Besides your local animal shelter, Craigslist is also a wonderful way to find a new pet! There are so many people who can no longer keep their cherished pets, for one reason or another, but want to know they truly did find them a good home, rather than taking them to a shelter and always wondering if they even made it to a new home at all!
One thing to keep in mind, no matter where you seek to find a pet, is to hold your heart open about adopting an older pet instead of having your mind set to only adopt a youngster! Older pets are already trained, many have already been spayed or neutered, most already have their vaccinations, and their owners can tell you all about their history and personality.
One more benefit is that their current parents will often give you their pet's food, dishes, toys, leashes, bed, medical records, etc. to you, which will save you a lot of money and for your new pet. It will also be a blessing to have his/her familiar items with them to help reduce the trauma of adjusting to a new home!
By Deeli from Richland, WA
Editor's Note: According to Craigslist's rules, selling pets on the site is prohibited, arranging adoptions is OK.
"Household pets of any kind including dogs, cats, primates, cage birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish. Re-homing with small adoption fee OK."
Adopting a pet from an animal shelter or rescue group isn't as easy as going into the food store and picking out a new flavor of ice cream. Things are a little more complicated than that!
I strongly recommend that anyone who is wanting to add a kitten or cat to their life, do so by adopting one from a shelter or rescue organization. I have done this often and have found the following tips helpful when bringing home a cat or kitten from a shelter.
When adopting a pet from the humane society, ask as many questions as possible, the animal's history, where it came from, etc.
2 of our 3 Boston Terriers are rescue dogs. The one on Freecycle was on a short leash and left in a plastic barrel outside. They are the most amazing animals. Our third Boston Terrier came from a female Boston Terrier, who died during birth.
When bringing a rescued pet into your home be very aware of the subtle and sometimes not so subtle hints they give you. Our rescued Golden, Maggie was very fearful of loud noises, such as, thunder, firecrackers, shotguns, pans falling out of the cabinet, etc.
So you'd like to get a dog, but you're not sure what kind. Purebred? Mutt? There are certain advantages to owning a mixed-breed dog, believe it or not.
I see, that once again, I have a foster baby. His name is Elrod. He is is an adorable, incredibly intelligent three month old Pibble. which is short for Pit Bull mix.
There are many older cats (over 6) at shelters looking for a good home. They are older and wiser, but often free. if you can give a cat a good home don't just look at the kittens!
When considering pet adoption, consider your local animal shelter or a rescue association of some kind. The animals there are truly in need of a home and the adoption rates are much more reasonable than they are to buy through a breeder or pet store.
Scruffy is less than a year and is all American! The little guy just showed up one day three weeks ago.
My husband and I have been asked to take other people's dogs as our own. It is an honor and for some reason we never have more than three at a time.
I recently got my husband a 2 1/2 year old Red Merle Blue Heeler for his birthday. His previous master had passed away a few months before. This sweet little boy has won our hearts forever!
