Looking to adopt a dog or cat and prefer purebreds over mongrels? As a person who only adopts mongrel dogs, I don't have a problem with people owning purebreds in itself, but people who are like purebreds must be aware of the real issues are when buying purebreds, and how to be responsible in future when buying a purebred.
So here are some points to consider when adopting a purebred:
1) There are many irresponsible breeders who keep the parents dogs in horrible conditions and force them to mate continuously to increase profit. But it does not mean all breeders are irresponsible. I personally know a ex-Shih Tzu breeder who kept the dogs very well. But if you buy a pet from a shop, there is no way for you to determine if the breeder is responsible as no pet shop will give you the contacts of their breeders. The best way is look for a breeder through newspaper/online, etc instead of buying from a shop. Then ask the breeder to let you visit to see how the parent dogs are kept. If they refuse to do so, this is a BIG RED FLAG that you should NOT be buying from him/her as they are probably not keeping the parent dogs well.
2) Even if you adopt a purebred from a responsible breeder, this is still encouraging further breeding of dogs, whereas there one look at Petfinder.my shows you that there are over 4000 dogs up for adoption, and many more perfectly adoptable strays on the street available for free apart from their medical and food expenses. Rescuers discourage purebred adoption because it makes little sense that while there are so many dogs looking for a home, people are breeding more dogs for profit. Some people also dump purebreds at shelters, so if you really want a purebred, try looking there first rather than buying and encouraging more unnecessary breeding.
3) Some people prefer certain breeds because their behaviour is more predictable than a mongrel and they want a dog breed with a behaviour that suits their lifestyle. If this is so, it makes just as much sense to adopt a dog from an independant rescuer or shelter with volunteers who knows each dog, because since they care for the dogs directly, they can tell you everything about the dogs' behaviour. Most rescuers will not lie to you just to get you to adopt a dog, because they want to reduce the chances of adopters dumping or returning the dogs. Unlike dog breeders and pet shops owners who only want your money.
In any case, please know what kind of dog you want and research ther BEHAVIOUR rather than adopting solely because of breed, how cute they look, etc. Many purebreds have specific health problems and behavioural traits that you might find much and decide you don't want them anymore later on. Then you because one of the irrresponsible ones dumping their heartbroken and confused dog on someone else because you were too lazy to do your homework.
Hope my short article helps to encourage us all to be more responsible and sustainable when choosing a pet. :)
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