Why do people say they've "adopted" a tortoise when they've bought it?

[GBtortoises]

Why do many people on this site and others say that they've "adopted" a tortoise that they've walked into a pet shop (or other source) and purchased? Does it make them feel better than saying they "bought" it? Why?
You don't "adopt" your groceries from the grocery store or "adopt" you clothes from a clothing store, you "buy" them don't you?

 

[Kristina]

Not sure on this one. I bought my four Russians and 3 of my Hingebacks - the other three Hingebacks I *did* adopt, from Suburban Jungle Rescue. Oh, and guess what? There was no fee for adopting them, imagine that....

 

[terracolson]

I dont think there is any controller out there saying you have to use adopt this way or that way.

Should there be? I dont know..

When you adopt a child, you have to pay fees! its not fre

Yet when you go to a rescue you adopt and a pet store you buy.
BUT you could buy from a rescue if its a hatchling, and you do adopt pets such as kittens from petsmart...

You have to fill out adoption papers....

So i think its the persons preference


I bought Temperance for 55 dollars
I was given salty and BB for my volunteer work with the local rescue.....
I adopted LG from a person on CL
I bought CoCo as my frist tort from a petstore
I was given mommas for working at the local rescue

 

[pugsandkids]

I think it has something to do with the terminology used by the business/rescue. I know of many petstores/brokers around here that ask for an adoption fee (sale price) they think it sounds better. Therefore maybe people are tricked into thinking its an adoption, or rescue. Now, I'm all for rescues charging some kind of fee, especially once you consider food, vet bills, and time. It just depends I guess, on if what word the person feels fits the situation. I have a dog I was given, I consider her a rescue! (16lb pug, living under a trailer and competing with Great Danes for food?)

Sometimes, you just read posts, or hear people talk and you just gotta smile!

 

[TylerStewart]

Does it make them feel better than saying they "bought" it? Why?
You don't "adopt" your groceries from the grocery store or "adopt" you clothes from a clothing store, you "buy" them don't you?

Eeeexactly. It gives them the warm fuzzies that they saved this poor creature from the harshness of the pile of tortoises at PetCo.

I think in other cases, it makes people think they're getting around the 4" rule, since it's not a "sale," kinda like how the Craigslist system makes it ok to "adopt" a pet for $500, but not "sell" one for $100.

 

[egyptiandan]

Like Tyler said using the word "adopt" kind of lets a business "sell" turtles and tortoises under 4 inches. That or sell you everything you need for an outragous price and say they are "giving" you the turtle or tortoise free.

Adopt is the fuzzy word for the 21st century. It makes people feel more "green"

Danny

 

[TylerStewart]

Like Tyler said using the word "adopt" kind of lets a business "sell" turtles and tortoises under 4 inches. That or sell you everything you need for an outragous price and say they are "giving" you the turtle or tortoise free.

Adopt is the fuzzy word for the 21st century. It makes people feel more "green"

Danny

Well, and interestingly enough, at the reptile show up in San Mateo a few weeks back, they gave out this big warning about how the govt would be showing up to enforce the 4" rule.... The "law" allows the sale of baby tortoises between turtle or tortoise "fanciers," which could in theory apply to every person that walks in the show. They showed up early on Saturday to bust some balls, and after myself, Waterland (who asked them to define the law and confused the guy) and a few others basically ignored them because of this line in the law, they couldn't do anything to enforce it because they couldn't define the law. We had our hand sanitizer out and didn't sell anything small to any kids. Beyond that, we just sold baby tortoises to turtle "fanciers" all weekend.

 

[egyptiandan]

True "hobbiests" can sell to other "hobbiests" Tyler, but in the letter of the law it says that you can't sell in conjunction with a business. The sticky point is how the state your in and the federal government defines a business. Though if you have a tax ID number for your "business" you really don't have a leg to stand on. Yes they are all going to all the major shows now.

