You may be thinking about adopting a dog as a family pet. There are many ways to go about this, including finding a breeder in your area, going to your local pet store, or visiting a rescue facility where dogs are waiting to be adopted into a family. This decision is an important one, so I will go into more details on each of these options.

You may have a breed in mind based on your previous experience or interests. If this is the case you may have gone online or searched in the newspaper to find out where the local breeders are and if they currently have puppies or adult dogs for sale. I have done this twice in my life, but it did not work out either time. I felt as though the breeders were car sales people wanting to unload their latest vehicle. The whole experience left me feeling like the dogs who were there needed to be rescued from the breeders.

We have all been enticed by the cute puppies in the window of our local pet store. My pet store is located inside of our mall, and my family was anxious to have them take out the puppies and allow us to spend some time with them in their private family area. When we asked where the puppies were born and other details about their background it was interested to see how they pulled the cards out of their filing cabinet and read us the details. We were left feeling like we just were not sure if this was right for us or not, and the idea of charging the new family pet on a credit card and paying it off by the month just did not sit right with us.

The dog rescue groups are very different. When you visit them they will tell you as much as they know about the history of the dog you are considering. These dogs all have history, and much of it is not a happy story to hear. When I visited a dachshund rescue several years ago I was drawn to a black and tan standard size dachshund they had named Cactus Jack. Jack had been born blind and was then about a year old. He was so sweet and loving that we fell in love with him right away. They insisted on visiting our home to make sure it would be suitable for him. I liked this idea. Jack is now ten years old and has a loving family to call his own.

This is an important decision, so be sure to take everything I have discussed into consideration before you choose your new best friend.