#AdoptDontShop Explained

Discover the truth behind the "Adopt, Don’t Shop" movement in this eye-opening podcast episode with Jessie Virga, Executive Director of K&L Animal Rescue. Jessie breaks down the common misconceptions about shelter pets and offers a compelling case for why adopting, rather than buying, is crucial for the well-being of animals and the future of pet ownership. With expert-backed insights and real-world examples, this discussion challenges the status quo and encourages listeners to rethink their choices. Dive deeper into the science and statistics by reading the accompanying blog article, where you'll find additional resources and research to support the movement. Whether you're a lifelong pet lover or just curious, this is a must-listen and read for anyone who cares about animal welfare.

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https://www.jessievirga.com 
https://www.instagram.com/drvirga 
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Welcome to Jessie Virga’s channel, where she shares insights on her wide array of interests. Jessie also hosts an audio podcast (link below). 

Jessie Virga hails from the Bronx and has an extensive background in security and defense, having spent 10 years in the military in various security roles. Following her military service, she pursued a degree in Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience from UCSD and briefly pursued medical school. Realizing her true passion lay elsewhere, she transitioned back to security work with the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, earning both an MBA and a DBA in Homeland Security. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Health Psychology. 

Jessie’s career has always focused on protecting people, information, and infrastructure. Her dedication extends beyond her professional life. She volunteers for Search and Rescue, works as a part-time EMT (TCCC/TECC), and enjoys hiking, backpacking, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and staying active. 

In addition to her professional and volunteer commitments, Jessie is an entrepreneur. She owns several businesses, including a nonprofit animal welfare organization, K&L Animal Rescue. Jessie is eager to share her extensive knowledge and experiences through her journeys. These thoughts are her own, and she welcomes engaging with those who have something interesting to share. Feel free to reach out via email. 

Thank you for being here, and God Bless. 
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https://www.jessievirga.com 
K&L Animal Rescue: https://www.klrescue.org 
MB Fitness: https://www.mbfitnessusa.com 
MB Security: https://www.mbsecurityusa.com 
Entrepreneur HQ: https://www.enhq.org 

Visit jessievirga.com for our privacy policy, terms and conditions and terms of service. This is not legal, security, health, fitness, business, finance or any other type of advice. This is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing any specific advice. You should contact your primary healthcare provider, attorney, etc., to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing here should be construed as (insert service)-client privilege (yes "insert service" is there on purpose). If you are looking for more information about any of the services I provide, please click on the respective link.

Visit jessievirga.com for our privacy policy, terms and conditions and terms of service. This is not legal, security, health, fitness, business, finance or any other type of advice. This is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing any specific advice. You should contact your primary healthcare provider, attorney, etc., to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing here should be construed as (insert service)-client privilege (yes "insert service" is there on purpose). If you are looking for more information about any of the services I provide, please click on the respective link.

