This is a cute book, but as an animal rescue worker I don't like the message it sends. Every year, millions of animals (4+ million in the U.S. alone) are euthanized simply because there are not enough homes for them all. Puppies typically fly out of shelters, but dogs over a year old languish there, and many of these leave the shelters in body bags or on rendering plant trucks. It's also not uncommon to see mother dogs brought to the shelter, and the family that used to love and care for the mama dog keeping one of her puppies instead because the baby is cuter.

I know it sounds cynical to be critizing a cute children's book like this, but even at an early age children learn what they are taught... and I believe this book is teaching the wrong morals. I find it interesting that all the parents who allow their cat or dog to be bred so that the kids can witness "the miracle of birth" don't also take their kids to the local pound to witness "the miracle of death". Each home those unneeded puppies or kittens go to is one less home for a needy dog or cat in a shelter, and each kitten or puppy born is a death sentence to a cat or dog already living.

I adopted both my pets from shelters as adults, and couldn't ask for better companions. Trouble is an outgoing, cuddly cat who loves to "talk", and Duke is a friendly, good-natured dog who came to me already housetrained and past some of the destructive puppy stages. I am thankful to have both of them in my life, and can't imagine getting a kitten or puppy instead of a friendly adult animal... by adopting an adult, I already know how big he will get, how he will react around kids and other animals, etc etc. What a deal!

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