Adopting from an Animal Shelter: What You Should Know

All our furry friends have come from the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, Massachusetts. It is the largest, nonprofit animal shelter near us. Since it’s such a good-sized shelter, we have been able to find a pet the first visit, each time we’ve gone in search of a feline addition to our family. The shelter rescues animals that would otherwise be homeless or abandoned and have a “no kill” policy. So they take great care to place each of the pets entrusted to their care into a good home.

While pets are at the shelter they receive individualized care which may involve obedience training, a visit with the local groomer, a special blanket, or a home-cooked diet. All of their pets are inoculated, wormed and spayed or neutered at the appropriate age. If you adopt a pet that is too young to be spayed or neutered, the shelter covers the cost for when it is time. Each of our adopted pets has been healthy, and spayed or neutered, helping to keep the animal population under control.

What amazed me the first time we went to adopt was how thoroughly the shelter staff vetted us before we were allowed to take two of their kitties home. We had to sign an agreement stating that our pets were adopted, not owned; and, that we would allow an on-site visit of our home should the shelter ever request it. And they had the right to remove our pets from our home should it be discovered that we were mistreating them. Phew! Here are some of the other requirements they have for adopting (this will vary by shelter):

• Bring a tax bill or mortgage statement as proof of home ownership or a lease stating that you are allowed to have a pet. They also require your landlord’s phone number so that they can speak with him or her.
• Bring an ID with current address.
• You must be at least 21 years of age.

The entire household must be present for the adoption of an adult dog.

They take many things into consideration when making a decision about placing their pets in homes. Every situation is different, so they ask you to understand that they are trying to make the best match for both you and their furry friends.

And they asked us questions like:

• Do you want a lap cat or one that’s more independent? (We don’t care, and have adopted both types.)
• Do you have young children in the house? (Nope, though now our grandbaby visits; and we keep a close eye on her.)
• Do you currently have pets? (Nope, although I do dote on my husband.)
• How long will the pets be left alone? (For the first set, my husband and I both worked full-time, so the kitties were left alone during the day. That was ok with the shelter. By the time we adopted our current guys, my husband had left the corporate world and was writing from home. So the guys are utterly spoiled.)
• Do you want a kitten or an adult cat? (We were always looking for kittens and found them our first visit.)

By the end of each interview, we were feeling lucky to have passed their inspection. As part of the adoption process we paid, I think, around $60.00 per cat to support the shelters ongoing care—pretty reasonable amount to contribute for all that we received.

For each time we’ve come home with absolutely marvelous cats. We have adopted two sets of cats over the past twenty-five years, the first time a white male and a black female from separate litters—Claudius and Sybil. (We had been watching “I Claudius” on television.) When those dear friends had grown old and died, we adopted our current guys—Barthélemy and Marcabrun (we were researching troubadours in the south of France then). These two are gray tabby brothers, from the same litter by different fathers. They were rescued in Puerto Rico and sent stateside for a better chance of finding a home.

And we feel blessed that we were able to give them that home.

We like the shelter’s philosophies and feel that by supporting the shelter, and adopting their pets, we are contributing to a worthwhile humanitarian effort. I hope when you’re considering finding a pet that you too will look at the nonprofit animal shelters in your area.