Adopting A Pet

Would you like a furry friend or scaly creature to be part of your home?

Adopting a pet is a good way as it can save an animal’s life while also enhancing your own health and wellbeing.

Most of the pets in my life were strays or received from a household that needed to rehome a cat, hamster, gerbil, or guinea pig. I’ve adopted twice; once through a shelter and once through a pet rescue. Both of these sources can be found through basic Internet searches or using specific search engines.

One example of a specific search engine is Petfinder.com. Here you can bring up a list of places that have animals available for adoption and use filters such as pet type, size, age, and location to further narrow your results.

This site also provides a list of individual adoption links, so if you have a specific shelter or rescue in mind, you can look for it there.

While shelters and rescues have a few differences, they have many similarities.

In my experiences, both the shelter and rescue required applications. The goal of the application is to get as much information about you to help make the best pet match.

Both charged an adoption fee. These fees mainly cover the expenses for what was provided for the animal before adoption, such as medical exams, vaccines, neutering. Both of my adoptees were also microchipped to help them be returned home in the event they were lost. References are usually required and the name of the vet you currently use for another pet may be required.

Shelters usually house the pets in one facility, where paid and volunteer staff maintain their care.

Rescues use foster parents who take the animal into their home while awaiting adoption. In addition to the application, a phone interview may be required by the rescue to go over your application and ask more detailed questions. Some rescue pets can be seen at special adoption events sponsored by local pet stores.

The rescue I used also had a contract to sign but the shelter did not. In my contract, I agreed to take the cat for a wellness visit within two weeks, keep her indoors, not have the cat declawed, and contact them if I was no longer able to take care of her or she became lost.

The Mercer County Library System has many books on various pets. If you adopt a pet of any kind (and I hope you do), please do research first on their care and behavior to make sure your home will be a good permanent home. Many people rush to get a pet because they are cute and then decide not to keep them once they realize what is involved. Do your research first to be well prepared and good luck finding a forever home for a homeless creature!

Clark the Shark gets a pet