[jersey_gray]

You hear the words rescue and adoption a lot anymore. Even in cases that are clearly not an adoption/rescue to me. An example would be we just bought a puppy from a lady. Her neighbor's dog knocked up her dog, she put the pups up for "adoption" at eight weeks old after she dewormed and vaccinated them. A lot of people would have called that adopting a puppy when no, that's BUYING a puppy. I am just curious what everyone defines as a rescue or adoption. I have had one shelter dog, have bought two puppies, and the rest of the dogs and cats (and other critters) I have/had were someone's unwanted animal.

 

[jenneses]

I consider taking in a homeless animal, taking one in from a rescue/shelter, and removing one from an abusive situation a rescue. My rabbits (RIP Diva and Bacardi) were rescues and my cats are as well. My dog I purchased. Bacardi was found in Feb trying to keep warm under a dryer vent, Diva was given to me from a rescue (because when meeting Bacardi there was an instant love bond, which can be difficult in rabbits), Angus I adopted from a rescue and Loki was given to me by a rescue (no one was interested in a young teenage mother cat, apparently).

 

[Abbylynn]

IMHO ...

To me a shelter dog and a dog in a foster home is a "rescue" ... and under special circumstances where someone is about to do something terrible such as put a pup/dog into a shelter ... or do worse things yet to the pup/dog ... this is a "rescue."

I consider any animal you obtain and pay money for as a "purchase" or a "sale" ...

To "Adopt" means "To take by choice into a relationship" ....... whether it be a human or an animal. If you pay for an adopted animal ... to me it is a "purchased adoption" ... or a "purchased rescue"

"Adopt" ... http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adopt

 

[Kyllobernese]

I don't believe in buying pups from a Pet Store but it annoys me even more when they have signs up to "adopt" a puppy when they are obviously just selling pups. I know some Pet Stores take in Shelter dogs and adopt them out but this was a Pet Store that bought and sold puppies, definitely not an "adoption".

 

[georgiapeach]

I consider a rescue an animal someone has personally taken in from a bad situation; no money exchanged. I consider an adoption getting a dog from a rescue. Many times money is involved, but it's to reimburse the rescue for the money they've spent on the animal (vetting, spaying/neutering). If a profit is being made on the animal, I believe it's a sale.

 

[Shakespaw]

Generally speaking, if it would not have otherwise had a home, the home it was in was in some way dangerous (abusive, a hoarding situation, going to be put to sleep for no good reason, etc.), or if it comes from a place trying to save it from one of those two (a shelter or rescue), it's a rescue/adoption. If it's from a pet store, a breeder, or anybody else who is charging you any kind of money for it (adoption fees from legitimate shelters and rescues don't count), it's a purchase. If it's from a neighbor whose dog had puppies and needs to find homes for them, but they're not going to drown them in a river out back if you don't take it, it's just a puppy someone gave you. It may not be a purchase because you didn't give them money for it, but you didn't exactly rescue or adopt it either... you just... took it, I guess.

In the end, all dogs deserve good homes, so it's just a matter of semantics, really. While I would personally never get a dog from a pet store or backyard breeder (which includes anybody who lets their dog have puppies or gets their dog pregnant on purpose without being a legitimate breeder who genuinely knows what he/she is doing), the only type of dog-getting I have a real problem with is if you are the one letting your own dog have puppies. If you get one from a neighbor or a pet store or whatever, it's not what I would choose or recommend, but I'm not going to give you a hard time about it. If you get your dog pregnant so your children can experience the miracle of life or whatever, then... well... my mother told me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all.

 

[Willowy]

I would consider buying a puppy from a pet store (supporting them monetarily so their suppliers can continue to abuse their breeding dogs) to be worse than letting your dog have puppies. Just sayin'.

 

[momtolabs]

I have both and this is what Isay. I rescued Tank since he came from an abusive situation. And I adopted Bentley from the pound. So rescue= came from a bad situation Adopted=came from a shelter/pound.

 

[kafkabeetle]

I'm not picky. If you pay someone and the proceeds go to an individual to continue breeding or whatnot (whether a good or bad breeder), the dog is purchased. If the dog was free (whether a stray, from a friend, the newspaper etc) or the proceeds go towards a rescue or shelter, it was a rescue. I think adoption can be accurately used for either. To me it's a very general term.

 

[sassafras]

I very rarely use either rescue or adoption.

 

[Rescued]

I can say that the things below are commonly described "rescue/adoption" situations that i do NOT consider to be rescue/adoption.

-buying a puppy from a pet store because it looks unhealthy/is on clearance
-taking a puppy mill dog straight from the breeder when the dog is not in immediate danger of being euthanized (if the dog has already been surrendered to a 501c-3 rescue that's different)
-any purchase of a dog that does not either: go thru a 501c-3 rescue, or costs more than what the foster/rescuer has put into the dog
-purchasing any BYB animal that has not already been surrendered to an organization

 

[hub3]

My interpretation:
A dog that is acquired through a shelter is adopted, through a rescue group is adopted. A stray taken in directly to a home is rescued. An unexpected litter that a person is selling or a pet store, breeder purchase - that a sale. You don't adopt a dog from someone whose dog had puppies, you buy them. Someone who takes a dog someone else is giving away is neither, but if money is exchanged - that is a sale, certainly not an adoption.