With the growing awareness of homeless pets in the United States more advocates are broadcasting in TV shows, running magazine columns and hitting the social media networks to draw awareness to the community worldwide in their efforts to reduce the number of homeless pets that die each year because nobody wants them.
“Adopt Don’t Shop” has become a popular slogan painted across the internet as well as other networks as the catchy tagline that everyone can remember. It emphasizes the importance of reducing the number of “store bought” pets and to reduce how many are in the shelters. But the slogan does little to help the average person know how to adopt.
Knowing where to find that adoptable pet shouldn’t be an obstacle in participating with the growing request to adopt. It’s a matter of understanding what is available, where look and how to choose your next family pet.
Finding That Adoptable Pet
Once you’ve made the decision to adopt your next pet you need to know where to look for available pets in your area. There are several places you can begin your search including:
- The local shelter
- Local rescue groups
- Online listings such as Craigslist, Petfinder and FaceBook
Finding your local shelter is as simple as opening up the phone book and locating animal control or humane society. Most animal control facilities have an adoption process for homeless dogs in their care. The staff at the shelters is available to answer your questions and assist you in identifying which pet may be best matched for your home. Many have low cost adoption fees and can assist you with your pets spay/neuter.
Local rescue groups are another way to find pets there were once on death row in a shelter but now living their lives in a loving foster home while they await adoption. The benefits for adopting through a rescue group is knowing your new pet has been fully vetted and has a clean bill of health. To locate rescues in your area you can do a search on line or ask the staff at your local shelter for a listing of groups.
Online listings are becoming a very popular way of getting notice on dogs in need of homes. Many volunteers take time out of their days to list pets on places like Craigslist and Petfinder.com to help homeless pets find forever homes. Another every growing place to locate a pet to adopt is none other than FaceBook. With the growing number of shelters and rescue organizations using FaceBook as a platform for education and adoption you are sure to find some pets in need in no time.
Choosing The Best Method Of Choosing Your Pet
Knowing which option to go through in finding your pet could be confusing for some but there is a way to simplify which approach you want to take. Sites like Craigslist have a variety of pets listed from owners needing to rehome their pets to volunteers listing shelter animals and rescues listing their fosters in need of adoption. By searching the listings you have the ability to see a larger variety of pets all in one place.
FaceBook offers many of the same benefits as sites like Craigslist in that you can locate a variety of pets being listed from a variety of sources. In addition to locating pets FaceBook rescue contacts often have resources in place to help with vetting for those in need, help with transporting pets from their rescues to their new forever homes and so much more.
If you are a visual person that needs to see and touch a potential pet then local shelters and rescues is your best bet. You can set up times to visit with different cats or dogs that have caught your interest in an effort to better select the right companion for you.
With so many options available to locate and a pet in need adoption can be a reality for anybody who genuinely wants to adopt and not shop. Just be patient and remember there are resources out there to help.
Mikki Hogan, publisher of www.mydogdidwhat.com has worked in animal rescue for 13 plus years and has found no greater joy than helping interested families find that perfect addition to the family. Specializing in advanced dog training Mikki is able to not only find forever homes but also ensure their success through complete obedience training.