Now I need to use the word "adopt" to stay on topic

Danny

 

[Jacqui]

Why do many people on this site and others say that they've "adopted" a tortoise that they've walked into a pet shop (or other source) and purchased? Does it make them feel better than saying they "bought" it? Why?
You don't "adopt" your groceries from the grocery store or "adopt" you clothes from a clothing store, you "buy" them don't you?

I do think it makes them feel better and it saves them from the people who once they hear you bought from a pet store (or plan to) immediately ask "Why aren't you adopting?" like there is something wrong with you for not adopting.

To me, if a rescue asks for money, it too is selling not adopting out an animal. For me, adoption is free, selling is selling no matter if it's to make a profit or recover expenses or an exchange of items rather then cash changing hands.

 

[chadk]

If you consider the animal a 'part of your family'... you adopt. No matter the fees...

I'm adopting my 4th child this year and you can bet it is anything but free... And this is a domestic adoption through state foster care...

Again, I think some folks just get their feathers ruffled too easily sometimes. Tom-A-toe.. tom-AH-toe...

 

[Kayti]

For some reason it never bothers me when people talk about 'adopting' from pet stores etc.
But it REALLY bothered me when people would talk about 'buying' my foster kittens from the shelter- or ask a bunch of questions only about $$ (costs that didn't even come close to recouping our expenses).
I think using the word 'adopt' with animals is a sign that you respect them enough to understand that 'purchasing' an animal is more than just paying a flat fee and taking it home- there's an emotional component to adoption.
I think it matters more with animals that need to be loved to be happy. If you say 'adopt', it sort of implies that your going to love that creature. 'Buying' implies that your going to add it to your collection. Which, you know, isn't a bad thing if it's a goldfish or a Crested Gecko.
(Not that you can't love these creatures or that they don't benefit (indirectly?) from being loved, but you get the point- it's different with a kitten.)

 

[Kristina]

Mmmm, see, to me, it ISN'T different with a kitten...

That is exactly the reason that I started focusing on reptile and amphibian rescue. I have rehabbed everything from rats to horses, farm animals, you name it, but there are a LOT of people that do that. Shelters just plain have no CLUE about how to handle reptiles. I see reptiles kept in conditions that would put someone in JAIL with a felony charge of animal cruelty - IF it was a dog, cat, horse, etc. If a cat turned up with burns on it like the baby iguana I just took in, it would be a closed case. But because they aren't cuddly and furry, reptiles get the short end of the stick. It sucks, frankly.

 

[Kayti]

Mmmm, see, to me, it ISN'T different with a kitten...

That is exactly the reason that I started focusing on reptile and amphibian rescue. I have rehabbed everything from rats to horses, farm animals, you name it, but there are a LOT of people that do that. Shelters just plain have no CLUE about how to handle reptiles. I see reptiles kept in conditions that would put someone in JAIL with a felony charge of animal cruelty - IF it was a dog, cat, horse, etc. If a cat turned up with burns on it like the baby iguana I just took in, it would be a closed case. But because they aren't cuddly and furry, reptiles get the short end of the stick. It sucks, frankly.

I COMPLETELY agree with you. I worked at this one shelter that took in an Iguana as a rescue- and the care they provided was really inadequate. But they just didn't know any better, because they were primarily a cat shelter. That animal ended up being stolen in a break-in before I started working there. And I definitely agree animal cruelty laws really need to catch up with exotics. Who should I write a letter to?

But what I meant with the kitten thing is you can still provide a good home for a reptile if you buy it. If you respect it and learn how to properly take care of it and have the means to do so, you can be a good reptile owner. But most kittens/mammals generally require the warm and fuzzy stuff- love, affection, attention, caring, etc. I think my reptiles are different. If I tried to give my Alligator Lizard affection, she'd freak out and probably urinate on me while dropping her tail. If I found someone else that was capable of providing the same standard of care for her as I do, she could care less if I "sold" her. (But I wouldn't, because I'm a mammal and have warm gushy feelings fer the stinker.)
And I know plenty of folks that see their animals as a collection that they can buy/trade/sell, but they still treat them with respect and knowledge. You can't do that with an animal that forms a strong emotional attachment to you/its life with you, like a cat.

