You wanna know the top five, very best places to go online and purchase that dog of your dreams, right? Of course right.
But, before getting right down to it, you should know that there are a lot of people that believe buying a dog from a local shelter is a much better option than any pet store — especially one doing business on the Internet.
Outside of shipping issues like sending your new, terribly frightened puppy to you by plane, train, or automobile (it might not survive the trip!) the poor animal is likely to have been caged its entire life and might have a myriad of health problems from being inbred.
But! If you simply must, the following places sell dogs online and they consistently have top ratings among buyers.
1. Petfinder.com
This site is great because it avoids a lot of the downsides to buying online. The dogs (and other animals here) are found from all walks of pet life. Many are direct from animal control, local shelters, and most of the pets were homeless. There’s a broad range and you can look for your pet in the U.S. (all states) and Mexico. You can browse for your new canine friend by age and breed amongst other criteria. Petfinder.com is great because it also has numerous resources for taking care of your pet once you purchase it.
2. Puppyfind.com
At Puppyfind.com you can search for the breed you want, or you can just browse.
Searches are based on the size of breed and the level of upkeep it needs. Each breed has a profile that gives some pretty good, basic information. Each puppy that is listed for sale also has a profile that details how much the dog costs, whether shipping is included or not, who the current owner is, what kind of bloodlines the dog has, whether it has show potential or not, what the shipping area is, and the owner’s contact information.
This site actually has a lot of breeders and doesn’t seem to have a lot of pooches that come from the hard knocks of life.
3. Adoptapet.com
This site is very similar to Petfinder.com but they make it abundantly clear that they are a pet adoption charity that helps out pet shelters, pet rescue groups, SPCA’s and much more. Here, you can also search for the furry love of your life by breed, sex, size and color. One cool thing with this site is that you can give them your criteria and then have them E-mail you each time they list a new animal that matches your desires.
4. Breeders.net
If you are looking for a purebred dog, then this site is for you. Here, you can search based on breed and then location. If you need to sell your purebred pal, this site is also for you. They list a lot of resources including dog care articles, as well as a community forum section for dog owners to swap stories, anecdotes as well as owner to owner tips on caring for your pet.
5. breedersonline.co.uk
If you are a dog lover across the pond, or if you are contemplating a move to the U.K., this site is for you. You can either be a breeder wanting to list your dogs or someone wanting to buy on this site. Simply click a breed from the drop down list, and the county in the U.K. you’re looking in and away you go. This site also has a forum but you can’t enter and see any topics unless you register. All in all, this site is very similar to breeders.net.
All these sites are easily navigable, and the convenience of looking online for your loyal hound can easily outweigh piling into your station wagon to go to the local SPCA (especially when sites like Petfinder.com grab those loveable mutts from rescue shelters anyway.)
What are you waiting for? Go check those sites out and bring a pet home.
