Finding a forever home? Adding a furry family member to your household can be both exciting and stressful. Where do you find that special puppy or kitten to share your home and love with? There are so many pets that need homes and so many ways to adopt that it can be overwhelming.
Although a staple of the past, pet stores are less and less a source for pets these days. They used to be in every mall and shopping center, but they just seem to be not as popular. This is not necessarily a bad thing. In a store, you don’t get to meet the pet’s parents and see the quality of the care given to them.
Animal control and the SPCA are excellent choices for finding needy orphans. They have a wide variety of animals that have been lost, turned over or, unfortunately, even abandoned. This is a good place to look if you want to find a mixed breed of any age and they desperately need to find loving homes.
Certainly, if you want to find a specific breed, you can turn to a private individual. I recommend researching any breeders that you plan to visit. Ask to see the parents and any medical screening that may have been done. Look at the environment where they are raised and ask to talk to people who have adopted from them previously. Reputable breeders will be excited to share their furry families and tell you about the care that they have taken to have the healthiest puppies possible.
I recommend that any puppies or kittens go to a veterinarian for an initial examination and immunizations. They should have been dewormed and have evidence of negative fecal testing. This evaluation may be added to the cost of the puppy or kitten, but will improve the chances that you are able to adopt a healthy pet.
One of the best places to turn to for furry family members is through a rescue group. There is a rescue for almost every breed and they offer many benefits. Most of the rescues will have lived with the pet through fostering and they can help tell you about temperament. Reputable Rescue groups go an extra step and get the animals evaluated prior to adoption. They make sure that all immunizations and preventatives are current, and the pet is spayed or neutered. I am also very happy to see that they do whatever they can to help with any medical issues to help the pet be as healthy as possible prior to adoption.
When your family decides that they’re ready to adopt a Pet, they need to take many things into consideration. Who will be doing the training, how young do you want them to be when you adopt them, what are your work hours and how young your children are just a few of the things to consider.
Many people fall in love with the idea of a cute fluffy puppy or kitten. I mean, who doesn’t love them, I sure do! What you must remember however, is that puppies and kittens require a great deal of time and training to help them mature into well-behaved and loving furry family members.
We are blessed at Lake Pine to meet and care for many young puppies and kittens, as well as older adopted loved ones. We enjoy watching them grow and learn, but a recent adoption that didn’t go as planned has made me want to speak out about the steps you should take to make sure that adoption process is as smooth as it can possibly be. Please do your research and ask lots of questions! The cost of an animal doesn’t equal the health or love you will share with them!
If you are considering adoption to make your family complete, we are excited to help. Please give us a call or come in and discuss what things you should look for when deciding to adopt.