An Associated Press poll released says most people get their pets from shelters rather than stores. Read on...

LOS ANGELES — Remember that old song, “How much is that doggie in the window?” For most Americans, it seems it’s no sale.

More than half of people in an Associated Press-Petside.com poll said they would get their next dog or cat from a shelter, nearly seven times the number who said they would buy their next pet from a store.

And more than four in 10 said they thought store pets could have hidden medical or psychological problems.

That’s significantly more than those who expressed the same concerns about pets from animal shelters or breeders.

Just 8 percent of those polled said they would get their next cat or dog at a store, while 13 percent said that’s where they got the pet they have now.

Fifty-four percent of those polled said they would probably get their next pet from a shelter, while 23 percent went for a breeder.

More than half of those polled said their dogs or cats came from places other than shelters, breeders or stores. They might have been strays, gifts from friends or favors for neighbors. Since some people have more than one pet, the numbers add to more than 100 percent.

-- Robin Palmer