Transcript

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hey everybody my name is Jesse Verga I am the executive director of K&L Animal Rescue I wanted to come on here today to talk to you guys about a few things that I don't think get enough attention now for us in the animal world and like the rescue world we say these things all of the time but I really wanted to break it down for people who might not understand the concept adopt don't shop so today we're gonna talk about what this means why we say it and then I'm going to leave a link in the description to our website that has more of the statistics in the research studies and the backing as to why we say adopt don't shop so let's get into it adopt don't shop means exactly that adopt your next pet do not buy your pet from a breeder and we've heard every argument in the book right we've heard shelter dogs have problems whether it's behavioral or you know or medical you know I want a certain type of dog because I need a dog that's a certain size or I've always really liked this breed and I can't find it in the shelter or you know older dogs right have kids like we've literally heard it all right and you know there are some people who will say well this specific breed does this task very well and that is great I'm going to present some counter arguments now again this is just my opinion this is the opinion of hundreds of thousands I think it's safe to say millions of people across the world who believe in adopt don't shop and we have backed it up with science we've backed it up with numbers of all sorts the first argument is that shelter pets have behavioral issues this could very well be the case not every shelter dog is professionally trained but neither is every puppy from a breeder it's still going to require the same amount of work the old adage you know can't teach a dog new tricks is simply not true there have been plenty of dogs dogs that I've personally worked with that do great there are trainers everywhere that will tell you you can teach a dog if you do it the right way if you understand the dog you understand the dog's behavior I mean there's a whole field there's dog behaviorist and animal behaviorist right they get advanced degrees in animal psychology to understand animal behavior and then correct and maneuver and pivot and allow that pet to have the quote unquote desirable behavior right maybe not having accidents in the house and not pulling on the leash right those are desirable behaviors that we try to elicit through various practices of training that is going to be the case whether you adopt the dog or you buy the dog so that's the first argument the second argument is the argument of medical issues and sure maybe on the surface you can see that this shelter pet has a no immediate medical issues or has a history of medical issues but then I ask you this one of the problems that we are seeing in dogs that are bred is a lack of genetic diversity and with that comes a ton of problems immunodeficiency increased risks of cancer right there are a lot of issues that come with a dog being bred so even though you might not see it because they're a puppy as the dog gets older and as the dog develops they are more likely to have a lot of these medical issues will all dogs from breeders have medical issues no but the same can be said about shelter dogs not every shelter dog has medical issues also not every shelter dog is an older dog there are lots of puppies at the shelter that brings me to my next point there are purebred dogs at the shelter there are dogs that are 80% you know Australian Shepherd or 80% pointer at the shelter and a lot of those dogs were bred they're the mothers of the litters of puppies that were sold and a lot of these parents dogs were just tossed aside and they're phenomenal dogs they have great demeanors they don't have a ton of behavioral issues they don't have a ton of medical issues right and even if they do does that mean they don't deserve a home and the last argument I wanted to address is the purpose driven breathing you know I want a dog that's 100% Belgian Malinois or I want a dog that's 100% German Shepherd that makes me wonder is that 100% German Shepherd do a better job than the 80% German Shepherd does that 20% really make a difference in their output or in that desirable behavior that you're trying to elicit through whatever specified training I argue no there are a lot of dogs that were bred specifically for certain jobs that have a variety of other maybe older breeds in them so if a dog is half Australian Shepherd half pointer and 100 years later that purebred is then bred with a pointer does that make it less purebred if it's ancestral lineage comes from that same exact breed and with that that brings me full circle to the adopt don't shop movement all of the reasons that people shop can be answered with an amazing dog from the shelter or from a rescue right now we're seeing overcrowding in our shelters how could that be if all the dogs that are leaving rescues and that are leaving shelters if a majority of them are fixed where are these dogs coming from and the answer is breeders the answer is irresponsible owners but regardless of how they got there we still have shelters filled with dogs and the reality of the situation is these places operate as businesses and US rescues try our hardest to go save these dogs from these businesses from these county animal shelters and from the pound and from wherever else they might be but we are also limited we are all donation based some of us are fortunate enough to get grants but not all of us Canal Animal Rescue is fairly new unfortunately we are still raising funds we are still unable to intake animals because there is a lot that goes into that but that doesn't mean you can't support your local shelter and that is our current crisis these overcrowded shelters are forced to euthanize and kill perfectly amazing dogs with no serious behavioral issues with no life threatening medical issues simply because they just don't have room so what is our solution our solution is to send those amazing dogs and cats to good homes but if the individuals who are seeking to find their next you know furry family member are only looking at breeders then the breeders get a sale and that pet in the shelter gets killed simply because you chose were the person who wants to buy their pet chose to purchase rather than rescue a perfectly fine animal and that is the decision that we are left with is how do we allow breeders to continue and how do we allow bred pets to be an option for people when so many pets are being killed at shelters and shelters only have so much room we can't you know shelters and rescues only have so much room we only have so much funding we can't build a 10 story building to house all of these dogs because that's a prison that's what's the quality of life the goal is to get these pets into loving homes but if loving homes are buying dogs how do we compete with that and that is the point of the adopt don't shop movement we are hoping that you can see what we see every single day which is amazing beautiful cats and dogs that are sitting at a shelter waiting for their forever home I hope I was able to shed some light on the adopt don't shop movement I know that some other arguments are things like what if you buy from an ethical breeder and I the reason why I didn't address those those topics is because is there such thing as an ethical breeder if breeding and selling pets ultimately results in the death of another pet with that I thank you guys and I hope that if you can't adopt your next pet that you at least support your local shelter