Maybe I'm wrong. My tortoises seem to recognize me, and they sure appreciate me when it's breakfast time. Maybe they'd be upset if I died and someone else started taking care of them. And I know some reptiles can be more 'tame' for some people that others- and I've seen Tegus that certainly act like they enjoy affection. But I think when it exists, it's on a much lower scale that with most mammals.

I think a lot of people get into mammals (and parrots) as pets because they need something to unconditionally love them. But reptile people are different, because we don't get nor expect love, generally, from our creatures. We are depended upon, and we get to watch and enjoy development- but there's no slobbering of kisses when we get home form work.
And that's why I think it's okay when people 'buy' a reptile, but not a mammal- just looking at it from the kind of care you are implying you are going to provide, but not from the source of the animal. That's a whole different argument.

 

[Tortuga_terrestre]

I posted a thread about this very topic; About people RESCUEING poor defenseless tortoises. Hahahahaha.. They just want to feel important. Someone who is truly is a Humanitarian/Samaritan does not inform the world of their good deeds.

 

[dmmj]

Not to be harsh or stop the debate but I do not really see an issue here, if you got yours from a petstore you bought it, if you get it from a rescue it was adopted. I bought my first RES almost 29 years ago, since then I only bought one other tortoise (a pancake) and then it was all adoptees baby.

 

[Kayti]

I posted a thread about this very topic; About people RESCUEING poor defenseless tortoises. Hahahahaha.. They just want to feel important. Someone who is truly is a Humanitarian/Samaritan does not inform the world of their good deeds.

That's not really true. I rescued and raised hundreds and hundreds of orphaned kittens when I lived with my parents- and all because this one girl and her mom brought her litter of rescues into my fourth grade class, as an outreach for the shelter.
I think rescuers should shout it from the roof tops- it makes the jerks who breed animals for profit look bad, and it lets people know that there are people who care, and it helps people who care act on it and join the effort.

I am a huge fan of the 'adopt, don't buy' campaigns. I agree that those Tshirts, for example, that say "my dog is a rescue" do come off as a little douchy, but if it's helping spread the word about shelters, I'm all for it.

 

[egyptiandan]

I'm lost Why does "bought" mean you aren't going to "love" an animal, but "adopt" means that you are going to "love" said animal. I don't remember seeing in the defination of "bought" that there is anything there that says "unloved" or in the defination of "adopt" that says "loved".
Why would paying money for an animal or getting it for free making any difference in how "loved" or "unloved" the animal is.


Danny

 

[Kayti]

I'm lost Why does "bought" mean you aren't going to "love" an animal, but "adopt" means that you are going to "love" said animal. I don't remember seeing in the defination of "bought" that there is anything there that says "unloved" or in the defination of "adopt" that says "loved".
Why would paying money for an animal or getting it for free making any difference in how "loved" or "unloved" the animal is.


Danny

I think it's a cultural definition more than a literal definition.
And in the case of kittens, 'buying' a kitten from craigslist or whatever is usually like 15 bucks, but when you adopt from a shelter and get a wormed, vaccinated, healthy, fixed kitten, it's generally like 75$. So I don't really attach any specific monetary scale to buying vs. adopting.

But, now that you bring it up, I do know that there is a strong correlation to amount paid for an animal to quality of care. For example, for some reason people are more likely to take better care of a cat that cost 75$ than one they got for free. Screwy, but true.

 

[TylerStewart]

I think rescuers should shout it from the roof tops- it makes the jerks who breed animals for profit look bad, and it lets people know that there are people who care

I think it makes the looney guy screaming from the rooftop look bad, personally. Are we once again demonizing the "jerks" that have made a profit from breeding animals? I care, and I breed for fun and profit.

 

[Tortuga_terrestre]

I have a shirt from Blue Beast Reptiles. I went to the Pasadena Show, last year. Awesome tortoises...very heavy, healthy appereance and very smooth.