Make sure you are ready for the responsibility, before bringing a furry friend home

Animals are not toys

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN)- “Doing your research is just so important. It really can save families a lot of heartbreak because unfortunately at this time of year we also get hundreds of emails from people that bought a puppy that was sick upon purchase, or sadly ends up passing away,” said Ashly Dale with Bailing out Benji.

Certain pet stores use puppy mills to supply puppies in their stores, and Bailing out Benji is an organization that tracks these puppy mills nationwide.

“These purchases are impulsive because there is no application, there is no home check, there is no reference check, you can literally walk in and walk out with a puppy in the same day without putting a whole lot of thought into it. So the pet industry really uses this to their advantage and talks about how puppies make good gifts.  What they are not telling people is that their puppies are coming from puppy mills,” says Dale.

Knowing where your puppy came from is also very important, as there are multiple puppy mills with bad ratings in Nebraska.

“We have documentation of 140 of them. 57 of those puppy mills have been named some of the worst puppy mills in the country, they have made the humane societies horrible hundred lists 57 times so there is a very real problem in Nebraska,” said Dale.

When buying an animal as a gift or surprise, instead of it being a family decision, many animals get returned or surrendered when the puppy’s cuteness wears off.

“Throughout the year you sometimes see dogs that come in that are in that teenager age where they are maybe 6, 8, 10 months old. You can certainly tell that they haven’t necessarily received adequate training or socialization,” said Matt Madcharo Interim executive director of the Capital Humane Society.

“We just need people to slow down, think about the long term, and do that research so they don’t end up losing that new family member,” said Dale.

There are many animals currently available for adoption at the Capital Humane Society.

“We have a lot of cats, and kittens, and dogs, and puppies and critters that are always looking for new homes,” said Madcharo.