Navigating the adoption process to find a new pet can be an exciting adventure. From visiting animal shelters to connecting with rescue organizations, the path to adopting your ideal companion is as diverse as the pets themselves. Here's information and tips to guide you along your journey.
1. Browse pet adoption listings
The Adopt a Pet website lets you search through tens of thousands of pets listings, both locally and around the country. You can narrow your search results using the filters for distance, breed, age, color and more. If you don’t see the perfect match right away, you can create an Alert to received an email when new pets matching your search parameters are added.
Adopt a Pet lets you search pets for adoption from animal shelters, rescue organizations, and private individuals. Animal shelters often have many pets housed in kennels or larger facilities. They might have a mix of breeds and types, giving you many different pets to choose from. Rescue organizations often have fewer pets and might even focus on particular breeds or types.
Tip: Some pets in rescues and shelters may live in foster homes, so you can get the inside scoop on their personalities from their foster families, similar to a private individual.
2. Inquire, apply, visit
Animal shelters, rescues, and private individuals have different adoption processes. On Adopt a Pet, each pet's page explains that pet's adoption process steps (be sure to scroll to the bottom of the pet profile page to ensure you don't miss anything). Animal shelters often have visiting hours and you may be able to take a pet home the same day. Adopting from a rescue organization may involve an application, interview, pet meet & greet, and a home visit, so may take more time.
To find and adopt a very specific type of pet, you may have to submit multiple inquiries to different organizations, visit a few animal shelters, or submit several applications before meeting and bringing your new pet home.
Tip: Don't be discouraged, it is normal for the adoption process to take some time.
3. Paperwork and fees
Each adoption organization has its own paperwork requirements and fees. Some use applications that are either online or paper forms you fill out, and vary in length. Other organizations use conversations to ask and answer questions about you and your household. Both typically ask about the people and other pets in your home, about your pet experience and desires, and more. The aim of their questions is to help match you with a pet that is a good fit for your home.
Tip: Adoption fees vary greatly. These fees can help shelters and rescues provide services to pets such as spaying/neutering, vaccinations, and microchipping.
Now that you have an idea what to expect, you're more prepared to find the right pet to add to your family. Start your search for a pet to adopt at www.AdoptaPet.com