecheck to make sure this is the right home for your pet and make sure you are aware how big the pet will grow if it is e.g. a puppy, and if it's a good match for your family set up. You won't get this when buying from a backyard breeder.
I personally have nothing against responsible breeders who clearly love and look after their pets and some breeds are getting rarer because they aren't "popular" at the moment so are under bred. But do you need to buy a Staffy from a breeder when the rescue centres are over-run with Staffy's at the moment? TAG Pet Rescue have 6 Staffy puppies coming in this week alone!! And why fill people's pockets with money because they have a poor old moggie who they breed from time and time again because they can sell the kittens for £80 each on a selling site. It's not a specific breed, the owners have just decided its easy money for them and sadly most of the kittens end up back in a rescue centre when the owners get bored of them :( Barney in the photo below, is a 10 month old Staffy who found himself in a dog pound. His 7 days were up but luckily someone from TAG saw him and rescued him straight away. He is now available for adoption :)
So hopefully I have given you some food for thought but the decision at the end of the day, is down to you. If you can't afford to adopt at the moment, why not hand a donation in to one of your local rescue centres or their shops? Each charity or rescue centre has their own website (which I have listed under the "useful contacts" tab you will see at the top of the page). Most will accept pet food donations in their shops, as well as clothes or other un-wanted items you don't want anymore for them to sell to raise money that way. Tag Pet rescue also have a food bin in Wilkinson's in Ramsgate that you can leave food or toys to feed or entertain the pets in their care :)
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