Alana’s post below reminds me of a question I’ve had for years, and which I figured I’d go ahead and pose now. Remember, years ago, when you would “get” or “buy” or “find” a pet? When did people start “adopting” pets? Yet apparently this is what we now do.
My question is, do persons who were adopted have an opinion on the language of pet “adoption”?
Categories: General
Funny you should ask about this! It was the subject of discussion at an adoptees’ group not so long ago.
One young woman was outraged that “adoption” should be used to describe the acquisition of a dog, cat or treefrog etc. But in particular she is angry about her own adoptive status which has been less than happy.
She said…at the end of the discussion….”really it is just that the very word “adoption” makes me want to vomit”.
It doesn’t offend me that people use the word so widely…and loosely.
I guess I don’t remember the day when the word ‘adoption’ wasn’t used for pets. Sorry if I offended anyone.
I remember a time when people didn’t adopt pets. Back in the 60s and 70s, pet stores had puppies and kittens for sale. One didn’t ask where the puppies came from, or what happened if they weren’t purchased.
Getting your dog at the humane society? That was a bit of a novelty. Cousins of mine got their dog this way in the 70s, but I can’t remember if they used the language of adoption.
At some point, we started hearing about the evils of puppy mills, and pet stores stopped carrying puppies and kittens. Not sure if there was causation or not. And the local morning shows on TV started bringing out the “pet of the week” who needed a loving home.
In the past 10 years, I think everyone I know who got a dog or a cat got their pet through a rescue organization. I know several places where I could “adopt” a dog or cat. I wouldn’t know where to go to buy one.
I thought I remembered that Pet Rocks came with adoption papers, but I probably mistaken. The wikipedia article makes no mention of adoption papers. (For those of you who are oh so young, pet rocks were a short-lived fad back in 1975. Yes, the 1970s were a strange time.)
Perhaps I am mixing it up with Cabbage Patch Kids (1978 onward). I’m pretty sure that they came with adoption papers.