This is a guest post by Karen Wintress.
If you have made the decision to add a pet to your family, first check your local animal shelter. They not only have dogs and cats, but other animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and gerbils. Pets end up in an animal shelter for many reasons.
A pet may have been sent to an animal shelter when someone in the family is allergic to it. All that a pet wants is to be loved.
Some pets are placed in a humane society when the family moves to an apartment or condo where pets are not allowed. A pet just wants the companionship of someone new.
If someone brings home a pet that requires more time to care for than expected, the pet can end up in a rescue organization. Pets just want to be cared for in a long-term relationship.
Sometimes a person passes away and has not made arrangements for his or her pet. If this is the case then the pet may end up in the humane society. This pet desperately misses its owner and wants someone new to adopt it.
If a pet is given to someone as a gift and it is both unexpected and unwanted, the pet may be dropped off at a rescue society. A pet doesn’t want to be a gift; it just wants to be a devoted and loyal companion.
Sometimes a puppy or kitten is abandoned and left by the side of the road. These pets just want a chance to grow up and show how much joy they can bring into his or her home.
When a pet is removed from a home because it has been abused or neglected, it can end up in an animal shelter. A pet depends on us and just wants to give and receive love.
Pets found in an animal shelter have most likely already been a member of a family. For one reason or another they are no longer with the family that originally picked them and brought them home.
Here’s a sobering statistic. According to the Humane Society of the US about 6 million or more pets pass through animal shelters each year. About half of these animals will be euthanized because they are not adopted. For shelters committed to being no kill shelters, they need people to come in and adopt their animals.
We make a huge difference in these statistics when we pick our pet from an animal shelter, and also when we spay or neuter our pet so that more unwanted ones are not born.
When you go to an animal shelter to pick out a pet, all family members should go. It’s likely that you will have to make more than one visit to find just the right pet.
People who work at the animal shelter know a lot about the animals that are in their care. They can be very helpful in suggesting which animal might best fit with your family.
When evaluating a potential pet see how the animal interacts with your family members and with other animals. You should hold the animal and play with it. Make sure that the animal is not sick.
Before you bring a pet home from an animal shelter, you will have to provide them with information about your home life and how you have prepared to adopt a pet. They want to make sure that a pet leaving their care is going to a forever home and will not end up back in the shelter.
While it’s an exciting time and you may be anxious to bring a pet home, make sure that it’s the right one. You will know when the pet is the right one for you. Don’t settle for just any pet, get the one that is meant for you.
You are picking your forever pet, one that will be with you until the death of the pet. It doesn’t want to go home with you only to be returned to the shelter when things don’t work out, so pick carefully.
When picking a pet, it’s best to do some research. Just picking a pet because a friend has one or there is a cute YouTube video, could turn into a nightmare experience for your family. Some pets will live 50 years or more while others may need to be fed live crickets and mice. First it’s best to determine why you want a pet and what characteristics you would want in an ideal pet. At http://www.howtopickapet.com you’ll find over 100 books about pets. You may remember reading some of these books as a child. Now they can be read to sort through which pets may fit best into your household. Be on the lookout for my Kindle book “How To Pick A Pet” which provides a variety of activities and information to help in the pet decision making process.
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