Want to adopt? Every day animals are discarded like trash.  Most of these animals have done nothing wrong.  They have become an inconvenience to their owners.  A few of these animals make it out and into great homes where they are once again loved and cherished.  However, a majority of these lost souls never find true happiness.  They are forever tortured, abused and starved because they only ask for love.  These creatures feel pain, sorrow, joy, happiness and loss.  They give us unconditional love and dedication and ask for NOTHING in return.  I receive 100's of emails a day begging for help with a shelter or a particular dog that is now on death's row.  I wish I could help them all but I am only human.  However, with the help of some wonderful people, most of whom I have NEVER met face to face, we save as many as we can.  We work long endless hours to save these souls.  Please if you are looking to find an animal, or know someone that might want another dog or cat, try adopting from a shelter or a rescue.  Both have wonderful animals of ALL ages and sizes.  Puppies and kittens might not always be the best option.  Think about adopting an older animal.  Older animals have already been through the chewing stage.  Their personalities have already come through.  An older animal is much more grateful to have that soft bed to just lay on, your hand to lick and not chew on for fun.  The older animals are just diamonds in the rough that someone decided was not worth their time.  You can never go wrong with adopting an older animal PLEASE make sure you research the breed you are looking at.  Not all breeds are suitable for all people.  Be realistic.  Just because you have always loved a particular dog does not mean that dog will fit into your lifestyle.  Take into consideration the time you will be away from home.  What will the dog do to keep itself busy?  Will you be crate training your dog?  How long will he/she be able to stay in that crate for one day?  How will they get the necessary exercise to keep them out of trouble?  Is this breed a very active breed?  Does this breed make a lot of noise?  Does this breed need a job?  How will I train my dog?  Please take all of these things into consideration before adopting a dog.  All dogs need training.  Some people still think that a dog just knows what they are supposed to do.  Well did you know how to tie your shoes before you were taught?  I didn't think so.  :-)  You had to be taught just like a dog does.  Dogs need to be part of a pack and look for guidance.  Are you up to this part of being a dog owner?  Do you want to own more then one dog?  If so then you must be willing to be the pack leader.  Dogs will argue like brothers and sisters do and you need to be the leader and tell them like it is.  :-)  This does NOT mean beat them down it means you need to be the leader and be responsible enough to have your dog trained. Are you looking to adopt a cat?  If so have you taken into consideration their claws?  Do you plan on having them de-clawed?  Do you plan on allowing them to roam outside?  De-clawing is basically ripping out your fingernails.  Make sure you completely understand the de-clawing process before you have it done to your cat.  If your reasoning is to protect the furniture then, try kitty condos or scratching posts.  You can even have the claws capped with a glue on cap.  There are better solutions then just ripping out their fingernails.  Will your cat roam outside?  Even though a cat is current on all vaccinations there are still MANY other hazards that can cause a cat harm.  The obvious are the cars on the streets.  You then have poisons that some people will purposely give to an animal intending on watching that animal die a slow horrible death.  There are other people who will torture some animals for sport.  These are just some of the hazards that are out there.  So do you want your cat to roam outside? Please always take care of your pets.  They love you and just want you to love them.  Their number one objective is to please you.  And remember ALWAYS spay/neuter your pets, it does make their life, and yours, better.   Adoption Process   When looking to adopt, whether a shelter or a rescue, please check their adoption policies.  Some shelters will not adopt out of state, while some shelters don't have any problems with this.  You will need to provide some references.  This is not to invade your privacy this is so we can make sure we are adopting to a person that is a good, caring person.  Sometimes a home visit is also required.  Again, this is not to invade your privacy but to make sure you have the proper space needed to have an animal in your home.    Shelters and rescues have their policies for a reason but not all of them have the same policies, some use a case by case basis.  Please be understanding about the policies and do not yell at the volunteers.  We try to make sure that we have everyone's best interest at heart.  We try to match up the perfect dog with the perfect family.  It is hard to explain that dog A will not fit in with your family but dog B would be perfect.  We usually have a better understanding of the dog's personality so we are better equipped to decide what is best for that dog.  Please listen to us before you get mad and start yelling.   Adoption processes take a little time.  Most are done by volunteers that do have full time, paid jobs and are only trying to help save another soul from death.  It takes time getting in touch with people and finding time to talk to them about a potential adopter.  Have patience.  Then there are the fees.  Some fees might see a little high but considering what goes on behind the scenes, rescues and shelters are lucky if they even get close to breaking even.  No one does this kind of work to make any money so fees are not for lining anyone's pockets.  With each animal we must take them to the vet for a complete physical.  The animal but get any shots that it needs and of course spay/neutering.  Then we get to if the animal has ANY sort of health issues.  These bills can start from $150 (for basics) to WELL over $1000's.  Then you haven't added in any food, toys, bedding, treats or grooming.  There are even times when we must pay to have a dog transported from one state to another, just to save their life.  So these are just a few things that we do with our animals just to get them into that perfect home where they will get the love that they deserve.