Springtime seems to be the time many people think of buying or adopting a puppy. The first thing to address is where to find one. The second consideration is thinking through what puppy and dog care entails. Or will a kitten or cat better suit your needs.

Those of us who work for the welfare of animals believe that adopting from a shelter or rescue group is by far the best policy. You will be saving a life and giving the gift of a good home to an animal in need. Your local shelter will have pictures and descriptions on its Web site. Petfinder.com can direct you to all shelters and rescue organizations in your area and will link to them for you to see photos and descriptions of dogs and puppies and cats and kittens and other pets available for adoption. You can also go to the shelter to see the pets in person. Both shelters and rescue groups will save you time and money by providing health exams, inoculations, flea treatments micro-chipping, licensing, and spaying or neutering prior to adoption.

Free to good home newspaper ads are another possibility. Such animals being given away may or may not have had any shots, neutering, etc. Thus you will have to take the pet to a vet yourself, so “free” is by no means really free. Some of these people find they have created dogs whose habits they cannot live with. Such dogs can almost always be rehabilitated and taking that on is a good deed. Obedience classes and attention and exercise can change a dog.

Som pet shops deal only in purebred dogs or “designer mixes” that come from puppy mills or big scale commercial breeders. These puppies are not brought up in a healthy home environment nor are they socialized with people and other dogs or stimulated by the world they'll be a part of when bought. All too often they are sickly, or nearly impossible to housebreak or have lost all bite inhibition. These shops thrive primarily because of two segments of society: the impulse buyer or the person who is averse to the screening process. Buying any pet spontaneously is a mistake because the pet may not be the right fit for your family or lifestyle.

Fully inform yourself before adopting or buying a pet. Consider if you are willing to go through the training, attention and socialization time that puppies require in order to grow into well behaved easy to live with dogs. Will you have time for long walks, obedience classes and learning sessions? Puppies simply cannot be left alone all day especially if crated.

Backyard breeders tend to believe that because they purchased a dog, they can make some extra money by breeding the dog with a neighbor's or friend's dog or trying to generate big stud fees. Or worse yet they'll have an unspayed female in the same household as an un-neutered male and let nature take its course over and over. According to the ASPCA, the truth is that if you do it right there is no profit on a litter of puppies (or kittens). They urge people not to support this nonsense.

Some questions to ask when choosing a pup.

€ How will this dog be with children, and am I willing to train my children in how to treat a dog or puppy?

€ Will the new pet get along with any other pets in the family?

€ Am I willing to take the dog out for walks several times a day? What are the exercise needs of the dog?

€ Am I willing to put time in to training this dog or pup?

€ What is the grooming commitment?

€ Can I commit to this dog for its whole life even if I move or my life situation changes?

€ Do I know what financial expenses I'll be incurring?

€ Am I willing to come home at lunchtime to let the dog out or will I find doggy daycare?

€ Am I willing to train with positive reinforcement and forego using punishment?

€ Am I willing to puppy proof and later dog proof my home?

€ Am I able to plan socialization opportunities for my dog?

This is not to discourage anyone who loves dogs from welcoming one or more into their home. Sharing life with a dog or dogs is adding joy and fun ... and exercise to one's life.

Judy Vorreuter is the founder and director of Animal Advocates of the Finger Lakes. Contact her at judy@cayugaanimaladvocates.org