Sadcox writes about my very least favorite thing about shopping at the big box stores- the free kitten and puppy giveaways:

The “free kittens” sign almost always includes the small print phrase “to a good home.”

What kind of home is good? Is it the kind where you don’t
get your cat spayed, allow it to reproduce, then stand out in front of
a store and give away the feline offspring to total strangers?

Agreed, agreed, and agreed. To me, rule #1 of responsible pet ownership is getting that pet spayed or neutered. If you want your kids to witness "the miracle of birth", rent a video about it. If you want cute kittens or puppies, go to the animal shelter and adopt one that’s scheduled to die. If you don’t have the money to spay or neuter, go to a free or low-cost spay or neuter program. Seriously, there is no excuse for not spaying or neutering your pets. None.

Now, I’m not talking about the breeders (not backyard breeders or puppy mill type breeders) who have done the research and know what they’re doing with their breeding. But everyone else, seriously. Just spay or neuter your pets.

[Photo Credit: Goldberg on Flickr]